Prepare for the extended weekend by acquainting yourself with five essential new albums that dropped this week.

There’s rage from Lil Uzi Vert, rainbows from Hype Williams and Orc from Oh Sees. It’s a full range. All the feels. RIP old Taylor Swift btw.

Enjoy!

01

Luv Is Rage 2

Lil Uzi Vert

It was an overcast Thursday evening. It had been a slow news day when – as if by magic – Lil Uzi Vert tweeted, “Tonight at 12 🦇….2 the album ®🚧 Okay Bye 🤓⚰️🔥®.” And like that, the hotly anticipated and heavily delayed sequel to Uzi’s Luv Is Rage tape and the Philadelphia rapper’s first debut studio album proper had landed. The heir apparent to Marilyn Manson’s throne, Uzi’s emo-tinged party music get a little jarring after the 11th or 12th track but it’s never not entertaining. Plus the monster-hit XO TOUR LIF3 comes at the end – worth sticking around for.

02

Rainbow Edition

Hype Williams

On the subject of Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland’s ongoing involvement in the Hype Williams project, a press release from label Big Dada reads, “They are both no longer involved, and any Hype Williams releases you’ve since heard are FAKE. Bare Paigons. Like Cappadonna making his own Wu.” Who knows what’s true anymore? But this 20-track collection of skits and vignettes captures the same kind of smoky, lo-fi experimentalist which has always defined the project.

03

Holiday Destination

Nadine Shah

Now on her third album, South Tyneside’s Nadine Shah reflected on the migrant crisis for the title track of this record. Though that song might the record’s most explicitly political moment, her bristly post-punk seems almost custom built for the times we’re in. With chilling vocals and intricate production, it’s a hypnotic triumph of atmosphere and tension.

04

Orc

Oh Sees

Now presented without the ‘Thee’, Oh Sees return with Orc – a satisfying 10-track blast of garage-rock deconstructions performed with superhuman technical ability. One standout is Cadaver Dog  – a song which collapses into the kind of OG Oh Sees crescendo that just doesn’t get old. Their fast approaching their 20th studio record and their 20th year in operation. And the formula isn’t waining.

05

No Mountains In Manhattan

Wiki

Now out on his own, Wiki’s stories of sunsets on the Hudson river, street lurkers in Chinatown and playing ball through all seasons is very New York. But he’s managed to sidestep nostalgia on this debut album – wrapping his vowel-stretching flow round a colourful suite of beats. He’s also got production credits from Kaytranada and a guest verse from Staten Island forefather Ghostface Killah.

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