There is only so much Olympics coverage a person can watch.
If you’re looking for a distraction, or maybe a soundtrack to those far-too-late nights watching our finest athletes strive for greatness, here are five brand new albums worth your attention.
Empire of the Sun – Ask That God
You already know whether you need the new album from Empire of the Sun in your life.
The duo’s first album in eight years is no radical departure from what has come before, and given the pop smarts of Nick Littlemore and Luke Steele, that may just be for the best.
This is shiny, ebullient indie pop that – for the most part – has one foot in the cocktail bar and one on the dancefloor. They’ve cast a wide net when finding help on these songs, enlisting hit-makers including Vargas & Lagola and Pontus Winnberg (of Miike Snow) to help these smooth, nostalgic pieces of pop shine as bright as they can.
As the album ends, things become mildly more esoteric. ‘Rhapsodize’ morphs from audio nature documentary into ambient synth exploration, while warped ballad ‘Friends I Know’ feels like a real outlier; an attempt at closing on a heartfelt level that feels too alien and a little undercooked.
Mostly, though, Ask That God is packed with well-executed synth-pop that’s going to have broad appeal. Pretty as it is, there’s nothing challenging here, and nothing to suggest Empire are looking to set a new pop agenda. Not everything has to reinvent the wheel, but leaning into some of their eccentricities might have provided more inspiring results.
For fans of: Miike Snow, Pet Shop Boys, Kylie Minogue
— Dan Condon
Elsy Wameyo – Saint Sinner
Kenyan Australian Elsy Wameyo has always felt caught between two worlds. But on her ambitious debut album, the emerging singer, rapper and producer transforms cultural displacement into a superpower.
Saint Sinner soothes, savages and soars. It’s a stylistically diverse listen that grapples with weighty ideas about spirituality, resilience, and reclamation.
As its title suggests, it’s an album that thrives in duality, whether it’s the titular themes of faith and sin, or by fusing African musical traditions with the sounds of contemporary rap and R&B.
Saint Sinner’s strongest moments are a result of Wameyo returning to Kenya to collaborate with songwriters and musicians in the rural Naivasha region.
She produced the bulk of the album with Wuod Omollo and Polycarp Otieno (aka the “Fancy Fingers” guitarist for long-running Afropop band Sauti Sol), and together they’ve crafted a suite of lush, spacious arrangements and subtly intoxicating rhythms.
Already a promising talent, Wameyo is further cemented as one to watch on Saint Sinner. It showcases her range, musical and cultural heritage, and most importantly, the determination of someone who’s constantly struggled with being “othered”.
“Especially when you’re a young black girl, no one is encouraging you to speak your mind,” she says.
Often cathartic, sometimes celebratory, always considered, Saint Sinner is charged with a sense of purpose that makes Elsy Wameyo’s perspective all the more compelling.
For fans of: Little Simz, Genesis Owusu, Sampa the Great
— Al Newstead
Los Campesinos! – All Hell
Between number 11 and number 20 on the UK charts this week, you’ll find a lot of predictable tat: Greatest Hits collections from Eminem, ABBA, Elton John, Michael Jackson and Oasis, a couple of albums by Taylor Swift (of course), and Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, in the chart for its 59th week.
At number 14, however, you’ll find All Hell, the seventh album from underground Welsh indie rockers Los Campesinos!. Self-funded, self-released and self-produced, it’s the first album in seven years for the now self-managed band, and it’s their first time ever making the top 40.
“They cannot buy what we have made together!” the band posted last weekend. “Start a band with the people you love and fight against the things you hate.”
Of course, All Hell’s success is down to the fanbase and the catalogue LC! have built over the past 18 years. Their rousing combination of anthemic indie rock and stark, personal lyricism is as sharp as ever, and their reflections on drinking, regret, difficult love, and the complex feelings that come with growing older hit as hard as anything the band has ever offered before.
Lead vocalist Gareth David Paisey sings without filter or affectation, and his unique voice is not for everyone. But his sharp and incisive takes on modern society, told through a distinctly personal lens, makes for some of the most gripping, eloquent indie rock we’ve heard in years.
For fans of: Neutral Milk Hotel, The Beths, The Smith Street Band
— Dan Condon
Full Flower Moon Band – Megaflower
If you like local rock ‘n’ roll and a friend hasn’t yet tipped you off about Full Flower Moon Band, I assure you that conversation is coming. Here’s your chance to get out in front of it. On their third album, the Brisbane band face up to new-found expectations with the same dark and intoxicating guitar rock that’s garnered them so many fans over the past few years.
Frontwoman Babyshakes Dillon has been a songwriter and producer of great esteem for several years, and as her band becomes more and more popular, they double-down on what they do best: a shapeshifting take on rock ‘n’ roll with big riffs and even bigger vibes.
While ‘West Side’ and ‘Alpha’ sound positively evil, ‘Enemy’ has a Stones-y swagger, and ‘Baby’ and album closer ‘Kiss Him Goodbye’ offer a little sweetness. Dillon even channels freak folk on album highlight ‘Devil’ while the band grinds it out behind her. This breadth of musical moods hangs together beautifully to make Megaflower the band’s finest yet.
If you love this album, you’ll be pleased to hear they’re just as good live. Get out and see them if they’re coming to a city near you.
For fans of: PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, Veruca Salt
— Dan Condon
GUM and Ambrose Kenny-Smith – Ill Times
Jay Watson and Ambrose Kenny-Smith, key members of Tame Impala/Pond and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard/The Murlocs respectively, meld minds for Ill Times, a worthy addition to their extended musical universe.
These songs offer the best elements of Pond and The Murlocs but with added swagger and a few surprises. ‘Dud’ is a touching ode to Kenny-Smith’s musician father, Dingoes frontman Broderick Smith, and we dare you not to be moved when he sings: “Father, I bid you adieu / Somewhere up there singing the blues / Never out of tune.”
The towering title track is a hybrid of psych-rock melodic muscle, arse-shaking energy, and rumbling drum-kit rolls. And the charismatic Kenny-Smith gets plenty of chances to showcase his talents.
He busts out the harmonica for bluesy pep-talk ‘Resilience’, and on a beefed-up cover of The Impressions’ ‘Fool for You’ he re-imagines Curtis Mayfield as a cosmic garage-rocker.
Elsewhere, ‘Emu Rock’ playfully echoes Daddy Cool’s 70s classic ‘Eagle Rock’ in both title and vintage groove before swelling into a stomp-along driven by the mantra: “Keep it simple, don’t overdo it.”
Kenny-Smith takes the lion’s share of vocal duties but shares the singing spotlight with Watson on ‘The Gloater’, which closes the album on a hopeful, horn-assisted note, even squeezing in a final switch to a strident, mildly acid-house beat.
Ill Times might not break new ground, but it’s essential listening for fans. It’s the infectiously fun sound of two sonic soulmates bringing out each other’s musical capabilities and having an absolute ball while doing it.
For fans of: Pond, The Murlocs, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
— Al Newstead
Double J plays all the best music from your past, present and future. Tap here to tune in right now.
