Straat Picks: Album Releases in November 2014

It’s rare to see artists put out more than one album release each year, but two artists have done exactly that this month, and only one is worth your money.

Calvin Harris: Motion

Scheduled release: 4 November

Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris climbs his way up the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) scene with an album release that’s full of upbeat, club-friendly songs. With his singles “Blame” and “Outside” making it to Billboard’s Hop 100 list for the week, Harris looks set to surpass some of EDM’s bigger names in time to come.

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1. Faith
2. Under Control (feat. Hurts)
3. Blame (feat. John Newman)
4. Love Now (feat. All About She)
5. Slow Acid
6. Outside (feat. Ellie Goulding)
7. It Was You
8. Summer
9. Overdrive
10. Ecstasy (feat. Hurts)
11. Pray to God (feat. Haim)
12. Open Wide (feat. Big Sean)
13. Together (feat. Gwen Stefani)
14. Burnin
15. Dollar Signs (feat. Tinashe)

Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways

Scheduled release: 10 November

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Foo Fighters’ latest effort, Sonic Highways, contains only eight tracks, perhaps enough for an album that sounds pretty similar to their earlier works. Granted, the rock band has not deviated much from their signature musical style, and each song was influenced by and recorded in a different city, but fans who have been following Foo Fighters over the years would likely treat this album as “same old, same old”. It’s not bad, it’s just way too familiar.

1. Something from Nothing
2. The Feast and the Famine
3. Congregation
4. What Did I Do? / God as My Witness
5. Outside
6. In the Clear
7. Subterranean
8. I Am a River

Damien Rice: My Favourite Faded Fantasy

Scheduled release: 10 November

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It’s been eight long years since Irish crooner Damien Rice tugged our heartstrings with his soulful, sometimes depressing music. Rice’s My Favourite Faded Fantasy uncovers all those buried emotions and puts the listener in a much-needed pensive state of mind. The world could do with more of this, so don’t leave us waiting again, Mr. Rice.

1. My Favourite Faded Fantasy
2. It Takes a Lot To Know a Man
3. The Greatest Bastard
4. I Don’t Want to Change You
5. Colour me in
6. The Box
7. Trusty and True
8. Long Long Way

Rick Ross: Hood Billionaire

Scheduled release: 24 November

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Didn’t Rick Ross just release an album earlier this year? Yes, he did. The boss of Maybach Music Group certainly knows how to work the crowd, bringing on Hood Billionaire mere months after Mastermind hit music stores. To his credit, Mastermind was chock full of songs (19 for the deluxe edition), and Hood Billionaire comes in just behind with 18. Coupled with the fact that this album has brand-new songs, it warranties the need for a separate release.

1. Intro (Rick Ross / Hood Billionaire)
2. Hood Billionaire
3. Coke Like The 80’s
4. Heavyweight
5. Neighborhood Drug Dealer
6. Phone Tap
7. Trap Luv
8. Elvis Presley Blvd. (feat. Project Pat)
9. Movin’ Base (feat. Jay-Z)
10. If They Knew (feat. K. Michelle)
11. Quintessential
12. Keep Doin’ That (Rich Bitch) (feat. R. Kelly)
13. Nickel Rock
14. Burn
15. Family Ties
16. Brimstone
17. Wuzzup
18. Headache

Iggy Azalea: Reclassified

Scheduled release: 24 November

Guess who else decided to release another album this year? Iggy Azalea made her debut this April to mixed reviews, and this follow-up is essentially a re-packaged album that contains additional tracks with the likes of MØ, Ellie Goulding and Charli XCX. Avoid the marketing gimmicks and purchase the new tracks only if they suit your fancy.

1. We in This Bitch
2. Work
3. Change Your Life (feat. T.I.)
4. Beg for It (feat. MØ)
5. Black Widow (feat. Rita Ora)
6. Trouble (feat. Jennifer Hudson)
7. Don’t need Y’all
8. Rolex
9. Iggy SZN
10. Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)
11. Heavy Crown (feat. Ellie Goulding)
12. Bounce

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