Trying to keep up with every new album released each week has become almost impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So don’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, here are ten new records released around September 11 that are worth putting on this weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week’s releases range from electronic music and R&B to indie rock, hip-hop, folk and Japanese experimental pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether you want something for headphones, a late-night drive or an entire Sunday afternoon, there should be something here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Start with one of the week’s biggest R&B releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jhen\u00e9 Aiko returns with Westside Whimsy, a record rooted heavily in Los Angeles and the dreamy, intimate sound that has made her one of modern R&B’s most recognisable voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The album includes collaborations and a distinctly West Coast atmosphere, with Kendrick Lamar among the artists connected to the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you like atmospheric R&B that works equally well late at night or through headphones, this is probably the first album to try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen if you like: SZA, Summer Walker, Kehlani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sylvan Esso have always occupied an interesting space between electronic music and indie pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ow \u221e continues that approach while leaning into a more emotionally exposed side of the duo’s songwriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amelia Meath’s vocals sit against Nick Sanborn’s electronic production, creating music that can feel minimalist one moment and unexpectedly huge the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a good choice if you want electronic music that still feels deeply human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen if you like: Caribou, The xx, Little Dragon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Few artists are as reliable for late-night electronic listening as Bonobo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Distance in Static is Simon Green’s eighth album and finds the producer leaning further towards club-oriented textures while retaining the atmospheric sound associated with his earlier work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The record includes collaborations with Nicole Miglis and Arooj Aftab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is also an interesting wider story here: Green has suggested that Distance in Static could be his final conventional studio album as his attention moves towards other creative formats including film scores and installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If that happens, this could end up being the closing chapter of one of electronic music’s most consistent album catalogues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen if you like: Four Tet, Tycho, Jon Hopkins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This Is Lorelei is the solo project of Nate Amos, also known as one half of Water From Your Eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Singer in My Band puts the focus firmly on Amos as a songwriter rather than simply a producer or experimental musician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result is indie music that feels personal without becoming predictable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For listeners who enjoy finding slightly strange records that reveal more with repeat plays, this could be one of the week’s best discoveries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen if you like: Alex G, Water From Your Eyes, Big Thief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your weekend requires slightly more energy, move to Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rio Da Yung OG returns with The World Is Yours, continuing the loose, conversational and often very funny style of rap that has helped make Michigan one of the most distinctive regional scenes in American hip-hop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The album arrives during a particularly active period for Rio following his return to music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expect direct bars, unusual flows and plenty of personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen if you like: BabyTron, Veeze, Babyface Ray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Haruomi Hosono has one of the most fascinating careers in popular music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Japanese musician helped form Yellow Magic Orchestra and has spent decades moving through electronic music, pop, ambient music and experimentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yours Sincerely is considerably calmer than much of that history might suggest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The album explores tranquil, carefully arranged sounds and makes an excellent choice when you want something that does not demand your attention but slowly earns it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is Sunday-morning music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen if you like: Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yellow Magic Orchestra, ambient pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tubs deliver one of the week’s sharper guitar records with Hard Life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The band’s music takes gloomy themes and wraps them in bright, jangling guitars, creating the strange combination of sounding cheerful while potentially singing about something fairly miserable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That contrast has always worked extremely well in indie rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hard Life is a good reminder that sometimes you don’t need another genre revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You just need guitars, melodies and good songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen if you like: The Smiths, The Go-Betweens, modern jangle-pop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is not a conventional Alex G studio album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is an original film score, giving him space to explore a stranger and more atmospheric side of his music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex G’s songwriting has always had something slightly unsettling beneath the surface, so moving into soundtrack work makes a lot of sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result should appeal particularly to listeners who enjoy his more experimental material rather than simply looking for another collection of indie songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen if you like: Alex G’s stranger songs, lo-fi soundtracks, experimental indie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Angela Autumn’s Believer offers a complete change of pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drawing from Appalachian folk traditions, the album puts storytelling and acoustic instrumentation at the centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a week dominated by electronic production, R&B and indie experimentation, sometimes an album built around voices, strings and songs can feel surprisingly refreshing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is another record better suited to sitting down and listening than throwing onto shuffle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen if you like: Gillian Welch, Waxahatchee, traditional American folk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And finally, something considerably messier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black Bananas return with Bad Bunch, their first album in 12 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Led by Jennifer Herrema, the project pulls from rock, hip-hop, R&B, dub and electronic music without showing much interest in keeping those influences neatly separated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result is deliberately chaotic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the other albums on this list feel a little too polite, try this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listen if you like: Royal Trux, genre collisions and records that sound slightly unhinged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There isn’t really one answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want R&B, start with Jhen\u00e9 Aiko.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For electronic music, try Sylvan Esso or Bonobo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For indie, go with This Is Lorelei or The Tubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For rap, Rio Da Yung OG is the obvious choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if you want something completely different, Haruomi Hosono is always worth exploring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is the nice thing about New Music Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don’t actually need to listen to everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You just need to find one new record you love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’ll be back next week with another selection of the best new albums worth adding to your weekend listening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trying to keep up with every new album released each week has become almost impossible. So don’t. Instead, here are ten new records released around September 11 that are worth putting on this weekend. This week’s releases range from electronic music and R&B to indie rock, hip-hop, folk and Japanese experimental pop. Whether you want something for headphones, a late-night drive or an entire Sunday afternoon, there should be something here. 1. Jhen\u00e9 Aiko \u2013 Westside Whimsy Start with one of the week’s biggest R&B releases. Jhen\u00e9 Aiko returns with Westside Whimsy, a record rooted heavily in Los Angeles and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2526,2533,2534,2535,2528,2531,2525,43,2530,2527,2532,2529],"coauthors":[2],"class_list":["post-4192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-albums","tag-alex-g","tag-angela-autumn","tag-black-bananas","tag-bonobo","tag-haruomi-hosono","tag-jhene-aiko","tag-music","tag-rio-da-yung-og","tag-sylvan-esso","tag-the-tubs","tag-this-is-lorelei"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n