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7 Albums to Stream: Interpol, Jeezy, Blonde Redhead, and More

interpol, el pintor

Cure your end-of-the-summer blues by streaming new albums from Interpol, the recently arrested (again) Jeezy, Rubblebucket, and more.

1) Interpol, El Pintor. “The gloomy New York City indie-rock OGs are streaming their fifth album, El Pintor, on NPR right now ahead its September 9 release. It’s a fine return to form for the ‘Anywhere’ musicians, whose Joy Division-inspired post-punk has become more well-rounded and accessible with age, 12 full years after the release of their debut album, Turn On the Bright Lights. Interpol members Paul Banks, Sam Fogarino, and Daniel Kessler are all on hand for the 10-track disc, which includes moody single ‘Ancient Ways.” — SPIN (via NPR)

2) Jeezy, Seen It All. “Atlanta drug-rap motivational speaker Jeezy has now made five proper studio albums, as well as a neverending string of mixtapes. As far as the album-albums go, all of them are good, and a couple of them are great. Seen It All, Jeezy’s latest, is more in the ‘good’ column than in the ‘great’ one, but it finds Jeezy transitioning to vaguely-introspective elder-statesman status with surprising ease. The album includes contributions from people like Jay-Z, Future, Rick Ross, Lil Boosie, and the Game.” — Stereogum (via iTunes Radio)

3) Blonde Redhead, Barragán. “Plenty of bands are weirder than Blonde Redhead 21 years into its career, but you’ll have a tough time finding one that’s subtler about it. As a result, on both Barragán and its 2010 predecessor Penny Sparkle, the band makes music that’s both peaceful and endlessly adventurous — a rare combination worth emulating, both in music and in life.” (via NPR) 

4) Yob, Clearing the Path to Ascend. “Yob are the best doom band in the world today, and Clearing the Path to Ascend is the best doom album you’ll hear this year. It is, quite possibly, the best metal album you’ll hear this year, maybe the best album of the year, period.” — Stereogum (via Pitchfork)

5) Sinkane, Mean Love. “It’s an art, being believable in this way, and Gallab has it nailed: Whether riding the waves of a brisk African dance (‘New Name’) or working through a tightly wound Curtis Mayfield-conjuring funk vamp (‘Hold Tight’), he infuses the vocals with unusual intimacy, the desire to be felt first and understood later. Even if, as happens throughout Mean Love,the refrains start out simple and veer toward the blunt. At first, this seems like lowballing, but there’s wisdom in the approach: As on Sinkane’s previous album Mars, the backdrops are a thick stew, with elements of both East and West African music, James Brown, free jazz and shoegaze.” (via NPR)

6) Rubblebucket, Survival Sounds. “Rubblebucket could have remained trapped among the morass of Brooklyn dance-rock acts, but the five-piece has won notoriety by coalescing bright hooks with a complete disregard for genre convention. On such efforts as 2013’s Save Charlie EP, the band seamlessly incorporates funky horns, catchy synth loops, and tUnE-yArDs-esque percussion to craft their own brand of forward-thinking pop. Now, Rubblebucket have added a third full-length to their catalog: Survival Sounds, the group’s first LP for Communion Records, the label founded in part by Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett.” — SPIN (via The New York Times)

7) Zammuto, Anchor. “Anchor flits around a great deal, sounding different with more or less every song. Elements of chilly, elegiac electronic music turn to wild-eyed prog-rock, with a yen for propulsion underlying the most assured-sounding highlights (‘Need Some Sun,’ ‘IO’). The range could be a signal of a songwriter still trying to find his way, or it could be the mark of a boundless mind — or, even more intriguing, some engagingly strange mix of both.” (via NPR)