In No Particular Order: 3 Must-Hear Albums Of the Week (Apr. 23, 2021)

Time to turn up the speakers for some sweet new releases!

This week I have three must-hear albums, including the return of electronic prodigy Porter Robinson, and noteworthy drops from Canadian musicians Charlotte Cardin and JayWood.

Just like From The Inbox, I’ve created a In No Particular Order Spotify playlist to match my weekly album picks! Featuring the three ‘notable tracks’ from each release, check by every Friday to find something new in your music library.

As always, you can find Dusty Organ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify to stay up to date on new releases. Also, you can find tracks from these albums and more on our Monthly Spotify playlist.

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Porter Robinson – Nurture

Mom+Pop Records

8/10

Electronica/Future house

Coming into the scene at 18, North Carolina producer Porter Robinson made an early start to his career, eventually leading to major club-ready hits such as “Language” and “Say My Name”. His popularity in the genre did not line up with his creative intensions, and felt pressured to create EDM festival-geared music rather than expansive and complex electronic music. His 2014 debut Worlds embodied his appreciation for anime and Japanese culture, but was one of the last projects under his own name before releasing music closer to his tastes as Virtual Self.

Following battles with creative drought and depression, the prodigy returns with his sophomore full-length Nurture, his first release in seven years under his own name.

His early obsession with video games and anime came out on his 2014 debut Worlds, and the colourful, electronic keyboard sounds and glitchy android-voice layers have matured into flourishing details on Nurture. He’s let his abilities as a songwriting take over, pushing the songs into pools of giant and lush future house choruses that pulsate with an indescribable optimism.

His desire to push the genre and create striking melodies with complex fills that are more than just gateways to huge, pyrotechnic drops creates a new universe within his music. The heavily altered vocals and airy production qualities evokes a sense of nostalgia while also venturing into the future.

He packs in his previously released singles “Look at the Sky” and “Get Your Wish” early into the 14 track collection, perhaps as a way to encourage a more intimate listening experience without the anticipation of a “big hit” down the line.

And as the album cover make suggest, rather than tripping out at a major EDM festival, his new album finds its footing in an open field, face-planted into some flowers.

Notable tracks: “Look At the Sky” // “Get Your Wish” // “

Charlotte Cardin – Phoenix

Sony Music

Singer-songwriter/Pop

8/10

Boasting one of Canada’s most exciting voices in the industry, Charlotte Cardin has released her debut album Phoenix. The 13- track collection is a sultry and smooth series of songs that highlight the Montreal native’s robust and towering vocal power.

Her vibrant talents as a performer give a fresh life to her tracks. Mixing together blues, R&B, alt-rock and more into the underlying contemporary pop production, her voices quickly leaves the studio instrumentation behind with the spotlight being entirely on her.

Notable tracks: “Phoenix” // “Meaningless” // “Daddy”

JayWood – Some Days EP

Royal Mountain Records / Captured Tracks

DIY/Indie rock/Singer-songwriter

8.5/10

While Winnipeg singer-songwriter JayWood already has a full-length and an extended play under his belt dating back to 2017 and 2019 respectively, the emerging artist has put out his new Some Days EP which dates back to his early days in 2015. Pulling the original tracks into the future, his recent signing to Royal Mountain Records and Captured Tracks allowed the artist to re-record some of his earliest songs.

The five track EP dates back to a period in his life that was full of change, self-doubt, and loss. The end of a relationship, moving homes, new friend groups, and planning a trip collided into a songwriting session that happened within a month on a friend’s laptop, learning as he went. The original rawness and personal stories come alive once again on the new release, this time with a polished and articulate sense of maturity and vulnerability that comes out through his steady voice and jazz-riff loops.

You can listen to an interview with JayWood here.