Utopia is the hip-hop blockbuster of 2023; a torrent of outrageous production that, in both sound and intent, mobilises superlatives. Travis Scott makes his comeback six years after Astroworld, the crowning achievement of a rise that seemed it would stop at nothing, before colliding with some serious problems with the law and his conscience. He sunk to a very low point, some felt nearing the end of his career. But here he is now, patching up his statute as the heavyweight of the 2010s with this fourth album, aided and abetted by such pundits of the genre as Mike Dean, WondaGurl, Jahaan Sweet and Kanye West (whose influence is obvious). It was a gamble, but one that paid off. Blended with rock and industrial influences, Utopia is first and foremost about big sound, the kind that hits you square in the chest. From Hyaena to the superb Modern Jam (produced by Guy-Man from Daft), from Lost Forever to the whopping single K-Pop, Travis Scott superbly restores his reputation, aided by an army of prestigious featuring artists (Beyoncé, The Weekend, James Blake, Drake, Yung Lean, Playboi Carti...) and his unbridled vocal imagination. © Brice Miclet/Qobuz

It goes without saying that this second album was hotly anticipated. Having shot to international superstardom with When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and having already taken five Grammy Awards, Billie Eilish has flipped the script without changing the fundamentals. Her tortured dark pop has evolved with the ironically-titled Happier Than Ever. "Almost none of the songs on this album are joyful", she points out. Take the cover, where she poses as Our Lady of Sorrows, this gifted but tearful icon chooses to clothe yesterday's sorrows in soft and voluptuous pop sounds. Where the last album was all about nightmarish fiction, this more intimate work takes a realist turn. Very eclectic musically, sometimes vintage, sometimes futuristic, its sixteen tracks rack up one surprise after another: Billie is never where you expect her to be.The sequences are carefully worked-out. Eilish oscillates between slow tempos (Getting Older, Billie bossa nova) and haunting EDM beats on Oxytocin – the hormone of love – or minimalist sounds (as on OverHeated), making for an amazing mix of genres. Thus, among Grimes-like syncopated choruses (GOLDWING), autotuned R'N'B (NDA) in the style of 070 Shake, folk ballads (Halley's Comet) and spartan soundscapes (Not My Responsibility), she manages to slip in the guitar-vocals number "Your Power", an emotional peak on which she speaks about suffering abuse. Accompanied by her brother, Finneas O'Connell, an enjoying a slick production job, Billie Eilish has created a masterful record which she hoped would prove timeless. That ambition is easy to understand when she mentions Frank Sinatra, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Julie London as influences. "It was the most enriching and deepest experience I have ever had with my music," she says. Fortunately, at just 19, there are likely to be many more. © Charlotte Saintoin / Qobuz

Over the past 24 years, Tracey Thorn has released four solo albums and published four books. Ben Watt founded a label, Buzzin' Fly, and made his own solo records. But it's been nearly a quarter century since the married duo produced a record together as Everything but the Girl. Fuse is worth the wait. During that time, and before, the band's influence has remained strong—there's no shortage of singers cooing beautiful misery over drum-and-bass beats. But, as Romy Madley Croft of The xx has said of Thorn: "One of my goals always is to say a lot while saying very little … and I definitely think that Tracey does that." On lush "Nothing Left To Lose," Thorn sounds as smoky and soulful as ever against Watt's sonic reverberations, even as she gives in to submissive desperation. "I'm here at your door/ And I've been here before/ Tell me what to do/ Cause nothing works without you/ I know the hour is late/ And I know you'll make me wait." At one point, the glitch beat drops down, then out, and you hear Thorn take a breath in—and it's as intimately meaningful as any words. She sounds comfortable wearing Dusty Springfield's mantle on stark and spare, deep and dark "Run A Red Light" and "When You Mess Up." The latter doesn't have a traditional ending; instead, it's just Thorn singing "Christ, we all mess up" as the music lingers, unsure if she'll return, then fades—content not to put a bow on it. Watt puts a sort-of AI effect on Thorn's voice for that song and adds an electronic tremor to it for "Caution To The Wind." "We have to fuck up my voice," Thorn has said of the record. "We were desperate to fuck up my voice. It's one of the key signatures of the band, so it was the most fun thing," Thorn has said of the experiment. The duo said they wrote the lyrics for shimmering "Lost" by typing "I lost..." into Google for auto-fill results. "I lost my place/ I lost my bags … I lost my perfect job/ I lost the plot," Thorn sings, before delivering the gut punch: "I lost my faith and my best friend/ I lost my mother." She gets lyrically playful on dreamy "No One Knows We're Dancing" ("First up, this is Fabio/ He drives here from Torino/ Parking tickets litter/ His Fiat Cinquecento") and sunny "Karaoke" (A guy then goofed through Elvis/ Why not, I thought, why not?/ If you want it you can own it/ Just aim, then take a shot"), one setting the scene at a dance club and the other at a karaoke bar. "After so much time apart professionally, there was both a friction and a natural spark in the studio when we began," Thorn has said of musically reuniting with her husband. "And it ended in a kind of coalescence, an emotional fusion. It felt very real and alive." © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

It seems almost impossible for artists who reach a certain level of success in the industry to escape the lure of the great American ‘Christmas Album’. Gregory Porter is no exception to this rule, taking on the challenge with considerable flair in Christmas Wish. Accompanied on most of the album’s 12 tracks by a jazz orchestra, including his loyal companions Chip Crawford on piano, Jahmal Nichols on double bass, Onfrej Pivec on the Hammond organ, and Emanuel Harrold on drums. Their work is enhanced by the lush string section of the Kingdom Orchestra, and gospel-inspired background vocals (see the title theme, composed by Porter himself). Porter nestles his golden voice in the mix with great technique, to produce an intimate selection of Christmas songs.The tracks strike a comfortable balance between tradition and modernity, mixing classics (“Silent Night”, “Little Drummer Boy”), with others drawn from the American catalogue with 1950s jazz pieces (Sinatra’s “Christmas Waltz”, Nat King Cole’s “Cradle in Bethlehem”). Porter even embraces the soul music of the 60s and 70s with Marvin Gaye’s “Purple Snowflakes”, alongside Stevie Wonder’s “Somebody at Christmas”. Notably, instrumental contributions on the tracks include performances from harmonicist Grégoire Maret, and saxophonist Tivon Pennicott – along with American jazz diva Samara Joy. Joy’s cover of Frank Loesser's theme, "What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?", is a standout performance from the album. The resulting collection is executed without pretension, and instead with the generosity, talent and know-how of a decidedly incomparable artist. © Stéphane Ollivier/Qobuz

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Change isn't always an artistic necessity. While some may wonder how a band could spend their entire 40-year career making similar midtempo tales of loss and woe, Cowboy Junkies fans know it's about savoring the artistic synergy between siblings and the ways in which they beautify a musical style they know like the back of their hands. Despite the clanging repeated loop that opens "Flood," the Junkies are still doing what led to their 1988 breakthrough The Trinity Session: meandering, slow-to-midtempo, most often acoustic explorations that are, in the end, very personal folk music. After 25 albums, the band remains anchored by the three Timmins siblings: brother Peter behind a minimal drum kit; Michael, the eldest, who still writes the songs and plays guitar; and the sweet-voiced, talented and sinuous vocalist Margo, the sister out front. The Cowboys are completed by bassist Alan Anton, who's also been there since the beginning. Beautifully recorded, this set of originals (as opposed to covers which they've always been especially expert at) is opened up by Margo whose vocals—their lower range grown richer—deftly winds its way through "What I Lost." Later, "Shadows 2" ups the rhythms just a notch, as it speaks of "the pain of falling leaves" a reference to their father's recent disappearance into dementia. If there is a persistent weakness to all these tasteful, masterfully played expressions, it's a lack of genuinely distinct melodies. "Hard to Build. Easy to Break." is the catchiest number—still at a defiant midtempo, but with more interesting changes expertly placed by producer Michael over a snarling electric guitar. One area this family band has often been sneakily good at is lyrics, a skill that rises and sometimes falls here. While the acoustic guitar and voice dirge "Hell is Real" works off silly lines like "Hell is real/ Hell is hot" there is an unlikely highlight in "Mike Tyson (Here it Comes)" which opens with "Every man has a plan/ Until he's punched in the mouth/ And then he starts to look about/ Some look within, some look without / The search begins as do the doubts/ Here it comes, here it comes." The Junkies persona lies in the infinite ways a band can enrich a set style because clearly, they are secure where they are. © Robert Baird/Qobuz

Adrianne Lenker is an astoundingly prolific songwriter. As leader of Big Thief, she wrote the band's 2022 double album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You. Bookending that, she penned a pair of solo albums (2020's Songs and Instrumentals) and the new Bright Future. Lenker recorded Bright Future in a solitary analog studio with co-producer Philip Weinrobe and a core group of musicians: Nick Hakim, Mat Davidson, and Josefin Runsteen. Owing to this stripped-down configuration, the album possesses an earthy feel dominated by acoustic guitars, spectral piano, and Lenker's intimate vocals. The musicians layer bewitching harmonies on the country-leaning "Already Lost," while opening track "Real House" starts with an audible creak, as if someone is settling into a chair, and gives way to vivid, stream-of-consciousness lyrics: "Do you remember coming to the hospital when I was 14?/ My friends all left me there spinning/ Dad was angry that you saw everything." The latter track sets the tone for the rest of Bright Future, which finds Lenker in an especially vulnerable, confessional mood. "Candleflame" is a solemn acoustic number infused with a spiritual vibe; "Fool" recalls the homespun songs of early Liz Phair; and Lenker reaches into her falsetto range to match light-touch piano on "Evol." The original recording of Big Thief's "Vampire Empire" is scratchy, lo-fi indie rock instead of spectral pop, giving the song new dimensions. And the album-closing "Ruined" is gentle and devastating, with spacious arrangements, deep-space twinkling production and Lenker sounding weary as she sings, "Can't get enough of you/ You come around I'm ruined." In the end, Bright Future illustrates that Lenker's quality control never wavers in spite of her songwriting productivity—and celebrates the joy of collaboration and creativity. © Annie Zaleski/Qobuz

Switzerland’s most famous electronic music group is celebrating its 40th birthday with an XXL retrospective release. These four discs pay tribute to a body of work that has wandered every which way over the last four decades, but has always remained faithful to the dancefloor. The core of this best-of compilation is in the first two discs, which contain all the great classic tunes from Dieter Meier and Boris Blank, including the seminal Oh Yeah, which was released in 1985 and went down in history thanks to a series of teen movies and the Simpsons' beer mascot, Duffman. We also find hits like Bostich, a live version of The Race, Vicious Games, I Love You or the funky/psychedelic Tied Up. The third CD, curated by Boris Blank, foregrounds Yello's "mellow" side, and it highlights some lesser-known tracks such as Capri Calling or Otto di Catania. Finally, the last disc features a dozen remixes, with a hypnotic Carl Craig on Electrified II and Hell DJ in cosmic form on Bostich. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz

On her ninth album, P!nk proves to be something her tough-edged younger self might never have imagined: graceful. At 43, she's long abandoned the sometimes seductive, sometimes challenging snarl of her early work, as well as the party-girl persona of albums like Funhouse. The scene is set with "When I Get There," a piano-and-strings ballad for her father, who died in 2021. ("Is there a bar up there/ Where you've got a favorite chair … Is there a place you go/ To watch the sunset, oh.") P!nk has said that the album was partly inspired, as so many records of this era are, by the pandemic and, in her case, seeing her young son so ill with Covid-19. "The panic is temporary/ But I'll be permanent ... As scary as it gets/ It's just turbulent," she sings on "Turbulence," offering pragmatism and the wisdom, born from experience, that shocks will pass. She's also a gracious collaborator, letting her duet partners sound like themselves rather than bending them completely to her polished pop sound. The Lumineers bring along familiar marching drum rolls and Wesley Schultz's warm vocals for "Long Way to Go." Likewise, "Kids In Love," with the Swedish siblings of First Aid Kit, is as airy and folky as anything by that duo. And you can tell P!nk is a true fan of Chris Stapleton. "Just Say I'm Sorry," their closing collaboration, sounds like a Stapleton song: romantic, nostalgic, with a Roy Orbison-esque melody and the country singer's evocative guitar tone. His voice is as powerful as P!nk's—it's not so much leather and lace as leather and brightly colored leather—yet neither of them overpowers the other. But look, P!nk is still here to have a good time. The title track, co-written with Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, glitters with EDM beats. And she called up old collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, who produced her 2010 hit "Raise Your Glass," to help concoct "Never Gonna Not Dance Again"—a sunny, shimmering disco number with tropical-breeze horns and rhythmic "d-d-d-dance" stuttering that sounds a whole lot like Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling." Writer/producer Greg Kurstin, a favorite of female artists including Kelly Clarkson, Sia and P!nk herself (he worked on 2012's The Truth About Love album), layers on post-punk guitars and a pop-punk chant ("Oh no! Here we go!") to help the singer tap into the spitfire of her early work with "Hate Me": "She's loud and drunk/ Let's take her down to size … I'm the villain you made me," P!nk sings. "Last Call" has a light country flavor, "Feel Something" offers R&B vibes and tender acoustics from experimental guitarist Nate Mercereau, and "Lost Cause" could be a Disney ballad with its soaring chorus. And, lest you forget the amazing vocal leaps and tricks P!nk is capable of, "Our Song" slathers on expansive range and Broadway-worthy drama to remind the world: it's all about that voice. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

This umpteenth studio album from the legendary Genesis guitarist and multi-instrumentalist follows his 2021 double-header of Under a Mediterranean Sky and Surrender of Silence. A vaguely autobiographical rite-of-passage concept piece about a young character named Travla, it features a familiar cast of longtime Hackett collaborators and promises "ballads, blues, progressive rock, theatre, and fantasia."© TiVo

Even before this fourth Tame Impala album came out, Kevin Parker was, more than ever, everywhere! Kanye West, Kali Uchis, Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Theophilus London, The Avalanches and a handful of others were lining up to pick the Australian’s brain in one way or another; on his part, the leader of Tame Impala has dazzled the world with his talents since 2007, blending psychedelic rock, XXL rhythms and airtight choruses. However, the ultra-hypnotic psychedelics have been put on mute for The Slow Rush, his sunniest and most hedonistic work to date. There is a serious feel-good factor to this chill, 80s-sounding album which can occasionally sound very FM even slightly cheesy… The fluffy R&B of Hall & Oates and The Bee Gees, the soft art pop/rock of 10cc or Supertramp and the polished finish of early Air music are all clear influences, with the synths tending to eclipse the guitars. But such is Kevin Parker’s talent that he submerges these inspirations in a production that is 100% 2020. The Slow Rush is a formidably effective record, and the catchy Is It True could propel it to dizzying heights. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

West Coast rapper ScHoolboy Q's sixth album, Blue Lips, is unrelentingly daring, branching out in multiple stylistic directions but kept cohesive and strong throughout by Q's personality and artistic drive. He effortlessly moves through relaxed, loop-based hip-hop and nostalgic flows on "Cooties," directly into soul-jazz atmospherics on the Freddie Gibbs duet "oHio," and then unexpectedly brings in drum'n'bass breaks on the Ab-Soul-assisted "Foux." In addition to masterfully transitioning between production modes and genre experiments (the horror movie trap of "Back n Love," featuring Devin Malik, is born of an entirely different world than the golden-age funk strings and Jozzy-sung hook of "Lost Times," the song that comes immediately after it), Q tackles heavy lyrical content throughout the album, reflecting on the pitfalls of fame, the fallout of a childhood spent in a fractured family, and navigating depression and loss even while at the top of his game as a rap star. ScHoolboy Q flexes just how easy his craft is for him throughout Blue Lips, switching his styles without blinking while telling some of his most difficult truths.© TiVo Staff /TiVo