Receive 3 handpicked albums every month. Skip, pause or cancel anytime.
We’re excited to launch our subscription service, so we’re offering great discounted prices and exclusive founder member perks when you sign up before June 13th. Skip, pause, cancel anytime.
Easily one of the most important records ever made, this was Coltrane's pinnacle studio outing that spoke of his search for spiritual and musical freedom, as expressed through polyrhythms, modalities, and purely vertical forms.
Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, it became an instant best-seller and received a Grammy nomination. It remains one of the greatest albums ever recorded, and in 2021 was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of 1 million albums in the U.S. The achievement garners Coltrane his first-ever platinum record and is the first jazz album of the 1960s to receive platinum status, underscoring its enduring legacy and importance.
The best Beach Boys album, and one of the best of the 1960s. The group here reached a whole new level in terms of both composition and production, layering tracks upon tracks of vocals and instruments to create a richly symphonic sound. Conventional keyboards and guitars were combined with exotic touches of orchestrated strings, bicycle bells, buzzing organs, harpsichords, flutes, Theremin, Hawaiian-sounding string instruments, Coca-Cola cans, barking dogs, and more.
It wouldn't have been a classic without great songs, and this has some of the group's most stunning melodies, as well as lyrical themes which evoke both the intensity of newly born love affairs and the disappointment of failed romance (add in some general statements about loss of innocence and modern-day confusion as well). The spiritual quality of the material is enhanced by some of the most gorgeous upper-register male vocals (especially by Brian and Carl Wilson) ever heard on a rock record.
Nearly 50 years on, listening to these rich grooves out of the context of the movie, what you get is an ocean of smooth soul funk, a relentless drum ‘n bass pulse punctuated by fat saxophone swells, occasional orchestral flourishes and enveloping early analog synthesizer pads.
There is no doubt that Arlo Parks is one of THE rising stars in the music industry.
Born in London in 2000, Parks grew up in Hammersmith, West London, and started writing songs at the age of 13 before uploading her music to SoundCloud shortly after. The singer evolved in what she described as “a very open, very multicultural” family.
Arrival is the fourth studio album by the Swedish pop group Abba. It became one of ABBA's most successful albums to date, producing three of their biggest hits: Dancing Queen, Money Money Money and Knowing Me Knowing You.
Like A Prayer is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 21, 1989, by Sire Records.
Madonna worked with Stephen Bray, Patrick Leonard, and Prince on the album, with her co-writing and co-producing all the songs.
Madonna described the album as a collection of songs about her mother, father, and bonds with her family.
The Cure's 6th studio album from 1985 containing the hit singles Inbetween Days and Close to Me. The Cure refocused and ultimately hit their stride with The Head on the Door, producing an album which not only more effectively depicted gloom, but also showed enough pop smarts to make it memorable (and even danceable).
The band scored a hit with the infectious, New Order-ish In Between Days (which even managed to beat New Order at their own game) and the highly memorable Close to Me, but the album's outstanding trait is its diversity - they managed to combine a wide variety of influences, not only that of contemporary dancefloor peers, but also by incorporating rhythms from the far east and South America to fine effect. The Cure made more accomplished albums later on and had bigger hits, but none combined artistic ambition with really catchy songs as well as The Head on the Door.
I Should Coco is the debut studio album by Supergrass, released through Parlophone in May 1995 "We are young / we are free / Keep our teeth / nice and clean" is hardly an incendiary motto, but the lyrics to "Alright" rather summed up Supergrass' influential Britpop statement of intent, I Should Coco. It's about being young, about riding on buses, about smoking cigarettes and about getting a little bit tipsy.
Harmless fun, even if it does involve being caught with a little bit of hash, as frontman Gaz Coombes memorably recounts on "Caught By The Fuzz". I Should Coco 20 years down the line sounds every inch an unforced classic. "I'd Like To Know" and "Caught By The Fuzz" clatter along with vintage punk cheer, but later Time and She's So Loose demonstrate a mellow capacity for reflection.
I Should Coco is so much more than kid's stuff; it's an almost too-perfect snapshot of adolescence.
The second studio (and arguably best) album by the Hayley Williams fronted rock band, released in June 2007. The album was produced by David Bendeth and written by band members Williams and Josh Farro, with Bendeth and fellow member Zac Farro co-writing on occasion.
Silent Alarm is the debut studio album by Bloc Party. Recorded in Copenhagen and London in mid-2004 with producer Paul Epworth, it was originally released in February 2005 on Wichita Recordings. There are thirteen tracks here spread over 50 minutes, but not once does the quality or pace dip below thrilling. Every track is bursting with ideas and inspired moments.
Unlike so many of their Gang of Four-worshipping peers, Bloc Party are that rare band that can actually transcend their influences and press clippings, crushing the fervor surrounding their arrival in a hail of splintered guitars and sumptuous despondency.
After releasing five albums in as many years, the singer is closer than ever to becoming the complete pop package Jay-Z envisioned when he signed her the same day she walked into Def Jam during his tenure as president. Though gifted with runway-ready looks, Rihanna has improved in other areas through sheer perseverance.
Her voice-- once fragile and shrill-- is now robust enough to take on songs like the delightfully Eurotrash pounder "Only Girl (In the World)" not only on record but at high profile awards-show performances. Her semi-scripted dance moves are sultry and spontaneous. She can be kinda funny (or at least genuinely excitable) in interviews.
She'll never be as boldly talented as Beyoncé or freakishly engaging as Gaga, but there's still charm to be found in her (relatively) everyday affability. She recently said Loud was the first album she wasn't nervous about releasing, which makes a lot of sense. She's worked hard to get to this point.
Bicep - the Belfast-born, London-based duo of Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson - release their self-titled debut album, a record that truly encapsulates their history and the distillation of their passion for music and club culture since their first release in 2010. The album Bicep is the perfect summation of the duo’s career to date - it’s a sonic tour of their history touching the cornerstones of underground club culture. Matt and Andy have pulled off the rarest of feats, to make a singularly unique electronic record founded on the blueprint of classic house, techno, electro and Italo disco, but flipped and morphed into a fresh design bearing the unique Bicep sonic signature. It’s a perfectly succinct album: loose, raw and energetic enough for the dancefloor, yet refined, artfully composed and contemplative enough for home listening. Displaying a theme of technical experimentalism and a deft melodic touch which runs throughout the entire record, it’s this openness and no-rules approach to music making which has allowed Bicep to establish a unique position all their own on an increasingly crowded global dance stage.
Fred again releases his latest album Actual Life 2 (February 2 - October 15 2021), featuring the acclaimed trio of singles “Billie (Your Loving Arms)”, “Hannah (The Sun)” and “Faisal (Envelops Me”) on Vinyl. Following on from his acclaimed debut album Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020) earlier in 2021, his new release sees him build on the unique diary-esque approach he applies to making music. As the title suggests, the new album offers an insight into an 8-month period, stitching together vocal clips and found sounds to create a deeply autobiographical record that documents an extremely difficult time of his life.
With his new body of work, we’re offered a snapshot of an artist dealing with the many complexities of grief - exploring how confiding in close friends and family have helped him heal wounds, but also acknowledging how that grief is indelibly etched into his subconscious.
Lump was formed in 2016 after singer-songwriter Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay of folktronica group Tunng met at a Neil Young concert. Both were mutual fans of each other's work and they promptly began making music together, culminating in a self-titled debut which was released in 2018 to strong critical acclaim.
