#NewMusicFriday: Macklemore, Elvis Costello, Slowthai and more!

Six years after their previous album, Macklemore has released a self-titled studio album titled Ben ahead of a 2023 UK and European Tour. Previously, Macklemore has appeared at #3 on the ARIA Albums Chart with his album Gemini. Single Glorious peaked at #3 on the ARIA Singles Charts in 2017 and also went platinum six times. Macklemore, alongside Ryan Lewis, were also nominated for best International Artist at the 2013 ARIA Awards. 

British rapper SlowThai has released a new album named UGLY, an acronym for U Gotta Love Yourself. The album displays an artistic freedom regained, reconnecting Slowthai with what drew him to music in the first place. His previous album Tyron peaked and debuted at #11 on the ARIA Album Chart in 2021.

I Don’t Know a Thing About Love is the 73rd solo studio album by Willie Nelson and is a tribute to the country songwriter Harlan Howard. Nelson has previously peaked at #8 on the ARIA Albums Chart in 2001, with his album All The Songs I’ve Loved Before and has recently won Country Music Album of the Year at the 2023 Grammys with A Beautiful Time. 

Elvis Costello has compiled a new release The Songs of Bacharach & Costello that brings together all the published songs he has written alongside Burt Bacharach. This super deluxe album celebrates the three decade songwriting partnership between the pair and offers a remaster of their acclaimed 1999 album Painted From Memory.

Red Moon In Venus is the third studio album by Colombian American singer Kali Uchis. The album was released through Geffen Records and EMI Records, and features guest appearances by Omar Apollo, Don Toliver and Summer Walker. The album is a collection of songs that Uchis has described a “timeless burning expression of desire, heartbreak, faith and honesty”.

I Am The River, The River Is Me is the 5th studio album for Jen Cloher, a songwriter and performer living on unceded Wurundjeri Land in Naarm (Melbourne). The album was recorded between Aotearoa (NZ) and Naarm (Melbourne) with producers Tom Healy, Anika Ostendorf and Cloher’s longtime drummer Jen Sholakis. The album also features trailblazing artists including Emma Donovan (Gumbaynggirr, Yamatji), Kylie Auldist, Liz Stringer, Te Kaahu (Waikato-Tainui, Ngti Tp), Ruby Solly (Kai Tahu, Waitaha, Kti Mmoe) and members of the Naarm-based Kapa Haka, Te Hononga o ng Iwi. At the 2006 ARIA Awards, Cloher was nominated for Best Female Artist with debut album Dead Wood Falls, and in 2017 self-titled fourth studio album, Jen Cloher, peaked and debuted at #5 on the ARIA Album Chart.