New releases for 7 April 2023

This week’s spring sparklers start with Drop Cherries, which was recorded entirely on tape in Somerset and Wales late last summer and which marks the very first time that Billie Marten has both written and co-produced (with Dom Monks) one of her records. The title is taken from a tale she heard from a friend just before she was starting to create songs for the album, and the title track came soon after. The gift of cherries is a metaphor for offering someone your love: doing anything you can to make them happy.

It felt like I was driving through tunnels,Emma Tricca says of her fourth album – her first for Bella Union – a sense of a phosphorescent panorama of undulating colour, shape and sound. As with any transformation, it is this sense of movement that underpins Aspirin Sun and its bold new form, ebbing and flowing, continually unfurling. The tunnels led the Italian-born, London-based singer-songwriter towards something expansive and far-reaching: an entirely new and experimental collection of songs.

Born and bred in Oklahoma, Carter Sampson is an award-winning singer, songwriter and performer who shares the essential sounds and heartfelt feelings that have always resonated wholly and entirely from America’s heartland. Her confidence and credibility reside in each of her albums, but never more so than in her new offering, the aptly-titled Gold. A set of songs reflecting her continuing passion and purpose for making music that can leave an indelible impression, it finds her once again conveying her inspiration through the music and its messaging.

The world is filling up with trash; humanity remains addicted to pollution; people are downing horse dewormer because some goober on television told them it cured Covid; the apocalypse is stupider than anyone could’ve predicted. Fortunately, the absurdities of modern life have always been prime subject matter for Seattle-based foursome Mudhoney, and the band take aim at all of them with typically barbed humour and muck-encrusted riffs on on their 11th studio album, Plastic Eternity, which was recorded over nine days in Seattle at Crackle & Pop! with longtime producer Johnny Sangster.

A tree may lose its leaves but will continue to grow. Teleman’s fourth album, Good Time / Hard Time, is their first as a trio and it sees them evolving as a force of nature as they navigate new beginnings with a wealth of experience behind them. With musical and lyrical streams of consciousness entwined, the album makes sense of a world in chaos and its words of wisdom are a vital reminder that even when things seem heavy, life is precious.

Our release of the week is Stereo Mind Game, the third studio album by Daughter and their first for seven years. The album grapples with what it means to be separated: from loved ones, but also from yourself. After releasing two studio albums, If You Leave (2013) and Not to Disappear (2016), and the video game soundtrack Music from Before the Storm (2017), the trio comprising Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella chose to take some time off. But not before jamming together in Los Angeles, in between a support tour with The National and their first headline shows in South America. It was here that their new album started to germinate.

Daughter - Stereo Mind GameBillie Marten - Drop CherriesEmma Tricca - Aspirin SunCarter Sampson - GoldMudhoney - Plastic EternityTeleman - Good Time / Hard Time

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