Hit Parade is the sixth solo studio album by Irish singerRisn Murphy, released on 8 September 2023 throughNinja Tune. It was produced byDJ Kozeand was preceded by the singles “CooCool”, “Can’t Replicate” (exclusively as a12-inch single), “The Universe”,”Fader” and “You Knew”. “CooCool” was released alongside Murphy’s announcement when she had signed to Ninja Tune.

From Maurice Fulton to Matthew Herbert, Murphy has been blessed to collaborate with all-star dance producers throughout her career, but none have matched her for sheer off-the-walls weirdness as perfectly as DJ Koze. From their first collaboration the dazzling astral house of Illumination off of Kozes 2018 album Knock Knock the duo have smuggled moments of absurdity into the mix that only heighten the music. The put-on American accent that Murphy affects on The Universe and Crazy Ants Reprise strikes as both a call-back to her old days in Moloko, an outgrowth of the characters she plays on TikTok, and a hybrid of Kozes own love for babbling non-sequiturs. On The House, an incredibly sticky funk beat is fraught with anxiety, as Koze stutters and stops the beat for Murphy to interject. When theyre not seeding their tracks with brazen silliness, Koze and Murphy have an unrivaled sense of space and sensuality. Cant Replicate is the albums most glorious high point, a hypnotic deep house banger that makes an unbelievably sexy moment of mutual recognition last until the end of time.

Its also a showcase for how powerful Murphy can sound in moments of vulnerability, giving a performance built almost entirely from exhales that gradually transforms bruised hesitancy into bracing exhilaration. The absolutely devastating You Knew is just as moving. After years spent striving for a breakthrough and many more course-correcting back toward a career as a successful solo auteur,Hit Paradeis the kind of highly original pop assemblage that the Irish singer has seemingly always wanted to make, a record of peerless highs whose best and worst quality is how alienating it just so happens to be. (via Pitchfork)

Label: Ninja Tune ZEN290
Format: 2x Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Europe
Released: Sep 8, 2023
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Balearic, Future Jazz, Nu-Disco, Trip Hop

File under: Alternative / Indie / Pop