March 8 Album Releases

Hey all!I am new to the "Drop It Like It’s Hot tradition at ACRN," but I will do my best to give you the scoop on the new releases for the second week of March, 2011.

First up, Chicago MC Lupe Fiasco releases Lasers, his much-anticipated, third studio album that was severely delayed due to a battle with Atlantic Records and the incarceration of his manager. Now, Lupe can finally relax and enjoy promoting the project—this week, he will be on BET’s “106 & Park” and “Lopez Tonight.” The album has already yielded singles “The Show Must Go On” and “Words I Never Said.” Fans may find a bit of a dichotomy in the album, as Lupe told the Chicago Sun-Times that he had to appease the record label by delivering a commercial product, while trying not to compromise his artistic expression.

Now, let’s move on to Starfucker’s new album, Reptilians.I am not familiar with the electronica, Portland, Oregon band, but its dreamy, danceable sound has piqued my curiosity. The group members are promoting their third record with a string of performances in California, but they will make their way to Columbus, OH’s Skully’s Music Diner with Champagne on April 11.

Veteran rock group R.E.M. is also dropping an album. Collapse into Now is the band’s 15th record, and frontman Michael Stipe gave Rolling Stone some insight into its making: “The three of us were communicating in a really great way," he said. The new project seems significant, if only in a visual sense—the group recruited a variety of directors to film a video for each track. Let’s hope the album’s sound lives up to that ambition.

While Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-ers R.E.M. arguably have nothing left to prove, singer-songwriter Alexi Murdoch is still fairly new in terms of releasing L.P.s—this week’s Towards the Sun is the artist’s second full-length album.Apparently, Murdoch wrote the basic tracks for the album during a single night on a tour stop in 2009. Fans can expect a primarily-acoustic record from the singer, whose music has been featured in countless television shows and films.

Last but not least, experimental/noise rock group Parts and Labor has a few more albums under its belt. The band’s new release, Constant Future, seems like a fun, electronic journey into an alternate universe. I am making this judgment solely from the title track, which caught my attention, though the group had me with what I think is one of the best band names ever. The Village Voice commended Parts and Labor for its ability to “create unlikely hooks from a chaos.” From the little that I heard, that seems about right

Other noteworthy new albums include Wye Oak’s Civilian, Kurt Vile’s Smoke Ring for my Halo, A Hawk and a Hacksaw’s Cervantine, Carol Bui’s Red Ship, Dinosaur Bone’s My Divider, Grails’ Deep Politics and Western Hymn’s Out of the Way.

Happy listening!

--Erica Thompson, News and Live Reviews Editor