TYLER, THE CREATOR ft. A$AP ROCKY
Who Dat Boy ★★★★
Columbia
"F*** rap, I'm tryna own the planet," boasts Tyler, the Creator in this terrific self-directed new video, his first solo recording since 2015's Cherry Bomb. The 26-year-old rapper has been expanding his creative horizons lately, curating music festivals, running a fashion label, dabbling in graphic art and hosting his own Viceland TV show. But here he is back to what he does best: spitting rhymes, mugging to camera and, frankly, grossing us out. (The video's storyline contains a subplot worthy of Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs.) An icky, but welcome, return.
ST VINCENT
New York
4AD
On
[ the lead singleOpens in new window ]
from her fifth studio album, Annie Clark pays tribute to her former hometown (she relocated to LA in 2016) and “the only motherf***er in the city who can stand me”. It’s an uncharacteristically simple piano ballad from an ofttimes enigmatic artist.
PETER PERRETT
How The West Was Won ★★★
Domino
"Like everyone else I'm in love with Kim Kardashian / She's taken over from J.Lo as my number one…" To paraphrase the blue-haired lawyer from The Simpsons, ladies and gentlemen, Peter Perrett is so convinced of the merits of his latest comeback album that he is prepared to waste the jury's time rating the super-divas. The 65-year-old former Only Ones singer has rightly earned rave reviews for How The West Was Won. But the title track does bare a very strong melodic resemblance to the Velvet Underground's Sweet Jane.
JAY-Z
4.44 ★★★
Roc Nation
On last year's super snarling Lemonade album, Beyoncé gave her account of her recent marital difficulties. Here, her husband gives his side of that story: admitting infidelity, apologising and promising change. Which is all to his credit. Plus, it's not nearly as good a record as Beyoncé's, so no one can accuse him of stealing his wife's thunder. Who said chivalry is dead?
(Jay-Z's exclusive release means no streams are currently available for embed)
