February 22 Album Releases

Ladies, Gents, this is my first edition of our beloved Drop it Like It’s Hot blog, so bear with me if it gets weird! I haven’t heard the music of many of the artists releasing albums this week, but I’ll give it a good ol’ college try and give you readers a decent look into the albums that are stoke-worthy, or, in layman’s terms, albums that you should be stoked about. So without further adieu, I present to you the latest installment of Drop it Like It’s Hot.

Alternative rock lynchpins Radiohead released their latest album The King of Limbs digitally Friday and this, dear readers, is big news. Thom Yorke and his buds have been re-imagining the musical landscape with their brand of slightly-weird, aural bliss. Radiohead has transcended all genres during the band’s long career, achieving critical and popular acclaim. The King of Limbs shouldn’t disappoint. Admittedly, I am not a big Radiohead guy. I appreciate their abilities as artists, and their influence is far-reaching, but it’s just not my cup of tea. Maybe (Probably), you’ll disagree with their latest release. Get it!

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Adele releases her latest album this week with 21. She’s not an artist who’s music I am familiar with, but two Grammy’s and a slew of Critic’s Choice awards can’t lie, no? 21 promises to present Adele’s blues and soul hybrid to more critical acclaim. Check out “My Same” and “Hometown Glory” for some vintage Adele.

Onto more uncharted territory! Another singer-songwriter called Darwin Deez is releasing a self-title album. Google tells me that he is of the indie-rock persuasion and that he is based in New York City. He released the same album last year in the UK, and now it is seeing the light of day in the states. I don’t know anything about this guy, but with an album cover like this, how can you go wrong?!

That’s just about all I’ve got. Tahiti 80 releases The Past, The Present & The Possible, Toro y Moi is releasing Underneath the Pine, and The Low Anthem presents Smart Flesh. Funk it up with G. Love on Fixin’ to Die and pick your poison on Banjo or Freakout’s self-titled debut, Banjo or Freakout.

I wish I knew more music. I’ve heard of a lot of these artists, but I haven’t gotten around to hearing their tunes. They are all good, I’m sure. If I missed any key albums, you can find a complete list here, care of metacritic.

Til next time, Lobsters.

--Paolo Balboa, Video Director