A packed release week this week: arrogance of the highest order, a trip to Greece, a bleak jam session and the new Radiohead.

Album of the Week

No, the monster hit "Not Like Us" (awarded three Grammys last week) isn't on Kendrick Lamar's sixth album. Yet, GNX bears plenty of resemblance to his rap feud with Drake, almost a year ago. Lamar stands atop Mount Everest, swearing at anyone who tries to climb it. There's no room for Drake, J. Cole, or anyone else. "Fuck the Big Three, n—a, it's just Big Me." Bravado, braggadocio, and machismo reign supreme. And that's not the only way GNX is actually quite an old-school hip-hop album. G-funk is the dominant genre; Los Angeles, after Lamar, is the main character. Notable sidekicks include SZA, producers Kamasi Washington, and Jack Antonoff—with kudos to Peysoh, Hitta J3, and Young Threat, who steal the show on an old-school posse cut. CD / LP

	Thirteen years after his departure, Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy is back in his element. The metal band is celebrating with its darkest album since Train of Thought. (2003): Parasomnia , a concept album about sleepwalking and night terrors. No more playful excursions, but pure focus on the songs—sometimes up to twenty minutes long. Discipline, to Portnoy's tune. CD / LP
	Can we already call Squid "the new Radiohead"? The ex-post-punkers are innovating hard on Cowards . Post-rock, folk, and psychedelia all pass by. It's a bit Slint, a bit Tortoise, a bit XTC, a bit Soft Machine. It's controlled, especially compared to previous albums, endlessly virtuosic, very British, and absolutely jaw-dropping. CD / LP
	Sharon Van Etten was definitely due for a change. A new sound, but especially a new approach. For Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, she put together a band to jam with for the first time. That looser approach is audible, as is her renewed interest in the bleak corners of the eighties: kraut, Siouxise, New Order. An exciting new chapter that leaves you wanting more. CD / LP
	The Toegift leaves the Zeeland coast behind. The folk group expands on small car, big hot wheel Expands its palette with electronic sounds and unleashes a childlike curiosity about the world. That world extends to Greece: the band no longer just sings in Dutch, but also sings the story of Odysseus. A warm welcome for fans of The Avonden, Eefje de Visser, and Spinvis. CD / LP
	It was, of all things, "A Ghost Is Born ," an atypical glimpse into the painkiller-addicted mind of Jeff Tweedy, that earned Wilco its only Grammys. Twenty years later, the Chicago band unveils a trove of demos, alternate versions, and live recordings that paint a picture of everything the album could have been. More migraines, less migraines; an anatomy of Wilco's most unorthodox album yet. 2CD / 2LP / 9CD / 13LP

 

More new releases this week: Rotterdam's Rats on Rafts embrace the city's cold minimalism on Deep Below ( CD / LP ); the new-wavey Open Wide is already the third album by Inhaler ( CD / LP ); and the candid Drenthe singer-songwriter Hannah Mae makes her debut with Rode Draad ( CD / LP ).

Pre-orders

	On Forever Howlong (April 4) The first studio album since Isaac Wood left the band is Black Country, New Road a whole new band. LP
	What does alt-country sound like in Māori? New Zealand singer Marlon Williams demonstrates it on Te Whare Twekaweka. (April 4). CD / LP