WHAT’S NEW IN MUSIC
New albums
Future Islands, “As Long as You Are” (4AD): It’s been six years since Future Islands lead singer Samuel T. Herring growled and wiggled during an unforgettable performance on “The Late Show With David Letterman,” showing why the Baltimore band was such a music festival favorite. “As Long as You Are” continues in the same vein, with the soaring “Plastic Beach” and “Hit the Coast” standing out on the 11-track album.
Travis, “10 Songs” (BMG): The Scottish rockers return from a four-year absence with their ninth release in a 23-year recording career, one that Coldplay frontman Chris Martin once told the BBC paved the way for his band. The duet between Travis’ lead singer, Fran Healy, and Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles, “The Only Thing,” is the type of melancholy midtempo love song seen mostly in indie film romances, and “A Ghost” lies somewhere between Brit pop and roadhouse rock.
Sun Ra Arkestra, “Swirling” (Strut): Jazz composer Sun Ra died in 1993, but the Arkestra has continued his swinging path, led by saxophonist Marshall Allan. “Swirling,” though, is only the second album of new studio material released since Ra’s death and the band’s first since 1999. “Rocket No. 9” could have been the theme song to an early-’60s television show set in space, with its bleeps and bloops accenting the drums.
Bahamas, “Sad Hunk” (Brushfire): The Canadian folk-rock hero is becoming better known in the Lower 48. His 2018 album, “Earthtones,”
peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart, which lists the work of artists who have not previously held a spot in the top 100. “Sad Hunk,” titled after how his wife once summed up a set of promotional photos, comes closer to a blues album than anything in his back catalog. “Own Alone” may have the lyric that best describes being middle-aged in 2020: “Too broke to feel so wealthy, too young to feel unhealthy, too old to understand the selfie, too far gone for you to help me.” Tawny Newsome and Bethany Thomas, “Material Flats” (Fine Alpinist): Newsome, perhaps best known as an actor, comedian and co-host of the podcast “Yo, Is This Racist?” teams up with Chicago musician and actor Thomas (herself a regional theater regular) to write and record an album of genre-bending tracks.
Second single “Juneteenth
2020” is a post-punk banger teeming with the righteous anger of anyone who’s paid attention during this summer of police shootings and protests (“This is the Emancipation Day / I’ll shout it to Jupiter and Saturn / I’ll lift every one of my voices and sing”), while album closer “Carry Something” combines folklike harmonies with epic guitar work from pop-punk pioneer Ted Leo.
From the vaults
Sade, “This Far” (Sony): The reclusive English chanteuse’s last album was 2010’s “Soldier of Love,” but between 2018’s soundtrack contribution “The Big Unknown” and this career-spanning collection’s title, her fans are on high alert for a potential new album. Until that official announcement, they’ll have to make do with this vinyl box set, featuring each of Sade’s six albums, remastered from the original analog studio tapes, on heavyweight vinyl.
Linkin Park, “Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary)”
(Warner): It’s an anniversary marked with sadness due to Chester Bennington’s death in 2017, but two decades of the nu-metal band’s era-defining debut album is worth celebration. The “super deluxe” version includes five CDS (including rarities, demos and other previously unreleased tracks), three DVDS, three records, an 80-page book, new artwork and a poster of the late frontman.
Ferg, “Floor Seats II” (A$AP Worldwide/rca): He may or may not technically still be a part of the A$AP rap crew (one of its leaders says he isn’t, one says he is), but tweets about who is sitting at whose lunch table haven’t affected the Harlem rapper’s new release, a sequel to last year’s “Floor Seats” EP. Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Tyga and, for some reason, Marilyn Manson all make appearances. “Move Your Hips,” featuring Minaj, has already racked up 30 million streams across all platforms.
Song of the moment
Tycho featuring rum.gold,
“Run Away” (Mom+pop/ninja Tune): The San Francisco electronic producer and musician partnered with the up-andcoming Brooklyn R&B singer for this piece of pop bliss. It was a first for Tycho — despite multiple studio albums and singles, he had previously never collaborated with a male singer.
Your stay-at-home dance break
Mat Zo, “Love Songs” (Anjunabeats): The British producer’s latest album, “Illusion of Depth,” is a whirlwind tour through dance music genres. “Love Songs” is a French touch track (think Daft Punk) with a filtered, slightly distorted vocal sample from a ’70s R&B track that becomes a mantra as the song progresses: “Lately I’ve been singing love songs by myself.”