Image by: Parker Day

Welcome to the new music review where we connect you with some of the best new music spinning on Breakfast, The Daily and Drive programs.

ALBUMS:

Basia Bulat – Are You In Love? (FEATURE ALBUM)
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The Bell Streets – Monument
Daggy Man – Yawn
Little Dragon – New Me, Same Us
M. Ward – Migration Stories
Thudercat – It Is What It Is

SINGLES:

Annie Hamilton – Panic
Greta Stanley – Soak Into This
Johnny Hunter – Try As You May
The Lounge Society – Generation Game
Mavis Staples – All In It Together
Muzz – Bad Feeling

Bassist and composer Stephen Brunner has returned with his fourth album ‘It Is What It Is’: an interstellar jazz-funk odyssey that that stretches to the stars from your couch. The usual humour we’d expect from a Thundercat record is still here – from the anxiety of late-night Instagram feed scrolling, to the braggadocio of donning a brand new Dragonball Durag – but is now accompanied with a sense of contemplation and remembrance that reflects the passing of Bruner’s collaborator and friend Mac Miller. Featuring contributions from funk legend Steve Arrington, outsider rapper Lil B, and meme comedian Zack Fox, as well as his frequent collaborator Flying Lotus behind the boards, ‘It Is What It Is’ is Brunner’s most soulful and reflective record yet.

In recent years, the announcement of a new M. Ward record has more often than not been met with tepid acceptance rather than anticipation. The once notable innovator has, in recent years, fallen into a complacency that led to records that ranged between ‘perfectly fine’ to ‘perfectly fine’. On ‘Migration Stories’, the tenth solo album from the indie-folk guitarist and producer, Ward has found a cause he can pin his flag to. Fired by Trump’s immigration policies and undocumented immigrants crossing the US-Mexican border, Ward reimagines an America where travel is unrestricted and multiculturalism is the norm – one where his acoustic guitar playing is now accompanied by subtle synths and even Spanish lyrics. Recorded with Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry and Tim Kingsbury, ‘Migration Stories’ is Ward’s best and most ambitious record in a decade.