This Week's Releases

16 May 2013 | 1:46 pm | Alex Wilson

New music from Daft Punk, The National, Talib Kweli, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Jinja Safari!

The NationalTrouble Will Find Me (4AD/Remote Control)

After 2010's High Violet catapulted them into the indie-rock stratosphere, the band return with a strong record that finds them subtly refining their wistful and melancholy sound. We recently interviewed guitarist Aaron Dessner about lyrical and personal growing pains.

Daft PunkRandom Access Memories (Sony)

We've got a track-by-track breakdown of the long anticipated LP from these French masters, where you can also download their leaed single Get Lucky. In a bizarre turn of events, the album will premiere in the small NSW town of Wee Waa with a two-day party tomorrow night.

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The Dillinger Escape Plan One Of Us Is The Killer (Party Smasher Inc/Remote Control)

It's business as usual for the boys in Dillinger. Their new album is a precisely-executed combination of songwriting smarts, technical prowess and relentless aggression. Anyone who loves this band would not want it any other way.

Jinja SafariJinja Safari (Island/Universal)

This second effort from the Sydney afropop crew is packed full of all the same thrills and chills that has made them such a strong fixture in Australian music.

AirbourneBlack Dog Barking (Roadrunner/Warner)

Warrnambool's finest are ridgey-didge rock superstars overseas, but remain criminally underrated on their home turf. Black Dog Barking is probably not going to win over any of their detractors, but is still a strong effort from these classic rock revivalists.

The Cat EmpireSteal The Light (Two Shoes/Inertia)

Having kicked the major-label habit, the newly independent Cat Empire pursue a less pop-inflected sound than previous releases, perhaps becoming a little more alluring as a result.

ClassixxHanging Garden (Innovative Leisure/Future Classic)

Classixx is two DJs from LA that built a reputation on the back of some underground vinyl releases. Their debut LP finds them laying down the slick house and disco grooves that they are known so well for.

GhostpoetSome Say I So I Say Light (Liberator)

The upcoming British MC returns with this followup to his Mercury-nominated debut, laying it on thick with diverse arrangements featuring horns, guitars, glitch electronics and string sections. A warm and rewarding listen for anyone that likes a good headphone record.

...and more new music:

Escape The FateUngrateful (Eleven Seven/Sony)
Talib KweliPrisoner of Conscious (Frequency/Universal)
Thirty Seconds To MarsLove, Lust, Faith & Dreams (Universal)
EveLip Lock (Sony)
New PoliticsA Bad Girl In Harlem (Sony)
VariousLiving in the 70s: Volume 2 (Sony)
VariousWired for Sound: The 80s (Sony)
Bobby McFerrinSpirityouall (Sony)
Patty GriffinAmerican Kid (Sony)
Gabrielle AplinEnglish Rain (Warner)
Sam AmidonBright Sunny South (Nonesuch/Warner)
R.E.M.Green (Rhino/Warner)
Kelly DanceGoodnight Berlin (Broken Stone/Remote Control)
Standish/CarlyonDeleted Scenes (Chapter)
A Cartoon GraveyardThe Men Who Stole Your Horse Are In The Woods With My Friend (Independent)
Known AssociatesAshes to Dust (Broken Tooth)
Feed Her To The SharksSavage Seas (Independent)
BatpissNuclear Winter (Every Night Is A Saturday Night)
The Wonder YearsThe Greatest Generation (UNFD/Hopeless)
Julia HolterTragedy (Domino/EMI)
Beccy ColeBeccy's Big Hits (Ambition/EMI)
Amy GrantHow Mercy Looks From Here (EMI)
P-MoneyGratitude (Duck Down)
The BellRaysBlack Lightning (Sultan Sounds/MGM)
VariousKitsune America 2 (PIAS/Liberator)
Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwoodalbum (Heavenly/PIAS/Liberator)
Marques ToliverLand of CanAan (Bella Union/PIAS/Liberator)
Andrew WyattDescender (Downtown/PIAS/Liberator)
WampireCuriosity (Popfrenzy)
The Baptist GeneralsJackleg Devotional to the Heart (label)