The Rotation: Albums We're Listening to Right Now

Every month, we try to keep up with the daily onslaught of new music, and every month we highlight the best new artists. But what about the albums? In today's non-stop streaming economy, singles and playlists are more popular than ever, and the traditional full-length project has become less of a priority.

To most music fans, albums still matter, and a good album is an opportunity for an artist to present depth and versatility. Since we're usually focused on sharing all our favorite new singles, we realize that we don't talk about albums enough, so we started The Rotation.

Each month, we'll ask some Pigeons & Planes contributors and friends of the brand to share which albums they're currently listening to and what they like about them. Here is the latest installment of The Rotation.

Favorite songs: "Kyoto," "Punisher," "ICU"

We'll be talking about this album for years. Punisher is that good, a downcast masterpiece that devastates with its delicacy. It seems at first that Phoebe Bridgers has opted for simplicity, and early favorites like "Garden Song" and the album's title track are stunning in their quiet power and frankness. Bridgers has done her idol Elliott Smith proud, both in her detailed storytelling and subtle, emotive vocal work. Throughout the album, her voice is like a vine, finding sunlight between the soundscape's gaps.

But just when Bridgers has you hypnotized, the album begins to open up. Friends old (boygenius) and new (Blake Mills) begin to make appearances, and by the time "ICU" gives way to "Graceland Too" and "I Know The End," the massive scope of Bridgers' vision begins to take shape. It's still a rock album, but despite her protestations that "there's nothing avant-garde" about it, Phoebe Bridgers has moved the needle on rock music with Punisher.—Graham Corrigan

Favorite songs: "Scottie Beam," "Something to Rap About," "God Is Perfect"

Freddie Gibbs is on an extraordinary run. In the last couple of years he's continued his fruitful collaborative relationship with Madlib on Bandana and reunited with The Alchemist for Alfredo, a concise, coherent 10-track extravaganza of gangster tales and untouchable production. It feels as if Gibbs and Alchemist bring the best out of each other, the rapper floating over beats that drip with luxury but still hit hard. As ever, Gibbs delivers his bars in a low-key but commanding drawl, whether he's explaining how successful he is or describing the pitfalls of the drug game with an unnerving specificity.

The 35 minutes of Alfredo fly by and considering Gibbs and Alchemist's prolific nature, we can only hope that there's much more to come from two talents at the peak of their powers.—Alex Gardner

Favorite songs: "I Know Alone," "3 AM," "Gasoline"

When HAIM emerged in the early 2010s, they were an exciting addition to the tail-end of an amazing indie rock era. At that point, acts like Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, St. Vincent, and Phoenix were all showing that despite the dominance of electronic music and hip-hop, rock/pop bands could still thrive if the songs were good. And HAIM had so many good songs.

The trio's 2013 debut album Days Are Gone was excellent, jam-packed with timeless songwriting, huge hooks, and sturdy musicality that leaned retro with the exception of the awesome outlier "My Song 5." HAIM got a lot of Fleetwood Mac comparisons (which made them uncomfortable), but they occupied that magical spot where mainstream success and indie credibility worked in harmony.

By the time their second album Days Are Gone came around in 2017, everything had changed. By this point, the word "indie" had nothing to do with independence, as many of these bands were signed to majors and headlining festivals. The same indie bands that felt exciting and fresh in the 2000s were becoming legacy acts, and there weren't many newcomers filling the void. Hip-hop's monopoly was in full effect, and so-called indie music was shifting toward more DIY, personality-driven territory, where kids playing lo-fi bedroom covers on YouTube were outperforming major label rock bands. On the outskirts, we were seeing the beginning of exciting subgenres like hyperpop take real shape. In this context, HAIM's second album—in many ways a continuation of what they started with album one—just didn't feel vital.

When I heard HAIM was coming out with a new album in 2020, I felt like I already knew what I was going to get. Maybe there would be a couple of singles to latch onto, but the idea of a dozen retro pop rock songs from HAIM in 2020 felt as nonessential as it did in 2017. Instead, Women in Music Pt. III is one of my favorite albums of the year so far. It's not a full departure from what HAIM is known for—there are vintage rock elements and breezy pop hooks—but it also takes risks, applying HAIM's strengths in adventurous new ways. There are pop hits laced with unexpected styles ("I Know Alone" and its UK garage drums), funk-flavored R&B bangers ("3 AM"), and plenty of textured Americana with a modern twist ("Up From A Dream," "Gasoline," "The Steps").

HAIM could have easily followed in the footsteps of so many other indie darlings-turned watered down mega stars, but this album is a plot twist we don't see very often. Instead of chasing consistency and playing it safe, the trio committed to something so few artists at their level can do well: trying new things. It led to their most interesting work yet.—Jacob Moore

Favorite songs: "walking in the snow," "out of sight," "ooh la la"

“Fuck it, why wait. The world is infested with bullshit so here’s something raw to listen to while you deal with it all,” Run The Jewels said in a message as they released their fourth album two days early—available for free, of course. Killer Mike and El-P recorded the album mostly at Rick Rubin's Shangri-La studio, pre-pandemic and before George Floyd's murder at the hands of police prompted global protests.

El-P and Killer Mike have been talking about social injustice, crooked cops, and broken systems for years, both in their solo work and as Run The Jewels, and their lyrics throughout the record are a stark reminder of ongoing cycles of brutality and inequality. On the standout "walking in the snow"—written last year—Killer Mike raps:

“And every day on evening news they feed you fear for free

And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me

And ’til my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, ‘I can’t breathe’."

Despite much of the subject matter, Run The Jewels continue to have fun rapping, cracking jokes, switching flows, and sounding energized and inspired. "I don't care how lyrical, empirical, miracle, spiritual, rituals you’re rapping, man, that bop is for real," Killer Mike told us about what separates RTJ4. "For me, I take a page out of a group I respect, OutKast. They always gave you dope music, you could always feel something no matter what level it was at, it had that bop. For me, that’s what we brought this time. We were determined to jam." 

Read the full interview with Run The Jewels here.—Alex Gardner

Favorite songs: "Anywhere," "Strawberry!," "Shoes"

Jonah Yano's Souvenir is a deeply personal record. An exploration of Yano's experience as a Japanese-Canadian, it's as much a perfect introduction to his music as it is a contemplative reflection of the artist himself. The last song on the record, "Shoes," even features a duet with his father, whom he visited in 2019 for the first time in 15 years. Perhaps Jonah's songwriting approach might be too personal for some, but that's another reason it can be so hard to stop listening to Souvenir. 

Recorded at his home in Toronto and the Red Bull studios in Tokyo, the record shifts between tenderness and grittiness. "Delicate" highlights Yano's affecting voice, while "Strawberry!" demonstrates the scope he can so effortlessly scale to. A gorgeous, entirely original work, Jonah Yano's defining statement is among the 2020's most lavishly-produced albums. In a year that has forced us to be more reclusive than ever, Jonah Yano hesitantly welcomes listeners in to share his story.—Joe Price