First Listen: New Releases and Missed Music Through August 2025
Album: Billionaire
Quick Thoughts: I've long ended any hope of being objective on Kathleen Edwards. She's been a favorite of mine for 20+ years, and her return to music has been a welcome musical bright spot in recent years. Part of what I love about her work is that her albums have a narrative throughline in a way a lot of other albums do not. Is this her "married and in Florida now" album (I guess moving to America wasn't an empty threat?), it's probably too soon to say, but this definitely has the feel of a trajectory out of a place you've always known to a new life. We've come a long way from "Copied Keys," I guess. Either way, I like this album more and more with each listen, and I wouldn't be shocked if this popped up in my year-end highlights.
Songs of Note: "Save Your Soul," "Say Goodbye, Tell No One," "Need a Ride," "FLA," "Other People's Bands," "Pine"
Album: Flux
Quick Thoughts: Allison Goldfrapp keeps releasing new music under her name, and she keeps exceeding the already high expectations she set. This is a set of dance tracks that don't try to step out of their lane, but still feel like they're fresh and revolutionary. No easy task, but I challenge you to dig into any of these tracks and keep your body still. It's a success on any of the merits, and I truly loved this whole package. Check it out.
Songs of Note: "Reverberotic," "Play it (Shine Like a Nova Star)," "UltraSky," "Find Xanadu," "Ordinary Day," "Magma"
Album: Death of the Heart
Quick Thoughts: Jer is perhaps best known as the most visible cheerleader for modern ska-punk music, and their solo albums (as well as their work beneath the Skatune Network umbrella) have always been a good time. There;'s something truly special about Death of the Heart, though - it's not really a ska record, but it's not really easy to slot in any particular genre. The organized chaos, nevertheless, makes a lot of sense across the entire runtime, resulting in a truly compelling listen from an unexpected place. Make time for this one.
Songs of Note: "Cult of the Lonely," "Capitalism Breeds Devastation," "The Way You Tune It Out," "Tryin, I Really Am"
Album: I Just Can't Wait to Die
Quick Thoughts: Yawn Mower is not trying to break out of the mold, either, and that's fine: you won't find a better set of alt-rock songs this fall. "Rascal" is a late-year favorite, "$5 and a Handshake" an angsty-to-angry screed, and even "Speedboat!" lightens it up at the start before becoming a highlight track. Absolutely give this a listen, it'll strike that nice modern / nostalgia balance.
Songs of Note: "Igor the Exetor," "Rascal," "Speedboat!" "Geothermal Springs," "$5 and a Handshake," "Floorboards"
Album: private music
Quick Thoughts: I was in high school during the Deftones heyday and they never really grabbed me. I recognize now that I slotted them in more with the Korn / Stabbing Westward metal-adjacent stuff than anything else, but I've never felt compelled to go back and give them another shot until private music, which feels like a shoegaze record recovered from the rubble of WBCN headquarters. There are hints of the more abrasive stuff they cut their teeth on, but I was honestly stunned at how much I really dug this album. It might not be for everyone, but color me shocked that it was absolutely for me.
Songs of Note: "my mind is a mountain," "ecdysis," "~metal dream," "departing the body"
Album: Antifragile
Quick Thoughts: I recently went to a concert at Myrtle in Providence. I was there to see Noble Dust (who were great!) but the other two acts blew me away, Justice Cow and Ollella. Ollella had an album come out earlier this year that we missed; it's cello-forward alt-indie, if that makes any sense, and her solo performances are just her and her cello hooked into a ton of pedals. The whole package works, as does this album, where songs like "Too Good" and "Lava" translate well. Worth your time.
Songs of Note: "Too Good," "Optimist," "Chin Up," "Path Unknown," "Lava"
Album: Animal Hospital
Quick Thoughts: Didn't want to miss this one, another alt rock piece but this one really hits a little different and in all the best ways. Loved this listen, and a number of these songs stuck with me long after hearing them. Make time.
Songs of Note: "Grounding Exercises," "Black Sand," "Half Plastic," "Creature Habits," "Lounger," "Plato"
Of note:
* Molly Tuttle - So Long Little Miss Sunshine (Polished bluegrass; feels like if Taylor Swift took a hard right into roots music.)
* Jobber - Jobber to the Stars (Wrestling-inspired alt-rock.)
* Case Oats - Last Missouri Exit (Solid roots offering.)
* The Beths - Straight Line Was a Lie (Great as usual, with a slight tonal shift.)
* Tomer Baruch - Music for Puppet Shows
* Marissa Nadler - New Radiations
* Golomb - The Beat Goes On
* Bret McKenzie - Freak Out City
* TOPS - Bury the Key
* Chartreuse - Bless You and Be Well
* Spaceface - Lunar Manor
* Mae Powell - Making Room for the Light
* Racing Mount Pleasant - Racing Mount Pleasant
* Evidence - Unlearning Vol. 2
* Cassandra Jenkins - My Light, My Massage Parlor
* Winter - Adult Romantix
* Claire Morales - Lost in the Desert
* Yawn Mower - I Just Can't Wait to Die
* The Planet Smashers - On the Dancefloor
* Pearly Drops - The Voices Are Coming Back
* Street Sex - Full Color Eclipse
* Good Teal - Good Teal
* Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - GUSH
* Earl Sweatshirt - Live Laugh Love
* Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele 2
* Kid Cudi - Free
* The Beaches - No Hard Feelings
* The Stargazer Lilies - Love Pedals
* Kerala Dust - An Echo of Love
* Highasakite - Testament
* Wolf Alice - The Clearing
* Street Sects - Dry Drunk
* Darren Hayman - Amazing Things
* Honk - Dot
* Margo Price - Hard Headed Woman
* Hand Habits - Blue Reminder
* Foreign Air - Such That I May Glow
* Water From Your Eyes - It's a Beautiful Place
* Sir Chloe - Swallow the Knife
* CMAT - Euro-Country
* Ok Bucko - Ok Bucko
* Superchunk - Songs in the Key of Yikes
* Adrian Sherwood - The Collapse of Everything
* Jehnny Beth - You Heartbreaker, You
* Georgia Harmer - Eye of the Storm
* Murs - Love and Rockets 3:16 (The Emancipation)
* Tuxis Giant - You Won't Remember This
* Valenta Magaletti and Ypy - Kansai Bruises
* Anna Tivel - Animal Poem
* James Yorkston - Songs for Nina and Johanna
* Nate Smith - Live-Action
* Flyte - Between You and Me
* Jaelee Roberts - Let Me Be Lonely
* Soft Surface - Blue Dream
* Rodney Crowell - Airline Highway
* Chad Crouch - Meadow Showers
* Garage Sale - Any Day Now
* Canyon Lights - Breathe Easy
* Pool Kids - Easier Said Than Done
* Pile - Sunshine and Balance Beams
* Tei Shi - Make Believe I Make Believe
* Fuckwolf - Boone
* Ron Sexsmith - Hangover Terrace
* Downtown Fiasco - Look at the Sun
* Trinix - Origin
* Eve Adams - American Dust
* Caroline Spence - Heart Go Wild
* Slow Crush - Thirst
* Glitterfox - Decoder
* Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend
* Cass McCombs - Interior Live Oak
* The Hives - The Hives Forever Forever the Hives
* Black Honey - Soak
EPs:
* Chemical - Chemical
* She's Green - Chrysalis
* The Dare - Freakquencies: Volume 1
* Michael Daves - Early Morning Sun
* Katie Alice Greer - EP A
* Lupe Fiasco - Samurai DX
* TTSSFU - Blown
* Retirement Party - Nothing to Hear Without a Sound
* Lissie - Promises
* Kacy Hill - But Anyway, No Worries!
* Che Noir - No Validation
* Miss Prada - Ayesha Giraffica
* JOON - Ideologue
* Platonic Sex - Undoes
* Whitney Rose - Songs for the Old Ones
Live albums/Compilations/Reissues:
* Radiohead - Hail to the Thief Live Recordings (2003-2008)
* On "Dissolving Strawberry" (2020)
* Local H - reFISTED
* Oceanator - Everything is Love and Death
* Bad Bad Hats - Psychic Readings
* Gaklya Bisengalieva - Polygon Reflections
* Love Untangled (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)
* Tift Merritt - Time and Patience
* Dummy - Dumb EPs
Also out:
* Nuns of the Tundra - Nuns of the Tundra
* The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die - Dreams of Being Dust
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