First Listen: New Releases for 5 and 12 September 2025
Album: Playin' Dumb
Quick Thoughts: This was an absolute delight of a listen. Playin' Dumb is a lovely pastiche of 60s psych-pop / Elephant 6 indie pop that touched every nostalgia button I have and then some, and I truly loved the listen. In what feels like a time of perpetual darkness, this was such a bright surprise, so make time for it if only for your mental health.
Songs of Note: "The Game," "Did You Hear?" "Kisses," "Poor Girl," "Skipping Around"
Album: All the Things You Are
Quick Thoughts: Show Me Mary offers a fuzzy alt approach to the docket with some seriously excellent tunes. "Daisy Cutter" immediately went into repeat for me, but the whole album has a lot going for it in a way that really resonated with me. Don't skip it.
Songs of Note: "Daisy Cutter," "Senescence," "Never Ends," "Lie to Me"
Album: Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark
Quick Thoughts: Wanted to highlight this deep roots effort from someone with no known familial relation. If you're into the sort of dark roots trend that has showed its face more and more of late, this is worth your time. An understated, underrated listen.
Songs of Note: "Jack Parsons Blues," "Bonfire of the Billionaires"
Album: Friend
Quick Thoughts: Another surprise for me. james K isn't breaking any new ground, but I defy you to listen to a song like "Doom Bikini" and not be addicted. Loved this album.
Songs of Note: "Doom Bikini," "Idea.2," "On God," "Play"
Album: ocd
Quick Thoughts: Probably my favorite of the last few weeks and it reveals new and interesting things each time I heard the songs, but for as much as Berk's previous album got all the flowers, I suspect ocd is better on all counts: "there are benefits to mixed emotions" in particular is a favorite of the last few months and "auditorium" really worked well for me, too. Excited to get back to this, and excited to see it show up on some best-of lists.
Songs of Note: "stay close by," "there are benefits to mixed emotions," "time zone," "i had a dream i was lost in an auditorium," "i'm in the day after"
Album: Songs for Other People's Weddings
Quick Thoughts: Jens Lekman has traditionally been somewhat hit-or-miss for me, but when he hits he hits hard, whether it's an objectively amazing song like "Black Cab," or his work with Annika Norlin on the Correspondence project from a few years back. So much of this is so beautiful and gorgeous, with so many really great choices made across the board to make this work. Just adored this record on so many levels.
Songs of Note: "Two Little Pigs," "Speak to Me in Music," "Wedding in Brooklyn," "Increasingly Obsolete," "On a Pier, On the Hudson," "LEJ-GOT"
Of note:
* Ricky Chilton - The Essential Ricky Chilton (Comedy country, a worthy listen.)
* Altered by Mom - BETTER (Fun indie rock piece, gave me Donnas vibes at times.)
* David Byrne and the Ghost Train Orchestra - Who Is the Sky? (It's exactly what you think it will be, which is a good thing.)
* Ivy - Traces of You (Posthumous completion of demos from Adam Shlessinger's archives.)
* The Collect Pond - Absence of Something/a>
* Robbie Fulks - Now Then/a>
* Anne McCue and the Cubists - Wholly Roller Coaster/a>
* JayWood - Leo Negro/a>
* Faithless - Champion Sound/a>
* Goldie Boutilier - Goldie Montana/a>
* Grant-Lee Phillips - In the Hour of Dust/a>
* The Chameleons - Arctic Moon/a>
* Okkyung Lee - just like any other day/a>
* Saadi - Birds of Paradise/a>
* Lucrecia Dalt - A Danger to Ourselves/a>
* Brnda - Total Pain/a>
* Flur - Plunge/a>
* (The London) Suede - Antidepressants/a>
* Boko Yout - Gusto/a>
* Ørdop Wolkenscheidt - The Years of Rain and Thunder/a>
* Die Spitz - Something to Consume/a>
* shame - Cutthroat/a>
* Polyrhythmics - Caldera/a>
* Green Gardens - Thistlesifting/a>
* florence road - Fall Back/a>
* Graham Smyth - Music for Babies to Rave and Sleep To/a>
* Fruit Bats - Baby Man/a>
* Big Thief - Double Infinity/a>
* Jim E. Brown - I Urinated on a Butterfly/a>
* Kassa Overall - CREAM/a>
* Junior Brother - The End/a>
* Kyo-2 - The Official Vaporwave Album/a>
* Baxter Dury - Albearone/a>
* Akasha System - Heliocene/a>
* Laveda - Love, Darla/a>
* G Flip - Dream Ride/a>
* Robin Kester - Dark Sky Reserve/a>
* Chad Crouch - Ecola Soundwalk/a>
* Weval - CHOROPHOBIA/a>
* Bombadil - How the Moon Got Back Home/a>
* Yellow Ostrich - Crying/a>
* Ice Cube - Man Up/a>
* The Empty Threats - Happy Birthday/a>
* Guerilla Toss - You're Weird Now/a>
* Your Smith - The Rub/a>
* Acopia - Blush Response/a>
* Keren Ann - Paris Amour/a>
* Carson McHone - Pentimento/a>
* Madge - Blipper/a>
* Margaret Glaspy - The Golden Heart Protector/a>
* Cruise Control - Time is an Angel/a>
* King Princess - Girl Violence/a>
* Pavid Vermin - The Life of a Showgirl/a>
* mei ehara - All About McGuffin/a>
* Ghostwoman - Welcome to the Civilized World/a>
* Dancer - More or Less/a>
* Saint Etienne - International/a>
* Laura Lee and The Jettes - Tough Love Paradigm/a>
* SG Lewis - Anemoia/a>
* El Michels Affair - 24 Hr Sports/a>
EPs:
* Orcutt Shelley Miller - Orcutt Shelley Miller/a>
* King of Foxes - Hall of Shame/a>
* Family Obligation - Panic Adjacent/a>
* Man Power - Zang Tum Tumb/a>
* Problem Patterns - Boring Songs for Boring People/a>
* Cheerbleederz - prove me wrong/a>
* Only Fire - Sex Demon/a>
* Lauren Lovelle - Other Dreams/a>
* Iron and Wine and Ben Bridwell - Making Good Time/a>
* Magic Shoppe - Resurrection Machine/a>
* Noble Dust - Both Sides Now/a>
* Louisahhh and Helsmoortel - Sugar and Violence/a>
* Lizzie Reid - Bodega/a>
* Soraia - Confessions from the Vena Cava/a>
* Hamish Hawk - Covers II/a>
* Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures - Temporary Circus: Act 1/a>
Live albums/Compilations/Reissues:
* Hot Chip - Joy in Repetition/a>
* Eeike Kleijn - Days Like Nights Mini Mix/a>
* Noisia - The Resonance VIII/a>
* I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina/a>
Also out:
* Liam St. John - Man of the North/a>
* Ali McGuirk - Watertop
