#6 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Mdou Moctar, CHAI, Erika de Casier, and More

“#6 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Mdou Moctar, CHAI, Erika de Casier, and More”

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 and projects from Mdou Moctar, CHAI, Erika de Casier, Mach-Hommy, Lambchop, and Young Nudy. 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.)

Mdou Moctar: Afrique Victime [Matador]

Mdou Moctar’s first album for new label Matador is the Tuareg artist’s finest work to date. Backed by his touring band, Moctar recorded Afrique Victime while on the road behind 2019’s Ilana (The Creator). As Sam Sodomsky writes in his Best New Music review: “You get the sense that when the lights go down and he looks out at his audience, he doesn’t just see his community: He sees the future.”

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Listen/Buy at Bandcamp
Buy at Rough Trade

CHAI: WINK [Sub Pop]

Like many of us, Japanese four-piece CHAI dove into their hobbies and other interests while staying indoors during the pandemic. As they began to send songs back and forth for their new album WINK—their first for Sub Pop—a new kind of CHAI began to emerge. Inspired by the varied genres they were listening to at home, WINK injects the effervescent energy of their past dance-punk work into funk, chiptune, and more.

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Listen/Buy at Bandcamp
Buy at Rough Trade

Erika de Casier: Sensational [4AD]

Singer-songwriter Erika de Casier’s sophomore album, Sensational, follows her self-released 2019 debut Essentials. It touches on some of the same themes, but Sensational focuses on the more tangible, tougher aspects of romance. The album was produced by de Casier and collaborator Natal Zeks.

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Listen/Buy at Bandcamp
Buy at Rough Trade

Mach-Hommy: Pray for Haiti [Griselda]

The prolific, mysterious rapper Mach-Hommy adds another release to his deep discography with Pray for Haiti, executive produced and curated by Griselda founder Westside Gunn. The project follows Mach’s Hard Lemonade and boasts contributions from Gunn, Keisha Plum, Tha God Fahim, producer Conductor Williams, and others.

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Lambchop: Showtunes [Merge]

Showtunes is Lambchop’s follow-up to 2019’s This (is what I wanted to tell you). Lambchop mastermind Kurt Wagner recorded the album remotely with Yo La Tengo’s James McNew, Ryan Olson, co-producer and engineer Jeremy Ferguson, horn player and arranger CJ Camerieri, and Cologne DJ Twit One.

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Listen on TIDAL
Listen on Amazon Music
Listen/Buy at Bandcamp
Buy at Rough Trade

Young Nudy: DR. EV4L [PDE/RCA]

Young Nudy’s latest full-length features guest appearances from Lil Uzi Vert, his cousin 21 Savage, and G Herbo. The 13-track project follows Nudy’s Anyways mixtape from 2020. Revisit Pitchfork’s 2019 interview “Young Nudy Is Putting the Bullshit Behind Him.”

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