Catch up on the month’s best music with new songs by Drake, Lorde, Haim, Janelle Monaé, Arcade Fire, and a lot more.
Janelle Monaé, The Electric Lady
Janelle Monaé's second full-length album may be a sprawling conceptual art record — it's broken down into two suites that are part of a larger epic about the adventures of Monaé's cyborg alter ego Cyndi Mayweather — but don't let the singer's over-the-top high concepts put you off. The Electric Lady is first and foremost a vibrant and varied R&B album. The best cuts, like "Dance Apocalyptic" and "Q.U.E.E.N." are firmly in Monae's perky, quirky funk comfort zone, but the most pleasant surprise is that she's a lot better with ballads this time around, particularly on "Primetime," a sexy duet with Miguel. — Matthew Perpetua
Potty Mouth, Hell Bent
