Pitchfork Highlights 11 New Albums, Led by Phoebe Bridgers and L’Rain

Q: How did a life-threatening diagnosis transform James Ellis Ford's newest album into a raw, daily diary of survival?

James Ellis Ford’s leukemia diagnosis turned *Lost in Another World* into an unfiltered survival journal because he made it in real time, in isolation, during chemotherapy, with almost no distance between what he was living and what he was recording. After being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, Ford wrote and recorded the album in just over two weeks on a hospital ward at Barts, between punishing rounds of treatment. Working from a laptop, a cheap microphone, and a few synths his wife set up on a fold-out IKEA table, he sang what he later described as “the first thing that came into my head,” with no poetic filter. That stripped-away method gave the songs the feel of a daily diary rather than a polished studio statement. Ford has said the record became both a way to process existential dread and a pep talk to himself. Facing a cancer with a roughly 30% survival rate, he used the music to confront fear, reassure himself he would survive, and hold onto his identity while confined to a sterile room during periods of immune-system collapse. Tracks such as “Overtones,” “Parallel Dimension,” and “This Will All Be A Memory Soon” reflect that mix of disorientation, pain, hope, and direct self-address. He chose not to significantly rework the recordings after leaving hospital, calling the album “a photograph” and “a time capsule.” That decision preserved the rawness: fear, love, boredom, calm, and perseverance captured as they happened, rather than reconstructed later.

2 articles · Updated · Pitchfork · Aug 14

Pitchfork’s latest New Music Friday roundup spotlights 11 new releases now on streaming services, with Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend and L’Rain’s Fata Morgana leading the list.
6 years after her last solo album, Bridgers returns with quieter songs on Lost Weekend, following a rise that brought 11 Grammy nominations and 4 wins.
L’Rain’s fourth album, Fata Morgana, extends her run of emotionally heavy records, while Djrum, Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal, and Sweeping Promises also feature among the week’s notable drops.
The broader list spans indie rock, folk, rap, soul, and electronic music, including releases from Laura Veirs, Hovvdy, Everything Is Recorded, the Womack Sisters, and James Ellis Ford.