10 new albums to listen to in April

It’s been six years since Bon Iver’s last full-length album (2019’s i,i), and we were getting impatient for some new music from the band. Last year’s SABLE, EP held us over for a little while, but the three promising tracks ultimately left us wanting more. Luckily, SABLE, fABLE is exactly that: a continuation of the EP, or an “epilogue,” as vocalist Justin Vernon calls it. The nine new songs are a bright, poppy, sensual contrast to the relative darkness of the three SABLE, songs that open the record, charting a positive new path forward for the band.

Julien Baker and TORRES teamed up to make the queer country album of our dreams. Send A Prayer My Way has been in the works for six years; Mackenzie Scott, a.k.a. TORRES, first approached Baker about the project in 2019, but it got put on hold so Baker would have enough time to promote and support boygenius’ debut album. Though Baker and Scott’s previous music was firmly indie, they connected over their shared Southern roots to craft an authentic, loving homage to the genre that proliferated their childhoods. The songs on Send A Prayer My Way radiate warmth and yearning, while Baker and Scott’s voices sound absolutely sublime together.

Tunde Adebimpe, longtime frontman of TV On The Radio, is finally stepping into the solo artist space with Thee Black Boltz. In an album note on Bandcamp, Adebimpe describes the record as an island of hope in a sea of despair: “The sparks of inspiration/motivation/hope that flash up in the midst of (and sometimes as a result of) deep grief, depression or despair. Sort of like electrons building up in storm clouds clashing until they fire off lightning and illuminate a way out, if only for a second.”

Beach Bunny has pulled off the magic trick of parlaying viral TikTok fame into real-life success. Since “Prom Queen” became near-ubiquitous in 2019, the band has released a pair of critically acclaimed albums (2020’s Honeymoon and 2022’s Emotional Creature). Tunnel Vision is their third full-length, and it builds upon the band’s signature alt-rock sound. Singer and guitarist Lili Trifilio delivers hook after hook, crafting an album full of songs that are impossible to get out of your head.

Deerhoof kicked off the promotional cycle for their new album with a fun stunt: They premiered the lead single, “Immigrant Songs,” on Craigslist, to “spotlight a tech platform that isn’t blatantly supporting fascism.” It’s a pretty on-brand move for the noise-punk band in general, but it pairs especially well with this description of Noble And Godlike In Ruin from a press release: “[Deerhoof’s] latest album is either a portrait of a world descending into monstrous hate, dehumanization, and dollar signs, or a haunting self-portrait of band-as-monster: an intelligent, sensitive, hybrid creature, singing tirelessly of love, but increasingly alienated from that world.” In other words, classic Deerhoof.

Jensen McRae’s second album borrows its title from a line uttered by Christopher Lloyd just before he survives a shootout in Back To The Future. The singer-songwriter found comfort in that image of survival after experiencing two emotionally intense romantic relationships back-to-back. “This album is primarily an exploration about how love and intimacy knock the wind out of you, can take your legs out from under you,” McRae said in a note on Bandcamp. On I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!, McRae pairs heartbreaking lyrics with her stunning vocals, and pre-release single “Praying For Your Downfall” is a break-up anthem for the ages.

So, uh, that February release date for rapper Roddy Ricch’s The Navy Album didn’t quite work out. There’s been no official explanation for the delay or an official announcement of a new date, though the Apple Music page for the album lists April 25 as the new street date. It’s not clear what, exactly, is going on here, but maybe this time the date will stick. It’s been five years since Ricch’s last record, so the clock is ticking on The Navy Album.

With their fourth album, Mortal Primetime, Sunflower Bean return to the heavier sound of their 2016 debut, Human Ceremony, after 2018’s Twentytwo In Blue and 2022’s Headful Of Sugar took the band in a more pop-oriented direction. Last year’s Shake EP was the first indication that the band was ready to revisit the metal-tinged psychedelia that made them famous, and Mortal Primetime continues that trend. This is Sunflower Bean’s first entirely self-produced album, giving them full creative control over their output for the first time.