From Blanco to Arlo Parks: the records of the week

The list of this week’s most anticipated record releases is in the name of Blanco. The voice of “Brividi” returns three years after the last album “Innamorato” and the last official concerts, those in the stadiums of Rome and Milan: he does so with a new album, “Ma'”, in which he recounts his vicissitudes in these thirty-six months, or almost. But among the records to listen to there is also the new one by Arlo Parks, that of Thundercat, the one that marks the return of Rancore, the reissue of “Hellvisback” by Salmo and a special box set by Bon Iver.

Blanco – “Ma”

Third studio album that marks a return to the scene and a possible transition towards more mature and less instinctive writing for one of the most anticipated names on the Italian scene. The project, as the title suggests, seems to start from a direct dialogue with the maternal figure, with an explicit and less impulsive autobiographical structure compared to the beginning. Anticipated by singles such as “Piangere a 90”, “Maledetta anger” and “Ricordi” with Elisa, the album also introduces non-trivial feats, such as the one with Gianluca Grignani. Production and direction seem to focus on emotional essentiality and centrality of the voice, Blanco’s added values. It is certainly one of the most anticipated albums.

Arlo Parks – “Ambiguous desire”

If you have never heard of Arlo Parks, you are probably living in a cave: one of the most acclaimed British singer-songwriters on the new music scene across the Channel, in 2021 with her “Collapsed in sunbeams” she won the Mercury Prize, one of the most coveted awards in British music, before also taking home the Brit Awards as a revelation artist of that recording year. “Ambiguous Desire” is his third album. It was born, she said, between New York and London, with influences from house and UK garage, synth-pop and electronics, queer culture of the dance floor. Arlo said that the album represents a moment of greater personal freedom, after years of very early success which had made her “skip” a more spontaneous phase of life.

Grudge – “Tarek coloring page”

Album that continues and at the same time goes beyond the narrative of the “Xenoverse”, shifting the focus from sci-fi imagery to a more internal and political dimension. The title recalls the artist’s real name, Tarek, explaining a return to personal identity. The structure remains very dense: verbal connections, metaphors and conceptual constructions are intertwined with a discussion on propaganda, social division and the perception of “colour” as an ideological symbol. The first extract is “Fanfole”. Grudge, when he comes back, it’s because he always has something to say.

Psalm – “Hellvisback 10 Years Later”

An operation that rereads and expands the 2016 album, a turning point for Italian rap, avoiding simple nostalgia: it is not a reissue but a conceptual update. It maintains the original layout by adding three unpublished songs and new artwork centered on the iconography of the mask. The project reflects Salmo’s artistic evolution over ten years, with a self-reflective and direct production approach. The original “Hellvisback” is considered a key work for the languages ​​and ambitions of the Italian mainstream scene and at the same time a trench.

Thundercat – “Distracted”

“Distracted” is the fifth studio album by the Californian bassist and producer, known for fusing funk, jazz fusion, R&B and electronica. The album arrives six years after I”t Is What It Is” (2020) and reflects on the theme of distraction in contemporary life, between unstable relationships, digital overload and the search for emotional balance. The project maintains Thundercat’s typical style: complex grooves, irony and personal vulnerability, but with a more introspective tone related to loss, healing and artistic identity. Guests include Tame Impala, A$AP Rocky, Lil Yachty, Willow and a posthumous collaboration with Mac Miller, a sign of the strong human and musical bond between the two artists.

Bon Iver – “Volumes: One (Selections From Music Concerts 2019–2023 Bon Iver 6 Piece Band)

Justin Vernon opens his archives. And it does so starting from this “Volumes: One”, a box set that collects live recordings by Bon Iver. This is not a studio album with new songs, but versions performed live between 2019 and 2023, designed to document the band’s sonic evolution in the concert dimension. The project inaugurates the “Volumes” series, which explores live interpretation as a fundamental part of Bon Iver’s artistic identity: arrangements different from the originals, greater space for improvisation and a more choral performance thanks to the six-piece formation. Among the songs included there is also a live version of “Heavenly Father” recorded in Milan in 2022.