New Music Friday: Demi Lovato, Deerhunter, Omi
Check the calendar: It’s another new music Friday, with tons of new music for you to buy or stream. Feed those headphone cravings with something from this menu of albums released today, October 16th.
Today’s biggest new release is Demi Lovato’s fifth solo album, Confident. Demi already has a hit on her hands with the Max Martin-produced “Cool for the Summer.” Can she follow it up with a strong album? Time to find out.
Deerhunter are one of the best torchbearers left for album-length indie rock. They return after a two-year break with Fading Frontier, recorded in their hometown of Atlanta. “No one spaces out like these Atlanta shoegazers, masters of distracted guitar poesy,” writes Jon Dolan.
Omi scored a major radio smash this year with his fun-loving pop-reggae single “Cheerleader.” Now he’s taking his best swing at a full-length debut with Me 4 U. Unfortunately, Annie Licata writes that he’s not quite ready for primetime.
Canadian duo Majical Cloudz have attracted a steady following with their intense, spare, emotional music. They take that sound to a bigger canvas than ever on Are You Alone?, with compelling results, says Will Hermes.
Chillwave pioneer Alan Palomo, a.k.a. Neon Indian, is back with VEGA INTL. Night School. Renato Pagnani writes that these are Palomo’s sleekest, most accessible songs yet.
A cappella stars Pentatonix, a.k.a. PTX, bring their sweet harmonies back to your stereo with their fourth studio LP, Pentatonix (not to be confused with 2014’s PTX or PTX, Vols. 1 & 2). This is their first album to focus on original compositions instead of covers. Brittany Spanos writes about whether their big gambit works.
Eclectic Atlanta rapper Raury has attracted his fair share of fans and doubters before even releasing a proper debut album. All We Need is his first studio LP, and a moment of truth for anyone who’s still making up their mind on him.
Punk fans might have seen Hether Fortune rocking out on bass during White Lung’s ferocious tour last year. Fortune’s back with her own new-wave/death-disco project Wax Idols now, and her new album American Tragic is where she truly comes into her own, writes Rob Sheffield.
Art-pop crew YACHT have been using some creative methods to get the word out about their new album, I Thought the Future Would Be Cooler, including a music video whose release was governed by Uber surge rates in Los Angeles. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to use Uber to listen to their new album.) Jon Dolan writes about their dystopic (or is that utopian?) vision of the future.
Coheed and Cambria are best known for their epic multi-album conceptual opus The Amory Wars – but their new one, The Color Before the Sun, is just a straight-up rock album, with no connection to any larger storyline, for the first time ever.
Dance-punk party-starters !!! (pronounced “chk-chk-chk”) are still shake-shake-shaking on their six-six-sixth album, As If.
Cleveland’s Machine Gun Kelly drops his second album on Bad Boy, General Admission, today. Come on in!