Every Friday, Consequence of Sound rounds up some of the week’s noteworthy new album releases. Today, August 28th, brings fresh music from Aluna of AlunaGeorge, The Avett Brothers, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Knot, Samia, and Sevdaliza. Take a listen to each of their new albums below.
Also check out new albums from Angel Olsen, Dua Lipa, Nasty C, and Katy Perry.
Aluna – Renaissance
Aluna of AlunaGeorge
AlunaGeorge frontwoman Aluna has stepped into the spotlight with her first-ever solo album, Renaissance. Out through Diplo’s own Mad Decent label, the LP features guests in Kaytranada, Princess Nokia, and Jada Kingdom.
One of the earliest singles was “Get Paid”, a track very close to Aluna’s heart as a woman of color. “It’s an aspirational celebration about black women and women of color getting paid, in opposition of the reality that we are consistently undervalued for our work,” explained the electropop artist.
“On the other hand, this is a song about believing we deserve to get paid because as society keeps telling us we are worthless, we internalize that notion, which is almost more damaging because it stops us from advocating for ourselves.”
Stream:
— Spotify
The Avett Brothers – The Third Gleam
The Avett Brothers, photo by Crackerfarm
North Carolina folk rockers The Avett Brothers are back with a new album titled The Third Gleam, out via Loma Vista Recordings.
Today’s effort comes less than a year after Closer Than Together from 2019. It serves as the third installment in the band’s ongoing Gleam series, following the initial Gleam EP from 2006 and the 2008 Second Gleam project. To continue the spirit of these releases, The Avett Brothers revisited their “roots, both sonically and in form with Seth and Scott Avett playing as a trio with longtime bassist Bob Crawford,” according to a statement.
The three completed the new album just before the coronavirus outbreak, but its themes of isolation, incarceration, injustice, resilience, and love still resonate universally — and perhaps even more so given the current circumstances. In a video announcement, Seth and Scott talked further about The Third Gleam and its arrival during this unique moment in time, saying,
“… The songs were not informed specifically by the urgent and pivotal concepts which are now center stage. However, as these factors have been and will remain a part of us as a whole, independent of a specific moment in history, the songs of this particular piece do connect somehow to this particular time… there are themes which have made their way into this chapter of songs that are undeniably universal, and anchored in our current world… Isolation, resilience, frustration, confusion, contemplation and hope are here, both in regards to our own lives and as a consideration of the human experience in general.”
Stream:
— Bandcamp
— Spotify
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah – AXIOM
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, photo by Eric Ryan Anderson
New Orleans jazz maestro Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah has premiered a new live album called AXIOM.
This collection captures Adjuah’s final pre-pandemic concert at New York City’s famed Blue Note Jazz Club in March 2020. Presented in support of his masterful 2019 album, Ancestral Recall, the performance saw Adjuah joined on-stage by a septet featuring flautist Elena Pinderhughes, saxophonist Alex Han, djembefola Weedie Braimah, pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Kris Funn, and drummer Corey Fonville.
“There’s a difference between hearing and listening,” Adjuah commented in a statement. “The intention to understand is present in listening. When you listen to our band, what you are hearing is the sound of listening.”
Stream:
— Spotify
Knot – Knot
Knot, photo by Hrissaj Babay
Five years ago, the three members of Boston rock group Krill decided to call it quits. Now, they’ve reconvened under the new moniker of Knot and released their self-titled debut album.
While much of the personnel remains the same, the focus of Knot’s members has changed rather substantially. As former Krill bassist Jonah Furman put it, “These songs are vaguely about deciding whether or not to have kids, whereas Krill songs were vaguely about deciding what to do with your life.”
One of Knot’s early songs about #adulting was “Horse Trotting Feet Not Touching the Ground”, which Consequence of Sound premiered earlier this month.
Stream:
— Bandcamp
— Spotify
Samia – The Baby
Samia, photo by Muriel Margaret
The Baby is the new debut album from emerging songwriter Samia, released via Grand Jury Music.
Rooted in incisive self-reflection, the New York native’s first LP was produced by Caleb Hinz as well as Jake Luppen and Nathan Stocker of Hippo Campus. Lars Stalfors, known for his work with Soccer Mommy, handled the mix.
The 23-year-old Samia teased the effort with singles such as “Fit N Full” and “Origins of Artifice”, which was premiered on Consequence of Sound earlier this spring.
Stream:
— Bandcamp
— Spotify
Sevdaliza – Shabrang
Sevdaliza, photo by Kimberley Ross
Iranian-Dutch artist Sevdaliza has revealed her sophomore album Shabrang, out through her own Twisted Elegance label.
The follow-up to 2017’s ISON documents a “journey of self-discovery, self-love and finding peace amongst all of the chaos in the world” — hence Sevdaliza’s bruised body captured in the LP’s artwork. Produced by the artist herself in collaboration with Mucky, the full-length features early teasers in “Lamp Lady”, “Oh My God”, and “Joanna”, all of which showcase Sevdaliza’s seamless blending of electronic, trip-hop, R&B, and even avant-garde.
Stream:
— Spotify
