With so much good music being released all the time, it can be hard to determine what to listen to first. Every week, Pitchfork offers a run-down of significant new releases available on streaming services. This week’s batch includes new albums from Oklou; Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory; Zelooperz & Real Bad Man; Squid; Nino Paid; Horsebath; Larry June, 2 Chainz & The Alchemist; and $amaad. Subscribe to Pitchfork’s New Music Friday newsletter to get our recommendations in your inbox every week. (All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors. When you buy something through our affiliate links, however, Pitchfork earns an affiliate commission.)
Oklou: Choke Enough [True Panther]
Oklou is the moniker of French vocalist, producer, and composer Marylou Mayniel, who studied classical piano and cello as a child before falling in love with electronic music. Oklou developed her 13-track debut album, Choke Enough, with co-producers Danny L Harle, A. G. Cook, and Casey MQ, also recruiting guests vocalists Bladee and Underscores on “Take Me by the Hand” and “Harvest Sky,” respectively.
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Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory: Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory [Jagjaguwar]
Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory solidifies a longstanding collaboration between the singer-songwriter and her band. It’s really just the approach to music that makes it an all-new project. “For the first time in my life I asked the band if we could just jam,” Van Etten said in press materials. “Words that have never come out of my mouth—ever! But I loved all the sounds we were getting.” Joining Van Etten in the Attachment Theory are percussionist Jorge Balbi, bassist Devra Hoff, and multi-instrumentalist Teeny Lieberson. Their self-titled debut was produced and engineered by Björk and Bon Iver collaborator Marta Salogni.
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Zelooperz & Real Bad Man: Dear Psilocybin [Real Bad Man]
Dear Psilocybin is the collaborative debut from Detroit rapper Zelooperz and Los Angeles producer Real Bad Man, with the Alchemist, Mavi, and Boldy James on the new album’s guestlist. The new project was led by “Sweet Celine,” which breaks with the rapper’s typically jagged verses for a lax but creeping melody.
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Squid: Cowards [Warp]
Cowards, Squid’s follow-up to 2023’s O Monolith and 2021 debut Bright Green Field, burrows into an art-rock netherworld, expanding beyond the group’s native post-punk to subsume hallucinatory hooks into wormhole structures full of ornate harmonic filigree. Recorded with producers Marta Salogni and Grace Banks—with additional production from longtime collaborator Dan Carey—the album includes contributions from Clarissa Connelly, Tony Njoku, Pozi’s Rosa Brook, Zands Duggan, and the Ruisi Quartet. Cowards is a sort of concept album examining the nature of evil; its nine songs feature characters who deal with cults, apathy, and the space between right and wrong. Lead single “Crispy Skin” was inspired by Agustina Bazterrica’s novel Tender Is the Flesh, which imagines a world where humans are manufactured and sold in supermarkets—as food.
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Nino Paid: Love Me as I Am [Signal/Columbia]
Maryland rapper Nino Paid follows his breakout Can’t Go Bacc with the new album Love Me as I Am. The new, 18-track project includes contributions from Tommy Richman, BabyChiefDoIt, PlaqueBoyMax, Xanman, and others. Learn more about Nino Paid in Alphonse Pierre’s interview with the artist, “Quiet Days in Maryland With Nino Paid, the Introspective New Star of DMV Rap.”
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Horsebath: Another Farewell [Strolling Bones]
Horsebath are a Western rock band hailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Montreal, Quebec. The quartet cut its debut album, Another Farewell, in Montreal, drawing inspiration from Gram Parsons, Lee Hazelwood, Leonard Cohen, the Band, and the Sir Douglas Quintet. Another Farewell features the singles “In the Shade” and “Train to Babylon.”
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Larry June, 2 Chainz & The Alchemist: Life Is Beautiful [Empire]
Rappers Larry June and 2 Chainz and producer Alchemist come together for a new album of relaxed luxury. They previewed Life Is Beautiful with “I Been” and “Bad Choices,” the latter of which arrived with a music video starring the three artists dining and posing near fancy cars. Across the record, Larry June and 2 Chainz swap verses atop the Alchemist’s funk-and-soul-inflected beats.
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$amaad: Archie’s Comic [Whole Lotta Racks Ent.]
Archie’s Comic is the latest project from Compton, California, rapper $amaad, whose slouching, raspy voice flows over melodic, chilled-out beats. The new full-length follows $amaad’s 2024 release Fried & Out of Reach, and it contains contains the singles “Rhude” and “Ball Up Top.”
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