Stream Jane Remover’s Revengeseekerz and more albums for New Music Friday

Viewed in a certain light, Jane Remover’s latest album could be seen as a retreat. Having waded out into shoegaze territory on 2023’s Census Designated, Revengeseekerz feels tethered closer to Frailty, the giddy and exuberant embrace of screen rot culture they released under a different name in 2021. Boundary-pushing artists like Jane Remover don’t tend to look back, though, so while this new collection of songs has echoes of the past, the sparkle trail it leaves in its wake only leads forwards. There is unbridled maximalism in the production of songs like “TWICE REMOVED” and “Fadeoutz” that runs right through a boundless album with no visible outer edges. Elsewhere, “Star people” bridges the (sizeable) gap between G-funk and screamo, while Danny Brown taps in to send “Psychoboost” into the stratosphere. The overall effect of the album is one of total overwhelm, something physical to dance through the sensory overload to. — David Renshaw

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music

If you want to know what duendita sounds like, go to your nearest green space and fill your lungs. The N.Y.C singer, loop artist, and producer has cited God as “the ultimate artist” they are inspired by, while claiming last year that they only listen to the same 10 songs. “My whole body is my instrument, and that’s all I care about: how can I get closer to myself and to God today?” Their spiritual commitment to their voice is understandable: it’s a mountain, full of snowy peaks and sudden drops into lush green, a direct channelling of the radical anguish of forebears like Nina Simone. And while a strong will to survive is duendita’s most accessible work thanks to its catchy, immersive beats (the album sounds like it was produced on an SP-404 that was grown in a community garden) but it loses none of the artist’s raw and urgent vulnerability. The breaths she sings with are drawn from a world on fire, and in her words you can hear the smoke. — Jordan Darville

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

Panchiko’s well-documented story — a high school band from the turn of the millenium whose demo was discovered in a charity shop sixteen years later, leading to a cult fanbase and eventual reunion – begins a new chapter with their second album of studio recordings. The result is the lush, high-gloss Ginkgo, 13 tracks that stand on their own but cohere in a way that would be hard to achieve without a steady studio practice. From the airy gauze of its opener, “Florida,” to the waltzy squelch of its title track, the grungy crust of “Honeycomb” to the stoned, low-slung dreaminess of “Mac’s Omelette,” the songs are strung together with a deft hand, by no means uniform but sharing a sense of childlike curiosity. There are a few misses on the album, tracks like “Chapel of Salt” and “Lifestyle Trainers” that hew too closely to the ethereal rock vibe Radiohead curated in the mid ’90s and late aughts, and the billy woods-featuring “Shandy In The Graveyard,” which plays a bit awkward as a whole despite its solid parts. Overall, though, Ginkgo is a step forward for Panchiko, a band that’s experiencing a rare second youth in their middle ages. — Raphael Helfand

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

Brooklyn-based Momma’s new record, Welcome To My Blue Sky,, is a document of metamorphosis and their lessons learned through growing pains, a love letter to getting older and the relationships that actually last, soundtracked by grunged-out guitars, hooky pop melodies, and a whole lot of distortion. Songs like “Rodeo” and “I Want You (Fever)” nod to life-altering romantic upheaval and its ensuing chaos, but it’s songwriting duo Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten’s friendship that serves as the core for the record — and the band. “Our relationship is one of the most important things in my life,” Friedman told The FADER last month. –Cady Siregar

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music | Bandcamp

Two years ago, I saw DJ Koze live for the first time at a festival in Morocco. I could tell he was doing something technically complicated behind the boards, but whatever came out of the speakers felt surprisingly palliative, like I could close my eyes, and stay between a state of being awake and asleep for three straight hours. This is the same sensation of his new album Music Can Hear Us, a record that does not rush to its destination but makes the journey there and long and pleasurable as possible. It’s less dance, more rhythmic undulations with influences from south Asia (“The Universe in a Nutshell”), baile funk (“Die Gondel”), and amapiano (“Pure Love” with a Damon Albarn feature) serving as foundations. The end picks up with “Brushcutter,” a bright burst of drum and bass with scratched vocals from Marley Waters. When you get to the end you’ll be surprised 66 minutes has already floated by. —Steffanee Wang

Hear it: Spotify | Apple Music