April: 18 albums you need to hear this month

Kingdom 'Tears In The Club' (Fade To Mind)

Since co-founding Fade To Mind, LA’s Kingdom has been leading the charge for futuristic takes on club music. He trailblazed the (now rampant) use of r’n’b samples in the club sphere, while his work with vocalists such as Kelela and D∆WN is responsible for creating some of the freshest sounds out there. He continues with the same approach on his debut LP, crafting sleek beats with touches of bass-loaded darkness, and often combining them with affecting vocals from various guests. Syd layers dreaminess over the sparse base of ‘Nothin’, while SZA brings pop superstar quality on her two guest spots. The tracks without vocal turns are left feeling slightly lacking, but the killer outweighs the filler. Patrick Hinton

7/10