With so much good music being released all the time, it can be hard to determine what to listen to first. Every week, Pitchfork offers a run-down of significant new releases available on streaming services. This week’s batch includes new albums from U.S. Girls, Stephen Malkmus, Jhené Aiko, Brandy Clark, Riz Ahmed, Caroline Rose, and R.A.P. Ferreira. Subscribe to Pitchfork’s New Music Friday newsletter to get our recommendations in your inbox every week. (All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors. When you buy something through our affiliate links, however, Pitchfork may earn an affiliate commission.)
For the seventh U.S. Girls album, Meg Remy returned to three older songs to refresh them with new arrangements, which feature alongside a host of new material. She recorded Heavy Light live with a crew of 20 musicians. Her bandmates appear on spoken-word collages between tracks like “Overtime” and “4 American Dollars,” sharing the advice they’d give to their teenage selves and other memories.
Traditional Techniques is an acoustic-leaning solo record from Stephen Malkmus, following last year’s Groove Denied and the 2018 Jicks record Sparkle Hard. Check out Pitchfork’s track review of “Shadowbanned.”
For the 20 tracks on CHILOMBO, R&B singer Jhené Aiko found collaborators in Big Sean, John Legend, Nas, Future, H.E.R., and Miguel. She shared a handful of tracks ahead of the album’s release, including “P*$$Y FAIRY (OTW)”, “None of Your Concern,” “Happiness Over Everything (H.O.E.),” and the platinum “Triggered (freestyle).”
Your Life Is a Record is the third solo album from Brandy Clark, who’s penned songs for country stars like Kacey Musgraves, Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, and Jennifer Nettles. The singer-songwriter returns to themes of small-town living and recovering from heartbreak across the LP, with Randy Newman joining her on the song “Bigger Boat.”
According to British rapper and actor Riz Ahmed, The Long Goodbye is “a breakup album—but with your country.” The record, which includes last year’s “Mogambo,” comes with a short film directed by Aneil Karia.
Caroline Rose released three singles ahead of her new album Superstar: “Feel the Way I Want,” “Freak Like Me,” and “Do You Think We’ll Last Forever?” Each track probes her record’s themes of success and ego. “Do You Think We’ll Last Forever?,” Rose explained in a statement, “is one of these tracks that showcases the false bravado the [album’s main] character has, but also exposes a few more cracks in their veneer of self-confidence.”
Rory Ferreira has been releasing rap records for nearly a decade, under the names milo and Scallops Hotel. purple moonlight pages is his first full-length under his new moniker R.A.P. Ferreira. The 18-song release features contributions from frequent collaborators Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal.