In Stores Now 3/14

This past week, L.A. rapper Kendrick Lamar unleashed his latest, untitled unmastered, seemingly out of nowhere. The album consists of eight previously unreleased outtakes from his To Pimp A Butterfly recording sessions, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes "holds together remarkably well, combining an expansive, jazz-tinged, live-band hip hop sound with Lamar's on-fire delivery and knotty lyrics revolving around identity, racism and other weighty subjects." (Read an in-depth review on the KEXP Blog here.)

Other highlights include the third studio album from Chicago band Into It. Over It., "a strong set of dynamic, emotive rock. Produced by John Vanderslice, the album features a variety of smartly written songs ranging from crunchy, anthemic rockers to delicate chamber-pop and moody, atmospheric ballads." The latest from beloved Brooklyn duo Lucius "blends epic '80s synth-pop with '60s girl-group pop and other styles, combining a full, lush sound with the impassioned dual lead vocals of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig." Bethlehem, PA husband-and-wife duo Slingshot Dakota share a "strong set ranging from crunchy garage-pop to sparse, brooding ballads, combining fuzzy guitars, chirpy keyboards, pummeling drums, plaintive vocals, emotive lyrics and catchy pop hooks." Boston band Bent Shapes bring "a catchy blend of power pop and post-punk with driving rhythms and jangly guitars along with occasional piano and horns fleshing out often-biting songs aimed at social media and today's transitory culture." And Camilo Lara of Mexican Institute of Sound and Sergio Mendoza of Calexico team up as Mexrrissey, featuring a line-up of Mexican musicians paying tribute to Morrissey.

• Beau – “Oceans”
• from That Thing Reality on Kitsuné / RED Music Solutions
• Bent Shapes – “What We Do Is Public”
• from Wolves of Want on Slumberland
• Brian Fallon – “Nobody Wins”
• from Painkillers on Island / Virgin EMI
• Cardiknox – “Into The Night”
• from Portrait on Warner Bros.
• Emmy the Great – “Dance w/ Me”
• from Second Love on Bella Union
• The Feelies – “What Goes On”
• from Only Life reissue on Bar/None Records
• The Feelies – “Real Cool Time”
• from Time for a Witness reissue on Bar/None Records
• Gavin James – “Bitter Pill”
• from Bitter Pill on Capitol
• Holy Wave – “She Put A Seed In My Ear”
• from Freaks of Nurture on Reverberation Appreciation Society
• Hospital Ships – “Nothing To Hide”
• from The Past Is Not a Flood on Graveface Records
• Into It. Over It. – “No EQ”
• from Standards on Triple Crown Records
• Jeff Buckley – “Just Like a Woman”
• from You & I on Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music
• The KVB – “In Deep”
• from Of Desire on Metropolis
• La Yegros – “Chicha Roja”
• from Magnetismo on Soundway
• Lucius – “Strangers”
• from Good Grief on Mom + Pop Music
• Mexrrissey – “Estuvo Bien (Suedehead)”
• from No Manchester on Cooking Vinyl
• Mind Spiders – “Cold”
• from Prosthesis on Dirtnap Records
• Mirror Travel – “Yesca”
• from Cruise Deal on Modern Outsider
• MMOTHS – “Deu”
• from Luneworks on Because Music
• Palehound – “Molly”
• from Dry Food on Heavenly
• Parachute – “Without You”
• from Wide Awake on Vanguard
• Pete Yorn – “Lost Weekend”
• from ArrangingTime on Capitol / Virgin EMI
• Slingshot Dakota – “Paycheck”
• from Break on Top Shelf Records
• Sunwatchers – “Eusubius”
• from Sunwatchers on Castle Face
• The Wild Feathers – “Lonely Is A Lifetime”
• from Lonely Is a Lifetime on Warner Bros.