KCRW’s Top 30: Gabriels, Christine and the Queens, Beth Orton

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Rejoice! Gabriels’ debut album “Angels & Queens” is out (in part) at last. Photo Live From Anne’s Backyard by Larry Hirshowitz

It’s all happening. The long-awaited debut album from Gabriels was circled on our calendar with a countdown clock ticking before we even had an official date. And as with most things concerning our 2021 Breakthrough Artist, there’s a twist to the electro gospel-funk trio’s release strategy — we are now in possession of part one of the band’s first full-length, “Angels & Queens,” with part two due in March. The first seven-song batch offers a rich, soulful, and complex dive into the group’s artistic evolution. Plus, you can hear how intensely they’ve been working out whichever muscle group is responsible for producing the maximum amount of funkiness.

Elsewhere throughout the list, heavy favorites like Automatic, Panda Bear & Sonic Boom, and De Lux are still holding strong — while Jonah Yano, Christine and the Queens, and Beth Orton have arrived just in time to spice things up.

Read on, and let our Spotify playlist be your guide.

Top 30 Albums (10.4.2022)

1 Gabriels Angels & Queens - Part 1
2 Yeah Yeah Yeahs Cool It Down
3 Men I Trust Billie Toppy [Single]
4 Björk Fossora
5 Say She She Prism
6 Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs When the Lights Go
7 Little Dragon Opening The Door
8 La Femme Teatro Lucido
9 The Comet Is Coming Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam
10 Thee Sacred Souls Thee Sacred Souls
11 Automatic Excess
12 Panda Bear & Sonic Boom Reset
13 Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul Topical Dancer
14 De Lux Do You Need a Release?
15 Sudan Archives Natural Brown Prom Queen
16 Beth Orton Weather Alive
17 Santigold Spirituals
18 Aidan Noell Sharevari (Feat. Nancy Whang) [Single]
19 Sampa The Great As Above So Below
20 BARDO Polaroid Weekend [Single]
21 Bomba Estéreo & Manu Chao Me Duele [Single]
22 Christine and the Queens Redcar les adorables étoiles
23 Melody's Echo Chamber Unfold
24 Surprise Chef Education & Recreation
25 Makaya McCraven

In These Times

26 Phony PPL Nowhere but Up [Single]
27 Marxist Love Disco Ensemble MLDE
28 Mind Shrine Is It You?
29 Danielle Ponder Some of Us Are Brave
30 Jonah Yano portrait of a dog