With so much great music coming out all the time, it can be difficult to decide what to listen to first. Ultcruze helps by providing a list of important new releases on streaming services every week. This week, there are new albums from Lil Durk, Water From Your Eyes, Arlo Parks, Jay Worthy & Roc Marciano, Sparks, HiTech, Asma Maroof, Patrick Belaga & Tapiwa Svosve, M. Sage, and Pines of Rome. Please note that all the releases mentioned here are chosen independently by our editors.

Lil Durk: Almost Healed [Alamo]

Lil Durk started the final phase of his “Almost Healed” campaign by releasing a song called “All My Life” in collaboration with J. Cole. They also made a positive music video in Durk’s hometown, Chicago. The rest of the album includes songs with Future, 21 Savage, Alicia Keys, and a verse from Juice WRLD. It was produced by talented artists like Metro Boomin and Southside. “Almost Healed” comes after Durk’s previous album, “7220,” which was released last year.

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Akanni Ta Bom Embraces Folk in New Single “The Pressure”

Akanni Ta Bom, a Ghanaian-American songwriter/singer, has entered the African music scene with his latest single, “The Pressure.” Released on May 25, 2023, the song reflects Akanni’s exploration of existence and survival in Africa, using relatable expressions and resonating with the indigenous audience. Inspired by a diverse range of artists, Akanni refuses to be confined to one style, showcasing his artistic dynamism. “The Pressure” is a folk-inspired, lyrically mesmerizing track with enchanting baselines that leaves fans eagerly anticipating more of Akanni’s sonic experiments. As a rising star, Akanni Ta Bom brings a unique blend of influences and heartfelt lyrics to African music, making him an artist to watch.

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Water From Your Eyes: Everyone’s Crushed [Matador]

Water From Your Eyes compose freaky pop music out of helter-skelter beats, pitch-bent guitars, weltering synth glitches, signal-jammed earworms, and vocalist Rachel Brown’s sometimes chanted, sometimes chatty, always oddly catchy cadences. Preceded by “Barley,” the alt-pop artists’ sixth studio album and Matador debut twists familiar sounds into horribly misshapen, Beefheartian symphonies that nonetheless make sense of our broken times and minds. Read Pitchfork’s feature “Alt-Pop Duo Water From Your Eyes Commit to the Bit.”

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Arlo Parks: My Soft Machine [Transgressive]

Arlo Parks created her second album using engaging indie folk, pop, and rock music. The album explores topics like her first love, anxiety in her mid-twenties, her friends’ substance use, and her experiences with PTSD, grief, self-sabotage, and joy. She titled the album after a quote from the movie “The Souvenir” by Joanna Hogg, which discusses the allure of cinema. One of the singles, called “Pegasus,” features Phoebe Bridgers.

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Jay Worthy & Roc Marciano: Nothing Bigger Than the Program [GDF/Marci Enterprises/Empire]

Compton’s Jay Worthy and New York’s Roc Marciano have collaborated on a new album called “Nothing Bigger Than the Program.” Roc Marciano, who recently gained recognition for his album “The Elephant Man’s Bones,” produced the album for Jay Worthy. The album features appearances by Bun B, A$AP Ant, Ab-Soul, Da$h, Kurupt, and others.

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Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte [Island]

Sparks, a theatrical pop duo, has become more visible recently due to two important film projects: the documentary “The Sparks Brothers” by Edgar Wright and the unconventional musical “Annette,” which they co-wrote with Leos Carax. After these projects, Sparks released their latest album, “The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte,” marking their return to Island label after leaving in 1976. The album features their signature mix of quirky stories set to catchy synthpop. The title track of the album was accompanied by a music video featuring Cate Blanchett dancing in a stylish yellow suit, reminiscent of David Byrne’s style.

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