New Music Friday: 6 albums to hear this week

After the release of their first mixtape in 2019, London’s favourite art and music collective NINE8 are back with NO SMOKE VOL. 2. Featuring the group’s signature DIY-or-die approach, the album is defined by confidence: the group’s contageous energy is mixed with blurry bedroom beats and slick samples, creating a smooth, polished sound. “GROWN” is a slinky guitar number with hushed vocals and airy guitar licks, while “BLUE” is a looping lo-fi track punctuated by keyboard arpeggio. A highlight is track “079EIGHT”, a woozy rap ballad with lyrics like: “I avoid my ex like them IOS updates/ She got Blackberry curves/ After me you can never really upgrade”.

Elsewhere this week, Brooklyn-based drill rapper Bizzy Banks drops his debut mixtape and virtual cyberpop star Hatsune Miku is back with some hyperreal bangers. Take a listen below.