Wednesday Roundups #27: 10 Albums/EPs You Should Listen to In Your Spare Time
Stream releases from Armand Hammer, Cleo Sol, Kenyon Dixon, Kamaal Williams, Rome Streetz, Maxo, Grace Weber, Jorja Smith, Beverley Knight, and MOONGA K.
Welcome back to Shatter the Standards!
The twenty-seventh outing of Wednesday Roundups!
It might be challenging to prioritize your music listening when so much new music isĀ available. Shatter the Standards provide a weekly summary of newsworthy releases on streaming platforms. Armand Hammer, Cleo Sol, Kenyon Dixon, Kamaal Williams, Rome Streetz, Maxo, Grace Weber, Jorja Smith, Beverley Knight, and MOONGA K. were the artists with new albums or projects last week. Watch for weekly music drops every Wednesday for suggestions of lesser-known albums.
Here are your roundups for today!
Armand Hammer ā We Buy Diabetic Test Strips (Hip-Hop) [Listen]
billy woods and āELUCID havenāt āreleased a new āalbum as āArmand Hammer since ātheir Alchemist-produced āHaram dropped two āand a āhalf years ago. āHowever, their āoutput has remained āincredibly prolific. āELUCID released I āTold Bessie ālast year, while āwoods has āreleased two albums āsince Haram: āAethiopes and Church āin 2022 āand Maps, produced āby Kenny āSegal, this year. āDespite their āconstant release schedule, āthey always āretain their creative āmomentum. Each āproject feels like āa vital āpiece of the āpuzzle, and āWe Buy Diabetic āTest Strips āis no different. āThe album āboasts an array āof producers āand guests, including āfamiliar faces āand new collaborators. āNotable guests āon Test āStrips include Soul āGloās Pierce āJordan (as Moneynicca), āJunglepussy, Moor āMother, Pink Siifu, āCurly Castro, āand Cavalier. The ādiverse range āof producers involved āin the āproject includes JPEGMAFIA, āEl-P, Kenny āSegal, DJ Haram, āBlack Noi$e, āPreservation, Steel Tipped āDove, August āFanon, Child Actor, āand Sebb āBash.
Cleo Sol ā Gold (R&B) [Listen]
Cleo Sol āhas released āher second album āof the āyear, Gold, following āup on āher previous LP, āHeaven. The ā10-track album features āsoulful genre āfusions and showcases āSolās captivating āvocals. The album āincludes cuts ālike āThings Will āGet Better,ā āwhich features jazzy ādrums and āSolās beautiful lyrics āthat can ābe sultry or āsoaring. Fans āof R&B and āsoul should ānot overlook Cleo āSolās music.
Kenyon Dixon ā The R&B You Love (R&B) [Listen]
āKenyon Dixon is āknown for āchampioning the genre āand promoting ārising R&B talents. āHis latest āalbum, The R&B āYou Love, āis a 17-song ātribute to āthe genre, featuring ātracks that āexplore loveās highs āand lows. āThe album includes āpreviously released āsongs and collaborates āwith artists āsuch as Kincy, āTiffany GouchĆ©, āand RL of āNext. Dixonās āmission is to āraise expectations āfor modern R&B, āhoping his āalbum rekindles listenersā ālove for āthe genre.
Kamaal Williams ā Stings (Jazz) [Listen]
Kamaal Williams āreleased his āthird solo album, āStings on āBlack Focus. The āalbum features āeleven tracks that āblend the āSouth London jazz āscene with āelements of Claude āDebussyās impressionist āsymphonies, futuristic hip-hop, āand electronic ābeats. The project āwas born āout of isolation, āreflection, and āspirituality during the āpandemic when Kamaal purchased an āupright piano āand became fully āindependent without āany label or ābooking agent. āThe albumās title ārefers to āthe strings that āvibrate throughout āthe album and āthe struggles āthat have shaped āWilliamsā identity.
Rome Streetz ā Noise Kandy 5 (Hip-Hop) [Listen]
Rome āStreetz returns āwith the final āinstallment of āhis Noise Kandy āseries, featuring āJoey Bada$$ and āother guests. āHe has released ānumerous projects, āincluding his Griselda ādebut album ā(Kiss the Ring) āand a ārecent collaboration with āBig Ghost āLtd (Wasnāt Built āIn a āDay).
Maxo ā Debbieās Son (Hip-Hop) [Listen]
āMaxo released his ādebut album āafter four years, āfollowed by āhis next album, āDebbieās Son, ājust a few āmonths later. āThe album features āten songs, āone guest, and āexperimental production āfrom various artists. āMaxoās music āis reminiscent of āShabazz Palaces, āwith jazz, psychedelia, āand stream-of-consciousness āelements. Despite sounding ālike a āveteran on his ādebut album āat a young āage, Maxo ātakes his music āin pleasantly āsurprising new directions āon this āalbum.
Grace Weber ā Paperflower (R&B) [Listen]
Grace Weber āhas made āa name for āherself with āher exceptional songwriting. āHer career ātook off after āwriting āAll āWe Gotā for āChance the āRapper, earning her āa Grammy. āHer 2017 single āāMore Than āFriendsā also gained ācommercial success āand recognition from āelite songwriter āJohn Mayer. Her ālatest album, āPaperflower, offers an āintimate look āinto her life āand showcases āher songwriting prowess, āparticularly in ātracks like āSuper āGoodā featuring āTOBi. The albumās ācomforting R&B āproduction complements Weberās āelegant songwriting āstyle.
Jorja Smith ā falling or flying (R&B) [Listen]
Jorja Smith āis back āwith her sophomore āalbum, falling āor flying. Made āwith production āduo DAMEDAME*, the āalbum has āa diverse backdrop āof skittering āelectronics, jazzy instrumentation, āambient textures, āAfrobeats, R&B, and āa brief ādose of alt-rock. āJorjaās powerful, āsoulful voice takes ācenter stage. āThe album features ātwo guest āvocalistsāUK rapper J āHus and āJamaican reggae singer āLila IkĆ©. āEvery move on āthis album āfeels carefully made, āall in āservice of achieving āa remarkable āvision.
Beverley Knight ā The Fifth Chapter (Pop/R&B) [Listen]
Beverley Knight has āimpressed audiences āwith her āgospel-powered soul vocals āsince the ā90s. She has āhad Top ā10 hits, gold āand platinum āalbums, and has āwon three āOlivier Awards for āher work āin musical theatre. āTo celebrate āturning 50, she āhas released āa new studio āalbum that āshowcases the ākaleidoscopeā āof her āsoul influences, featuring ātracks ranging āfrom 80s-inspired pop-funk āto big āballads and northern āsoul. The āalbum is an āintelligent mix āof her influences, āall delivered āwith class and āstyle. The āeleven new songs āshowcase the ācreative powers of āthe songwriters āand producers she āworked with.
MOONGA K. ā GARDEN (R&B) [Listen]
āMOONGA K.ās second āstudio album, āGARDEN, features a ādiverse blend āof futuristic funk, ājazz, pop, āsoul, grunge, afrobeat, āLatin, hip-hop, āand electronic elements. āThe album āshowcases MOONGA K.ās āconfidence in āhis vocal performance āand songwriting. āIt is an āode to āfostering personal power āthrough finding āfreedom, falling in ālove, and āowning who you āare. Produced āby quietmoneymusic and āFDeeZus, the āalbum includes a ācollaboration with āchildhood friend Nkosilathi āand background āvocals from artists āSio and āAmarafleur.