Check out these new albums from Ashnikko, Kara Jackson, and Draag.
Ashnikko
Weedkiller
(Parlophone Records)
Ashnikko has proven she’s an artist you need to know with her debut album Weedkiller. The album is filled with certified club bangers featuring her signature sound (somewhere between Grimes and M.I.A.) as well as mid-tempo, introspective tracks that demonstrate she’s an artist with range. The album is also unapologetically queer, with songs such as “Super Soaker (ft. Daniela Lalita),” an incredibly fun dance track that needs to be played at Pride this June. Album closer “Dying Star (ft. Ethel Cain)” is the collab of Gen Z’s dreams—its charming melody and sweet lyricism make it a must for your summer playlist. – emily lauletta
Kara Jackson
Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
(September)
Kara Jackson’s debut album tells stories to hear again. A former National Youth Po-
et Laureate, her lyrics are a dauntless, beautiful strata of humanity’s head and heart with sharp, tender details of the everyday. Jackson’s folk shines with inspiration from her family’s Southern roots, as on “curtains,” a gorgeous melancholy ride toward the sunset as the credits roll. The song “dickhead blues” opens sparsely with Jackson’s low, velvety voice and transitions through strings, jazz drums, and chimes before building in- to layers of swooning, swelling vocals. And it all feels so right together. Why Does will leave you feeling, laughing, and relistening. – carlee mcmanus
Draag
Dark Fire Heresy
(Self-Released/Anxiety Blanket Records)
Draag’s debut album is a trippy testament to healing and an occasional ode to vengeance. The L.A.-based shoegaze collective prismatically blends synth-rich layers of rosy dream-pop, warped tape samples, and outpouring catharsis. Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Jessica Huang says Dark Fire Heresy came to fruition upon learning “how many still struggle with religious trauma and how similar our experiences are.” Sonically, it tickles the eardrums wide awake and gracefully rattles the nerves. Bound by formerly forbidden flashbacks and shared pangs of nostalgia, the DIY quintet’s experimental cleansing cascades in slow motion, ultimately possessing the room like a sentient strobe light for the eternally spiraling soul. – rachel reed
Top photo by Kara Jackson, Ashnikko, and Draag
