A ranked selection of notable new recordings we heard in July.
1. Ashley Monroe, “The Blade”
Retro-fetishism and timelessness are not the same thing, and this woman knows the difference. She’s a traditionalist, but she never sounds like she’s hiding in the safety of yesterday — and that’s half the reason why “The Blade” is the most exquisite country album released this year. The other half is Monroe’s voice, which makes her wounded lyrics all the more visceral.
2. T-Pain, “Classic Man”
The great prophet of Auto-Tuned summer-jams returns with a smirking remake of Jidenna’s breakout hit, “Classic Man,” proving the key to becoming a classic is to simply sing like you’re having more fun.
3. Future, “DS2″
No one in rap music — or maybe music, period — is doing sex, drugs and misanthropy with as much style as Future is radiating right now. Powerful and pungent, “DS2″ promises to hang over the summertime like perma-smog.
4. Demi Lovato, “Cool For the Summer”
The radio has been thick with balladry this summer (Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again”; Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song”), which means the fizzy, sexy stuff jumps off the airwaves like hormonal firecrackers — especially this Lovato song about a hot-hot-hot, hush-hush summer fling.
5. Tamia, “Love Life”
As rhythm and blues continues to develop into a launchpad for visionaries and peacocks, conservatism is starting to feel like a refreshing tactic. Or at least that explains why this Tamia album, in which the veteran chanteuse effortlessly sinks her voice into a variety uncomplicated grooves, sounds so right.
6. “Mac-Talla Nan Creag”
For those interested in sonic staycations and time travel, try this unlikely collaboration between the experimental record label Firecracker Recordings and the Forestry Commision of Scotland. Together, they’ve invited a handful of musicians to compose music inspired by ancient ruins. It’s trippy in more ways than one.
7. Gunplay, “Living Legend”
Funny how a stand-out track on this debut album — “Only 1,” produced by Metro Boomin — is a self-aware speaker-thumper about how Gunplay’s relentless pursuit of girls, cars and cash is such typical rapper stuff. But what ultimately sets this Miami native apart is his boiling anger and the pleasure he feels from releasing it in rhyme.
8. Bless, “Bless Tape”
If you’re paying attention, you can feel our city’s rock scene growing stronger by the minute. The latest surge comes courtesy of this young band, whose members clang, grunt and howl like descendants of the Stooges.
9. DJ Mustard, “10 Summers: The Mixtape Vol. 1″
Don’t blame young Mustard for wishing the summer of 2014 could last forever. He’s given his new mixtape the same name as the debut album he dropped last summer, back when he was pop’s most dominant producer. And while his walloping sound has since become oppressive, it doesn’t mean these new songs aren’t little juggernauts in and of themselves.