ENJOY – ANOTHER WORD FOR JOY 

Usually appearing as one half of young punk twin duo The Garden, or walking the runway for Saint Laurent, it’s not often we catch a glimpse of Wyatt Shears alone. However, his solo debut Another Word For Joy (released under the moniker ‘Enjoy’) is definitely worth listening to. With its shimmering melodies and propulsive, fuzz-packed energy, it’s Californian punk in all its winking, effervescent glory. “I usually set out to make ‘feel-good’ sounds with attractive melodies,” Shears told us earlier this week. “I want to make songs that you can go on a date to. When listening to a song from Enjoy I’d hope that it could enhance your attraction to someone or something else, if that makes sense.”

MASSIVE ATTACK – RITUAL SPIRIT

This four-track comeback from Bristol trip-hop icons Massive Attack can hardly be called an album, but it’s far too good to ignore. Despite its short length, Ritual Spirit is packed tightly with collaborators, from oddball trio Young Fathers to UK rapper Roots Manuva, newcomer Azekel and Tricky himself. As such, its collaborative energy makes way for an album brimming with eclecticism, from the throbbing electronics of opener “Dead Editors” to the smoky curl of second track “Ritual Spirit” all the way through to the deep, dark “Take it There”, a track that sounds like it could have rolled out of the late 90s. The Young Fathers collab also came accompanied with a spectacularly creepy (and tongue-in-cheek) video, which you can read all about here.

MIKE G – MIKE CHECK VOLUME II

LA rapper Mike G is probably the most under-the-radar member of now-defunct crew Odd Future, but his new mixtape Mike Check Volume II is huge (both literally and figuratively). Featuring 17 tracks with features and production from all our favourites (Young Thug, The Internet, Tyler the Creator, Archibald Slim, Obie Trice, Hodgy Beats) the mixtape unfurls like the rolling smoke of a just-lit blunt, with Mike G’s distinct, lilting vocals pinning it all together. “It’s us against the world and everyone salute when we hit the parade deck / militant how I was brought up, if they don’t listen they oughtta break it down” he raps in “Soulja” over a cut ‘n’ spliced sample of Dawn Penn’s 1994 reggae classic “No No No”, an example of how he takes old musical shapes and twists it into something brand new.

DIIV – IS THE IS ARE

Fitting somewhere between the dreamy, textural soundscapes of My Bloody Valentine and the grey, meditative brilliance of Sonic Youth, DIIV’s first album in four years is everything and more. It’s an album deeply intertwined with Zachary Cole Smith’s experiences of drug addiction, but instead of sounding romantic or cheesy, it manages to sound deliriously real. “This time I really wanted people to be able to understand the words and connect with them,” Cole explained to The Fader, speaking about the album’s confessional quality. “There’s a lot of people around me who were doing really badly, and there were a lot of people around me doing well…I knew which one I wanted to be.”

KANYE WEST – THE LIFE OF PABLO

Kanye West’s album campaign and cult-like public unveiling might have been the most chaotic, drawn-out and hype-filled of all time, but arguably, it was all worth it. The Life of Pablo is sparkling with musical brilliance, from the pure gospel sounds of “UltraLight Beam” to dark, Nina Simone rework “Famous” and the classic Chicago house undercurrent of “Fade”. It’s also an album made twice as good by its slew of big name features, including Frank Ocean, Rihanna,Ty Dolla $ign, Young Thug, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar and Desiigner, the latter of which is definitely our new favourite rapper. Click here to read our take on the religious references that are scattered all over The Life of Pablo.