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The BPM

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The BPM
Studio album by
Sudan Archives
ReleasedOctober 17, 2025 (2025-10-17)
GenreDance[1]
Length52:37
LabelStones Throw
Producer
  • Sudan Archives
  • Ben Dickey
  • Damon Terrell
  • Eric Terhune
Sudan Archives chronology
Natural Brown Prom Queen
(2022) 		The BPM
(2025)
Singles from The BPM
  1. "Dead"
    Released: June 3, 2025
  2. "My Type" / "Yea Yea Yea"
    Released: July 16, 2025
  3. "Ms. Pac Man"
    Released: August 12, 2025
  4. "Come and Find You"
    Released: September 10, 2025
  5. "A Bug's Life"
    Released: October 14, 2025
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[3]
Beats Per Minute83%[4]
Clash8/10[5]
Exclaim!8/10[6]
MojoStarStarStarStar[7]
musicOMHStarStarStarStarHalf star[8]
Paste8.1/10[9]
Pitchfork8.4/10[10]
The SkinnyStarStarStarStar[11]
Slant MagazineStarStarStarStar[12]

The BPM is the third studio album by American singer, songwriter and violinist Brittney Parks under her stage name Sudan Archives. It was released on October 17, 2025, through Stones Throw Records.

The album follows her critically acclaimed 2022 release Natural Brown Prom Queen and is said to blend club sounds from Detroit and Chicago with diverse dance styles. It features close collaborators and explores themes of technology, self-exploration and emotion.

Background and themes

[edit]

The BPM was inspired by Parks's parents' roots in Michigan and Illinois, with recording sessions partially taking place in both Detroit and Chicago,[13] incorporating club sounds from both cities. The album features mainly contributions from her close circle, including her sister, cousin and best friend.[14] It also explores various styles of dance music, such as Jersey club and experimental beatwork.[15] Parks notes that her beats often reflect where her parents come from, but with a more experimental twist on this record. She also expressed her intention to create a definitive dance album with The BPM. [1]

Visually, Parks adopts a new persona called "Gadget Girl", representing her connection with technology. This character embodies being "self-made and self-contained", utilizing the tools around her to become the best version of herself without outside assistance. Parks describes this as "hyper-independence" but ultimately considers it a form of "self-exploration".[16] According to a press release, the album explores themes such as mental illness, self-love, technology, romance and heartbreak.[17]

Release and promotion

[edit]

The album was preceded by the lead single "Dead" on June 3, 2025, followed by the dual single "My Type" / "Yea Yea Yea" released on July 16.[18] "Ms. Pac Man" was released as a single on August 12, 2025.[19] On September 10, 2025, she released the album's fourth single, "Come and Find You".[20] She released "A Bug's Life" as a single on October 14, 2025.[21] Parks started touring in the United States and Europe in support of the album in fall 2025, and later added more dates for the U.S. for January and February 2026.[22][23]

Track listing

[edit]
The BPM track listing[24]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Dead"
4:08
2."Come and Find You"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • Zep Barnasconi
  • Umesi Michael
  • Dickey
  • Sudan Archives
  • Michael[a]
  • Barnasconi[a]
3:50
3."Yea Yea Yea"
  • Dickey
  • Terhune
  • Terrell
3:15
4."Touch Me"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • Terrell
  • Dickey
  • Terrell
2:10
5."A Bug's Life"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • Terhune
3:07
6."The Nature of Power"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • Terhune
  • Dickey
  • Terhune
  • Sudan Archives[a]
4:09
7."My Type"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • Terhune
  • Terrell
  • Ghalani of Greenwood
  • Dickey
  • Terhune
  • McCall[c]
3:08
8."She's Got Pain"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • Terrell
  • Dickey
  • Terrell
  • Sudan Archives
3:24
9."David & Goliath"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • Catherine Parks
  • Dickey
  • Sudan Archives
3:52
10."A Computer Love"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • Dickey
  • Sudan Archives
3:51
11."The BPM"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • Dickey
  • Sudan Archives
  • McCall[c]
2:30
12."Ms. Pac Man"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • Terhune
  • Terrell
  • Henderson
  • Dickey
  • Terhune
  • McCall[c]
  • Terrell[a]
3:04
13."Los Cinci"
  • B. Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • C. Parks
  • Muhammad Ahmad Hassan
  • Dickey
  • Sudan Archives
1:52
14."Noire"
  • Parks
  • Dickey
  • Terhune
  • Greenwood
  • Dickey
  • Terhune
5:45
15."Heaven Knows"
  • Parks
  • Dickey
  • McCall
  • Terhune
  • Dexter Story
  • Dickey
  • Sudan Archives
4:32
Total length:52:37

Notes

[edit]
  • ^[c] indicates a co-producer
  • ^[a] indicates an additional producer

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[24]

Musicians

[edit]
  • Sudan Archives – vocals (all tracks), violin (tracks 1–3, 5–11, 13, 14), bass (1, 2, 10, 13), drum programming (1, 2, 13), synthesizer (5, 6, 8–11), sound effects (8–11, 13, 15), drums (9–11), backing vocals (15)
  • Ben Dickey – drum programming (1–3, 6, 13), sound effects (1, 2, 5, 7–13, 15),synthesizer (1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15), bass (2, 3, 6, 8–11, 13, 14), drums (5, 7–11, 14, 15), keyboards (5, 6), chops (11), piano (14), percussion (15)
  • Eric Terhune – drum programming (1–4, 6), synthesizer (1, 2, 6, 12, 14), sound effects (1, 2, 12), bass (2–6, 12, 14), keyboards (3, 4), drums (5, 7, 12, 14, 15), percussion (15)
  • D-Composed – ensemble (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14)
    • Caitlin Edwards – violin
    • Anya Brumfield – violin
    • Wilfred Farquaharson – viola
    • Tahirah Whittington – cello
  • Ghalani of Greenwood – synthesizer (2), bass (7), Moog (14)
  • Kafari – keyboards (2), bones (8), synthesizer (13)
  • Umesi Michael – drum programming (2)
  • Zep Barnasconi – live drums (2)
  • Richard Lawrence – keyboards (2)
  • Damon Terrell – bass, keyboards (3, 4, 8); drum programming (3), drums (4, 8), sound effects (12)
  • James McCall IV – vocals (6)
  • Dexter Story – bass (11, 15); backing vocals, drums, percussion, synthesizer, bass, piano, flute (15)

Technical and visuals

[edit]
  • Red Charon – engineering (1–14)
  • Jeremy Zumo Kollie – engineering (1–11, 13–15)
  • Brian Deck – engineering (1, 3, 5, 6, 8–11)
  • Ghalani of Greenwood – engineering (7)
  • Adam Kobylarz – live drum engineering (2)
  • Noah Glassman – mixing
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering
  • Christie Dawson – project coordination
  • Maya Kalev – project management
  • Ben Zucker – string transcription
  • Alexa Carrasco – creative direction
  • Yanran Xiong – photography
  • Louis Moss – design
  • Midnightt – design
  • Tom Noon – design

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for The BPM
Chart (2025) Peak
position
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[25] 94
UK Dance Albums (OCC)[26] 5
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[27] 50

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Guttridge-Hewitt, Martin (July 17, 2025). "Sudan Archives Embraces Dance Music on New Album The BPM, Shares Singles". DJ Mag. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  2. ^ "Reviews for THE BPM by Sudan Archives". Metacritic. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  3. ^ Kellman, Andy (October 17, 2025). "The BPM - Sudan Archives". AllMusic. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  4. ^ Wohlmacher, John (October 17, 2025). "Album Review: Sudan Archives – The BPM". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  5. ^ Roseblade, Nick (October 17, 2025). "Sudan Archives – The BPM". Clash. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  6. ^ Laube, Aly (October 15, 2025). "Sudan Archives Sets the Pace on 'THE BPM'". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  7. ^ While the concept means Parks' violin takes a backseat, it makes for a dizzying, future-facing hybrid of dancefloor sounds. [Dec 2025, p.85]
  8. ^ Ben Devlin (October 17, 2025). "Sudan Archives – THE BPM". musicOMH. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  9. ^ Rosenberg, Sam (October 17, 2025). "Sudan Archives Marches to the Beat of Her Own Drum Machine On The BPM". Paste. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  10. ^ Felsenthal, Daniel (October 17, 2025). "The BPM - Sudan Archives". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  11. ^ Wade, Lewis (October 14, 2025). "Sudan Archives – THE BPM". The Skinny. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  12. ^ Erickson, Steve (October 13, 2025). "Sudan Archives 'The BPM' Review: It's Gettin' Kinda Heavy". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  13. ^ Strauss, Matthew (July 17, 2025). "Sudan Archives Announces Tour and New Album, Shares New Video: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  14. ^ Hussain, Shazaib (July 16, 2025). "Sudan Archives Announces New Album The BPM". Clash. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  15. ^ Sterling, Scott (July 16, 2025). "Sudan Archives Announces New Album The BPM, Shares Two Songs: Stream". Consequence. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  16. ^ Hess, Liam (July 16, 2025). "Sudan Archives on the Vision Behind Her New Album The BPM". Vogue. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  17. ^ Williams, Aaron (July 16, 2025). "Sudan Archives Reveals The Release Date For Her New Album, The BPM". Uproxx. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  18. ^ Kelly, Tyler Damara (July 16, 2025). "Sudan Archives announces third album, The BPM". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  19. ^ Williams, Aaron (August 12, 2025). "Sudan Archives Powers Up In Her Futuristic 'Ms. Pac Man' Video". Uproxx. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  20. ^ Damara Kelly, Tyler (September 11, 2025). "Sudan Archives has shared "COME AND FIND YOU"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  21. ^ Williams, Aaron (October 14, 2025). "Sudan Archives Hitchhikes In Heels In Her 'A Bug's Life' Video". Uproxx. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  22. ^ Hatfield, Amanda (July 16, 2025). "Sudan Archives Announces New LP The BPM, Shares Two Singles". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  23. ^ Monroe, Jazz (October 7, 2025). "Sudan Archives Announces 2026 North American Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  24. ^ a b The BPM (Media notes). Sudan Archives. Stones Throw Records. October 17, 2025.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart on 24/10/2025 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  26. ^ "Official Dance Albums Chart on 24/10/2025 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  27. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 24/10/2025 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
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