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Kim Gordon  Play Me

Kim Gordon proves herself again as a worthy spokesperson on the plight of modern-day life through her own unending experimentation. For a 2026 experimental capitalist-critique, dedicate half an hour of your time to this album. You won’t regret it Clash

James Blake  Trying Times

‘Trying Times’ doesn’t offer answers so much as companionship in uncertainty. Blake has long been fascinated by the fragile spaces between people. Here, he suggests that love isn’t what rescues us from those moments; it’s what convinces us to stay a little longer Clash

Kim Gordon  Play Me

Kim Gordon’s third solo album is the most populist and literalist music of her career. Her sharp style and wit remain, but absurdity and ambiguity are missed Pitchfork

James Blake  Trying Times

On his first self-released album, the producer and songwriter draws from pop music and classic R&B for a pleasantly all-over-the-place set about love and existential dread Pitchfork

Shabaka  Of The Earth

The jazz polymath wrote, played, produced, and mixed everything on his new solo album, weaving overlapping loops and knotty counterpoints into a dynamic suite of interconnected pieces Pitchfork

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy  We Are Together Again

Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s new LP is strengthened by communal tendencies, meeting bombs in Iran and executions in Minneapolis not with clenched fists of protest, but with hugs PopMatters

The Black Crowes  A Pound of Feathers

The Black Crowes have leaned into the familiar: hard, bluesy rock with just enough acoustic accoutrements to pacify the fans they found touring 25 years ago PopMatters

Kim Gordon  Play Me

Her list-like lyrics and droning delivery, merging with Raisen’s dystopic production to nail the frictionless abstraction of contemporary culture. But still, whether it’s a particular melodic strain or the way a synth aches out under a beat, the emotions remain The Line Of Best Fit

James Blake  Trying Times

A welcome addition to both Blake's discography and the anxious times we live in Slant Magazine

James Blake  Trying Times

While it certainly has its darker moments, Trying Times is never maudlin Under The Radar

Kim Gordon  Play Me

Kim Gordon has mastered a modern mixture of distorted guitar and intense trip-hop beats with the release of her most political solo album The Skinny

Harry Styles  Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.

He’s never afraid to make the music he wants, for good, bad, or indifferent God Is In The TV

The Black Crowes  A Pound of Feathers

This type of music isn’t regarded as 'classic' for no reason The Arts Desk

Kim Gordon  Play Me

Crucially, on these tracks she’s also started to adopt the vocal patterns of “mumble rap” The Arts Desk

Bruno Mars  The Romantic

Another carefully plotted, deliberately breezy album from the consummate showman Spectrum Culture