Play Me (Kim Gordon album)

Play Me
Studio album by
Kim Gordon
ReleasedMarch 13, 2026
Genre
Length29:55
LabelMatador
ProducerJustin Raisen
Kim Gordon chronology
The Collective
(2024) 		Play Me
(2026)
Singles from Play Me
  1. "Not Today"
    Released: January 14, 2026
  2. "Dirty Tech"
    Released: February 11, 2026
  3. "Play Me"
    Released: March 10, 2026

Play Me (stylized in all caps) is the third solo studio album by the American musician Kim Gordon, released on March 13, 2026, via Matador Records.[1] Like her previous album The Collective (2024), it was produced by Justin Raisen.[2]

Background and recording

Play Me is Gordon's third album in collaboration with producer Justin Raisen.[2] It was recorded in Raisen's home studio.[3]

Composition

Musically, Play Me is an album that relies primarily on Gordon's trap vocals,[4] Raisen's industrial textures,[5] and trip hop beats.[6] Lyrically, Gordon focuses on aspects of modern life, such as U.S. politics[2] and the rise of AI.[7]

On "Busy Bee", Dave Grohl makes an appearance, playing drums on top of sped-up dialogue between Gordon and Free Kitten bandmate Julia Cafritz. The dialogue was taken from an episode of MTV Beach House that the pair guest-hosted in the 1990s.[8]

Promotion and singles

On June 13, 2025, Gordon released "ByeBye25!", a reworking of the single "Bye Bye" from her 2024 album The Collective, with updated lyrics based on words flagged by the second Trump administration. It was accompanied with a black-and-white music video showing Gordon walking through a construction site. Proceeds from the single and associated T-shirt went to Noise for Now, a non-profit organization based on reproductive rights.[9] Although it appears as a track on Play Me, it had been released as a standalone single.[1]

Play Me was announced on January 14, 2026, with its release date, track listing, label, and official lead single "Not Today". Kate and Laura Mulleavy, known as the founders of Rodarte, directed the music video in which Gordon stars in a custom tulle dress that the Mulleavys designed for her. The track features Gordon singing, something she had not done in years on her records.[1] On February 11, Gordon released the second single "Dirty Tech", a trap song with lyrics inspired by the rise of AI. Moni Haworth directed its music video, starring Gordon in an abandoned office space.[10] Then on March 10, the title track was released with a music video directed by Barnaby Clay, and Gordon announced dates for an upcoming tour in North America and Europe spanning April to July 2026.[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[12]
Metacritic80/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[14]
Classic Rock8/10[7]
DIY[15]
Exclaim!8/10[16]
Hot Press5/10[17]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[18]
PasteA−[19]
Pitchfork7.0/10[20]
The Skinny[6]
Uncut9/10[4]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Play Me received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 from 18 critic scores.[13] Another aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the record an average of 7.4 out of 10 based on a sample of 21 critical reviews.[12]

Victoria Segal of Mojo magazine gave Play Me four stars out of five and said Gordon "still sound[s] like an artist whose nerve endings are uninsulated, whose desire to create remains explosive".[2] In another four-star review for the NME, Andrew Trendell described the record as "a left turn" in relation to her previous solo records, adding it "has no place being this jarring yet pleasurable from any 'rock' artist, let alone at 72".[21] In Classic Rock magazine, Emma Johnston said that the album's "unpredictability" and "sense of anxiety" was "entirely fitting with the era we're in",[7] and in Beats Per Minute, John Amen gave the album an 83% and opined that in a time of "chaos and unpredictability", Gordon chose to "embrace it ... [with] unflagging allure".[22] Paste's Grant Sharples lauded Gordon's ability to use humor to both critique and mock the people in power, delivered in such a way that "never comes across as Resistance-core pedantry".[19]

Writing for The Line of Best Fit, Devin Birse thought the album was "at its most interesting" when it was not as easily categorized into a specific genre, highlighting "Not Today" in particular.[18] In a four-star review, JR Moores of Record Collector compared Gordon's observational lyricism to the late Mark E. Smith and described her approach as having "a first-draft feel" that succeeds in allowing room for interpretation.[5] Joe Muggs of The Arts Desk similarly commented that its songs felt like "first drafts or even an improv session", but they gave Play Me two stars out of five, saying it "[felt] like an unfinished experiment". Muggs also said that while Gordon leans further into elements that made The Collective a good record, they criticized her vocal performance as "trapped between deadpan and declamatory".[23]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Kim Gordon; all music is composed by Gordon and Justin Raisen, with additional composers noted below.[3]

Play Me track listing
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Play Me" 2:28
2."Girl with a Look" 2:33
3."No Hands" 2:00
4."Black Out" 1:38
5."Dirty Tech"Jeremiah Raisen2:20
6."Not Today" 3:35
7."Busy Bee"Dave Grohl3:01
8."Square Jaw" 2:19
9."Subcon" 2:55
10."Post Empire" 2:26
11."Nail Biter"Anthony Paul Lopez2:13
12."ByeBye25!"Je. Raisen2:27
Total length:29:55

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the vinyl liner notes,[3] except where noted.

Musicians

Technical and design

  • Justin Raisen – production, mixing (all tracks)
  • Sadpony – production (5, 12)
  • Anthony Paul Lopez – production (11), mixing (all tracks)
  • Brad Lauchert – engineering (all tracks)
  • Mike Bozzi – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering (all tracks)
  • Coco Gordon Moore – body painting
  • Brian Roettinger – art direction, typography
  • Annabel Mehran – photography

Charts

Chart performance for Play Me
Chart (2026) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 15
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 38
Dutch Vinyl Albums (Dutch Charts)[27] 33
Japanese Rock Albums (Oricon)[28] 16
Japanese Western Albums (Oricon)[29] 19
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30] 11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 71
UK Albums Sales (OCC)[30] 12
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[30] 7

Notes

  1. ^ Sadpony is an alias of Jeremiah Raisen.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c Corcoran, Nina (January 14, 2026). "Kim Gordon Announces New Album Play Me". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d Segal, Victoria (February 17, 2026). "Sound Mirror: Unstilled Sonic Youth heroine fast-forwards through the confusing present". Mojo. No. 389 (April 2026). London: H Bauer Publishing. p. 87. ISSN 1351-0193.
  3. ^ a b c Gordon, Kim (2026). Play Me (Vinyl liner notes). Matador Records. OLE2198LP.
  4. ^ a b Pinnock, Tom (February 27, 2026). "New Albums: Kim Gordon – Play Me". Uncut. No. 350 (April 2026). Yalding, Kent, England: Kelsey Media. p. 33. ISSN 1368-0722.
  5. ^ a b Moores, JR (February 19, 2026). "Reviews: Kim Gordon – Play Me". Record Collector. No. 580 (February 2026). London: Diamond Publishing Ltd. p. 103. ISSN 0261-250X. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  6. ^ a b Estrine, Billie (March 10, 2026). "Kim Gordon – Play Me". The Skinny. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c Johnston, Emma (March 3, 2026). "The Hard Stuff – Albums: Kim Gordon – Play Me". Classic Rock. No. 351 (April 2026). Future. p. 78. ISSN 1464-7834.
  8. ^ a b c Sheffield, Rob (March 4, 2026). "Kim Gordon's Stunning Second Act Is Only Getting Wilder". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  9. ^ March, Kim (June 13, 2025). "Kim Gordon Reworks 'Bye Bye' with Words Censored by Trump Administration". Flood Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  10. ^ Breihan, Tom (February 11, 2026). "Kim Gordon – 'Dirty Tech'". Stereogum. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  11. ^ Redfern, Mark (March 10, 2026). "Kim Gordon Shares Video for New Song 'Play Me'". Under the Radar. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  12. ^ a b "Kim Gordon – Play Me". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  13. ^ a b "Play Me by Kim Gordon". Metacritic. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  14. ^ White, Seth (March 12, 2026). "Kim Gordon – Play Me". Clash. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  15. ^ Volk, Jerrome (March 9, 2026). "Albums: Kim Gordon – Play Me". DIY. No. 158 (March 2026). p. 51. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  16. ^ Hill, Eric (March 11, 2026). "Kim Gordon Rages Against Nightmare Nation on 'Play Me'". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  17. ^ McGoran, Peter (March 13, 2026). "Album Review: Kim Gordon, Play Me". Hot Press. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  18. ^ a b Birse, Devin (March 12, 2026). "Kim Gordon's Play Me is an abstract soundtrack for absurdist times". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  19. ^ a b Sharples, Grant (March 11, 2026). "Kim Gordon's Play Me is a vital anti-AI statement". Paste. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  20. ^ Madden, Emma (March 13, 2026). "Albums: Play Me – Kim Gordon". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
  21. ^ Trendell, Andrew (March 12, 2026). "Kim Gordon – 'Play Me' review: the godmother of alt-rock fearlessly turns to beats". NME. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  22. ^ Amen, John (March 16, 2026). "Album Review: Kim Gordon – Play Me". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  23. ^ Muggs, Joe (March 12, 2026). "On 'Play Me' Kim Gordon may have got caught in a trap..." The Arts Desk. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  24. ^ Strauss, Matthew (July 8, 2024). "Julian Casablancas and the Voidz Detail New Album Like All Before You". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kim Gordon – Play Me" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kim Gordon – Play Me" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  27. ^ "Dutch Vinyl 33 21/03/2026" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  28. ^ "Oricon Top 20 Rock Albums: March 23, 2026" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  29. ^ "Oricon Top 30 Western Albums: March 23, 2026" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  30. ^ a b c "Play Me by Kim Gordon: Chart History of Play Me". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kim Gordon – Play Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
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