'Why Not More?' by Coco Jones
Coco Jones' long-awaited debut album is finally here, and it "places her firmly in R&B's upper echelons," said Maura Johnston in Rolling Stone. The 27-year-old former Disney teen star has been putting out singles and EPs for a dozen years, and she won a Grammy last year. But only with this "sumptuous" package has she established the range she favors. "The album's sonic touchpoints are varied—Timbaland-inspired electro squelches, Quiet Storm synth blankets, swaying Caribbean beats—but Jones' steady presence brings them all together in a cohesive whole." On "AEOMG," she cribs from Luther Vandross. On "Taste," she makes the chorus of Britney Spears' "Toxic" her own. "Jones isn't scared to push boundaries, whether it's her own or R&B as a genre," said Puah Ziwei in NME. Of course, she's "at her finest when her voice is the star of the show," as on the Jazmine Sullivan–like "Here We Go." But whether she's throwing herself into a ballad or riding a reggae groove, "the authentic vulnerability in her vocals" cuts through. Why Not More? may be "just the beginning for this star in the making."
'Viagr Aboys' by Viagra Boys
"There's something so refreshingly '90s about Viagra Boys' slacker attitude," said Karly Quadros in Paste. With their fourth album, the Swedish post-punk band trades the conspiracy-bro satire of 2022's Cave World for "a more general sense of absurdism," with wellness culture the chief target of frontman Sebastian Murphy's lyrics. Across this 11-song set, "the body takes on a Wile E. Coyote–level capacity for corporal punishment." It's stepped on, filled with gasoline and warm beer, and even contracts monkeypox, all while the band churns out "big bodacious synth riffs" and "buzz saw bass" grooves. The subjects of these songs are "the kinds of guys that are aggrieved but ultimately powerless" because they can't get out of their own way, said Drew Gillis in The A.V. Club. Yet the characters are sharply drawn, "showing unexpected depth." In "Man Made of Meat," the dude Murphy is giving voice to preens outside a fast-food joint, flexing his muscles, and with Murphy's delivery, "you can hear the veins popping in his forehead." You can also sense the insecurity beneath the foolish machismo, "which actually makes him endearing."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trekking with gorillas in the warm heart of AfricaThe Week Recommends Great apes and an unforgettable encounter with elephants in the forests and swamps of the Congo
-
New START: the final US-Russia nuclear treaty about to expireThe Explainer The last agreement between Washington and Moscow expires within weeks
-
What do the people of Greenland want for their future?As Europe prevaricates over US threats for annexation there is a unifying feeling of self-determination among Greenlanders
-
Avatar: Fire and Ash – third instalment feels like ‘a relic of an earlier era’Talking Point Latest sequel in James Cameron’s passion project is even ‘more humourless’ than the last
-
The Zorg: meticulously researched book is likely to ‘become a classic’The Week Recommends Siddharth Kara’s harrowing account of the voyage that helped kick-start the anti-slavery movement
-
The Housemaid: an enjoyably ‘pulpy’ concoctionThe Week Recommends Formulaic psychological horror with Sydney Sweeney is ‘kind of a scream’
-
William Nicholson: a ‘rich and varied’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends The wide-ranging show brings together portraits, illustrations, prints and posters, alongside ‘ravishing’ still lifes
-
Oh, Mary! – an ‘irreverent, counter-historical’ delightThe Week Recommends Mason Alexander Park ‘gives the funniest performance in town’ as former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln
-
The ultimate films of 2025 by genreThe Week Recommends From comedies to thrillers, documentaries to animations, 2025 featured some unforgettable film moments
-
Into the Woods: a ‘hypnotic’ productionThe Week Recommends Jordan Fein’s revival of the much-loved Stephen Sondheim musical is ‘sharp, propulsive and often very funny’
-
The best food books of 2025The Week Recommends From mouthwatering recipes to insightful essays, these colourful books will both inspire and entertain
