Take some time out, put on the headphones, drop the needle on the record, or queue up the latest releases on your phone.
Here’s four recently released albums that we’ve been playing at OUTinPerth HQ including new discs from HUG, Bloc Party, Destin Conrad and Bonobo.
HUG
HUG: Gyan Riley, Devendra Banhart & Noah Georgeson
★ ★ ★ ★
Frogs croak and strings are plucked alongside a gentle shaker and a touch of flute on Cow with Half Moon Parasol, the opening track on the self-titled album from HUG. The project brings together long-term friends Gyan Riley, Devendra Banhart, and Noah Georgeson, three accomplished musicians who have joined forces to create something remarkably rich and rewarding. The opening track evokes the feeling of wandering into a magical swamp filled with beauty and wonder.
Subtle is a good word to describe this music, with every note and sound feeling carefully considered. The album incorporates elements of folk, country and ambient music into a distinctive and immersive sound. Cacullatus’ Dream, which repeats a simple musical phrase in ever-widening circles, is hypnotic and likely to propel listeners into a dreamlike state. Arunachala continues the minimalist folk mood, while Sarva Mangalam introduces a campfire-like chant that creates a warm and inviting atmosphere.
The album continues in this vein, with spare, plucked guitar passages keeping things grounded until the arrival of Homunculus in the Foliage, which adds layers of swirling, distant electronica. Soon, however, the music returns to the pared-back aesthetic that defines much of the record. For some listeners, the album may verge on the soporific, but its appeal lies in its understated, gentle and calming nature.
Distance in Static
Bonobo
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
British musician Simon Green, who performs under the name Bonobo, has released his eighth studio album Distance in Static, and has suggested in interviews that this may be his final full-length album, preferring instead to focus on smaller standalone projects in the future.
The album blends the downbeat trip-hop style that featured prominently early in his career with the more uplifting electronica that has slowly become Bonobo’s signature sound. It would be an overstatement to call them bangers, but Green certainly knows how to construct a euphoric dancefloor moment. Cycles, Drift, Uncasually, ID700 and Me and You all fall into that category.
Fire on the Water, a collaboration with Pakistani-American singer Arroj Aftab, is a laid-back offering infused with strong world music influences. Talk to Me, featuring Nicole Miglis from US band Hundred Waters, is upbeat and delivers the album’s biggest pop moment.
Joy Crookes provides vocals on Always on Your Side, a track with a distinctly 1960s feel that sounds as though it could have been recorded by Saint Etienne. Nilüfer Yanya appears on Youth’s Fountain, which combines spoken-word passages with subtle jazz elements.
Shokoufeh draws heavily on Arabic musical influences, while Can’t See You, a collaboration with Aanya Martin, pairs a stirring vocal performance with smooth beats and a hypnotic melody. It is a mesmerising track.
Equinoctial, featuring Japanese folk singer Ichiko Aoba, is gentle, atmospheric and beautiful, while closing track Mercury brings a sublime musical journey to an elegant conclusion.
Bloc Party
Anatomy of a Brief Romance
★ ★
For their seventh album, Bloc Party have teamed up with legendary producer Trevor Horn, famed for his crisp production on numerous classics, including major albums by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Seal, Grace Jones, Art of Noise, Pet Shop Boys, and many others. Together, they present something of a concept album that follows the journey of a relationship.
Against a backdrop of electronic beats, the album opens with 22.1.22, with singer Kele Okereke recalling a meeting in which he asks for someone’s phone number but is initially rejected. The wordy track is a far cry from the dance-rock sound that launched Bloc Party onto the music scene more than 20 years ago as one of Britain’s hottest bands. Here, Bloc Party sound more like Stephen Merritt than their earlier selves.
Coming on Strong moves closer to the expected Bloc Party sound, although the songs continue to be highly verbose. Love Bombs sees Okereke singing about wanting to take his new boyfriend to a West End show before breaking into a rap section that feels awkward and out of place. Pigwig sounds as though it was written for a musical, while Lagoon Blue continues the narrative as Okereke realises how invested he has become in the relationship. At times, however, it feels more like listening to diary entries than song lyrics.
As the album progresses, it’s notable that the music is often interesting and inventive, but the lyrics and vocal delivery can become distracting. Bloc Party should be praised for trying something different, but for me, this experiment ultimately misses the mark.
Roadrunner
Destin Conrad
★ ★ ★
Destin Conrad first found fame online and released a series of R&B EPs before delivering his debut album, Love is Digital, in April 2025. He then surprised listeners by releasing the acclaimed jazz album wHIMSY the following April. Now he takes another unexpected turn. His third album, Roadrunner, is a reggae record that explores his Jamaican heritage.
Reggae has a long and complex history with LGBTQIA+ representation, and openly queer reggae artists remain relatively uncommon. Conrad’s decision to step into the centre of the dancehall floor is therefore a notable one. There have been some massively homophobic records over the years that have been giant reggae hits.
Opening with the title track, Roadrunner, Conrad declares that he is a “roadrunner” and so is his lover. The album quickly moves into the yearning Favourite Lover before shifting to Danger, a collaboration with Amanda Reifer. The track is filled with dub influences, reverb and muted sirens.
Conrad works his way through a series of reggae-styled pop tracks and gradually moves back towards an R&B vibe while remaining rooted in reggae. Some tracks are performed with less emphasis on a Jamaican vocal accent, creating a broader contemporary pop sound.
He also directly addresses the genre’s history of homophobia. Chi Chi samples T.O.K.’s 2001 track Chi Chi Man, a song that became central to discussions about homophobia in the Jamaican music scene. The original song called for the burning of gay men in a bar, and the Jamaican Labour Party adopted as their election campaign song.
While Roadrunner is not quite as impressive as his previous release, the jazz-focused wHIMSY, it is encouraging to hear queer voices represented within reggae. Conrad closes the album with a cover of Kevin Lyttle’s 2002 hit Turn Me On. This time, however, the perspective is unmistakably queer, reframing the song through Conrad’s lens and identity.
