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 Soccer Mommy, Muna, Joan Shelley, Hollie Cook, Braxe + Falcon, Zola Jesus, Tim Heidecker, Porcupine Tree, and Giveon. 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 earns an affiliate commission.)
Soccer Mommy: Sometimes, Forever [Loma Vista]
Sophie Allison’s new Soccer Mommy album, produced by Oneohtrix Point Never’s Daniel Lopatin, follows 2020’s Color Theory and includes “Shotgun,” “Unholy Affliction,” “NewDemo,” and “Bones.” Soccer Mommy is set to tour behind Sometimes, Forever throughout the year. Read Pitchfork’s new feature about the album, “Soccer Mommy Slays Her Demons.”
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Muna’s self-titled record is their first since 2019’s Saves the World and marks their debut on Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory label. The trio of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson teamed up with Bridgers on “Silk Chiffon,” which became a viral sensation on TikTok. The album also features “Kind of Girl,” “Home by Now,” and “Anything But Me,” a track “about leaving a partnership simply because it doesn’t feel right.” Read Pitchfork’s profile of the band “The Radical Joy of Muna’s Queer Pop.”
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Joan Shelley: The Spur [No Quarter]
Louisville, Kentucky musician Joan Shelley wrote the songs that comprise her sixth studio album, The Spur, between the fall of 2019 and fall of 2020. Produced by longtime collaborator James Elkington, The Spur was recorded in Kentucky before the birth of Shelley’s first child, with additional work done in Chicago. The album follows 2019’s Like the River Loves the Sea and features contributions from Nathan Salsburg, Bill Callahan, Meg Baird, and more.
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Hollie Cook: Happy Hour [Merge]
London-based pop artist Hollie Cook wraps herself within reggae-indebted melodies with her fourth album Happy Hour. She said that she wanted to “experiment more with the song form” in a statement about the project. Jah9 joins her on “Kush Kween,” and Cook also shared “Full Moon Baby,” “Happy Hour,” and “Move My Way” from the album before its release. Cook previously issued Vessel of Love in early 2018.
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Braxe + Falcon: Step by Step EP [Smugglers Way]
Step by Step is the debut EP from the French house duo Braxe + Falcon. Alan Braxe is know for his remixes of Britney Spears, Beyoncé, and Kelis, while DJ Falcon has remixed tracks by Phoenix, Cassius, and Justice. Both have separately collaborated with Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter—Braxe with Stardust, and Falcon under the name Together. Read “The Return of French House Pioneers Alan Braxe and DJ Falcon” on the Pitch.
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Zola Jesus: Arkhon [Sacred Bones]
For Arkhon, her latest album under the name Zola Jesus, Nika Roza Danilova took a risk: She surrendered control. This decision allowed her to find new collaborators in producer Randall Dunn and drummer Matt Chamberlain. “Arkons are a Gnostic idea of power wielded through a flawed god. They taint and tarnish humanity, keeping them corrupted instead of letting them find their harmonious selves,” Danilova explained in press materials. “I do feel like we are living in an arkhonic time; these negative influences are weighing extremely heavy on all of us. We’re in a time of arkhons. There’s power in naming that.”
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Tim Heidecker: High School [Spacebomb]
The latest album from comedian and musician Tim Heidecker was co-produced with Drew Erickson, Eric D. Johnson, and Mac DeMarco. The follow-up to 2020’s Fear of Death focuses, as the title suggests, on Heidecker’s time in high school. It includes a collaboration with Kurt Vile called “Sirens of Titan.”
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Porcupine Tree: Closure / Continuation [Music for Nations/Megaforce]
Closure/Continuation is the first album from the far-reaching English rock ensemble Porcupine Tree in 13 years, following 2009’s The Incident. The band address themes of unrest and rebirth on the new LP, with “Rats Return,” “Herd Culling,” “Harridan,” and “Of the New Day” released from Closure / Continuation as singles.
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Giveon: Give or Take [Not So Fast/Epic]
Following a rise that’s included his feature on Justin Bieber’s hit single “Peaches,” Giveon has now released his debut album, which includes the singles “For Tonight,” “Lie Again,” and “Lost Me,” but not the breakout hit “Heartbreak Anniversary.” Give or Take includes production from Boi-1da, Rogét Chahayed, Cardo, Jahaan Sweet, Carter Lang, and others.
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