After a couple of weeks of being pummeled by a relentless stream of new releases, I’ve decided to compile some of this week’s most popular/note-worthy album streams, as well as a couple of MP3 sales for any digital bargain hunters out there. 

Streams:

Frank Ocean’s hotly anticipated sequel to Nostalgia, Ultra, Channel Orange, was dropped digitally a week early by Ocean himself. You can stream the record from Ocean’s blog (link), and determine if the Odd Future member has crafted a worthy successor. 

Punk band Holograms are premiering their debut record from Captured Tracks on Stereogum this week (link), and early reports tell me it’s a sewage-gray leviathan of rock tracks doing their best to abjure even the smallest possibility of being palatable: the screeches near the end of “Memories of Sweat” could seal the deal for anyone seeking a more cacophonous soundtrack to their summer. 

2007’s None Shall Pass was Aesop Rock’s last release before 2012’s Skelethon—that’s a lengthy five-year anticipation for fans of the lyrical jungle that flows out of Ian Bavitz’s mouth. There’s a fifty-five minute “preview” of Skelethon out on YouTube (link), though I do have to admit there’s something rather hypnotic about the first-person view of the go kart that drives the visual aesthetic of the stream. 

Metal band turned non-metal, alternative-rock band Baroness certainly doesn’t feel particularly metal or threatening when the anthem-worthy “Take My Bones Away starts playing two tracks in. That’s not to say something more valuable doesn’t lay deeper within the release; the album is a staggering eighteen tracks long, the results of a double album that’s sure to offer a wealth of surprises for anyone willing to take the plunge. You can check out the variegated works of Baroness over at NPR (link). 

Fang Island may sound a bit defanged if you preferred their previous occupation of being the very definition of an exclamation mark, but I’m certain there were will be plenty of fans to spread around for their new record Major and its unique brand of panache. NPR’s hosting a stream for Major (link), so venture over there to get a taste of Fang Island’s new identity. 

JEFF The Brotherhood drags around several corpses with their release of Hypnotic Nights: There’s the obvious Weezer, countless punk records line the rougher edges, and the most peculiar ends up being the inclusion of a Black Sabbath cover of “Changes” as the record’s coda. At the end of the day, JEFF The Brotherhood are two dudes who have a passion for rock n’ roll and every relevant tribute they could make to their fuzz-laden forefathers—Does this sound familiar to you? Stream Hypnotic Nights over at NPR (link). 

Sales:

There’s only one sale of interest to speak of, but it’s a major one. The Amazon MP3 store is currently a smorgasbord (link) of digital deals, regardless of your particular taste or interest. The following are a couple I thought to be of specific importance: 

Dirty Projectors‘ Swing Lo Magellan is still fresh out of the creative womb known as Dave Longstreth, but that doesn’t mean Amazon doesn’t want you to have it for a mere four dollars (link). If you’re still unsure, the record is still streaming over at The Guardian (link) if you need to try before you buy. 

Twin Shadow’s Confess has been stirring the pot for musical debate lately (link), but if you’re down with leather jackets, a bad boy persona, and a neon-streaked sky, then you’re probably down for acquiring Confess for four bucks as well (link). 

Other sales worthy of impulse-purchasing habits:

Cloud Nothings’ Attack On Memory: $2.99 (link)

Zammuto’s Zammuto: $2.99 (link)

Porcelain Raft’s Strange Weekend: $2.99 (link) 

Andrew Bird’s Break It Yourself: $3.99 (link)

The Men’s Open Your Heart: $3.99 (link)

Sleigh Bells’ Reign Of Terror: $3.99 (link) 

Chairlift’s Something: $3.99 (link) 

The Walkmen’s Heaven: $3.99 (link)

The Tallest Man On Earth’s There’s No Leaving Now: 3.99 (link) 

The Flaming Lips’ The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends: $4.99 (link)

Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music: $4.99 (link)

Lower Dens’ Nootropics: $4.99 (link)

Beach House’s Bloom: $4.99 (link)

EL-P’s Cancer For Cure: $5.99 (link)

- Kyle Minton