The sheer volume of new music releases this week is a sign that we’re into the busiest part of the year, with the latest batch including new offerings from Katy Perry, Keith Urban, Future, the Zac Brown Band, A$AP Rocky, Seether, Herb Alpert’s 50th album and a massive archival set from Bob Dylan…
Album of the Week — Katy Perry, “143″ (Capitol): Stepping out of her “American Idol” judge’s chair, newly minted MTV Video Vanguard designee Perry returns to the pop world with her seventh studio album and first in four years. Her guests this time out include rappers 21 Savage, JID and Doechii as well as pop mate Kim Petras, while Perry’s choice to work with Dr. Luke (Lukas Gottwald) was criticized in some corners — particularly by Kesha, who’s accused the producer of sexual harassment.
Herb Alpert, “50″ (Herb Alpert Presents): As the title indicates this is the trumpet legend’s 50th studio album, featuring vocals from his wife Lani Hall and a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”
A$AP Rocky, “Don’t Be Dumb” (A$AP Worldwide/RCA): The rapper is back with his first album in six years, helped by J Cole, Jessica Pratt and others and making headlines with a single titled “Tailor Swif.”
Manu Chao, “Viva Tu” (Because Music): The French-born World Music artists delivers his first new album in six years, joined on songs by Willie Nelson, Laeti and more.
Bob Dylan and The Band, “The 1974 Live Recordings” (Columbia/Legacy): Dylan’s landmark 1974 tour with The Band that yielded the “Before the Flood” album is documented in massive fashion here — 27 discs with 417 previously unreleased performances (from 431 total), which makes for a more than simple twist of fate.
Nelly Furtado, “7″ (Republic): The Canadian singer is still like a bird but taking a different flight path on her first album in seven years, boosted by guests such as Tove Lo, SG Lewis and Bomba Estereo.
Future, “Mixtape Pluto” (Freebrandz/Epic): The Atlanta rapper’s been busy this year; this 17-track collection follows two releases (“We Don’t Trust You” and “We Still Don’t Trust You”) with producer Metro Boomin’.
Michael Schenker, “My Years with UFO: 50th Anniversary Celebration” (earMUSIC): The German guitarist parties his axe off on this tribute set, with a guest list that features Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose and Slash, Dee Snider, Deep Purple’s Roger Glover, Saxon’s Biff Byford and more.
Seether, “The Surfaces Seems So Far” (Fantasy): The heavy rock troupe’s ninth album is the third in a row produced by frontman Shaun Morgan. Its first single “Judas Mind” is 10th — and fourth consecutive — No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.
Keith Urban, “High” (Capitol Nashville): The Australian-born country star’s 12th album includes, appropriately, a dozen tracks, including an ode to “Chuck Taylors” and a duet with Lainey Wilson on the single “Go Home W U.”
Various Artists, “Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin” (Glassnote): The New York rocker, still recovering from a 2023 spinal stroke, is saluted by friends and admirers such as Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong, Counting Crows, the late Wayne Kramer, Lucinda Williams and more. Proceeds go to Malin’s own Sweet Relief artist fun.
Zac Brown Band, “No Wake Zone” (Home Grown Music/Warner Music Nashville): Four years after its last full album, Brown and company offer five new tracks on this EP, including collaboration with singer-songwriter Mac McAnally of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band on “Pirates & Parrots.”
Album Title of the Week: Erland Cooper, “Carve the Runes Then Be Content with Silence” (Mercury KX/Decca)
More albums for Sept. 20…
All Hope Remains, “Find My Way” (Pee/Disconnect Disconnect/Double Helix)
Alemeda, “Fk It” (Warner)
Kassi Ashton, “Made From the Dirt” (MCA Nashville/Interscope)
Jack Barksdale, “Out of Order” (self-released)
James Bay, “Changes All the Timie” (Mercury/Republic)
The Black Pacific, “Here Comes Our Wave” (Dine Alone)
Brant Bjork Trio, “Once Upon a Time in the Desert” (Duma)
Blackstarkids, “Saturn Dayz” (Dirty Hit)
Blossoms, “Gary (Covers Edition)” (Dead Oceans)
Bright Eyes, “Five Dice, All Threes” (Dead Oceans)
Jake Bugg, “A Modern Day Distraction” (RCA)
George Burton, “White Noise” (self-released)
The Calamatix, “The Calamatix” (Hellcat/Epitaph)
Victoria Canal, “Slowly It Dawns” (Elektra/Parlophone)
Julian Casablancas + The Voidz, “Like All Before You” (Cult)
Childlike CiCi, “It’s Time” (Capitol Christian Music Group)
Claustrofobia, “Unleeched” (M Theory Audio)
Cliffdiver, “Birdwatching” (SideOneDummy)
CoffinRiot, “Dreams of the Disturbed” (Maggot Stomp)
Cokus, “An Hour of Lies” (Outlaws of the Sun)
Neil Cowley Trio, “Surviving the Dream” (Fidlar)
Daffo, “Pest/Crisis Kit” (Concord)
The Damned, “AD 2022 — Live in Manchester” (earMUSIC)
Thomas Day, “Angel Boy” (Arista)
Dilemma, “The Purpose Paradox” (Buttler)
Dive Time, “Dive Time” (Lauren)
The D.O.O.D., “Dissonance” (Chaos Music/SelfMadeRecords)
Jerry Douglas, “The Set” (Nolivian)
Dreamless Veil, “Every Limb of the Flood” (Relapse)
Dungeon Crawl, “Maze Controller” (Carbonized)
EchoVerse, “Whispers Between Worlds” (self-released)
Eclipse, “Megalomanium II” (Frontiers)
Nogo Erez, “The Vandalist” (Neon Gold/Atlantic)
Fidlar, “Surviving the Dream” (self-released)
Steve Forbert, “Daylight Savings Time” (Blue Rose Music)
Alexis Ffrench, “Classical Soul Vol. 1″ (Sony Classical)
Forest Claudette, “Jupiter & Stone Between “(Warner)
Nubya Garcia, “Odyssey” (Concord Jazz)
Sophie Gault, “Baltic Street Hotel” (Strong Place Records)
Mondy Gledhill, “The Phone Booth Sessions Vol. 1″ (self-released)
Golden Feather, “Golden Feather” (Hide Inside)
Gong, “Unending Ascending” (KScope)
Ian Gothe and Fernando Perdomo, “Never Let Go: A Tribute to Camel” (Think Like a Key Music)
Groza, “Nadir” (AOP)
Tord Gustavsen, “Seeing” (ECM)
Dave Guy, “Ruby” (Big Crown)
JP Harris, “JP Harris is a Trash Fire” (Bloodshot)
Christian Hayes, “”Last I Love You” (Capitol)
Herakleoion, “Necroverse” (self-released)
Hassan I Sabbath, “Untitled” (Iodine)
Hippo Campus, “Flood” (Psychic Hotline)
Homerik, “The Circle of Dead Children” (Metal Mastermind)
Honeyglaze, “Real Deal” (Fat Possum)
Inji, “We Good” (AWAL)
IST IST, “Light a Bigger Fire” (Kind Violence Records)
Joan As Police Woman, “Lemons, Limes, and Orchids” ([PIAS] America)
Jack Jones, “Jack Jones” (Strap Originals)
Paige King Johnson, “The Barn Sessions”(self-released)
Joy (Anonymous), “Joyous People (South East Corner)” (Astralwerks)
Kaeto, “Intro” (Republic)
Kingdom of Giants, “Bleeding Star” (SharpTone)
Kublai Khan TX, “Exhibition of Prowess” (Rise)
Lesoir, “Push Back the Horizon” (V2)
Lice, “Third Time at the Beach” (AD 93)
Lil Tecca, “Plan A” (Galactic/Republic)
Louis The Chiild, “The Sun Comes Up” (Interscope)
Louse, “Passions Like Tar…” (Feel It)
Ibrahim Maalouf, “Trumpets of Michel-Ange” (Miser Ibe)
Max McNown, “Willfully Blind” (Fugitive Recordings/The Orchard)
Meet Me @ the Altar, “Live at the Forum” (Fueled By Ramen)
Don Merckle, “Same Devil Same Skin” (self-released)
Midland, “Barely Blue” (Big Machine)
Moon Kissed, “I’ll See You in New York” (Final Girl)
Thurston Moore, “Flow Critical Lucidity” (Daydream Library Series)
Mork, “SYV” (Peaceville)
Mortimer, “From Within” (Easy Star)
Neon Trees, “Sink Your Teeth” (Round Hill)
Ed Neumeister, “Covers” (MeisteroMusic)
Nightwish, “Yesterwynde” (Nuclear Blast)
No Guidance, “Late to the Party” (Thousand Islands)
Nonpareils, “Rhetoric & Terror” (Mute)
Susan O’Neill, “Now In a Minute” (Star House Collective)
Orion Sun, “Orion” (Mom+Pop Music)
otay:onii, “True Faith Ain’t Blind” (No Gold)
Pale Waves, “Smitten” (Dirty Hit)
Andy Peake, “Pocket Change” (Biglittle)
Pearl & the Oysters, “Planet Pearl” (Stones Throw)
Katy J Pearson, “Someday, Now” (Heavenly/[PIAS])
Kate Pierson, “Radios & Rainbows” (Songvest Records)
Chance Pena, Ever-Shifting, Continual Blossoming (ONErpm)
Photay, “Windswept” (Mexican Summer)
Sammy Rae & Friends, “Something For Everybody” (Nettwerk)
Rogers & Butler, “Studio 3″ (Think Like a Key Music)
Chase Rice, “Go Down Singin’” (Dack Janiels/Firebird)
Calvin Richardson, “Five Years Later” (SoNo Recording Group)
Randy Lee Riviera, “Concrete Blues” (Wilderness)
The Rubens, “Soda” (Ivy League/Mushroom)
RVSHVD, “It’s Rashad” (Sumerian)
Anne Sajdera, “It’s Here” (Bijuri)
Molly Santana, “Masonic Musik” (Interscope Capitol)
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, “Dirt on My Diamonds, Volume 2″ (Mascot/Provogue)
Carolyn Shulman, “Heart on a Wire” (self-released)
JD Simo & Luther Dickinson, “Do the Rump!” (40 Below)
Skid Row, “Live in London” (earMUSIC)
Steve Slagg, “I Don’t Want to Get Adjusted to This World” (self-released)
Starcleaner Reunion, “Cafe Life” (self-released)
SteelCity, “Reverence” (Frontiers)
Sunset Rubdown, “Always Happy to Explode” (Pronounced Kroog/Secretly)
Tasha, “All This and So Much More” (Bayonet)
Mitchell Tenpenny, “The Third” (Riser House Entertainment/Sony Music Nashville)
Lea Thomas, “Cosmos Forever” (Triple Dolphin)
Torus, “Torus” (MNRK/Inside Job)
Unto Others, “Never, Neverland” (Century Media)
Chucho Valdes, “Cuba & Beyond” (self-released)
Vended, “Vended” (self-released)
Void of Vision, “What I’ll Leave Behind” (UNFD)
The Waeve, “City Lights” (Transgressive)
Tom Walker, “I Am” (Relentless/Epic)
Charlotte Wessels, “The Obsession” (Napalm)
The White Buffalo, “A Freight Train Through the Night” (self-released)
Drake White, “Low Country High Road” (self-released)
Why Bonnie, “Wish on the Bone” (Fire Talk)
JJ Wilde, “Vices” (Black Box Recordings)
Wings Denied, “Just the Basics” (self-released)
Jamie xx, “In Waves” (Young) first in nine years
Alice Zawadzki, Fred Thomas, MishaMullov-Abbado, “Za Gorami” (ECM)
From The Vaults:
Gregg Allman, “Uncle Sam’s” (Sawrite)
Phil Alvin, “County Fair 2000″ (Liberation Hall)
Jackson Browne, For Everyman” (Inside Recordings/Rhino)
Cher, “Forever” (Warner)
Phil Collins, “Both Sides (All the Sides)” (Rhino/Atlantic)
Bob Dylan, “The 1974 Live Recordings” (Columbia/Legacy)
Curved Air, “The Rarities Series” (Spirit of Unicorn/Cherry Red)
Double Exposure, “My Love is Free: The Salsoul Recordings (1976-1979)” (SoulMusic/The Second Disc/Cherry Red)
Fleetwood Mac, “Mirage Tour ‘82″ (Rhino/Warner)
Galaxie 500, “Uncollected Noise New York ‘88-’90″ (Silver Current/ 20/20/20)
Grateful Dead, “Friend of the Devils: April 1978″ (Dead.net) and “Duke ‘78″ (Rhino)
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, “Chain of Light” (Real World)
Brenda Lee, “Greatest Hits” (UMe)
The Lljadu Sisters, “Horizon Unlimited” (Numero Group)
Johnny Marr + the Healers, “Boomblang (Deluxe Edition)” (BMG)
Midnight Star, “The Definitive Collection” (Robinsongs/Cherry Red)
Karen O and Danger Mouse, “Lux Prima” (BMG)
Sam Phillips, “A Boot and a Shoe (20th Anniversary Edition)” (Omnivore)
Rainbow, “Live in Munich 1977″ (Mercury Studios)
Solitary Experiments, “The 30th Anniversary Compilation” (Out of Line Music)
Soraia, “Shed the Skin” (Wicked Cool)
Various Artists, “Synthesizing the Silk Roads…” (Ostinato)
Soundtracks:
“The 4:30 Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (Sparks & Shadows)
“Here After — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” (Lakeshore)
“The Thicket — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” (Lakeshore)
