The Chronicle’s guide to notable new music.
NEW ALBUMS
DMX, “Exodus” (Def Jam)
At the turn of the millennium, no rapper stood out quite like DMX. His loud-spoken style on the mike, signature bark and five straight No. 1 albums made him one of the most successful and defining rappers of the era. Songs like 1998’s “Ruff Ryders Anthem” and 2003’s “X Gon’ Give It to Ya” are undisputed cultural touchstones of hip-hop, and his role in the visually stunning Hype Williams-directed film “Belly” showed his versatility.
Now, less than two months after he died of a heart attack at the age of 50, his first posthumous album of music is being released, produced by longtime friend Swizz Beatz. “Exodus” features a sparkling list of collaborators in Jay-Z, Nas, Alicia Keys, Bono, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne and Usher, just to name a few.
Juanes, “Origen” (Universal)
With 25 Grammys to his name — including 23 Latin Grammy wins, good for second all-time — to go along with a dozen No. 1 singles, the sensational Latin pop singer found himself asking, “Where do I go from here?”
His answer: a tribute album of reinterpretations of songs that have influenced Juanes’ career at every stage. It all comes together on “Origen” — from songs by the Colombian singers of his childhood like Joe Arroyo and Carlos Gardel and the rock and reggae he soaked up in his teens by Bruce Springsteen and Bob Marley, to the salsa of Juan Luis Guerra and La Familia André prevalent in his current home of South Florida. But none showcase the versatility and panache that have made Juanes a global star quite like the pedal steel and organ-driven Spanish-language rendition of Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” which also features Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello & the Attractions on the drums.
Bachelor, “Doomin’ Sun” (Polyvinyl)
The debut album from the indie rock superduo of Jay Som’s Melina Duterte and Palehound’s Ellen Kempner was recorded amid the Santa Monica Mountains in Topanga (Los Angeles County). Its many turns go well beyond the bedroom pop bliss that made the Bay Area-born Jay Som such a successful project and adds new layers to the Boston alt-jangles that Palehound crafts so well. Lead single “Anything at All” is a playful number filled with unpredictable guitar licks, while “Sick of Spiraling” is a twangy, Americana jam, perhaps inspired by the bucolic landscapes it was recorded in.
Along with the album’s release, the ambitious pair plan to host a live-stream festival/digi-telethon called Doomin’ Sun Fest on June 10, featuring performances from Tegan & Sara, Ben Gibbard, Sylvan Esso, Thao Nguyen, Jeff Tweedy, Japanese Breakfast, Tune-Yards, and Tank and the Bangas, among others. Doomin’ Fest is a benefit for Seeding Sovereignty, an Indigenous-led collective that “works to radicalize and disrupt colonized spaces through land, body, and food sovereignty work, community building, and cultural preservation.”
K.d. lang, “Makeover” (Nonesuch)
Ahead of Pride Month in June, lang’s new album is a compilation of dance remixes of a number of the queer icon’s songs from 1992 to 2000. Some of lang’s remixed tracks even reached No. 1 on Billboard dance charts. Highlights include Junior Vazquez’s 1995 “If I Were You (Main Mix)” and DJ Krush’s “Sexuality (Full Mix)” from 1996.
“I had the idea of putting together a dance remix compilation, as I mused about how we built community in those days before the internet, mobile devices, and dating apps,” Lang said in a statement, speaking to the power of dance music in forging queer communities near the turn of the millennium. “Those dance clubs were a key to a world, which was still called ‘underground’ in the ’90s.”
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Elder Island, “Swimming Static” (self-released)
The Bristol electro-pop trio provides all of the elements of what you’d want to listen to heading out of the pandemic darkness and into summer: splendid vocals from singer and cellist Katy Sargent, groovy bass lines from Luke Maestro, polished synths from David Harvard and an incredibly danceable overall aesthetic. Fusing trip-hop and electro, “Sacred” feels true to its Bristol roots, while the thumping pulse and progressive buildup of “Small Plastic Heart” is a moment of sheer elation. This is music that’s just downright fun to listen to, and the limited but stellar back catalog is likewise solid gold.
SONG OF THE MOMENT
Curtis Harding, “Hopeful” (Anti-)
The evocative soul singer from Atlanta has been largely dormant since 2017’s modern soul music masterpiece album, “Face Your Fear” (co-produced by Danger Mouse and Sam Cohen; I cannot recommend this album enough). But he’s now roaring back with this poignant look at civic unrest and the racial and social justice efforts around him, reminding us that the Black Lives Matter Movement is an ongoing one.
Co-produced with Cohen, the song’s arrangement features backing gospel singers, elegant strings, a forceful brass section and scintillating guitar as Harding sings: “With doubts and fear, jealousy, all the things that cause casualty / To your soul let it go, most of all be hopeful.”
Warning: The following video contains explicit language.
LOCAL PICK
Emily Afton featuring Mahawam, “Fractions” (self-released)
If you’ve been anywhere near Bay Area indie venues in the past five years, chances are you’ve come across Afton’s booming voice and jubilant onstage persona. She’s an unforgettable performer and had just released her “Consideration” EP a week before lockdown orders were announced.
As with many performing artists, the pandemic caused Afton to turn inward and consider how her creativity could help her get through an uncertain period. More than a year of self-reflection and experimentation will be on display when her “Reconsideration” EP of reinterpretations of the songs from last year’s release drops on July 16. It’s a very cool concept (these tracks certainly deserve a new rollout) and the first single, “Fractions,” is a stripped-down version of the original, now featuring fellow queer Bay Area artist and rapper Mahawam. Afton’s incredible vocals are complemented by Mahawam’s lyrics exuding fervor and gratitude for life as they float on a hazy drumbeat and atmospheric melody.
“I need a moment to myself to make these fractions whole, I know you know it but it’s not what you were hoping for,” Mahawam professes on the song, which is about learning to love yourself before sharing that love with someone else. It’ll give you the best kind of chills.