Lambrini Girls, ‘Company Culture’
Phoebe Lunny and Lilly Macieira, the joyously obstreperous English punk duo Lambrini Girls, skewer everything patriarchal, commercial, and obtuse. Lunny unleashes a viciously sarcastic tirade in “Company Culture,” a blast at workplace harassment from their debut album, “Who Let the Dogs Out,” which builds instrumentally for almost a full minute with clattery drums, buzz-bombing bass, and dissonant guitar. “Human resources say I’m asking for it,” she yells.
Spellling, ‘Portrait of My Heart’
California composer Chrystia Cabral, recording under the name Spellling, declares with increasing intensity, “I don’t belong here!” on the title track of her upcoming fourth album, “Portrait of My Heart,” which is scheduled for release in March. In a crescendo of layered guitars, orchestral strings, and choppy drumming, she sings about a spiritual and psychological crisis, exulting in the drama as she sings, “I need a stroke of luck / ‘Cause I kicked down all my angels to the dirt.”
Bad Bunny, ‘Baile Inolvidable’
“Debí Tirar Más Fotos” (I Should Have Taken More Photos), Bad Bunny’s latest album, blends heartbreak with heritage. Like many of its tracks, “Baile Inolvidable” (“Unforgettable Dance”) alternates between contemporary and historical sounds, highlighting Puerto Rican music’s multigenerational continuity. Bad Bunny’s voice and a blurred dirge of synthesizer lines open “Baile Inolvidable,” a song about a lost romance. He laments in Spanish, “I thought we’d grow old together,” and acknowledges that it was his fault. With its organic percussion, trumpets, and jazzy piano, the song transitions to an old-school salsa session. He has retained the teachings from his fiancée, who taught him “how to dance” and “how to love.”
Cymande featuring Jazzie B, ‘How We Roll’
After having their music sampled for decades, the British band Cymande, with Caribbean roots, is about to release their new album, “Renascence.” Their first three albums were published in the early 1970s. The band’s hand-played, Afro-Anglo-Caribbean rhythms and unwavering optimism are revived in “How We Roll”: “We must never lose determination.” Its electric-piano chords and methodical, cymbal-tapping pace allude to Miles Davis’s “In a Silent Way,” while the horn lines reference Afrobeat by Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Additionally, Soul II Soul creator Jazzie B’s deep-voiced guest raps resonate with all British R&B generations.
