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 mixtapes from Japanese Breakfast, Loraine James, Rostam, Greentea Peng, Pan Daijing, and Ka$hdami. 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.)
Japanese Breakfast: Jubilee [Dead Oceans]
Jubilee is Michelle Zauner’s third studio album as Japanese Breakfast, following the 2017 sophomore effort Soft Sounds from Another Planet. “After spending the last five years writing about grief, I wanted our follow up to be about joy,” Zauner said of the new record in a press release. “For me, a third record should feel bombastic and so I wanted to pull out all the stops for this one.” The Jubilee rollout included a string of self-directed music videos, featuring cameos by Mannequin Pussy’s Missy (“Be Sweet”) and Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli (“Savage Good Boy”). Read Pitchfork’s interview “Japanese Breakfast Is Working the Pain Away.”
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Loraine James: Reflection [Hyperdub]
Reflection arrives two years after London producer Loraine James’ studio debut For You and I. James shared lead single “Simple Stuff” in March, followed by last month’s “Let’s Go.” In between her two LPs, James released her Nothing EP in the fall of 2020. Read Pitchfork’s 2019 Rising interview “Loraine James’ Fearlessly Queer Take on the Sound of London.”
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Rostam: Changephobia [Matsor Projects/Secretly Distribution]
For his second solo album Changephobia, producer and songwriter Rostam was deeply inspired by jazz and baritone saxophone. A special edition of the release even includes saxophone sheet music and guitar tablature inserts for each relevant track. The Changephobia rollout stretches back to last year when Rostam shared the video for “Unfold You,” co-starring Hari Nef.
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Greentea Peng: Man Made [AMF]
Man Made is the debut album from South London–born singer-songwriter Greentea Peng. The 18-track release features guest spots from Simmy and Kid Cruise, as well as production from Swindle, Samo, Kiko, and Mala. Man Made was mixed by Commissioner Gordon, who worked on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
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Pan Daijing: Jade 玉观音 [PAN]
Berlin-based composer and producer Pan Daijing wrote and recorded Jade 玉观音 over the course of the last three years. The follow-up to her 2017 album Lack is a meditation on solitude. “Solitude is like an immense lake you’re swimming through,” Daijing said in press materials. “Sometimes you dip your head in and sometimes you lift it above.”
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Ka$hdami: Epiphany [Kashwayz]
Epiphany is the debut mixtape from Las Vegas–born, DMV-based rapper Ka$hdami. Contributors to the 16-year-old’s tape include BabySantana, SSGKobe, Yvngxchris, and Lil Tecca, who produced “I Know.” Read about “Look N the Mirror” on the Ones.
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