There’s plenty of great new music to dive into this week, here’s a rundown of some of the week’s highlights.
Future, FUTURE
Much like his career-making album DS2, Future’s self-titled album blends hazy boasts with a murky trap style. Some of the beats here are amazing — “Mask Off” slows down a sample until it reaches peak DJ Screw-like blurriness, while Future chants, “Percocet/Molly, Percocet.” On “Good Dope,” which he oddly pronounces like “I do good, though,” he sounds blue collar in spite of rapping about candy painted whips and shopping trips to Tiffany’s. He licks off some crazy “brrrppp!” sound effects on “Zoom” and on “High Demand” he raps, “Why you hatin’? Oh, I’m fresh.” Meanwhile, “Poa” works the same bounce style he mastered on past hits like “Blow a Bag” and “F*ck Up Some Commas.” –Mosi Reeves
Jidenna, The Chief
Two years after he scored a mainstream hit with “Classic Man,” Janelle Monae protégé Jidenna finally releases his debut album. He brings a unique perspective: He’s a mixed-race rapper/singer who compares himself to former President Obama on the superior “Long Live the Chief,” and raps, “I don’t want my best dressed day in the casket.” His Nigerian-American background inspires him to adopt an internationalist perspective like the Fugees, and several of his songs lyrically reflect an immigrant’s experience, including “Adaora,” “Safari” and “Bambi.” Meanwhile, the sounds range from the calypso rhythm of “Bambi” to the swaying island dancehall beat of “Little Bit More.” –Mosi Reeves
Flume, Skin Companion EP II
Fresh off his Grammy win for Best Dance Album with Skin, Flume releases Skin Companion EP II. “Enough” is a banger collaboration with Pusha T, and is best enjoyed with the volume up. Overall, Skin 2 doesn’t boast as many pop hooks that its full-length predecessor had, but stands alone as an example of how deep Streten’s unique range of composition can run. “Weekend” offers heady buzzing riffs, balanced with dreamy vocals from Moses Sumney and a gently floating piano medley. “Depth Charge” is a definitive nod back to the earlier iterations of the Flume we have come to know and is the EP’s only instrumental track. The EP closes with “Fantastic,” a lush match up with Glass Animals frontman Dave Bayley, and the track drips with trippy vocals and sparkly synths. Skin II may be an abbreviated release, but it is essential nonetheless. –Alyssa Hendricks
Fat Joe and Remy Ma, Plata o Plomo
In 2016, Fat Joe and Remy Ma pulled off one of the more impressive comebacks in rap history when “All the Way Up” conquered nightclubs and the Billboard charts. Plata o Plomo is the subsequent victory lap. It’s the kind of hip-hop album that rarely emerges from New York anymore: street-oriented, but with a clear eye toward mainstream appeal. Fat Joe swerves easily from “Warning,” where he brags, “Before red carpets, I was into narcotics” to the trendy island-pop sway and Auto-tuned hook of “Heartbreak,” and the drop-top cruiser that is “Money Showers.” Meanwhile, Remy Ma says on “Swear to God,” “When you say my name, put some ‘respek on it.” Given her recent success, she deserves as much. –Mosi Reeves
Nikki Lane, Highway Queen
Front loading her rambunctious third album’s best material, the South Carolina alt-country chanteuse kicks things off howling like a coyote on the open prairie and yippie-ki-yi-yaying over choogling Creedence riffs in “700,000 Rednecks”; two songs later, she’s tooting like a freight train over a reverberating Smiths twang. The Reno casino gambling rambler “Jackpot” and “Big Mouth” are straight-up rockabilly while “Companion” is more sleep-walking doo-wop. Lane’s singing sometimes gets muffled, and the songs vague out toward the end, but by then the searing blues guitars have lured you in. She artfully closes things out with the finale — a bittersweet benediction about a marriage that couldn’t last. –Chuck Eddy
Ryan Adams, Prisoner
There can be no doubt that Prisoner is a breakup album chronicling the dissolution of Ryan Adams’ marriage to Mandy Moore in 2015. Heartache, loss and regret ooze from just about every cut. Sonically speaking, the singer/songwriter is still in ’80s mode (a sound that first emerged on 2014’s self-titled effort). “Do You Still Love Me?” possesses the taut crunch and angsty drama of vintage Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, while “Outbound Train” is a hard-strumming mediation on rootlessness echoing Bruce Springsteen’s darker material on The River. The brokenhearted surely will find plenty latch onto in the Prisoner, but so will those simply looking for expertly crafted rock that only grows richer each time the play button is pressed. –Justin Farrar
Charlie Wilson, In It to Win It
After establishing himself as a quiet storm balladeer with singles like “My Love Is All I Have” and “Goodnight Kisses,” Charlie Wilson has slowly begun to expand his repertoire beyond urban AC sure shots. In It to Win It is his second solo album with a wide-ranging palette, from the uptempo boogie of “Good Time” and the disco-funk of “Dance Tonight” to duets with rappers like Wiz Khalifa (“Us Trust”) and T.I. (“I’m Blessed”). But fans of Wilson’s quiet storm magic will find plenty to enjoy here, too, including “Made to Love,” where he croons alongside Lalah Hathaway. There are also a few interludes where he talks about his journey from a kid running the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma, to a funk pioneer rocking stages around the world with his famous group, The Gap Band. –Mosi Reeves
Battle Beast, Bringer of Pain
Lovers of ‘80s heaviness, these female-fronted Finns sound old-school even when they speed up — in the title track, the troublingly titled “Bastard Son of Odin,” and humorously titled closer “Rock Trash.” “King for a Day” and “Familiar Hell” get an almost disco-metal chug going, complete with electronic keyboard doodads, and “We Will Fight” borrows boogie riffs from early Guns N’ Roses. More often, Battle Beast sound unmistakably European, occasionally moving beyond Accept-style power-metal to full-on Europop bombast. Throughout, Noora Louhimo belts big AOR-style choruses at the top of her lungs. –Chuck Eddy
Alison Krauss, Windy City
On her first studio set sans Robert Plant or her band Union Station since the ‘90s, the veteran bluegrass artist covers 10 country standbys, mostly from ‘50s and ‘60s, including two sweet forlorn ones from Brenda Lee and two from the Osborne Brothers, one of which has Chicago swiping her baby and the other of which winds up a sort of Dixieland hoedown. Her take on Willie Nelson’s “I Never Cared for You” has a subtle Iberian sway to it, and renditions of Glen Campbell’s “Gentle on My Mind” and Eddy Arnold’s “You Don’t Know Me” count as emotional highlights. –-Chuck Eddy
Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Got Soul
There’s a good reason why there’s no question mark in the album title, and that’s because there can be no doubt that Robert Randolph & The Family Band have got soul — and plenty of it. True to form, the outfit whip up a groovy, howling racquet with heaping spoonfuls of funk, blues, soul and gospel. What’s amazing is how they balance scorching, ecstatic energy with surprisingly subtle ensemble interplay. There’s a point on “She Got Soul,” toward the end when Randolph and crew acrobatically shift from hard-stomping soul-rock to a sweet, relaxed country shuffle. It’s these kind of wonderful moments that make Got Soul such a fun listen. –Justin Farrar
Evanescence, Lost Whispers
Despite the fact that Lost Whispers is a compilations of B-sides and bonus tracks, it possesses the flow of a fully conceived album. It opens with the majestic, neoclassical ballad “Even in Death,” the influential outfit’s first new recording in six years and solid proof they’re still are growing. From there, fans are treated to crunchy alt-rock (“Breathe No More”), ghostly baroque pop (“Together Again”) and dramatic, Gothic metal (“Say You Will”). The band unloads a lot of texture, everything from churning ax riffs to swirling strings and atmospheric electronics. Yet the star of the show is Amy Lee’s soaring, powerhouse voice. It’s enthralling — as always. –Justin Farrar
The post This Week’s New Music: Feb. 17, 2017 appeared first on Napster Music News.