The Lead Sheet ~ 6/10/2025

The Lead Sheet is your guide to this week’s new music - taking a look at newly released albums, who made them, and how listeners are responding. 

TikTok star turned actor/musician Addison Rae, just released her first official LP, Addison last Friday. It’s generally been met with praise, the pop album features no ballads; the artist’s intention was to make every track “danceable.” The influencer had previously released an EP titled AR, which featured some one-off tracks she had released prior. Rae was also featured on Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch” remix, after signing with Columbia Records last year. Addison features an electro pop sound, stacked with synths, layered vocals, repetitive loops and up-tempo dance beats, each song a valid contender on the perfect summer playlist. 

For decades, Lil Wayne has been producing profoundly influential hip-hop music, and is regarded as one of the best rappers of all time. However, his new album Tha Carter VI,is being met with mixed reviews. Listeners feel the album starts strong, but are disappointed with the featured artists and the quality of each track seems to vary greatly. The song, “Peanuts 2 N Elephant” produced in tandem with broadway darling and Hamilton creator, Lin Manuel-Miranda, is generally being panned because it sounds amateurish, like a first attempt from someone experimenting with music production software. Tha Carter VI also features many rock n’ roll elements, electric guitar solos, steady 4/4 drums, and to the dismay of some, Lil Wayne’s singing voice, which has never been considered his strong suit. Considering Wayne almost never misses, he’s more than earned an album that doesn’t completely resonate with everyone. 

After 24 years, Pulp, the British alt-pop/rock band has put out a fresh album, concisely titled More. The band’s most commercially successful period was in the mid to late 90s, after which they broke up following the release of We Love Life in 2001. The band re-united in 2011, and has played gigs off and on ever since. More features all of Pulp’s flavors; part Bowie, part Blur, and Jarvis Cocker’s iconic vocal quality drives the album. The record features a wide range of sounds, sometimes pop, sometimes disco, and at times slower and reflective pieces. “Got to Have Love” feels nostalgic and silly, but is massively fun. Hope to see more from Pulp, ideally sooner than another quarter-of-a-century. 

American hardcore punk rock band Turnstile released their 4th studio album, Never Enough on Friday, to high marks from fans and critics alike. After forming in Baltimore in 2010, the band has gone on to receive 3 grammy nominations, and hit No. 8 on Rolling Stone’s top 50 albums of 2021 for their previous album, Glow On. Never Enough has no shortage of energy – full of high tempo, thrashable, head-bangable punk anthems, and powerful, melodic vocals. I would throw any of the group’s new songs into a workout playlist for the adrenaline boost. 

Rapper McKinley Dixon just released an allegorical rap opera Magic, Alive! And it’s hard to overstate just how impressive the album is. There’s so much going on it's hard to unpack in this short column, but if you like hip-hop even a little, you won’t want to miss this one. Instrumentally, the project features high octane modal jazz, screaming horn solos and funky rhythms, over McKinley’s baritone rap-timbre and city soundscapes. The lyrics drive forward a narrative, which tells the story of three children who experience the death of a friend in their group. Together, they try to understand tragedy and search for a way to bring their lost mate back to life. It’s profound, wholesome, touching, and extremely well composed. This one might just be a masterpiece. 

Hot albums to check out this week:

Addison Rae- Addison

Released June 6 2025

Columbia Records

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter VI

Released June 6 2025

Young Money

Pulp - More

Released June 6 2025

Rough Trade Records

Turnstile - Never Enough

Released June 6 2025

Roadrunner

McKinley Dixon - Magic, Alive!

Released June 6 2025

City Slang