Don’t Miss New Albums From A$AP Rocky, Langhorne Slim, Madison Beer & More

Don’t Be Dumb is the long-awaited fourth album from rapper A$AP Rocky. The 17-track effort is A$AP Rocky’s first full-length studio album since 2018’s Testing. Among the guests appearing across Don’t Be Dumb are BossMan Dlow, Brent Faiyaz, Danny Elfman, Doechii, Gorillaz, Jessica Pratt, Jon Batiste, Slay Squad, Thundercat, Tyler, the Creator, Westside Gunn and Will.i.am. Producer contributions came from Greg Kurstin, Swedish House Mafia, Madlib, Metro Boomin, The Alchemist, Tyler, the Creator, Dean Blunt, Hit-Boy, Mike Dean, Clams Casino and Boi-1da, among others.

Singer/songwriter Langhorne Slim released his new album, The Dreamin’ Kind, through Dualtone Records. Recorded over the span of a year, the 12-song The Dreamin’ Kind was produced by Greta Van Fleet’s Sam F. Kiszka. After issuing his 2021 album Strawberry Mansion, Slim was enlisted to open for Greta Van Fleet at a concert in Connecticut. Once they were back in Nashville, Slim visited Kiszka at his home, which led to the beginning stages of writing songs together. The 12-track album sees them joined by Greta Van Fleet’s drummer, Daniel Wagner.

“It felt like I was blowing some old shit up so I could plant some new flowers,” said Slim. “Rock ‘n’ roll has always tickled the same place in my soul as great singer-songwriter music, and I wanted to explore those influences. When I’m at home, I’m usually playing acoustic guitar on the couch, and I don’t have much opportunity to plug in and rock out. Working with Sam and Danny gave me a chance to get loud.”

“I remember hearing Lost at Last, Volume 1 for the first time, and it absolutely resonated with me,” Kiszka revealed. “He has the conviction of 100 singers. He puts his entire body and soul into it. Rock ‘n’ roll isn’t a sound, necessarily. It’s an energy, and he’s got it.”

Singer-songwriter Madison Beer issued her third album, Locket, today through Epic Records/Sing It Loud. The follow-up to 2023’s Silence Between Songs, was written and co-produced by Beer, with additional production from One Love, LOSTBOY and Leroy Clampitt.

“After writing the album it feels like each song lives within this metaphorical locket for safe keeping,” Beer stated. “Each album feels like an era and once the albums are out in the world the chapter for me, usually with what I wrote about, is closed.”

Courtney Marie Andrews returns with a new album, Valentine, arriving via Loose Future/Thirty Tigers. The Phoenix-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter created Valentine at Valentine Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Andrews recorded direct to analog tape with co-producer Jerry Bernhardt. Andrews’ first LP since 2022’s Loose Future, was influenced by recent life experiences including, the “near-death of a loved one, the end of a major relationship, and the intensity of a new romance.”

“[Valentine is] a record in pursuit of love,” Andrews stated. “But love, it turns out, is a lot more than I gave it credit for.”

Experimental/ambient musicians Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore met in Paris to record their collaborative album, Tragic Magic, over the span of nine days at Philharmonie de Paris, where the duo utilized the extensive instrument collection of the Musée de la Musique. Working with co-producer Trevor Spencer, Barwick played vintage analog synthesizers such as the Roland JUPITER and Sequential Circuits PROPHET-5, while Latimore chose three harps exemplifying the instrument’s progression from 1728 to 1873. The seven-track album arriving today from the French label InFiné, presents the pair’s interpretations of “Rachel’s Song” by Vangelis and “Temple of the Winds” by Roger Eno.

“We wanted to honor the past while making music that we feel is a true expression of ourselves,” Barwick said. “People ask, how was Paris? I’m like, it was perfect. It was like everything just aligned.”

“We were so lucky to have access to this experience,” said Lattimore. “There was a lot of reverence, working with people with such warmth and enthusiasm, bringing these instruments into a modern context, literally taken off the shelves of the museum.”

Sleaford Mods released their new album, The Demise of Planet X, via Rough Trade Records. The duo of Andrew Fearn and Jason Williamson’s expansive release features appearances from Life Without Buildings’ Sue Tompkins (her first music work in years) and actress Gwendoline Christie (Wednesday, Severance, Game of Thrones) making her music debut. The album also includes collaborations with Aldous Harding, Liam Bailey, Snowy and Big Special.

“The Demise of Planet X represents a life lived under immense uncertainty, shaped by mass trauma,” stated Williamson. “When we wrote the last album, it was about stagnation, a country that felt like a lifeless corpse. Three years later, that corpse has been split open by war, genocide, and the lingering psychological fallout of COVID whilst social media has mutated into a grotesque, twisted form of digital engineering. It feels like we’re living among the ruins. A multi-layered abomination etched into our collective psyche.

“I don’t want to pat myself on the back while the rest of the world falls to shit, but we’re really happy with The Demise of Planet X. The music and ideas are fresh and it’s in your face, but it pays to put your glasses on to look at the ingredients.”