This week’s round-up of streamable albums includes the second half of Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience, Deltron 3030’s first LP in 13 years, Melt-Banana’s Album of the Week-honored fetch, and many, many more. The streaming landscape is so abundant this week, in fact, that Yuck’s Glow & Behold popped up as we were compiling this, so we’ve added a 21st album to our 20 as a bonus. Grab a pair of headphones, plug in, and enjoy.
1) Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2). “After teasing us with ‘Take Back the Night’ and ‘TKO,’ plus the iHeartRadio debut of ‘True Blood’ and ‘Only When I Walk Away,’ Justin Timberlake is streaming The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2) in its entirety… All 11 songs — including Drake collaboration ‘Cabaret’ and Jay Z team-up ‘Murder’ — can now be heard, revealing a funkier, more dancefloor-friendly set of tunes than the original The 20/20 Experience, which was also quite good. Timbaland’s touch is felt strongly here as well, of course, and Michael Jackson’s influence looms large. Clear nods to Prince and P-Funk prevail as well, but one can’t ignore the suit-and-tie wearing fella’s bid at Halloween-song-as-pop-anthem bid on ‘True Blood.'” — SPIN (via iTunes)
2) Deltron 3030, Event II. “[Deltron 3030’s] first full-length in 13 years [stars] longtime pals Damon Albarn and Mike Patton alongside Zack De La Rocha, the Lonely Island, Emily Wells, and Jamie Cullum, among others. As if that wasn’t enough star power, the sci-fi rap trio — comprising Del the Funky Homosapien, Kid Koala, and Dan the Automator — has also lined up a litany of non-musical talent. Actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Cross, Amber Tamblyn, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead have all contributed their skills to the record, and so has Momofuku ramen king David Chang (who shows up on a track called “The Future of Food,” natch)… Set phasers to swag and prepare backpacks for impact.” — SPIN (via Pitchfork)
3) Oneohtrix Point Never, R Plus Seven. “This is new territory for Daniel Lopatin, a.k.a. New York avant-garde musician Oneohtrix Point Never… It’s alive with vibrations from the dance floor. It’s Lopatin’s most colorful record to date, almost delightful at points, as well as delighted with itself… Lopatin uses sound like brushstrokes: stippling it here, dabbing it there, splattering the canvas at will. Any semblance of traditional melodic or rhythmic structure is shunned, for both would swallow up the gleaming sounds he’s labored to build monuments to. And, boy, do they gleam. In ‘Problem Areas,’ pointillist tones line up to do somersaults in your inner ear, while in album highlight ‘Chrome Country,’ a soft synth patch called Japanese Boy Choir is manipulated to a metallic liquid, flipping from angelic to anguished with a wink.” (via NPR)
4) Melt-Banana, fetch. “Melt-Banana, the original bubble-gnash architects of scrape-and-soar noise-punk have returned for a fresh 33-minute caffeine jolt. Their eighth album, fetch, arrives after a six-year silence… fetch is a full reinvention for the band — now touring as a Sparks-gone-grindcore spazz-pop duo — mixing their sugar-rush blastbeats with the optimistic, earth-embracing melodies of bands like Boredoms and Ponytail (it even opens with lapping waves) and a dance-punk song called ‘Zero’ that reminds us of another dance-punk song called ‘Zero.’” (via SPIN)
5) Lorde, Pure Heroine. “New Zealand’s Lorde is currently streaming her much-anticipated debut album a full week ahead of its official release date. Due September 30 via Universal, Pure Heroine features the chart-dominating hit ‘Royals,’ downtempo art-pop tune ‘Tennis Court,’ and recently unveiled handclap-stomper ‘Team.’ Now, followers of 16-year-old Ella Yelich-O’Connor can feast on the full 10-track platter.” — SPIN (via VH1)
6) Dr. Dog, B-Room. “Dr. Dog’s Motown-leanings… imbue B-Room — the group’s eighth full-length and third for Anti- — with an undeniably soulful streak. Opening track ‘The Truth,’ with its effortless sway and aching melodies, stands as one of the most confident songs in the band’s decade-plus career. It’s a clear, naturalistic tribute and a marked departure from Dr. Dog’s earlier, studio effects-laden output… B-Room presents a simpler, more collaborative breed of Dr. Dog, following the lead of last year’s Be the Void and Wild Race EP.” — SPIN (via Rolling Stone)
7) Moby, Innocents. “The story of Moby’s 11th album is one of collaboration: Innocents, his first full-length recording with an outside producer (Mark Stent, who’s worked alongside virtually everyone in pop), finds the versatile multi-instrumentalist recruiting an impressive assortment of guest vocalists. Cold Specks’ marvelous Al Spx lends soulful and vulnerable contributions to ‘A Case for Shame’ and ‘Tell Me’ — her voice’s idiosyncratic beauty meshes perfectly with Moby’s warm-but-dark sensibilities — while other songs bring in contributions from Damien Jurado, Skylar Grey, Mark Lanegan, The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne, and others.” (via NPR)
8) The Internet, Feel Good. “Odd Future’s ever-evolving neo-soul division the Internet has returned in full force with Feel Good. The group founded by Syd the Kyd and Matt Martians, who delivered the slinky Purple Naked Ladies in 2011, now have an entire band at their disposal… Our first taste of the group’s sophomore effort came with ‘Partners in Crime Part Two,’ but now we can turn our ears to the mellifluous business of exploring all 13 tracks, from the gushy ‘Sunset’ featuring Malaysia’s Yuna to ‘Wanders of the Mind,’ starring a sorta-singing, likely stoned Mac Miller.” — SPIN (via SoundCloud)
9) Those Darlins, Blur the Line. “Those Darlins shed their clothes for the cover art to their upcoming third album (and have shared two NSFW music videos, one for ‘Oh God’ and another for ‘Optimist’), but now the Nashville outfit have really bared it all… [Blur the Line] serves up 12 songs that nod to the band’s country roots while carefully navigating the gender divide — per an official statement, ‘it’s Those Darlins’ ability to balance and love both the masculine and feminine powers (as all great rock does) that gives them potency.’ They snarl, ‘We belong in the wilderness,’ on one song, and mourn, ‘That man don’t want me,’ on the next.” (via SPIN)
10) Saint Rich, Beyond the Drone. “Saint Rich was born unexpectedly. As the story goes, the Delicate Steve bandmates Steve Marion and Christian Peslak… were holed up in the former’s home, weathering out a fierce storm that prevented the rest of that band from attending rehearsal. So instead, Marion put down his trusty six-string and got behind the drum kit, and Peslak began strumming the first chords to ‘Dreams,’ a song they’d allegedly finish within an hour. A couple of days later, [they] had seven new tracks and a new project on their hands: Saint Rich… On September 30, [they’ll] release their debut album, Beyond the Drone, by way of [Merge Records]. The upcoming effort delivers 12 sweetly shaggy tracks of wistful guitar-rock, shaped in the suburbs but colored by the country.” (via SPIN)
11) The Blow, The Blow. “After a seven-year break from releasing albums, the Blow have returned mightily. Portland pair Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne will release The Blow on October 1 via Kanine Records, and what we’ve heard thus far implies it’s deserving of the eponymous treatment… ‘Make It Up’ found Maricich ‘still cooing clever observations about romance over fidgety synths that aspire toward homemade Top 40,’ as we put it. Now we’ve got a second entry to consider: ‘From the Future,’ which finds our heroine fearing the march of time, and considering heeding the imaginary words of the moon. The chorus, in fact, is attributed to the moon herself: ‘Stay up all night, day is fake and you know I’m right / It shoots all that excessive light and just distracts us from the facts: / We’re floating in a vast expanse of black,’ La Luna sings, voiced by Maricich.” — SPIN (via Pitchfork)
12) Quasi, Mole City. “Portland super-duo Quasi are celebrating two decades of making music together by releasing Mole City, a so-called ‘Encyclopedia of Kicking Ass,’ on Kill Rock Stars come October 1. You’ll know drummer Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag, and the Jicks, of course. And singer/multi-instrumentalist Sam Coomes was a member of Elliott Smith’s Heatmiser and contributed to Figure 8, as well as every Built to Spill album since 1997. Together, they’re headed toward album No. 9, an honor that’s now marked by the release of ‘See You on Mars,’ a noisy little rock-pop gem that features bounding bass, a little bar room piano, impassioned vocals, and a powerful backbeat.” — SPIN (via Pitchfork)
13) Into It. Over It., Intersections. “Recorded in [Chicago’s] Soma Electronic Music Studios and produced by Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine), Intersections finds [main man Evan Weiss] and drummer Nick Wakim navigating familiar territory — hyper-personal lyrics, springy melodies, wounded but overeager vocals — in unfamiliar ways. Weiss wrote the entire full-length without using a guitar pick, while Wakim removed certain cymbals and drums from his kit to stir some creative thinking. ‘There were a lot of happy accidents on this album,” Weiss says… ‘On previous records we were making sure everything was perfect and on this one I wanted it to sound a little more raw and natural.'” (via SPIN)
14) The Young Leaves, Alive and Well. “‘Elvis Costello fronting Dinosaur Jr.’ That’s how a friend of the Young Leaves describes the Massachusetts trio’s particular brand of distortion-drenched poesy. Indeed, frontman Christopher Chaisson’s deep croon resembles that of the Wise Up Ghost singer, and the chunky sludge churned by the group’s rhythm section could have very well been brewed by the Amherst-born Dino. But the Young Leaves’ latest album, the fast-approaching Alive and Well, feels like its own snaggletoothed beast: A 10-track collection that drapes its bruised heart in an avalanche of noise.” (via SPIN)
15) Heaven’s Gate, Transmuting.“Heaven’s Gate formed in the wake of the now-defunct New Jersey band Sweet Bulbs, when guitarists Michael Sheffield and Jack Wolf drafted vocalist Jess Paps, bassist Alex Cvetovich, and drummer Patrick Stankard to form a self-described ‘powergaze’ outfit. Since then, Heaven’s Gate have released the High Riser EP (from which we heard fuzzy jangler ‘Pogo’) and recorded a debut full-length dubbed Transmuting. The Brooklynites have already let go a few songs from their upcoming LP (including the aptly named ‘Drone’ and somewhat less aptly named ‘Screams’), and now they’ve shared the entire 11-track effort.” (via SPIN)
16) Zachary Cale, Blue Rider. “Zachary Cale urged us to ‘Hold Fast’ back in July, as he offered the first single from his latest album, the fast-approaching Blue Rider. Now, the Louisiana-reared singer-songwriter has made the entire LP available for streaming. Due September 24 via All Hands Electric, Blue Rider abandons the full-band arrangements that adorned 2011’s Noise of Welcome, instead opting for finger-picked sparseness.” (via SPIN)
17) INVSN, INVSN. “Post-hardcore buffs beware: Refused’s firecracker of a frontman Dennis Lyxzén has returned. Though the sneering/spitting/shouting spirit certainly informs the work of his new-ish band INVSN, these Swedes snatch their style from the post-punk age, unfurling darkwave furies, industrial pop, and shadowy rock over a 10-song English-language debut.” (via SPIN)
18) The Revenge, Bugles of Truth EP. “After two years of hibernation, the Revenge has returned: In 2011 and 2012, Glasgow producer Graeme Clark focused most of his efforts on his collaborative enterprise, 6th Borough Project, but he recently revived his solo moniker… On the Bugles of Truth EP, the Revenge indulges disco and house influences with chunky bass lines and prickly synth melodies. The first two tracks, ‘Close Encounters of the Casual Kind’ and ‘Tight Circuit,’ roll out slow-motion drums and groaning low end, while the other tunes take a lighter approach. ‘MDMF’ boasts a brisk, snappy rhythm, but ‘Oot Yer Nut’ feels the most rigid, as it volleys a grumbling ‘Can’t get you out of my mind’ vocal between the bouncing kicks and toms of a sparse Chicago house beat.” (via SPIN)
19) Night Beats, Sonic Bloom. “Seattle rabble-rousers Night Beats specialize in squalling, reverb-blasted garage rock that openly pays homage to the psych and soul leanings of forbearers the Zombies. On September 24, the trio returns with Sonic Bloom [which] starts with said Zombies and spirals outward from there, so that rollicking bar-blooze number ‘Satisfy Your Mind’ winds up sharing space with drone-splosion ‘Catch a Ride to Sonic Bloom.’ Meanwhile ‘Rat King’ is prone to punk-addled freakouts and ‘As You Want’ is full of swooning ah’s and ooh’s.” (via SPIN)
20) Hunters, Hunters.“There’s a long history of groups making great music by laying bare the relationships that exist between band members, and in that spirit, Hunters’ Derek Watson and Isabel Almeida have built quite a nice back-and-forth with each other for their self-titled debut album. At times soft and loving, at times tense and shredding, the LP, out October 1st via Mom + Pop, burns all the way through with the awesome feeling of peeking into two people’s very private conversations.” (via Fader)
BONUS) Yuck, Glow & Behold. “Yuck aren’t scared. Despite the recent departure of one of their principal songwriters and lead vocalist, Daniel Blumberg, bassist Mariko Doi, drummer Jonny Rogoff, and guitarist (and new frontman) Max Bloom are in surprisingly good spirits. ‘Obviously it’s a shame that things happened this way,’ explains Bloom of Blumberg’s departure. ‘But I’ve been making this album for a really long time. Even before the first album was released I had big plans and ambitions for the second album.'” — SPIN (via the New York Times)
