With so much good music being released all the time, it can be hard to determine what to listen to first. Every week, Pitchfork offers a run-down of significant new releases available on streaming services. This week’s batch includes new albums from Julie Doiron, R.A.P. Ferreira, Richard Dawson & Circle, Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon, and Defcee & Messiah Musik. Subscribe to Pitchfork’s New Music Friday newsletter to get our recommendations in your inbox every week. (All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors. When you buy something through our affiliate links, however, Pitchfork earns an affiliate commission.)
Julie Doiron: I Thought of You [You’ve Changed]
Canadian singer-songwriter Julie Doiron is back with I Thought of You, her first album under her own name since 2012’s So Many Days. She shared “Darkness to Light” ahead of the upbeat, twang-tinged record, which features the French-language song “Et Mon Amour.” Doiron joined Phil Elverum for a collaborative album in 2019, Lost Wisdom Pt. 2.
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R.A.P. Ferreira: The Light-Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures [Ruby Yacht]
Previously known as Milo, Rory Allen Philip Ferreira rebooted as R.A.P. Ferreira with last year’s Purple Moonlight Pages. After issuing Bob’s Son in January, he’s back with The Light-Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures, where he digs into influences from his time in Nashville. He has described the project as “11 concise chapters of pure will with no dilution.” Eldon Somers joins the rapper on “BlackMissionFigs.”
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Richard Dawson & Circle: Henki [Weird World]
Finnish rock band Circle join forces with the cult English singer-songwriter Richard Dawson for Henki. With a title nodding to Finnish spirits, Henki explores mythologies and other oddities of history; “Silene,” for instance, concerns a 32,000-year-old seed. They released videos for “Methuselah” and “Lily” ahead of the album.
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Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon: Beautifully Black [Jewelry Rap Productions]
Beautifully Black is the second album this year from Charlotte, North Carolina rapper Lord Jah-Monte Ogbone, following May’s Too Little, Too Late. Navy Blue, who produced the project, joins him on “I Miss You,” with Kelly Moonstone, Messiah, and Phiik appearing elsewhere. Beautifully Black is the fourth album produced by Navy Blue this year, following Wiki’s Half God, Akai Solo’s True Sky, and Ankhlejohn’s As Above So Below.
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Defcee & Messiah Musik: Trapdoor [Backwoodz Studioz]
Trapdoor is a new album from Chicago rapper Defcee and producer Messiah Musik. “I sought Messiah out for a whole project because his track record was perfect—I had never heard a song he produced where it wasn’t one of my favorites on the project,” Defcee said of his collaborator in press materials. The 15-track record includes contributions from PremRock, Armand Hammer, Alaska, Henry Canyons, Curly Castro, and others.
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