With so much good music being released all the time, it can be hard to determine what to listen to first. Every week, Pitchfork offers a run-down of significant new releases available on streaming services. This week’s batch includes new albums from Paul McCartney, Mica Levi, Walt Disney Records, and Sheff G. Subscribe to Pitchfork’s New Music Friday newsletter to get our recommendations in your inbox every week. (All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors. When you buy something through our affiliate links, however, Pitchfork earns an affiliate commission.)
Paul McCartney: McCartney III [Capitol]
McCartney III arrives 50 years after McCartney and 40 years after McCartney II. Paul McCartney recorded the long-belated third installment in the trilogy earlier this year while in lockdown at his home in Sussex, England. “I just did stuff I fancied doing,” he said. “I had no idea this would end up as an album.” McCartney’s previous album was 2018’s Egypt Station.
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Buy at Rough Trade
Mica Levi: Ruff Dog [self-released]
Ruff Dog is the first non-soundtrack album that Mica Levi has released under their own name. Released as a surprise, the lo-fi 11-song collection features one track title—which begins “A plain clothed Jimi Hendrix…”—that’s 107 words long. (The song itself is just over a minute long.) The album follows her scores for films like Monos, Jackie, and Under the Skin.
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Listen/Buy at Bandcamp
V/A: Soul (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Walt Disney]
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross scored the new Disney Pixar film Soul. The movie, which stars Jamie Foxx and features original songs by Jon Batiste, is about a musician whose soul is separated from his body. The Soul soundtrack also includes Daveed Diggs’ “Rappin Ced” and Cody ChesnuTT’s “Parting Ways.”
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Sheff G: Proud of Me Now [Winners Circle/RCA]
Following the release of his mixtape One and Only and the Just 4 Y’all EP earlier this year, Brooklyn rapper Sheff G has released his debut album. It was produced by Great John and features the singles “No Negotiations” and “Lights On.”
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