There’s a ton of great new music out this summer, but you don’t need to pay any subscription fees to hear it. With just your Livingston Library card, you can stream all these albums (and thousands more) for free on Hoopla!
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift
“The past typically isn’t the most comfortable place to inhabit, but Swift embodies her younger self fully, imbuing these tracks with the same immediacy and emotional heft as she did all those years ago. Country twang or not.” – The Independent
I Inside the Old Year Dying – PJ Harvey
“Many of the songs, which she recorded with longtime collaborators John Parish and producer Flood, recall the downtempo energies of Let England Shake and her quiet 2007 album, White Chalk, and like those albums, the music here excels in its otherworldliness.” – Rolling Stone
You & I – Rita Ora
“There’s still the trademark sass and joie de vivre throughout, but this feels like a more mature and evolved body of work from Rita who has shed her skin to show more vulnerability and creativity than before.” – Clash Music
Átta – Sigur Rós
“Like the group’s best work, its amorphous and vaguely defined nature makes it something you can explore again and again and still find something you hadn’t noticed.” – Variety
Michael – Killer Mike
“It’s powered by honesty that goes beyond any titles fans have come to associate with the venerable spitter. In a career that’s stretched more than 20 years, Michael sees Killer Mike as his most honest self, and it’s his most comfortable role yet.” – HipHopDX
Emotional Contracts – Deer Tick
“Esteemed producer Dave Fridmann illuminates Deer Tick’s loose-limbed, self-assured character on kickass Stones-y opener ‘If I Try To Leave’ and the cowbell-powered ‘Forgiving Ties,’ with its hooky Harrisonian central riff.” – Uncut
The Age of Pleasure – Janelle Monae
“It’s a delicious amount of fun and presumably would’ve felt like a treat had it arrived any time of year — but for The Age of Pleasure to become available just as summer truly begins to heat up feels intentional.” – Consequence
Orpheus Descending – John Mellencamp
“Mellencamp’s blend of sinewy rhythms and burnished acoustics is recognizably his, yet it draws upon a sound that’s now part of a shared past. It’s a sound that’s aged well, and Mellencamp has aged within it.” – AllMusic
That! Feels! Good! – Jessie Ware
“A record of sterling, mirrorball-lit songs and bawdy lyricism. It’s Ware’s finest collection of work to date.” – Paste
Fountain Baby – Amaare
“The boundaries for African music are constantly moving, and across this album, Amaarae pushes them even further.” – NME
Joy’All – Jenny Lewis
“Each track conjures up dusty Nashville bars, from the spoken word sandwiched between a lament to love on album closer ‘Chain Of Tears’ to a knowing play on country cliches on Jenny’s exploration of happiness in her forties, ‘Puppy and a Truck’.” – DIY
Pink Tape – Lil Uzi Vert
“Only their most dogged of fans would have expected such brilliance – this lengthy, thrill-a-minute release could well be their finest moment.” – Clash Music
— Joe, Adult Services & Acquisitions