Pitchfork has rounded up the best new albums of the week, and this time the list leans heavily on pop stars who have spent years building their own identities. Carly Rae Jepsen, Miley Cyrus, and Team Dresch all appear on the same rundown, alongside lesser-known acts like AZ Chike and the electronic producer Actress.
Carly Rae Jepsen’s Double LP
Jepsen’s Day and Night is a 24-track double LP split into two halves, much like a convertible slip dress. The album touches on marriage, travel, and starting a family, and Pitchfork hears that Jepsen is having more fun than anyone else.
There are shiny baubles for the collector, including a Gainsbourg homage on “Blue Skies,” a bubbly track called “Amalfi Coast,” and the scrapbooked travelogue of “Versailles.” The review admits that some tracks feel like digging through her demo drawer, but insists there’s no shortage of highlights.
Empress Of’s Recovery Album
Empress Of’s Dream House arrives two years after the Eaton Fire devastated Altadena, California, burning down many residents’ homes. The Los Angeles artist spent that period rebuilding both physically and emotionally, pouring concrete on a new foundation while working through the loss.
She co-wrote and co-produced the record with Cecile Believe, and brought in vocal assists from Blood Orange and her mother, Reina. The album swings the door open on the hard stuff, letting listeners see her world more clearly.
Miley Cyrus Goes Club Kid
Miley Cyrus: Bass Persuades is Cyrus’s first album as just Miley, rather than a persona. The record moves between club tracks and traditional love songs, pairing cuts like “Let’s Get Married” with grittier ones like “Different Religion.”
Cyrus has built her career on reinvention, moving from “Can’t Be Tamed” through the Bangerz era to her 2025 indie rock “concept album” Something Beautiful. This time she’s trading personas for a personal sound, pining and partying in equal measure.
Team Dresch Returns With Fury
Furthermore is classic Team Dresch: furious, righteous, and driving. Singer and bassist Jody Bleyle brings new urgency to her verses, shaped by the climate of fear and subjugation facing LGBTQ+ people worldwide.
The barnstormer “Growing Underground” opens with the line “You can’t erase us, we are stars,” followed by “We’ve always been here.” The track “One Song” features Twylo Landey, Bleyle’s daughter, who also choreographed the video.
AZ Chike and Actress Close Out the List
AZ Chike has been a presence in LA rap for years, and 2024 marked a turning point after appearances on Schoolboy Q’s Blue Lips and Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning GNX. His new album, No Rest for the Wicked, leans on massive, horn-and-808-heavy beats.
The lead single “Look Like My Mama” pairs him with Tyler, the Creator, channeling the big-band energy of Chromakopia without fading into the background. Actress’s Radical Frame takes a different approach, blending drone, R&B, grime, dubstep, and techno into smoked-out synth trips.
| Album | Artist | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Day and Night | Carly Rae Jepsen | School Boy/Interscope |
| Dream House | Empress Of | Major Arcana/Giant Music |
| Bass Persuades | Miley Cyrus | Atlantic |
| Furthermore | Team Dresch | Jealous Butcher |
| No Rest for the Wicked | AZ Chike | Warner |
The review’s own voice comes through in phrases like “barnstormer,” “shiny baubles,” and “smoked-out synth trips”—language that sounds like genuine enthusiasm rather than filler copy.
Source material: “11 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Carly Rae Jepsen, Miley Cyrus, and More,” Pitchfork.
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