twostepcub's New Albums Roundup 12/25/22...
Happy Sunday, everybody, it's time for this week's new album round-up,
where I sample my picks of the best of the albums making their debut on Billboard
magazine's sales charts as well as the same across the pond in the
United Kingdom. You can check out yesterday's new singles recap by clicking here. It's another very light week due to the Christmas/Hanuakkah holidays, but of course one big album comes in to steal the show.
Billboard 200 debut: #1
Choice cut: "Special"
"Bedroom soul" singer Solána Imani Rowe, aka SZA, finally returns with her second album after tussles with her record company, and it's a sprawling feast of experiments in rock, alt-country, and hyper-pop, but mostly centered around romantic troubles and self-image. Personally, I would've liked this pared down to 12 cuts, but there's nothing unlistenable here for sure.
(Click below to see the rest of the post)
Permanent Radiant - ††† (Crosses)
Billboard Current Albums Sales debut: #65
Choice cut: "Vivien"
The side project for Chino Moreno of the alt-metal titans the Deftones, the oddly-monikered band ††† reconvene after eight years with this short collection of dark electronic jams that give us a taste of what is coming next.
British Albums Sales debut: #1
Choice cut: "Spaceman"
After scoring the dreaded "double nil points" at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest (with a different singer), the United Kingdom redeemed themselves with this year's damn commendable second-place finish behind the Ukraine, and it wouldn't have been possible without Sam Ryder, an affable long-haired blond singer with a vocal range of the gods that originally got famous singing cover songs on TikTok. His entry, "Spaceman", is certainly the highlight, but there's so much else to delight, between ballads, motivational rockers, and a banger collab with David Guetta and Sigala.
British Albums Sales debut: #49
Choice cut: "Wire To Wire"
One of my favorite British bands of the 2000s that never broke in America, Razorlight get their proper retrospective with this collection that has most of their UK top-40 hits during their three albums on Vertigo Records.
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