New Music Drops: April 2024

New Music Drops is a monthly series on T&E where we share some of our favorite new releases from this year in rock, pop, metal, punk, hip-hop, and global music. For the April installment, you'll find Portuguese electropop, mathematical footwork, fuzzed out synth noise, experimental hip-hop, and so much more. 

​Pop, Rock, Etc.

The Warning - Qué Más Quieres
Genre:  hard rock
New and original sounding rock music made by three sisters from Monterrey, Mexico!  -A. Iwasa
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Hurray For The Riff Raff - The Past is Still Alive
Genre:  indie folk
The best aspects of indie rock meet everything good about contemporary folk music.  -A. Iwasa
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Ricardo Dias Gomez & Domenico Lancelloti - S/T
Genre: Samba
A collaborative album from two revered names in the Brazilian music scene. This album is rooted in samba but with an experimental twist, introducing elements of drone and analog synthesizers. All the soft subtleties and hip-swaying rhythms you'd want and expect from a samba record, but with enough innovation to sound new and refreshing

Calantha - OS2
Genre: Ambient
The second release of Arizona’s ambient artist, Calantha, exploring ambient and spacious sounds “of ever-evolving guitar/synth/feedback loops mangled and fed through [his] guitar pedalboard while being recorded to tape.” Melancholic, nostalgic and organically textured, I could listen to this on an endless loop. Feels both massively expansive and minimal at the same time
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Drahla - angeltape
Genre: Art rock
Avant-garde art rock from Leeds with a post-punk edge. Tight percussion, monotone vocal delivery, ever changing time signatures, and naturally, a moderate dash of saxophone. 

Ana Lua Caiano - Vou Ficar Neste Quadrado
Genre: Electropop, Portuguese traditional
A favorite release of the past month, Ana Lua Caiano's music blends Portuguese music traditions with a rich mosaic of genre experimentation. Lots of layered vocals, synth-driven beats, traditional group singing, with heavy influences from electronic artists like Bjork and Laurie Anderson

Prefuse 73 - New Strategies for Modern Crime
Genre: Jazz
From hip hop/electronic producer Prefuse 73 comes a beautiful and cinematic instrumental jazz record, New Strategies for Modern Crime. Still very much rooted in hip hop production with the chopped up sampling. Very brooding and contemplative sort of mood on this.
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Frustation - Our Decisions
Genre: Post-punk
Not sure how I found this record or how it ended up in my Bandcamp wishlist, but I'm glad it did! French post-punk new wave/cold wave influence. If you ever wished Idles and Cold Cave had a French lovechild, well I guess you're in luck. Favorite song: "Catching your Eye"

La Femme - La Femme Ressort
Genre: French pop
This new EP from La Femme is actually a reissue of their 2011 debut EP, but with reimagined and slightly revised workings of those songs. Fabulous for those who already know and love these songs, and a great introduction for those who don’t know ‘em yet. An exciting mix of ye-ye, surf, and synthpop. 
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​Glass Beams - Mahal
Genre: Instrumental funk
A short EP from Melbourne-based trio creating instrumental chillwave music inspired by Indian ragas. Jazzy, groovy basslines carry through the psychedelic soundscapes. Nothing groundbreaking, but makes for a nice listen, especially if you need some background music (and I don’t say background music as an insult!) For fans of Khruangbin, Thievery Corporation

Electronic
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Jlin - Akoma
Genre:  Footwork
Without exaggeration, Jlin is one of my favorite living electronic producers. This album is rooted in footwork but touches and expands on a seemingly endless amount of other genres - like bass music, techno, and even classical. As always with Jlin releases, it’s super heady, precise, clean, and mathematically executed. Guests include Björk, Philip Glass, and Kronos Quartet.
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O-D-EX - Breaker
Genre: Synth noise
Debut LP from this weirdo garage synth punk group led by Mark Ryan of Marked Men. Edgy, scuzzed out analog noise with heavily distorted vocal effects. For fans of Suicide, Damaged Bug, and Optic Sink 
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Bolis Pupul - Letter to Yu
Genre: Electropop, experimental
Perhaps my favorite album of 2022 was Bolis Pupul & Charlotte Adigery’s Topical Dancer, so naturally I was thrilled to see that Bolis came out with a solo full length this year. This album is a dedication to his late mother, and upon reflecting on her memory, he began to delve more into his Chinese roots. In doing so, his pristine signature electropop sound has been infused with varied elements of Chinese traditional and contemporary elements - including field recordings of subway stations in Hong Kong, lyrics based on signature Cantonese dishes, etc. Lots of bass music, techno, deep house, and incredibly sophisticated sound design. I’m sure this will be an album of the year contender for me. Favorite songs: “Spicy Crab”, “Causeway Bae”
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Shygirl - Club Shy
Genre: Hyperpop
I’ve kind of slept on Shygirl because I’m not really a fan of her contemporaries nor am I really into hyperpop, but this album SLAPS. This album is a throwback to ‘90s underground club sounds but with an updated production style. And while I understand that description can go for a lot of electronica right now, this strays away from the ~mall vibes~ and has more of a deep house and happy hardcore rave influence. 
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V/A - Lost Paradise: Blissed Out Breakbeat Hardcore 1991​-​94
Genre: Breakbeat
Good LORDT how I needed this compilation in my life. As stated in the liner notes, “the collection manages to find a sweet spot where the influence of Warp’s Artificial Intelligence, back room chill out sonics and the nascent jungle boom meet with elements of Italian piano house and slower breakbeat cuts.” Literally all my favorite buzz words in one description - so if you’re into this scene, dig this. Only complaint is that it is way too short and could have been a bit more ambitious with the tracklist

Phelimuncasi & Metal Prayers - Izigqinamba
Genre: Gqom
Hardcore, heady, dark and noisy gqom from Durban, South Africa. All the qualities of gqom - blasted out synths, lots of repetition, unstable dancefloor rhythms - but unlike other releases I've heard in the past few years. Favorite track: "Ngicela siqoze", "Like a Corpse"

Punk and Metal
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Witch Vomit - Funeral Sanctum 
Genre: Death metal
Another stellar release from Witch Vomit on 20 Buck Spin, continuing on their ferocious style of brutal death metal and expanding on the dark melodicism of previous releases. Some serious shredding and riffage on this one. For fans of early Dissection, Autopsy, etc. 
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Mastodonna · Hail Satin

Mastodonna - Hail Satin
Genre: Metal
A beloved Tucson local gem right here. All Madonna covers done in the style of Mastodon. For a gimmick cover band, it’s actually so well done and honestly? It rips. The cherry on top is the incredible album artwork done by Alexsey Kashtelyan 
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Hulder - Verses In Oath
Genre: Black metal
Another amazing release from the one-woman black metal artist, Hulder. I’ve probably written about her a dozen times already for T&E, so if you know, you know. But I was very pleasantly surprised to hear the new direction of this album. Still very much rooted in the original black metal sound, but way more synthy and melodic than her previous releases. 

Spectral Voice - Sparagmos
Genre: Death doom
​An esoteric record drawing from the likes of doom, black, and death that will likely end up as a year end favorite. Moments of pure frenetic chaos to dark ambient chills, thematically revolving around the Dionysian rite of being torn limb from limb. Killer stuff from beginning to end 

Manasseh - Turnneling To Paradiso
Genre: Dark ambient
An atmospheric record that blends neo folk, dark ambient and dungeon synth for an album that would be a fantastic soundtrack to your next Dungeons and Dragons night. It's the chopped and screwed Gregorian chants that really do it for me. 
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Diabolic Oath - Oracular Hextations
Genre: Blackened death metal
Sophomore release from Portland's occultist Diabolic Oath finds a whole new mutation of the  "war metal" sound. Their approach of using only fretless instruments give them a rather technical edge to their deeply gutteral and bestial display of blackened death.  This RIPS!​

Mean Jeans - Blasted
Genre: Power pop
Just some damn feel good party punk. Fast, catchy songs about being covered in slime. For fans of The Ramones, Sick Thoughts, but with more of that kind of new-wave weirdo tinge to it 
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V/A - New Wave Donut 
Genre: New wave punk
A compilation from Oregon based microlabel, Wax Donut Records, featuring punk and metal bands from around the country covering and paying tribute to original '80s new wave music. Lots more scuzz and noise than the originals! Favorite songs include the cover of "Are Friends Electric?" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"

V/A - NEF100: Burn After Hearing
Genre: Various (punk and metal)
To celebrate 100 releases, Philly's Nefarious Industries released this compilation showcasing some of the incredible talent on their current roster. Features dissonant post-punk, math rock, thrash hxc crossover, d-beat, industrial, sludge metal, and beyond! 

Physique - Overcome by Pain
Genre: Dbeat
Well technically this did come out in late December 2023, but including it here since this is the first New Music Drops blog of the year! Super crusty, loud, overblown sound from Olympia’s Physique with hardcore elements inspired by the likes of Discharge
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Je est un Autre - Flatworm Mysticism
Genre: Dark ambient
An instrumental dark ambient/heavy drone album from Flatworm Mysticism, aka Dylan Desmond of Bell Witch. Technically this would be more of an electronic album than metal as it’s largely synth driven, but the atmosphere feels similar to Desmond’s other metal projects - dark, foreboding, and dreary. There’s a very textured recurring synth loop that sounds like an ocean wave that gets slower with time, it makes me feel like I’m swimming in the ocean at night and getting further and further away from shore. Heavily inspired by the likes of Tangerine Dream and William Basinski
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Dipygus - S/T
Genre:  Death metal.
Occasional thrash and hardcore licks keep it fun, along with some sinister sounding keyboard parts, but not like in a black metal way (which I don’t mean to imply I always dislike that genre, they just aren’t like it at all).  –A. Iwasa

Hip-Hop and R&B
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Cakes da Killa - Black Sheep
Genre: Hip house
Pure confidence in liquid house form. Cakes da Killa with the quick-wit, sensual and unabashedly queer lyrics flowing over slick club house music from producer Sam Katz. If you loved Cakes’ 2022 album Svengali, you’re guaranteed to love this album. Less experimental than the last album and more focused on the NY club sound with jazzy undertones.

Beans - ZWAARD
Genre: Experimental rap
Crazy clever and insanely fast flows on rapid fire electronic breakbeats. From the founder of the Antipop Consortium, this is an excellent display of abstract poetry put into sound. Probably my favorite rap album of the year so far.
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Erick the Architect - I’ve Never Been Here Before
Genre: Hip hop
The debut album from the primary producer and founding member of Flatbush Zombies. Showcasing diverse emotional and sonic range, this album explores themes of Black resilience, rooted in quintessential Brooklyn hip hop. Favorite song: “Ezekiel's Wheel ft. George Clinton”
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Ana Tijoux - Vida
Genre: Latin urbano
Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux coming back with her first full length album since 2024. As always, her music is politically charged with a heavy activist presence, but has way more of a pop influence than any of her previous records. It took me a second to adjust because I’m used to her more intense, in-your-face energy, but there’s a good deal of funk, ballads, etc. that's been growing on me with each listen  

Joy Bogat - Fabric of Dreams
Genre: Neo soul
Silky smooth R&B/indie soul from German singer Joy Bogat. There’s such an intimate storytelling approach to her songwriting that I absolutely love. This album is feminine, powerful, healing, and soft, overall just a fantastic release. For fans of Cleo Sol, Sault, Yaya Bey, Sudan Archives
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Pete & Bas - "The Gentlemen"
Genre: UK drill
You know whenever Pete & Bas drop a single, I'm a hundred percent here for it henny. Honestly they're just the best drill duo out there right now. Bas' low flow on here is so smooth it's untouchable!

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Selections from Parisa, except for where otherwise noted by writer A. Iwasa

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For global music recommendations and new releases - click the “Global” category on the right sidebar to tune into our very own Global Rhythm Radio show! A monthly two hour DJ set featuring contemporary and traditional tunes from around the globe. 

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