Don’t Miss New Albums Out Today From Khruangbin, The Black Keys, Vampire Weekend & Many Others
15 new releases make up the stacked lineup of records out today, Friday, April 5.
By Team JamBase Apr 5, 2024 • 6:30 am PDT
Each week Release Day Picks profiles new LPs and EPs Team JamBase will be checking out on release day Friday. This week we highlight new albums by Khruangbin, The Black Keys, Vampire Weekend, Katie Pruitt, Phosphorescent, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams, Circles Around The Sun & Mikaela Davis, Bartees Strange, Maggie Rose, Sinkane, Bryson Tiller, Mount Kimbie, X Ambassadors, Marcus King and Old 97’s. Read on for more insight into the records we have ready to spin.
Khruangbin – A La Sala
Khruangbin return with their first studio album in four years, A La Sala, which was released today via Dead Oceans/Night Time Stories Ltd. The Texas-based trio consisting of bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson Jr. and guitarist Mark “Marko” Speer referred to A La Sala (“To the Room” in Spanish) as the “the measured morning after” follow-up to their last studio album, 2020’s Mordechai. The 12-song A La Sala was recorded with longtime engineer Steve Christensen and includes minimal overdubs.
“‘A La Sala,’ I used to scream it around my house when I was a little girl, to get everybody in the living room; to get my family together,” said Lee Ochoa. “That’s kind of what recording the new album felt like. Emotionally there was a desire to get back to square-one between the three of us, to where we came from–in sonics and in feeling. Let’s get back there.”
“I read something long ago, attributed to Miles Davis,” stated Speer. “He said, ‘When they play fast, you play slow. When they play slow, you play fast.’ And it’s definitely how I’ve approached looking at music: Don’t follow the trends. And if the trend is this, then do something else.”
“All the little moments you capture,” Johnson added. “You don’t see how impactful they are until you hear what eventually comes of them. A lot of those scraps end up being the thing — and you don’t realize it until it’s ‘The Thing.’”
The Black Keys – Ohio Players
The Black Keys released their 12th studio album, Ohio Players, today through Nonesuch Records. The Akron, Ohio natives – guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney – titled their new album after the funk band from Dayton, Ohio. The duo’s experience DJing dance parties around the globe during the time they were recording the follow-up to 2022’s Dropout Boogie, also informed the new album. Auerbach and Carney spun 45s from their personal record collections. The new album features several collaborations, with contributions from Beck, Dan the Automator, Noel Gallagher and Greg Kurstin, among others.
“We had this epiphany: ‘We can call our friends to help us make music,’” Carney stated. It’s funny because we both write songs with other people — Dan all the time [as a solo artist and producer], me when I’m producing a record. That’s what we do. What we wanted to accomplish with this record was make something that was fun. And something that most bands 20 years into their career don’t make, which is an approachable, fun record that is also cool.”
Auerbach further elaborated on the recording process.
“No matter who we work with, it never feels like we’re sacrificing who we are. It only feels like it adds some special flavor. We just expanded that palette with people we wanted to work with. We were there to support them and their ideas, to do whatever we could to see that moment flourish. But when it came time to finish the album, it was just Pat and me. We’d never worked harder to make a record. It’s never taken us this long to make an album. We took our time and did it right.”
Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us
https://vampireweekend.bandcamp.com/album/only-god-was-above-usVampire Weekend’s new album, Only God Was Above Us, was released today through Columbia Records. The new album was inspired by 20th Century New York City, but the band’s Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio and Chris Tomson recorded the album in cities all over the world including Manhattan, Los Angeles, Tokyo and London. Koenig co-produced the record with longtime collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid. Koenig wrote most of the lyrics for Only God Was Above Us in 2019 and 2020. The title for Only God Was Above Us comes directly from the album artwork, comprised of photos by Steven Siegel from a New Jersey subway graveyard. In the foreground of a toppled subway car, a man reads the May 1, 1988 edition of the New York Daily News with the headline, “Only God Was Above Us,” quoting a survivor of the terrifying explosion that tore the roof off Aloha Airlines flight 243. A description of the new album, the follow-up to 2019’s The Father Of The Bride, stated:
“The 10-track magnum opus is the product of five years spent refining, reworking and gradually shaping those lyrical and melodic structures to take Vampire Weekend to a new creative peak. The album is direct yet complex, showing the band at once at its grittiest, and also at its most beautiful and melodic.”
Katie Pruitt – Mantras
Nashville-based musician Katie Pruitt issued a new album, Mantras, through Rounder Records. The singer-songwriter recorded the 11-track effort at The Shed in Nashville with producers Jake Finch and Collin Pastore. Mantras finds Katie Pruitt accompanied by Finch and Pastore as well as Maggie Chaffee (strings), Dave Cohen (keys), Anthony Da Costa (guitar), Kris Donegan (guitar), Laura Epling (strings), Camille Faulkner (strings), Will Honaker (guitar, keys), Taylor Ivey (bass), Kevin McGowan (drums) and Johnny Williamson (guitar). Pruitt stated the following about her experience making Mantras:
“Mantras is a full circle journey from self-sabotage to self-compassion. Writing this record forced me to stop seeking external validation from the rest of the world and turn my focus inward. After hitting a low point that caused me to seek extensive therapy, I realized I had a problem with negative self-talk. So I started writing down phrases of encouragement and repeating mantras in the mirror. Through this practice I learned how to be a kinder friend to myself and ultimately a kinder friend to others. When life gets heavy and the future feel overwhelmingly out of our control, we can learn to turn inwards and build a home inside of ourselves.”
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Phosphorescent – Revelator
Phosphorescent (Matthew Houck) returned with a new studio album album entitled Revelator, which is available now via Verve Records. Self-produced by Houck at his Nashville studio, Revelator marks the first Phosphorescent studio LP since 2018’s C’est La Vie and is also the first released by Verve. The nine-song effort features contributions from Jo Schornikow, Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs) and Jim White (Dirty Three). Singer-songwriter and pianist Jo Schornikow is Matthew’s partner and wrote “The World Is Ending” for the album, which is the first Phosphorescent track penned by someone other than Houck. Houck stated the following about the song “Revelator” and the major role the title track played in the creation of the album:
This is the song that made me realize I was writing an album.
There’s always one that does that
Until then I’m sort of floundering around with a bunch of song bits in various stages
With no clear picture of what it is I’m doingOnce the song “Revelator” came to be
I could see what the album could beI truly struggled with naming the album Revelator
As I feel like it probably has certain biblical and genre connotations
That don’t apply to this album or to Phosphorescent at allBut in the end I know what I mean by it
And the album really couldn’t be called anything else
And so that’s why this is the title trackI think it might be the best song I’ve ever written
Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams – All This Time
Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams released their fourth studio album, All This Time, today through Royal Potato Family. Campbell produced the album with contributions from Grammy-winner Justin Guip (Levon Helm, David Bromberg) who engineered and mixed the album and also added percussion. Little Feat keyboardist Bill Payne contributed organ and piano while new band member Brandon Morrison held down the bass. All This Time also includes a posthumous drum performance by The Band’s Levon Helm, recorded shortly before he passed away in April 2012. Williams and Campbell were members of the Levon Helm Band and Campbell acted as music director for Levon’s legendary Midnight Rambles in Woodstock, New York. All This Time arrives as Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams celebrate 40 years of marriage. The record reflects on both the good times and bad that come with any long term relationship, as Williams explained.
“The biscuit making in telling the collective story is in being honest about our own story, pain and all,” Williams said. “This is what we do, and why we do it. When we settled on the album title, suddenly I saw in this circle of songs, that Larry had unwittingly written the ‘for better or worse’ tale of a long relationship — All This Time, complete with the beauty and tragedy of how quickly it goes.”
Circles Around The Sun & Mikaela Davis – After Sunrise
Circles Around The Sun and harpist Mikaela Davis issued a collaborative four-song EP, After Sunrise, via Kill Rock Stars. After Sunrise is named after the title track, a cover of “After Sunrise” by legendary Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes, which features “the first appearance of vocals on a Circles Around The Sun recording” (provided by Davis). Almost Sunrise was recorded, mixed and produced by Dan Horne who also played bass alongside CATS guitarist John Lee Shannon, keyboardist Adam MacDougall, drummer Mark Levy. Percussionist Andres Renteria also contributed to the EP. The tracklist also contains two new originals, “Gloaming Way” and “Moonbow,” as well as a live recording of “Language.” A note accompanying the EP stated:
Once the endless night of the discotheque finally gives way to morning light, you may find yourself seaside as the sun peeks over the horizon. As the party rolls through the dawn and into the day, this is the soundtrack.
This is After Sunrise. If it’s nice, play it twice.
Bartees Strange – Magic Boy
Culled from recordings made prior to his first official releases, Magic Boy presents singer-songwriter Bartees Strange‘s early compositional efforts. Eight of the album’s 10 tracks have never been issued — the other two were digital-only B-sides to his second EP. For the next year, only a few of the tracks on Magic Boy will be available on streaming platforms or other DSPs. The full album is available to download digitally and in vinyl format via Bandcamp. Guests on the record include Project Diem on the vinyl-only track “You’re Here” and Lizzie No on the vinyl-exclusive “Get Over It.”
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Maggie Rose – No One Gets Out Alive
No One Gets Out Alive is Nashville-based singer-songwriter Maggie Rose’s new full-length album, released today on Big Loud Records. Rose once again worked with producer Ben Tanner, who mixed No One Gets Out Alive with engineer Bobby Holland. Conductor Don Hart, who has worked with Phish and many others, provided string arrangements heard across the record. Rose assembled an impressive roster of backing musicians, recording the album with guitarist Sadler Vaden and drummer Chad Gamble of Jason Isbell’s The 400 Unit, bassist Zac Cockrell from Alabama Shakes and veteran keyboardist Peter Levin, as well members of Rose’s band, keyboardist Kaitlyn Connor and guitarist Kyle Lewis. The album also features John Paul White (formerly of The Civil Wars) adding vocals to “Mad Love.” Rose’s co-writers include Natalie Hemby, Sunny Sweeney, Jordan Leigh Meredith and K.S. Rhoad. Rose stated the following about the follow-up to 2021’s Have A Seat:
“‘No One Gets Out Alive’ as a title sounds ominous on its own, but the song isn’t hopeless at all. So many events have reminded me that time isn’t guaranteed, and that I’m right where I need to be. I want people to hear the urgency in the song and stop dwelling on what they’re missing out on- the present is all you have, so make the most of it.”
Sinkane – We Belong
We Belong, is the eighth album by Sinkane, a band led by multi-instrumentalist and Sudan native Ahmed Gallab. “I made this album as my love letter to Black music,” Gallab said of the 10-song effort released today through City Slang. Each song pays homage to a different era of the Black musical experience. Gallab co-wrote many of the lyrics with Amanda Khiri and recruited several notable New York City-based musicians, such as noted soul singer Bilal, vocalists Ifedayo Gatling of the Harlem Gospel Travelers, Tru Osbourne and STOUT, jazz trumpeter Kenyatta Beasley and the late saxophonist Casey Benjamin. Speaking about the process of bringing We Belong to life, Gallab stated:
“Having all these people at my disposal [meant] I could actually be a producer. I could zoom out a little bit and see what serves the song best. How can I make this better? Having a community around me really just allowed this to turn into something bigger than I could have ever imagined. Collaborating doesn’t mean you’re losing a part of you, you’re only showcasing more of a very beautiful part of you.And once I was able to understand how to move away from that it allowed this process to work a lot easier, and it allowed me to really understand myself.
“I think We Belong ultimately turned into, ‘This is about us, this is about all of us.’ And we all feel the same thing about how the world responds to us, and how we feel like second class citizens, and how a lot of people try to tell us all of the time that we don’t belong, in one way, shape, or form. In making this album, I realized very quickly that I got a lot of freedom in not making it about myself. I realized I’m more than just me, there’s all of us, all of us together. It’s much more about community and much more about connecting with other people. But maybe, that’s how I’ve kind of come to find myself.”
Bryson Tiller – Bryson Tiller
Bryson Tiller is the fourth album released by vocalist Bryson Tiller, available today through TrapSoul/RCA Records. The eponymous record is Tiller’s first full length release since 2020’s Anniversary. The new 19-track album features the singer joined by fellow vocalists Victoria Monét and Clara La San. According to press materials accompanying Bryson Tiller, the self-titled album:
“[P]romises to be a personal narrative that weaves together Tiller’s signature blend of trap and soulful R&B with fresh rap and pop elements. This project not only encapsulates Tiller’s journey and evolution as an artist but also sets a new standard for authenticity and emotional depth in his work.”
Mount Kimbie – The Sunset Violent
Warp Records today released Mount Kimbie’s new album,
“Well, they’re just part of the band so we wanted to make sure that other people know they’re part of the band,” said Maker. “But unlike on previous albums, they were hands-on in actually making the record rather than coming in after it had been finished They really contributed to the development of the ideas that Kai and I had made early on. Like Andrea, Kai, and I all got in together to work on the vocals. Mark came in and had ideas with percussion and various things. They’re both just kind of endlessly enthusiastic and brilliant musicians so it’s great to have them bring that energy into the studio and that really helped to shape the record really. Plus, having everything green-lit by people who you care about and respect is really important and the process of making music with others is something that we’ve become increasingly excited by. It’s great to just get out of your own head a bit and to see it from the perspective of other people around you whom you trust.”
“Ye, they’re a big part of the sound of what we’ve been doing for the past few years, like since the last record really, said Campos. “There are other acts, particularly in electronic music, that write an album and then employ session musicians to bring that to life on stage. After a period that we have not been on the road, they would be assessing who would come in and do that job and we’ve never had a discussion about who would play with us in the band; it’s always going to be Mark and Andrea! They are as fundamental as me and Dom when it comes to the live stuff and that’s what informed a lot of our new music. Everyone has different roles, and people come and go at different times, and me and Dom are more central at all times, but Mark and Andrea are just a non-negotiable in terms of their presence.”
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X Ambassadors – Townie
The fourth X Ambassadors album, Townie, is out now on Virgin Music Group. Inspired by Ithaca, New York, the hometown of co-founding siblings Sam Nelson Harris and Casey Harris, the album is said to craft “an intricate portrait of their hometown’s most mundane aspects and the community that shaped them” across “12 deeply personal tracks.” Recorded with third band member Adam Levin, Sam Nelson Harris described the project:
“A gas station glows in the night, two miles from the Tompkins County line. It cuts through the bleak, winter night like a grotesque, twenty-first century lighthouse. To the east— the college town of Ithaca, New York. To the west, everything else. The air is cold and unforgiving. The landscape every shade of grey and brown on the color-wheel. A couple of teenagers loiter in the parking lot, plotting their escape. Most of them know they won’t ever leave this town, so tonight their escape is a temporary one. Rollies and half-drank liters of Mountain Dew. Grapefruit blunts and chapped lips. Their baggy clothes full of restlessness and longing. This is Townie.”
Marcus King – Mood Swings
Guitarist Marcus King put out new Rick Rubin-produced solo album entitled Mood Swings via American/Republic Records. Rubin initially reached out to King about the pair working together. Rubin cold-called the South Carolina native after attending one of his shows and King quickly accepted the invite to hit the studio with one of his heroes. Work on the 11-track LP began in 2020 at Rubin’s Shangri-La facility in Malibu, California. The bulk of Mood Swings was recorded in 2022 during secret sessions held at Shangri-La and in Italy. The music on Mood Swings was informed by a particularly bleak period in King’s life during which he was suffering from mental health issues, drinking and substance abuse. Marcus had hit rock bottom while touring North America and considered drinking enough to kill himself.
“I had an escape route already decided for myself and a backup if that didn’t work,” King revealed of the situation happening around the same time he entered Dan Auerbach‘s studio to record his previous album, 2022’s Young Blood. King credits Rick Rubin for giving him advice that led to a change in perspective. “He helped me view mental health as a writing partner in a way,” explained King. “I’ve learned it can give me that creative spark.”
“I love the way listening to this album makes me feel,” Rubin explained. “I can’t think of another project quite like this one. Marcus’s playing and singing are from another planet.”
Old 97’s – American Primitive
Veteran Texas rockers Old 97’s continue their 30th anniversary celebration with a new album, American Primitive, out now on ATO Records. The alt-country stalwarts lifted the title for American Primitive from Stephen King’s 2008 novel, Duma Key. The legendary writer took to X (formerly Twitter) to tout the album ahead of its announcement. The artwork was created by bassist Murry Hammond’s 17-year-old son, Tex Hammond, who at age 14 was the youngest artist to exhibit at the prestigious LA Art Show. Old 97’s — Hammond, frontman/guitarist Rhett Miller, guitarist Ken Bethea and drummer Philip Peeples — cut American Primitive at producer Tucker Martine’s Flora Studio in Portland, Oregon. The single, “Where The Road Goes,” features R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. Regarding the album, Miller stated:
“This was the first record we’ve ever done with zero pre-production. It’s us working completely on instinct, leaning on 30 years of playing together to come up with something on the fly rather than overthinking any of our choices.
“Over the last year of touring in celebration of our 30th anniversary, it’s been impossible not to feel some emotion welling up at the idea that my bandmates and I have been in this close brotherhood for so long. I think a lot of that longevity has to do with the fact that we’re really the same band we were back then. We’ve experimented with pushing in different directions, and we’ve had experiences outside the band where we’ve learned new things, but the way we approach this music has fundamentally remained the same. Our heart is still in the exact same place.”
