Albums to look out for in November

Avant-pop, breakbeats, and the sound of a rough, dusty breeze.

Featuring anniversaries, new beginnings, and emboldened returns to form, this months’s rundown is by VF’s Will Pritchard and Lazlo Rugoff.

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96 Back

Love Letters, Nine Through Six

(Local Action)

Due: 5th November

Sheffield native 96 Back, aka Evan Majumdar-Swift, rounds off his trilogy of releases on Local Action with Love Letters, Nine Through Six. Incorporating his own vocals for the first time, Majumdar-Swift also toys with experimental pop, twinkling synths, and emotive electronics. The album boasts contributions from Iceboy Violet, Joe Paisan, and Tryphème too. — LR

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Daniel Casimir

Boxed In

(Jazz re:freshed)

Due: 5th November

London composer and bassist Daniel Casimir steps up for his awaited debut solo album, Boxed In, this November. Combining modern jazz compositions with orchestral instrumentation and warm electronics, Boxed In explores the process of “navigating prescribed notions and the labels traditionally placed upon Black musicians.” — LR

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Various artists

Fünfzehn + 1

(Ostgut Ton)

Due: 5th November

Storied Berlin label Ostgut Ton celebrates its 16th year with a truly stacked compilation. While Berghain remained closed for much of the pandemic, this 5xLP box set aims to “transcend varying degrees of isolation and to wrestle with memories of music and space that had been inaccessible.” Tasked with working in pairs to produce music dedicated to Berghain’s different floors, Marcel Dettmann, Duval Timothy, JASSS, Barker, Luke Slater, Lakuti and (many) more stepped up to the challenge. — LR

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Duval Timothy & Rosie Lowe

Son

(Carrying Colour )

Due: 12th November

Recorded across London and Freetown between 2019 and 2021, Son comprises nine, mostly brief tracks of vocal experimentation backed with incidental pianos and the occasional drift of found sounds — captured through open doors and studio windows. ‘Gonna Be’ is the highlight, blending gospel melodies with the warm hiss of surface noise and interloping improvisations. — WP

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Idles

Crawler

(Partisan Records)

Due: 12th November

Just shy of a year since their last full-length outing, the Bristol shout merchants are at it again. This time, though, they’ve mastered the art of the loud-quiet transition: making each defiant cry more potent than the last. Revelling in crunchy guitars and punchy drums more than sloganeering, this is a marked return to form. — WP

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µ-Ziq & Mrs Jynx

Secret Garden

(Planet Mu)

Due: 19th November

Secret Garden is an album born out of grief, after both Mike Paradinas, aka µ-Ziq, and Hannah Davidson, known as Mrs Jynx, lost parents to cancer. This record is more soothing than melancholic or mournful, though, as the two artists’ melodic approaches combine in comforting, sustaining harmonies. Succour in sound. — WP

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Klein

Harmattan

(PENTATONE)

Due: 19th November

Named for the season characterised by dry, dusty winds that sweep the West African coast from December to February, Harmattan is at times airy and abrasive. The record incorporates classical influences alongside, r’n’b, drones and improv jazz. Oh, and listen out for Charlotte Church brushing up alongside grime MC Jawnino on ‘skyfall’ too. — WP

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Alex Ho

Move Through It

(Music From Memory)

Due: 22nd November

Alex Ho channels the “yearning feeling” of Los Angeles into his debut album for Music From Memory. Combining hazy, downtempo tunes with saxophone, keys, and vocals, he paints a subdued portrait of the city of angels. — LR

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SHERELLE

fabric presents SHERELLE

(fabric Records)

Due: 26th November

SHERELLE seems to burst through dance music accolades with the same breakneck speed that her sets tilt at. Here, she ticks off another one with a debut mix for the London superclub’s legendary series. Cutting across styles at the upper end of the BPM spectrum, expect tunes from footwork pioneers like DJ Rashad and RP Boo alongside tracks from boundary-pushing newcomers in the space, including LCY and Tim Reaper. — WP

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JASSS

A World Of Service

(Ostgut Ton)

Due: 26th November

Making this list for the second time, Ostgut Ton is set to release producer and DJ JASSS’ newest album, A World Of Service. All abstract electronics, industrial pop, and “computerised yearnings”, it explores themes of selfhood, anxiety, and the failures of language. — LR