New Music :: December 2021

This month’s must-catch new releases from the artists you already love and the musicians you need to know. 

Gyda

OX

Gyða Valtýsdóttir, aka Gyda, releases her much anticipated fourth album, OX. Traversing between a vast spaciousness and the tender intimacy of our inner world, the nine genre-fluid songs of Ox were begun in the solitary depths of a Brooklyn winter. By turns both visceral and wildly sublime, Ox celebrates the embodiment of both the darkness and the light that exists within us. Through soaring cello and  Gyða’s celestial vocals, the listener is led to look for meaning in the worlds that exist both within us and around us.

Arca

Kick ii

The highly anticipated fifth studio album by Venezuelan record producer and singer Arca, Kick ii, is releasing as volume two of a four-part series. The transformative vision is broad; the concepts are unique, and the deconstruction of sounds is illuminating. Heavy on backbeats, vocal manipulation, and craziness, Arca explores a quantum state of existence as it rests soundly on the deliverance of her ever-evolving craftsmanship and creativity.

Marissa Paternoster

Peace Meter

The prolific guitarist of Screaming Females is releasing brand-new music sans moniker and is making a statement. Peace Meter is the final project of collaborations after a year of isolation, panic, and uncertainty and finds the artist landing in a space of refinement. Resonating with sounds of melancholy while tapping strongly into the heavy guitars she is widely known for, Paternoster’s haunting lyrical stylings paired with her somber timber brings home a sense of longing for the forgotten.

Monsta X

The Dreaming

The K-pop group with worldwide acclaim releases their English-language album, which is a continuation of their first English-language debut album, All About Luv. Monsta X showcases their ability to lean into good vibes with soaring ballads, mid-tempo beats, and energetic bangers. With the spirit of the global connection that is the language of love through music, the evocative new chapter of Mosta X is craftfully demonstrated through The Dreaming.

Moses Sumney

Live From Blackalachia

The new live album from Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter Moses Sumney encapsulates the literal and interpretive spirit of the 2018 release, Aromanticism and 2020’s græ. The soulful crooner’s alternative, indie-folk leanings come through in funky, beautiful arrangements of the formerly released songs, while offering a fresh, new perspective after years of growth and imagination. As an exercise in re-intergrating with nature, the artist reclaims the vibrance in which a grey world comes alive.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Barn

There’s one amazing thing that came out of this hell year, and I’ll fight anyone who isn’t stoked: everyone’s favorite, tried-and-true duo of Neil Young and Crazy Horse is back in 2021. Featuring harmonica, soft guitar, and lilting and personal vocals, Barn is everything we hoped for from this release. While it may not be the most timely music to spin in this year of our lord, the attention to detail still showcased decades on from their first collaboration proves it is timeless.