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10 Albums to Stream: Black Lips, Bradford Cox, ‘Divergent’ Soundtrack, and More

black lips, underneath the rainbow, stream

The end of the work week has arrived, accompanied by new albums from Black Lips, Bradford Cox, Color War, and the star-studded Game of Thrones mixtape. We’ve rounded them all up below.

1) Black Lips, Underneath the Rainbow.Underneath the Rainbow is a sharp turn away from 2011’s Mark Ronson-polished Arabia Mountain. Their seventh studio record, produced by fellow blues enthusiast Patrick Carney (of the Black Keys), sees them at a reflective point in their career. Maybe even growing up. But to reach their current high, the band had to start low.” — SPIN (via Noisey)

2) Various Artists, Divergent (Original Soundtrack). “The star-studded soundtrack for the upcoming sci-fi film Divergent has already let loose a number of its exclusives: M83’s sax-powered ‘I Need You,’ Zedd’s ‘Find You,’ the I See MONSTAS remix of Ellie Goulding’s ‘Hanging On,’ Snow Patrol’s ‘I Won’t Let You Go,’ and a team-up between A$AP Rocky and French producer Gesaffelstein.” — SPIN (via Pitchfork)

3) Bradford Cox, Teenage (Original Soundtrack). “Cox wrote the score for Teenage (Original Soundtrack) back in 2012, creating a 17-track effort that provides another glimpse into his curious experimentalism and broad array of influences he brings to Atlas Sound and Deerhunter. From the bumbling bass line in ‘Snow On Cape,’ the chiming and ambient ‘New Prairie Blackout Pattern’, to the woozy, reverb-soaked guitars of ‘Dream Logic’ Cox composes a dreamy landscape of diverse and yes, youthful sounds.” — Consequence of Sound (via Pitchfork)

4) Various Artists, Catch the Throne. “Earlier this week, HBO announced the imminent arrival of Catch the Throne, a mixtape inspired by the cable network’s flagship fantasy series, Game of Thrones. The 10-track collection, which is set to drop on March 7, features cuts from Common, Wale, Daddy Yankee, and more, including OutKast’s Big Boi.” — SPIN (via Soundcloud)

5) Color War, It Could Only Be This Way. “Color War recently teased their upcoming debut album with an ornate music video for “SOS,” pairing the glossy, electronic brooder with a set of ceremonious, mystic-tinged visuals. Now the Brooklyn-based duo — composed of Justin ‘Billy J’ Lin and Lindsay Mound, two visual artists-turned-musicians — have pulled the curtain back on It Could Only Be This Way, their first full-length effort.” — (via SPIN)

6) Metronomy, Love Letters. “The British dance-rockers and festival mainstays Metronomy are about to release their fourth studio album Love Letters, and ‘I’m Aquarius’ and ‘Love Letters’… suggest that they’re going for more of a starry-eyed, psychedelic vibe this time around.” — Stereogum (via Itunes)

7) Le1f, Hey EP. “SPIN favorite Le1f has signed with XL Recordings in a joint venture with Terrible Records, the label co-run by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor. A proper album is in the works, but first we’re being treated to the Hey EP, which includes a re-recorded version of the man’s beloved breakout ‘Wut’ (the one with the video starring those Pikachu studs), along with four brand new songs.” — SPIN (via Pitchfork)

8) Sisyphus, Sisyphus. “When we first heard s / s / s two years ago, it seemed like a goofy one-off. But against all expectations, Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, and Serengeti have decided (with the improved new name of Sisyphus) to follow through and release a full-length of their anxious experimental hip-hop. If you’ve been following the recent singles like ‘Alcohol’ and ‘Rhythm Of Devotion’ you’ll know these songs are all about menace and aggression — something the full album explores even further.” — Stereogum (via Soundcloud)

9) Raz Simone, Cognitive Dissonance.Cognitive Dissonance sounds like a brooding hit, built musically on tidy chord progressions with addictive choruses in the style of Kendrick Lamar (the twisty ‘Natural Resources’), Macklemore (the gangsta kumbaya of ‘Still Mobbin’) and Seattle villain Nacho Picasso (the way Raz says ‘bang bang’ in ‘8 Rangs’).” (via NPR)

10) 100s, IVRY. “In 2012, Bay Area pimp-rapper 100s released his Ice Cold Perm mixtape, a hard slice of haughty, minimal sex-talk that really snuck up on me after it had been out for a few months. 100s has since linked up with Fool’s Gold, and now he’s released his IVRY EP, eight songs of cold and unflinching sex-talk.” — Stereogum (via Soundcloud)