This Week’s New Releases: July 17th

Our look at new album releases for this week kicks off with relative R&B newcomer Frank Ocean, who’ll be hoping that his debut generates as much online discussion as his [personal life]. With its release date pushed forward among leaks and much discussion of the artist’s personal life, Channel Orange has a lot to live up to. So far Frank’s gained 317,314 listeners, but that number should increase exponentially with his first studio album.

Frank Ocean appearing at

Nas is a seasoned figure in the world of hip hop, and Life Is Good marks his tenth album release. With four years since his last, Untitled, anticipation is high – although his most popular tracks on Last.fm are from 1994′s debut Illmatic. Lead single “Nasty” has gained a modest 11,532 listeners so far, but they’re increasing rapidly. We’ll have to wait and see if Life Is Good can match up to the #1 performance of his last two releases.

Finally, we stay in New York with an entirely different sound: folk-rock players Alberta Cross release their second full-length album Songs of Patience. They’ve gained 61,391 listeners since 2007, with track “Low Man” featured on TV’s Californication. Theirs may be a low-key release, but five years in and on an international tour, they’re clearly doing something right for their fans.

Alberta Cross appearing at