Thundercat - It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder)

The album, produced by Flying Lotus and Thundercat, features musical contributions from Ty Dolla $ign, Childish Gambino, Lil B, Kamasi Washington, Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Louis Cole and Zack Fox. It Is What It Is follows his game-changing third album Drunk (2017). That record completed his transition from virtuoso bassist to bonafide star and cemented his reputation as a unique voice that transcends genre. 'This album is about love, loss, life and the ups and downs that come with that,' Bruner says. 'It's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but at different points in life you come across places that you don't necessarily understand' some things just aren't meant to be understood.'

Tops - I Feel Alive (Tops)

Embarking on their fourth LP, TOPS have found their calling with their most crisp album to date. Packed with glistening melodies, squeaky clean vintage pop and yearning lyrics, the Montreal quartet are not holding back. 'Direct Sunlight' is a shimmering opener making the most of Jane Penney's warm vocals and their throwback sound. Title track 'I Feel Alive' is pure sophisti-pop, blending charming retro textures with soft-rock grooves to a build a short but sweet follow up. 'I Feel Alive' is bursting with soaring pop melodies, 80s retro nostalgia and undeniably catchy guitar hooks.

Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind (Warp)

Safe in the Hands of Love marked the vanguard arrival of Yves Tumor. Unclassified and unannounced, the release received widespread acclaim and cemented itself as a landmark in the hallowed Warp catalog. The experimentalist voiced a new generation, creating a surreal pop stratosphere for outsiders and the masses alike. Heaven To A Tortured Mind is the next step in that searing trajectory. A mindfully crafted studio album, gracefully blending genre into alternative bliss. Effortless and inspired, Heaven To A Tortured Mind is an album for lovers, losers and the unconcerned.

M Ward - Migration Stories (Anti)

"It was in winter 18/19 - I flew to Montreal to meet with Tim Kingsbury, Richard Reed Parry, Craig Silvey and Teddy Impakt at Le Studio Du Arcade Fire. It was a fine time with a dream team in a city I love. Winter in beautiful Quebec. I had a bunch of demos that were inspired by migration stories I had heard from friends or read in newspapers while on tour. I remember being struck by the similarities of the stories I heard from both continents and how really only the names of the powerful and the powerless had changed. Some time went by, the stories wove together and I remember them now closer to characters in a dream of how people could treat each other than any kind of front-page news realism." - M. Ward

Also New This Week

August Burns Red - Guardians (Fearless)
Miles Davis - Birth of Cool DVD (Eagle Vision)
Marvin Gaye - More Trouble [Trouble Man Sessions] (Motown)
Sam Hunt - Southside (MCA)
Logan Ledger - s/t (Rounder)
Joni Mitchell - Shine LP (Craft)
San Fermin - Cormorant I & II (Masterworks)
Nina Simone - Fodder On My Wings (Verve)
Testament - Titans of Creation (Nuclear Blast)
Tetema [Mike Patton] - Necroscape (Ipecac)
Thievery Corporation - Symphonik (ESL)
Whitmer Thomas - Songs From The Golden One (Hardly Art)
Worriers - You or Someone You Know (6131)