As new albums and singles get constantly flooded into our radar, look no further than skimming through the release week of October 23rd. We know it can be a task, so let’s help you cut through. #NewMusicDrops: shatterthestandards.com/p/ne…

Che Noir opens with a sermon about organized people and then follows her fasting, saving, and self-made routine back to the Black women in Buffalo who drilled it into her. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

Michael Kiwanuka opens on Chick Corea telling musicians to trust their own ears, then calls in choirs, string sections, and a band of co-writers to get that private ear out into the room. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

Over Pharrell’s horns, strings, and church organ, John Legend prays over the women in the club, then turns the prayer on himself through a divorce and a fire, and the turn makes Muse a grown record. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

Luna Elle writes the invitation herself on her debut, sets the hour and the terms of her wanting, and sings what it costs when the guest gets comfortable with the same warmth she gives the asking. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

With her brother at the piano and a band that answers every phrase, Elena Pinderhughes makes the flute and her wordless voice say everything a lyric would. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

The funniest album in the Native Tongues catalog is also the most underrated. Our Milestones review: shatterthestandards.com/p/mi…

A nineteen-year-old Oakland rapper turned his cousin’s P-Funk arsenal away from the West Coast’s war music and toward buses, couches, and chores, and the Hieroglyphics underground grew out of it. Our Milestones review: shatterthestandards.com/p/mi…

Over loops Knxwledge cut from overlooked gospel records, Anderson .Paak plays a church-raised player whose bargaining with God carries more weight than any of his boasts. Our Milestones review: shatterthestandards.com/p/mi…

With Flying Lotus, Liv.e, and Karriem Riggins playing the parts he hums, Telemakus keeps the chords for himself and builds his best music out of what he gives away. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

Listen to new releases from @thisNAO, @DonnieRadio, @CaseyVeggies, @iunderachieve, @mansurbrown, @gottsstreetpark, @JHartMusic, @CITY4KAI, #EllaThompson, @JGrrey13, @Skipwaiters, @ryantrey, #FIG, #Misha, @CDRose8, @oviwoodmusic, #MikahAmani, @gerald_wicks, @CedricBrazle, @brothertomsos, @whoisaaronpage, @BAmusicALLISON, @ItsTriy, #AaronWesly, and #RashidIsaiah. Wednesday Roundups: shatterthestandards.com/p/we…

The Great Migration carried the blues north. Where publishing contracts wiped out the pay with the names carried in the signature, hip-hop artists and storytellers now decide who keeps the record. Our commentary: shatterthestandards.com/p/bl…

JGRREY splits herself in two to survive a motherless childhood and an addiction, then lets the split give way and writes the collapse while it happens. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

Jaz Donell’s third Free the Slaves tape puts sin, poverty, and the system in the same chain, and his confessions of doubt and guilt turn Christian rap into a testimony the block can use. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

Skip Waiters runs his own life as a cable drama with an announcer, recaps, and a renewed season, keeping a showrunner’s power to cut away from every woman who leaves him. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

Playing everything together in one Leeds room, Gotts Street Park keep a warm, slow soul pocket for guest singers who walk in with grief, depression, and hope that belong to right now. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

Kaicrewsade surrounds a young man’s come-up with trumpet, saxophone, singers, and 808s, and his faith turns real every time he hands the song to someone else. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…

blackchai talks dread through the workday and aims it at the people who built the trap, and his writing turns concrete every time the pain gets an address. Our review: shatterthestandards.com/p/al…