15 Post-Summer Albums You Must Hear
Archive Call To Arms & Angels (Deluxe Edition)
Signed to Dangervisit
Archive, the acclaimed south London collective, released their 12th studio album Call To Arms & Angels (Deluxe Edition) ahead of their big European tour that kicked off last month. This electronic, ambient and synth-heavy album takes you on a captivating journey through darkness and light. Being it’s own, unique creation – Call To Arms & Angels is full of intelligent contemplation, poetry and endless creativity.
Ben Gregory Bodied (EP)
Signed to Transgressive
After the successful release of his debut album episode, Ben Gregory has shared the introspective and emotive EP Bodied. Bodied invites us to a personal, journal-like, multi-layered exploration of the complex and often difficult relationship we have with our own bodies. Raw, poetic and intimate, Ben Gregory tackles troublesome yet relatable issues on this EP.
Black Pumas Chronicles Of A Diamond
Signed to ATO Records
The Texan, psych-soul duo Black Pumas is one of the most electrifying new acts to emerge in recent years. On Chronicles Of A Diamond, the band broadened their palette to include a dazzling range of musical forms; heavenly hybrids of soul and symphonic pop, mind-bending journeys into jazz-funk & psychedelia, and starry-eyed love songs that feel dropped down from the cosmos. Wilder and weirder and more extravagantly composed than ever before, Chronicles Of A Diamond arrives as the fullest expression yet of Black Pumas’ energetic creativity and limitless vision.
Childe Stoned & Supremely Confident
Signed to Lower Third
The modern storyteller and pop connoisseur Childe released his debut album Stoned & Supremely Confident in September. On the album, Childe shares 9 melodic pop tracks with us, including the catchy single ‘Better Friends’. On Stoned & Supremely Confident, this original, refreshingly chaotic talent uses his alter-ego to open up about personal life experiences, writing about over-medicating, loving so hard you would die, mushroom trips, baby boomers, horror film versions of life moments and one literal portrayal of him trying to be a better friend.
Explosions in the Sky End
Signed to Bella Union
End, the enigmatic seventh album by the Texan, instrumental rock band Explosions in the Sky, was inspired by darkness but became a loud, dramatic, wild rumination on life and death. End is perhaps the “grandest” Explosions in the Sky album – melding the quiet restraint and crushing feel of their early releases with the sonic texturing and ornate experimentation of their later releases, and their increasingly deep film and television scoring catalogue, influenced by personal tastes stretching from classical to soul to experimental ambient music.
Gotts Street Park On The Inside
Signed to Blue Flowers
On The Inside, the debut album from Gotts Street Park, is more than an album – it’s an invitation. The praised Leeds trio describes On The Inside as a genre-hopping odyssey, acting as a collective diary of everything their relationship encompasses, both as collaborators and close friends. Mesmerising, moving and marvellously inventive, On The Inside demands to be shared. The soothing album is another milestone in the evolution of one of UK music’s most spell-binding collectives. Accept the invitation and step into their world by listening to On The Inside here:
Various Artists Love At Fist Sight
Released on [PIAS]
This fantastic soundtrack for Netflix’s romantic comedy, ‘Love At First Sight’, features tracks from Morgan Harper Jones, Andreya Triana, SOBI, and Lucy Spraggan. The soundtrack was released in conjunction with the film’s streaming launch on 15 September this year – and is definitely worth a listen! The movie was directed by Vanessa Caswill and based on Jennifer E. Smith’s bestselling novel “The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight”. Special mention for our own Morgan Harper-Jones who delivers poignant renditions of Whitney Houston’s classic ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ and quirky 70’s hit ‘Video Killed The Radio Stars’.
Melanie De Biasio Il Viaggio
Signed to Le Label
After Melanie De Biasio’s four magnificent works, her album Il Viaggio is available to the world. On the album we get to follow Melanie on a journey as she re-traces her grandparent’s immigration route from Italy to Belgium. With a combination of concrete and ambient, this album drifts between natural sounds of daily life and a dreamlike, imagined world. It offers a quest for musical, physical, and spiritual renewal. Il Viaggio invites us to re-discover Melanie De Biasio’s original chants, her unique phrasing and her effortless sensuality. A masterpiece.
Nation of Language Strange Disciple
Signed to Play It Again Sam
Strange Disciple is Nation of Language’s third album. Whilst having been compared to nostalgic post-punk and synth-pop legends of the past, such as New Order and Kraftwerk, their latest album takes us head-first into the future. Strange Disciple is a testament to the band’s growth, arriving only three years after their debut. The album shows Nation Of Language’s ability to stretch their imagination whilst sticking to their true roots.
Pip Blom Bobbie
Signed to Heavenly Recordings
This year, Dutch artist Pip Blom gave us a musical eureka moment with Bobbie. After making her name as one of the brightest indie rock singers around through two albums – 2019 debut Boat and 2021 follow-up Welcome Break – Pip Blom’s Bobbie sees lead singer and songwriter Pip take a delightful left turn into thumping, carefree synth pop. Featuring Personal Trainer and Alex Kapranos (of Franz Ferdinand fame), this brilliantly focused 12-track album stretches her new sonic direction even further.
Puma Blue Holy Flowers
Signed to Blue Flowers
Earlier this fall, singer-songwriter Puma Blue released his second album, Holy Waters. The album offers 11 tracks that creates a beautiful musical landscape filled with reflections on life and death, and the relationship between the two. Puma Blue worked closely with his band to create this album. Whilst we can still hear his beloved, iconic vocals and ethereal guitar Holy Waters, the album manages to offer us a new, fresh and distinct sound from Puma Blue.
Sofiane Pamart NOCHE
Signed to DEMAIN
Sofiane Pamart, aka The Piano King, is one of the top 10 most streamed Classical Music artists in the world in 2023. His musical universe is halfway between great film music and adventure stories. His work, both dark and poetic, embodies an emotional accuracy that enables him to reach a very wide audience. On NOCHE, we hear the unique ingredients that creates Sofiane’s intriguing universe; travel, poetry, melancholy, romance, anger and mystery.
STRABE How Our Love Grows
Signed to [PIAS] Recordings
STRABE, the alt-pop duo consisting of Angelica Black and Emmet Carey, released their debut album How Our Love Grows at the end of October. The album proves a bright, bittersweet exploration of grief, growth, gender, and personal evolution. With a sound that summons alternative-pop of bands like The Cranberries and The Cardigans – together with the electronic influences of Fred again.. or Romy – How Our Love Grows navigates those choppy waters of young adulthood; from the swelling highs to what happens when the wave breaks.
Viji So Vanilla
Signed to Speedy Wunderground
Referencing the easy, sleazy sounds of the 90s, Viji – real name Vanilla Jenner – has been cementing herself as one of the most exciting alternative artists to watch in the UK right now. Having finished So Vanilla in November 2022, Viji relays that every song had a different writing process – some saw her and Carey playing guitar chords together for hours, until the sounds fused into one, and others came from late night ramblings at home. Combining fiercely layered guitar melodies with pop hooks and slow, soulful monologues, this album features her single ‘Sedative’, a perfect introduction to So Vanilla.
Yann Tiersen Kerber Complete
Signed to Mute
Kerber Complete includes four very different versions of Yann Tiersen’s 2021 album Kerber – Kerber (Solo Piano), Kerber, Kerber Remixes and 115182518. The news of this album was accompanied with a Summer Tour announcement, including his partner QUINQUIS (aka Emilie Tiersen) on the bill. Together they “hit the road” in a rather unconventional way – on their cherished sailboat ‘Ninnog’. They set sail from their home, near the Breton coast, and sailed towards their performances in the Celtic and Faroe Islands.
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