New Music Friday: This week’s essential new releases

Lætitia Tamko's third album as Vagabon was written in the wake of losing a friend in 2021 but there is little in the way of traditional mourning across the 12 gleaming songs on Sorry I Haven't Called. Alongside co-producer Rostam, Tamko has delivered a collection of songs built for escape and ecstatic moments. Written largely in Germany and inspired by the Hamburg club scene, there is an exuberance that runs through "Lexicon" and "Can I Talk My Shit?" that acknowledge death paradoxically by charging head first into life. "Carpenter" is a stand-out as both a moment of synth-pop and in providing a postcard from a grieving artist. "I wasn’t ready to move on out," she sings over a slick bassline, "but I'm more ready now." – David Renshaw

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

What more can we ask of Mitski? On her seventh album, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, we are allowed entry into the inner workings of her mind as she contemplates loneliness, fame, and heartbreak. The sound of The Land is gentle and tender, yet Mitski — true to form — delivers her sharpest cuts with the knife-turns of her lyricism: “You’re my best friend/ Now I’ve no one to tell/ How I lost my best friend.” Ever dignified while still writing through the depths of grief and sentimental reflection, it’s Mitski who has forever mastered the art of cutting so deeply while barely moving the dagger. – Cady Siregar

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

That rictus grin on the cover art tells you a lot of what you need to know — Ralphie Choo is having a great time on his new project Supernova, dissolving your expectations in real-time as you listen. And he sounds fantastic doing it, too; one of the most ambitious, vibrant, and thrilling debut albums in recent memory, Supernova is a controlled explosion of pop music conventions. Opening track "JUAN SALVADOR GAVIOTA" is the opening theme of a Disney movie you remember but never actually existed, fluttering and strutting like Danny Elfman if he made a trip-hop album and dipping its toe mischievously into muzak territory before pulling back into full lush orchestration. His mutations of flamenco (his breakout "BULERÍAS DE UN CABALLO MALO," the Mura Masa-featuring "MÁQUINA CULONA" and "BESO BRUMA," with its haunting Arca-eque synths) will get the most attention as we look for the Spanish genre's future after the emergence of Rosalía. But Supernova has a breadth that traverses reggaeton, Houston rap, chillout, and Frank Ocean. Where many artists would cause the combinations to clash or make the songs feel overstuffed, Ralphie Choo unites them with passion and sheer eccentricity. – Jordan Darville

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music

The duo of Cooper B. Handy (a.k.a. Lucy) and Nick Atkinson (f.k.a. Ghost) have returned with a sophomore LP five-and-a-half years in the making. The 13-track project features Gods Wisdom, Mal Devisa, and Sen Morimoto, all collaborators with Handy and Atkinson since back in their Dark World days. Fans of Handy’s solo work as Lucy will instantly recognize his irreverently earnest vocals, as well as some of his signature, GarageBand-born production tricks. But Atkinson’s grandiose electronic and orchestral aspirations, his embrace of goofy sounds like happy hardcore, and his own falsetto stylings unlock something altogether original, even in Handy’s already outre catalog. Brilliantly plotted, string-heavy interludes space out the record’s dynamic, often hilarious set pieces, fleshing out an album that feels both totally fresh and instantly classic. Standouts include “Fate,” “Walk The Plank,” “Sports In The Ballroom,” “Many Years,” and certified Song You Need “Fall of the Leaves.” – Raphael Helfand

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

Baltimore rapper Soduh frequently sounds like combat boots trudging through the snow, his bars quietly crunching across the eardrum in a gravelly whisper. Walking Work of Art, his longest solo project to date, is beautifully unglamorous and unpretentious. In an era where every single arrives with tempo-pitched alternatives so artists move as fast as you think they should, slowing down with Soduh’s unhurried flows and really sinking into them feels like the height of luxury. Roll the windows down and drive under the speed limit. – Vivian Medithi

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music

Simo Cell's Cuspide Des Sirènes was one of the most highly-anticipated electronic music debuts of the year and the album turned out to be well worth the wait. It's absurdly hard-hitting with menacing tracks seemingly hell-sent for the dancefloor. The producer shows exactly what France is bringing to warehouses worldwide with bombastic basslines, sinister synths, and ominous vocals that drive through the speakers. – Arielle Lana LeJarde

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp