Best new music of the month
- Text by Shelley Jones

It’s springtime woohoo! That fresh time of the year when lambs are born, Jesus is resurrected and you throw out loads of stuff from your house in an attempt to make room for the summer.
In the spirit of new beginnings, a bunch of great music has been (or is about to be) dropped this month. Here are our faves.
I don’t like shit, I don’t go outside by Earl Sweatshirt
Doris was one of my favourite albums of 2013 and Earl’s latest delivery seems every bit as dark, raw and introspective as that laconic record. I don’t like shit kind of draws you in with all the language of LA club music but pulls the party rug from under your feet. Lines like, ‘I was making waves, you was surfing in ‘em,’ get a standing ovation.
To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick’s highly anticipated follow-up to good kid, m.A.A.d city is a weird, jazzy collection of songs that features field recordings and guests – from Flying Lotus collaborator Thundercat to Snoop Dogg – in an ingenious and unsettling way. It half makes you want to dance and half makes you feel like you have motion sickness.
Strangers to Ourselves by Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse’s first album in eight years is a return to the familiar jangly indie-rock one might expect but as a concept album with an overarching mission to address man’s mistreatment of the planet, Strangers to Ourselves has the added benefit of acting as an audio book with bells.
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit by Courtney Barnett
The title made me cringe but if you can get past that Australian grunge revivalist Courtney Barnett and her debut album Sit is a refreshing narrative album that is pretty sweet in its emotional sincerity. Good to put on for the sitting and thinking, and just for the sitting too.
Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens
On his seventh album Carrie & Lowell, Sufjan Stevens explores the terrible loss he felt at the death of his mother. In this Guardian article he talks to Dave Eggers about how difficult it was to make, his dysfunctional childhood and how playing the songs live will be a joyful relief.
Kintsugi by Death Cab for a Cutie
His marriage to Zooey Deschanel is over, his bandmate Chris Walla has left him, Ben Gibbard from Death Cab has never had more reasons to feel sad. Which actually makes for a great Death Cab album. And actually first listens to Kintsugi, the band’s ninth album, sound more hopeful than despairing. Death Cab experience all the feelings so we don’t have to.
The Powers That B by Death Grips
I can’t really keep up with what’s happening here. Didn’t Death Grips split up via a napkin that almost #broketheinternet last year? Whatever, this album, due to drop March 31, is one to watch. This track ‘On GP’ is like Fucked Up meets Ratking and that’s just about the tightest combo we could hope for.
You might like

Huck teams up with Eastern Margins for a special SXSW London showcase
From Shibuya to Shoreditch — Taking place at Village Underground on Monday, performances will come from MONO, Nina Utashiro, Ena Mori, Jianbo, LVRA & Soda Plains.
Written by: Isaac Muk

Analogue Appreciation: Shura
I Got Too Sad For My Friends — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s English singer-songwriter Shura.
Written by: Shura

After Assad’s fall, Syria’s musicians rebuild from the rubble
Spaces Between the Beats — Following decades of dictatorship and 14 years of civil war, the country’s classical and creative scenes have an opportunity to build from scratch. Andrei Popviciu speaks to the people hoping for a flourishing new era of art and sound.
Written by: Andrei Popoviciu

At Belgium’s Horst, electronic music, skate and community collide
More than a festival — With art exhibitions, youth projects and a brand new skatepark, the Vilvoorde-Brussels weekender is demonstrating how music events can have an impact all year round.
Written by: Isaac Muk

Tony Njoku: ‘I wanted to see Black artists living my dream’
What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s avant-garde electronic and classical music hybridist Tony Njoku.
Written by: Tony Njoku

Block9 reveals its Glastonbury Festival 2025 plans
Party and protest — The nightlife hub will feature a bigger-than-ever Saturday daytime block party across The NYC Downlow and Genosys, and a huge collaboration with artist-activist group Led By Donkeys.
Written by: Isaac Muk