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New Music Friday: Queens of the Stone Age and more
Here are our highlights from today's album release schedule.
New Music Friday is the new release fix you need! We’ve been listening to Queens of the Stone Age, Picture This, Fifth Harmony and more.
What’s even better about New Music Friday is that you can listen to a lot of the new music live. We’ve also found a few artists who’ve got new records out and are about to take them on tour. Double win!
RELEASE OF THE WEEK: Queens of the Stone Age – Villains
With the presence of pop powerhouse Mark Ronson as producer, the seventh studio album by these American rockers features QOTSA’s trademark menace and intensity with some more supple, lounge-like melodies mixed in. The follow-up to 2013’s …Like Clockwork, Villains shows that the band’s sound is evolving. Several songs, including the single The Way You Used to Do, blend sinister lyrics with lively dance-floor elements. To support Villains QOTSA are embarking on a world tour with three dates in the UK set for late November. [Tickets]
Angelo De Augustine – Swim Inside the Moon
Having earned praise for his self-released debut album, Spirals of Silence, and his EP follow-up, How Past Begins, the 24-year-old folk singer-songwriter’s new album has been eagerly anticipated. More assured in his music making, Swim Inside the Moon offers a magical collection of songs that are touching in their warmth and simplicity – including the lead single Crazy, Stoned, and Gone which displays De Augustine’s mastery of the serene guitar ballad. Catch him when he crosses the pond in November for a one-night stop in London. [Tickets]
Cymbals – Light in Your Mind
Light in Your Mind is Cymbals’ first new material in two years. The follow-up to their 2014 debut LP The Age of Fracture, it sees the London twosome of Jack Cleverly and Dan Simons return with a more refined sound. The songs reflect finding strength in personal challenges as, according to Cleverly, the single Decay is about the unexpected “beauty of things breaking down”. Cymbals will appear at Thousand Island in London at the end of this month. [Tickets]
Fifth Harmony – Fifth Harmony
This album is the first since the departure of band member Camila Cabello. Comprised of Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, Normani Kordei and Ally Brooke, the foursome’s highly anticipated third album is self-titled. It also boasts an impressive group of collaborators including Skrillex, Poo Bear and Gucci Mare who is featured on the track Down. There are no UK live dates just yet for Fifth Harmony, but follow the band on Ticketmaster.co.uk to learn when they’re announced.
Nadine Shah – Holiday Destination
This is the South Tyneside-born singer-songwriter’s third full-length studio album. Unlike her previous album, 2015’s Fast Food, this collection of songs is less personal and offers a more biting political perspective on things like the migrant crisis. This is especially evident on her first thundering track, Out the Way. Listen to the second track, Holiday Destination, for which the album is named below and catch Shah live when she goes out on tour across the UK this October. [Tickets]
Picture This – Picture This
Hailing from Ireland, Picture This is the pop-rock duo made up of Jimmy Rainsford and Ryan Hennessy. They joined forces at the end of 2015 and released a self-titled EP in 2016 that shot to No.1 in Ireland and attained Gold certification. Following in its footsteps, their self-titled debut album elegantly blends pop, folk and rock while showcasing their vivid lyricism. Just listen to the lead single, Never Change, and you’ll understand why Picture This was named among three Irish acts destined to break in 2017 by Red Bull Ireland. Having recently played five sold-out dates in Dublin, you can see Picture This at Leeds Festival today or when the Irish lads tour the UK beginning in late October. [Tickets]
PVRIS – All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell
The alt-rock trio based in Boston have amassed a loyal following since releasing their debut album White Noise in 2014. Working with the same producer, Blake Harnage, All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell is sure to be similarly revered. More synth driven and electropop influenced, you’ll be wowed by the opening track Heaven with its strong bass and drums that are topped off with Lynn Gunn’s powerful vocals. PVRIS are appearing at Reading & Leeds Festival this weekend, but if you don’t catch them there, they’ll be returning for a full UK tour in support of their new album in late November. [Tickets]
Walter Trout – We’re All in This Together
Taking a different approach from the emotional intensity of 2015’s Battle Scars, the American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist created We’re All in This Together as a more light-hearted collection of songs. It features contributions from a number of respected artists including John Mayall, Randy Bachman, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Warren Haynes and many others. Trout’s son Jon even appears on the track Do You Still See Me at All. Listen to the last track featuring Joe Bonamassa for which the album was named here, and catch Trout when he heads out on a UK tour in October. [Tickets]
The War on Drugs – A Deeper Understanding
The Philadelphia band’s fourth studio album is another triumph. Following 2014’s Lost in the Dream, which snagged countless Best Album accolades, A Deeper Understanding marks The War on Drugs’ major label debut. On it the indie rockers have created another highly emotional rock collection with sublime songs like Pain. The War on Drugs are promoting the new album with a huge tour that stops in the UK for four dates in mid November. [Tickets]
![The War on Drugs - Pain [Official Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J9LgHNf2Qy0/0.jpg)
Widowspeak – Expect the Best
Following their 2015 album All Yours, the dream-pop band from Brooklyn have released their fourth album. Expect the Best has an introspective, self-examining spirit because it was written while vocalist Molly Hamilton was living in Tacoma, Washington, near where she was raised. The first single, Dog, is hazy and hypnotic while the second single, When I Tried, is about struggling for motivation. Widowspeak will be playing two shows in the UK in November. [Tickets]
Check back next week for the latest album releases.
