4 New Albums You Need: xaviersobased, Sofia Kourtesis, Sex Week, and more

For his major-label (!) debut, underground rap stalwart xaviersobased refuses to compromise on his sound, as deeply influential as it is fried. At the same time, the six songs on Once More feel like a refined expansion of the xaviersobased mode: his trickster heart is still on display across Once More, but here xaviersobased feels more than ever like a songwriter. “uncomfy” will get the lion’s share of attention for its plinky, shoegaze-y beat and headline-grabbing OsamaSon collab, but there are bangers far beyond that track, from the stalking dark plugg harmonies of “fly” to “worth it,” which features some of xav’s most silly, low-stakes flexes and threats. — Jordan Darville

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music

Peruvian DJ and producer Sofia Kourtesis is a magician on the decks, and I’m still spellbound by her 2023 debut album, Madres, one of the most affecting, heartfelt house albums I’ve heard in recent years. Written in response to her mother being diagnosed with a life-changing illness, it inexplicably bursts with joy and warmth, made to make you want to dance through the pain. That sense of liberation remains a constant on her EP Volver, a new drop of insistent, bright bangers. They make me want to go to a sweaty club and dance all night — “Unidos,” created with Dan Snaith’s side project Daphni, is particularly sublime. “Sisters,” with its handclaps and raw, filtered voice memos immediately transports you to a block party function somewhere humid and crowded and joyous. It’s exactly what I needed to finish off my summer on a high note. —Steffanee Wang

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

Sex Week’s new EP finds the New York City duo diving further into the murkiness exhibited on their 2024 self-titled debut while also finding a more spirited and exuberant energy. On songs like “Lone Wolf” and “Coat,” Pearl Amanda Dickson’s voice is a brittle and whispered, a hushed vessel for her grizzly fairytales. Elsewhere, the EP finds the band exploring lighter and more pop-leaning material. “Moneyman” puts a shine on financial hardship with a breezy and romantic, harmonica-assisted alt-country song. “Coach,” meanwhile, is their most propulsive, almost club-orientated, moment to date. Upper Mezzanine may be a brief snapshot from the Sex Week studio, but it’s one that suggests the future direction of this already exciting project is wide open. — David Renshaw

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

Father etched his name into the annals of Atlanta rap history in the mid 2010s. With his Awful Records crew, he pioneered and championed an alternative strain of hip-hop to the trap that made his city the genre’s epicenter, fostering a sound that epitomized the golden age of underground SoundCloud rap. Unfortunately, Awful Records’ time in the sun was fleeting, and while the label’s legacy still endures, its artists have scattered to the outskirts of the underground. Father’s new album Patricide is not a flashy project; the production is understated and Father spends the majority of the album flowing in his characteristic deadpan, but there’s plenty of variety to be found. The beats tend soulful and smooth, but there are many exceptions: “Silly rabbit, when you met me I was slime” is bare-bones boom bap, while “Sodom” is slow, sinister trap. “Curiosity is the gateway to ruin” begins with pounding, creaky techno, and “If you see something, say nothing” maintains a four-on-the-floor bass line for most of its duration. Lyrically, Father is slick as ever, slipping in terms like “dead Bidens” (as opposed to “dead presidents”) as if they were already in common usage. Patricide might not feel as revolutionary as his early singles, but Father is making albums now, favoring cruising speed over horsepower and structure over shock value. — Raphael Helfand

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music