March may have come in like a lamb as far as music goes but it’s going out like a lion. This week’s new music releases include hitmakers like Nelly Furtado, Jamiroquai, and Aimee Mann.
At the beginning of the month, new music releases were off to a pretty mellow start. Now we’re finishing up March with some long-awaited albums from artists like Goldfrapp, Jamiroquai, and Body Count and new albums from old favorites like Nelly Furtado and Aimee Mann. Here’s what you’ll find on iTunes and Amazon — or in record stores if you’re more old school — this week.
Aimee Mann, Mental Illness
Aimee Mann, formerly of ‘Til Tuesday, has had a lot of success with her solo recording career. Her first solo album was released in 1993 and this week she releases her ninth. Titled Mental Illness, the album is being released by SuperEgo Records. In an interview with Rolling Stone in January, Mann referred to her latest album as the “saddest, slowest” album she’s ever recorded which isn’t surprising considering the title. The first track, “Goose Snow Cone,” has been out for about two months now, and if you can’t wait until Friday to hear the entire album, you can stream it via NPR now.
"Tracklist:1. “Goose Snow Cone”2. “Stuck in the Past”3. “You Never Loved Me”4. “Rollercoasters”5. “Lies of Summer”6. “Patient Zero”7. “Good for Me”8. “Knock It Off”9. “Philly Sinks”10. “Simple Fix”11. “Poor Judge”"
Body Count, Bloodlust
Rapper and actor Ice-T took a break from his busy lifestyle to record another album with his heavy metal band, Body Count. In addition to playing Odafin Tutuola on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and being a father to his baby girl, Chanel, along with wife Coco, Ice-T has been the frontman of Body Count since 1990. Since then, the band has released five albums with Bloodlust being their sixth. Rockers Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Max Cavalera (Sepultura), and Randy Blythe (Lamb of God) all make guest appearances on the album. Back in December, Ice-T offered up a preview of the first single, “No Lives Matter,” via Twitter, a response to the “all lives matter” ridiculousness often used to counter the Black Lives Matter movement. The album is being released by Century Media Records.
"Tracklist:1. “Civil War”2. “The Ski Mask Way”3. “This Is Why We Ride”4. “All Love Is Lost”5. “Raining Blood / Postmortem 2017”6. “God, Please Believe Me”7. “Walk With Me…”8. “Here I Go Again”9. “No Lives Matter”10. “Bloodlust”11. “Black Hoodie”"
Goldfrapp, Silver Eye
EDM and electropop fans, brace yourselves. Goldfrapp is back with their latest release, Silver Eye, via Mute Records. Those of you who prefer the early Goldfrapp albums will be thrilled to hear that the band has reverted back to their earlier sound, moving away from the folktronica of their 2013 album, Tales of Us. “Anymore,” the first single off of Silver Eye, premiered on BBC 6 radio back in January. Just a few weeks ago, the duo released the album’s ending track, “Ocean” followed by “Moon in Your Mouth” just last week. If you’re looking for something upbeat to get you moving in the morning, start with “Anymore”; if you need to mellow out a bit, try the space-y synthesized “Moon in Your Mouth” instead.
"Tracklist:1. “Anymore”2. “Systemagic”3. “Tigerman”4. “Become the One”5. “Faux Suede Drifter”6. “Zodiac Black”7. “Beast That Never Was”8. “Everything Is Never Enough”9. “Moon in Your Mouth”10. “Ocean”"
Nelly Furtado, The Ride
Canadian singer Nelly Furtado is releasing her sixth album, The Ride, this week via her record label, Nelstar Music. It’s been five years since Furtado’s last album, and during that time, she’s been putting her energy into her Free the Children charity work and recovering from some personal issues. In an interview with Billboard, she revealed that she spent a lot of time traveling to Kenya and pursued some “personal passions” including classes in pottery, sewing, and playwriting. Furtado, in that same interview, referred to The Ride as a “hangover album.” “The party was fun,” she said, “but then you crash on the ground and wake up the next day and feel kind of cool, but have stuff to deal with.” Going against the standard of releasing a first single, Furtado has said that she’ll release whichever songs she feels like sharing. So far, that’s been “Behind Your Back,” “Islands of Me,” “Pipe Dreams,” and “Cold Hard Truth.”
"Tracklist:1. “Cold Hard Truth”2. “Flatline”3. “Carnival Games”4. “Live”5. “Paris Sun”6. “Sticks and Stones”7. “Magic”8. “Pipe Dreams”9. “Palaces”10. “Tap Dancing”11. “Right Road”12. “Phoenix”Bonus tracks (deluxe edition):13. “Islands of Me”14. “Bliss”15. “Behind Your Back”"
Jamiroquai, Automaton
Jamiroquai’s newest album has been a long time coming, or so it seems. It’s been over six years since their last album — not counting anniversary re-releases — and nearly three since they announced that they’d started working on their new one. Automaton will be out for a full two months before Jamiroquai heads out on a big summer tour beginning in late May. The first single, “Automaton,” was released back in January followed by “Cloud 9” just two weeks later. The album features 13 tracks, all written by frontman Jay Kay and keyboardist Matthew Johnson.
"Tracklist:1. “Shake It On”2. “Automaton”3. “Cloud 9”4. “Superfresh”5. “Hot Property”6. “Something About You”7. “Summer Girl”8. “Nights Out in the Jungle”9. “Dr Buzz”10. “We Can Do It”11. “Vitamin”12. “Carla”13. “Nice and Spicy (Japanese Bonus Track)”"
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That’s it for this week’s new music releases. Metalheads, watch for Mastodon’s new album, Emperor of Sand. For you country fans out there, Rodney Crowell and Trace Adkins both have albums coming out this week. And for my fellow post-hardcore fans, check out the newly released video for Emarosa’s “Sure” from their last album 131. Rounding out the list of new music, there’s something from The Mavericks, Saltland, British Sea Power, Freddie Gibbs, and Pharmakon. Enjoy!