THE BLACK KEYS – PEACHES!
Peaches! is The Black Keys pulling their amps back into the garage and dusting off the records that made them want to start a band in the first place. Their fourteenth album is a full covers record, digging deep into blues, soul, and rock ’n’ roll cuts from artists like Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, Arthur Crudup, and more. Recorded largely live, the album feels raw, loose, and unencumbered by expectation. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are in the most comfortable of zones, not as rollicking as some of their other offerings, but if they can get more people to go back to some of those foundational artists, I won’t fault them.
Stream • Warner • Connect: @theblackkeys
INXS – KICK (REISSUE)
If you asked me to name a perfect album to just put on, no skips, Kick would definitely be on the list. INXS created one of the most perfectly assembled pop‑rock albums of the ’80s, and it’s one that is constantly getting dug back out for movie and tv soundtracks. Record Store Day might be past, but if you are looking for something to add to your collection this new Rhino High Fidelity audiophile reissue gives you the cut from the original master tapes, pressed on 180‑gram vinyl, and pretty limited with only 5,000 copies being released.
PAUL McCARTNEY – THE BOYS OF DUNGEON LANE
The Boys of Dungeon Lane is Paul McCartney’s deeply nostalgic solo album, inspired by his Liverpool childhood. For someone like McCartney bringing in outside voices isn’t really a flex since he’s the biggest name in music history still making music, but for the first time ever, the two remaining Beatles play and sing together. Ringo Starr helps breath some life into “Home to Us.” It like walking into a rowdy pub with a couple of guys reminiscing over pints. The first solo album in five years will be out on the 28th, so a nice teaser to prep for the rest of the album.
Stream • UMG • Connect: @paulmccartney
MIKE D – “SWITCH UP”
The first new music from any Beastie Boys member since 2011 is out now with Mike D‘s first‑ever solo single, and it sounds exactly like someone having fun again. “Switch Up” is genre‑blurring and restless, pulling in jungle breakbeats, distorted electronics, and hip‑hop attitude without trying to sound like old Beastie Boys or modern anything. It started as a low‑pressure home experiment with his sons and their band Very Nice Person, and would be right at home at a ’90s rave. Unpolished, weird, and glitchy it probably won’t remind you of your favorite Beastie Boys track, but it’ll take you back to the graffiti covered venue they would have played at in their heyday.
Stream • UMG • Connect: @miked2016
