Twostepcub's New Album Roundup 11/6/22...

 

 

I'm back after a week off (sorry!) for my New Album Roundup, sampling my picks of the albums that made their debut on this week's charts in America and the United Kingdom. You can catch up with yesterday's "singles" round-up by clicking here...

 

Midnights - Taylor Swift

Billboard 200 debut: #1

Billboard Current Albums sales debut: #1 

British Albums Sales debut: #1

Choice cut: "Anti-Hero"

 

 After a pair of acclaimed acoustic-heavy albums, Swift is back with this sparse electro-pop record that forces the listener to pay attention to the lyrics. Thankfully she delivers with a collection that on the most part avoids the petty (I could've done without the Lana Del Rey duet though).

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The Car - Arctic Monkeys

Billboard 200 debut: #6

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #2 

British Albums Sales debut: #2

Choice cut: "There'd Better Be A Mirrorball"

 

 The British band that gave us "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" have evolved a thousandfold on their seventh release sixteen years later. This is the best approximation to the progressive version of Britpop. Lush and sweeping in scope, yet with Alex Turner's vocals that drew me in like a 1800s french chanteuse.

Takin' It Back - Meghan Trainor

Billboard 200 debut: #16

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #6

Choice cut: "Bad For Me"

As I said yesterday, it takes major cohones to release a new female pop record in the same week as Taylor Swift, but lo and behold we have Trainor's fifth album. It has sparks of her debut's retro vibe, along with more adult pieces like this expositional ballad.

The Loneliest Time - Carly Rae Jepsen

Billboard 200 debut: #19

Billboard Current Album Sales debut: #5 

British Albums Sales debut: #16

Choice cut: "Western Wind"

Meghan wasn't the only pop icon releasing competition to Midnights; Canadian Carly is back with her sixth set, which is full of bops, but I gravitated to his more expansive number. To be truthful, while Taylor's album is great, I enjoyed listening to Jepsen's more, and predict I'll be playing this in the car and around the house much more often.

Girls Night Out - Babyface

Billboard 200 debut: #166

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #38

Choice cut: "Keeps On Fallin'"

After a seven year break, one of the most successful producers and writers of the modern pop era returns with his ninth solo set that pairs him with an assortment of great newer female voices like Muni Long, Kehlani, and Ella Mai. This is a record that proves that classic soul isn't dead.

 

Crybaby - Tegan & Sara

Billboard Current Album Sales debut: #20

Choice cut: "F*****g Up What Matters" 

It's nice when the sister don't try to be pop stars, which happens more on this tenth record of theirs.

Stumpwork - Dry Cleaning

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #27

British Albums Sales debut: #11

Choice cut: "Don't Press Me"

 

 This sophomore effort by the London band is raw and quick to the point. Florence Shaw is a real presence here.

The Classic Symptoms Of A Broken Spirit - Architects

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #31

British Albums Sales debut: #18

Choice cut: "When We Were Young"

If you want to get your rage out, scream along with the tenth album by the British metalcore heroes. Tight yet cathartic in its emotional release, Architects bring a set made for the car drive on a pissy day.

MMJ Live, Vol. 2: 11/5/21, Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL - My Morning Jacket

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #32

Choice cut: "Complex"

Two hours of trippy rock goodness are inside this week's live pick.

Direction Of The Heart - Simple Minds

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #43

British Albums Sales debut: #4

Choice cut: "Act Of Love"

 

 The iconic Scottish modern rock band returns with their eighteenth studio effort, sounding just as vital as ever, and even including a reimagining of one of their earliest songs from 1978.

Steady - Sloan

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #48

Choice cut: "Spend The Day"

Veteran Canadian power-pop band deliver the goods on this Beatle-esque record.

Reason In Decline - Archers Of Loaf

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #59

Choice cut: "In The Surface Noise"

I've always respected anyone who said Archers Of Loaf were their favorite band. The noise-rock group is back with another meaty slab of anger.

Candy Drip - Lucky Daye

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #62

Choice cut: "Over"

 

 This year's winner of the Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album for his third EP Table For Two delivers his second full-length album full of lush and intricate jams.

Unison Life - Brutus

Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #95

Choice cut: "Liar"

Brutus, a Belgian math-rock trio that features drummer Stefanie Mannaerts on lead vocals which gives this set a much more enhanced sound.

True North - a-ha

British Albums Sales debut: #12

Choice cut: "I'm In"

 

 Man, I wish I had seen them in their most recent tour. Norwegian new wave vets return with their 11th record that also sports a film on the recording of the set. This powerful song is one of my favorites of the entire year.

And there you have it. Let me know if you have any favorites of these, or any suggestions. I'll be back next week for another one..