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 Little Simz, the Smile, Young Dolph, For Tracy Hyde, Boldy James & Cuns, and Your Old Droog. 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.)
Little Simz: No Thank You [Forever Living Originals/AWAL]
Now a revered veteran of UK rap, Little Simz is back with the follow-up to 2021’s Mercury Prize–winning Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Produced entirely by Inflo, the record is a tight, 10-track suite of classic-sounding hip-hop, with Simz rapping over beats rooted in soul and R&B as Inflo’s Sault bandmate Cleo Sol dips in and out on backing vocals.
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The Smile: The Smile (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, July 2022) [XL]
This past July, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner brought their jazzy, spooky, folky alternative rock to Montreux Jazz Festival. You can hear a streamlined version of that set (minus the new songs) on this new live EP. With the eight-song collection of tracks from A Light For Attracting Attention (which includes a medley of “Free in the Knowledge” and “A Hairdryer”), the band follows the likes of Miles Davis, Nina Simone, and Wu-Tang Clan in releasing a set recorded at the venerable Swiss festival.
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Young Dolph: Paper Route Frank [Paper Route Empire]
Paper Route Frank is the first posthumous collection from the late Memphis rapper Young Dolph. Led by the singles “Get Away,” “Old Ways,” and “Hall of Fame,” the 13-track LP features Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Key Glock, and, on “Infatuated With Drugs,” both Big Moochie Grape and Snupe Bandz.
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For Tracy Hyde: Hotel Insomnia [P-Vine]
Hotel Insomnia is the fifth album from the Tokyo dream pop band, following last year’s Ethernity. The album includes the singles “Milkshake,” “Subway Station Revelation,” and “Friends,” all of which have received their own videos. Guitarist Natsubot formed For Tracy Hyde as a solo project in 2012, and he was eventually joined by the vocalist and guitarist Eureka in 2015.
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Boldy James & Cuns: Be That as It May [Tuff Kong]
Be That as It May unites the tireless Detroit rapper Boldy James with the Italian beatmaker Cuns. Released on Cuns’ own label, Tuff Kong, the tape pairs James’ quietly witty rhymes with cushy vintage loops, raising the tempo with turns from Lord Apex, Bo Skeet, and Taj Mahal.
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Your Old Droog: YOD Presents: The Shining [Droog Recordings]
Your Old Droog’s latest is the Ukrainian-born Brooklyn rapper’s sixth project of the year, continuing a run that includes Tha Wolf on Wall St 2: The American Dream (with Tha God Fahim), Yod Stewart, Yodney Dangerfield, and The Yodfather. The prolific rapper winds through seven tracks mostly produced by Wino Willy, with additional beats by Roper Williams and Sadhu Gold, on this loosely Kubrick-themed project.
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