In What We’re Listening To, Engadget editors and writers focus on the brand new music we are able to’t get sufficient of.
Dangerous Bunny – DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
You don’t want me to inform you to go take heed to Dangerous Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS — if you happen to’re on the web sufficient, you’ve been instructed to achieve this already. However I’ll add to the pile-on and say that that is Dangerous Bunny’s most private work but. It showcases how fashionable pop, rap and R&B will be seamlessly mixed with old-school, conventional sounds from completely different cultures (on this case, Puerto Rico) in a means that celebrates each camps. Dangerous Bunny has at all times been deeply linked to his island dwelling and it’s come via in his music, however DTMF is on a complete different degree.
For me, there aren’t any skips on this album — however if you happen to’re going to take heed to only one music, make it the salsa hit “BAILE INoLVIDABLE.” Except for that, my favorites are “NUEVAYoL” (if you happen to stay within the 5 boroughs, be ready to listen to this all summer season lengthy), “KETU TeCRÉ,” “CAFé CON RON” and “EoO.” — Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor, Shopping for Recommendation
The Weeknd – Hurry Up Tomorrow
The Weeknd is definitely going out with a bang with Hurry Up Tomorrow. Supposedly the pop star’s ultimate report underneath his present pseudonym, Hurry Up Tomorrow additionally completes the trilogy that began with 2020’s After Hours and continued with 2022’s Daybreak FM. It’s a large (actually, at 22 tracks), cinematic album that serves as The Weeknd’s magnus opus, and unquestionably, his most private venture but. His attitudes towards fame, legacy, suicide, previous substance abuse, the concern of being alone and far more are all laid naked for listeners to listen to, however in typical Weeknd style, he disguises all of it in moody synths, thumping bass and top-tier vocals.
The primary issues I observed throughout my preliminary pay attention had been the transitions: they’re past clean on this album, and so they’re one of many the reason why the primary 5 tracks make up one of the crucial energizing sequences I’ve heard begin an album just lately. I’d personally prolong that to incorporate the subsequent two tracks, the ultimate of which is “Open Hearts,” a music that’s lower from an analogous fabric as “Blinding Lights” and can, little question, be a standout single from the report. My different prime tracks are “Wake Me Up,” “Cry for Me,” “São Paulo,” and “Niagara Falls.” — V.P.
FKA twigs – EUSEXUA
FKA twigs is really in a league of her personal. I’ve been mentally ready to be modified by the brand new album ever since she launched the genuinely jaw-dropping “Eusexua” music video again in September (which options two tracks, “Drums of Demise” and “Eusexua”), however it’s much more magnificent than I used to be prepared for. FKA twigs has described the state of “eusexua” as “pure presence. It is a second of nothingness. Or it is the second earlier than a extremely unimaginable thought… it is this ego-less presence which is simply stuffed with this type of tingling readability.” Name me corny, however listening to this album is a religious expertise each time.
Eusexua ebbs and flows over the course of its 11 tracks, beginning out nearly angelic with the title observe earlier than transporting you proper onto a throbbing, disorienting membership dance flooring with “Drums of Demise” and “Room of Fools,” then again all the way down to a softer, emotionally uncooked place with “Sticky.” “Childlike Issues” feels just like the onset of sudden pleasure, nearly misplaced in between “Preserve It, Maintain It” and “Striptease” however in a means that’s actually grown on me.
“Excellent Stranger,” towards the start, and the penultimate music “24hr Canine” nearly really feel like two sides of the identical coin, the latter hitting just like the susceptible comedown from the previous. I like each music on this album, however I particularly can’t cease listening to “Lady Feels Good,” which sounds prefer it’s been transplanted into 2025 from the ‘90s and hits me in simply the appropriate means. Eusexua has form of taken over my character in the meanwhile. — Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor
Honorable mentions: A bunch of singles have come out these days which have me so hyped for albums we’re going to see later this winter and spring. I’m apologizing prematurely for the particular person I’ll change into when Girl Gaga’s Mayhem drops, as a result of “Abracadabra” has reawakened one thing in me. On the other finish of the spectrum, I’ve been obsessively listening to Bria Salmena’s brooding indie observe, “Stretch the Wrestle,” forward of her debut album’s launch on the finish of March, together with “Sugar within the Tank” by Julien Baker and Torres, who’ve a country-leaning collaboration album popping out in April that I can’t anticipate. The entire new SZA from SOS Deluxe: Lana (Deluxe?) has been an actual deal with too. — C.M.