A breath of fresh air: four albums to listen to this Spring

With spring right around the corner, here are upcoming, diverse albums that reflect themes of rebirth, hope and renewal associated with the season to enjoy.

Little Simz – “Lotus”

Releasing May 9

Little Simz in the music video for “Flood,” her latest single and the first release for her upcoming album. Photo courtesy of the record labels Forever Living Originals and AWAL.

With her upcoming album, “Lotus,” Simz hopes to be reborn like a titular flower after a two-year hiatus.

The single, “Flood,” featuring Nigerian singer Obongjayar, gives a sneak peek into how Simz continues to shape her sound. The track powered by dense layers of bass and pounding drums put me in a trance. Simz delivers flows as smooth as mercury and the emphatic rhymes of how she refuses to let her genius be controlled by anyone.

The ever-evolving artist has dabbled with many different sounds throughout her career. “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert,” acclaimed by music fans and critics alike, had infectious funk and soul samples with blaring horns and complex drum beats.

“NO THANK YOU,” had a stripped-back production with slow, cool jazz samples and smooth R&B beats.

The famously introverted rapper had to navigate fame while supporting herself as an artist, such as having to finance a tour herself. Financial stress soon caught up to Simz as she canceled the U.S. leg of her “NO THANK YOU” tour.

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco – “I Said I Love You”

Releasing March 21

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco have been busy working on their passion project since getting engaged in December. Photo courtesy of Interscope Records

Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco do just about everything together. They go to celebrity events together, travel the world together and even brush each other’s hair. Now the engaged couple will be co-writing and co-producing an album.

Gomez wants this album to be a statement of how Blanco made her feel safe producing music again. There is high hope that the upcoming album is expected to be the most ambitious and passionate project for both artists.

The star-studded duo will combine elements of folk, dancehall and bubblegum pop, with the recruitment of Gracie Abrams and J Balvin, for their upcoming album “I Said I Love You.”

This album will be a chronicle of the positive and negative experiences shared between the two. The track “You Said You Were Sorry” is expected to address when Benny Blanco was suspected of shading Selena Gomez in 2020.

I’m looking forward to how much Gomez and Blanco will reveal about their relationship through their music.

Bon Iver – “SABLE, fABLE”

releasing April 11

Bon Iver marks their return with the release of their first music video and album single in five years, “SPEYSIDE.” Photo courtesy of the record label Jagjaguwar.

Facing the pressures of mainstream fame and success, Bon Iver considered stepping away from music. That is until COVID-19 gave them time to work on returning to their folk roots.

“SABLE, fABLE,” Iver’s first album since 2019 will be a continuation of the “SABLE” EP released in the fall of 2024.

This project expresses the anxieties of tireless success, expressed through simple timbre vocals and a finger-plucked guitar.

Written over 5 years, “SABLE, fABLE,” aims to be Bon Iver’s most revealing and vulnerable album to date. Bon Iver croaks on released songs like “THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS” about the uncertainty of surviving change in life. On “SPEYSIDE,” a whiney falsetto vocalizes the difficulty of atoning for your mistakes.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the upcoming release. The song “AWARD SEASONS” provides hope with the band belting proclamations of redemption, punctuated by a somber trumpet accompanying the pained yet soothing vocals.

Black Country, New Road – “Forever Howlong”

releasing April 4

A new chapter has turned for Black Country, New Road since their lead vocalist and lyricist left the band several years ago. Photo courtesy of the record label Ninja Tune.

The classically trained indie rock band, hailing from the UK, is back with their first studio album since their lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Wood departed in 2022.

Their upcoming album “Forever Howlong” will be the long-awaited answer to see how the band has evolved.

Wood was a major component of Black Country, New Road. His eccentric yet personal songwriting and signature “spoken singing” brought alive the strong, anguishing emotions behind the band’s songs. The band’s 2023 release “Live at Bush Hall” was a taste of their post-Wood era sound.

The two singles “Besties” and “Happy Birthday” exude feelings of joy and excitement for the upcoming album. Violinist Georgia Ellery and pianist May Kershaw respectively step up to fill the void that Isaac Wood had left behind.

The singles provide insight into how the band continues to rely on the power of friendship and music to trudge together rather than alone.