PRESS PLAY: New Albums out February 7th

Be aware that the racks and bins of area record stores have been greased in anticipation of the first new albums of February. Sharing the spotlight with her backing band, The Attachment Theory, Sharon Van Etten turns in a rousing collection of collaborative darkwave anthems. World Café and Free at Noon veteran (and current XPN Artist to Watch) Michigander delivers playful lyrics and glam rhythms on their full-length debut. Following a standout set at last year’s XPNFest, Meters legend George Porter Jr. and his band Runnin’ Pardners are in a deep groove on Porter’s Pocket.

Bear Rinehart’s third album as Wilder Woods, Curioso, finds the Needtobreathe frontman teaming up with Jim James and Maggie Rose on dusty, road-ready Americana. British experimental rockers Squid hone their sweet-and-sour sound to a razor-sharp edge on their third LP, Cowards. A bittersweet cloud haunts Wish Defense; the engaging fifth release by Chicago’s FACS was the last record produced by iconoclastic engineer Steve Albini before his 2024 death.

Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every week on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory – Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory
CHECK OUT: “Afterlife” “Trouble”

Michigander – Michigander
CHECK OUT: “Giving Up” “Peace of Mind”

George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners – Porter’s Pocket
CHECK OUT: “Don Julio Rides Again” “Tito’s Dumpling Machine”

Wilder Woods – Curioso
CHECK OUT: “Offering (feat. Anna Graves)” “Time on My Hands (feat. Jim James)”

Squid – Cowards
CHECK OUT: “Crispy Skin” “Building 650”

FACS – Wish Defense
CHECK OUT: “Wish Defense” “You Future”

The PRESS PLAY-list

FURTHER LISTENING

A.M. Architect – Avenir, Ben Seretan – astral projecting into flavortown, Caroline Rose – year of the slug, Christopher Dammann Sextet – Christopher Dammann Sextet, Dream Theater – Parasomnia, Drop Nineteens – 1991, Guided by Voices – Universe Room, Heartworms – Glutton for Punishment, Inhaler – Open Wide, The Jellybricks – Dreaming in Stereo, James Brandon Lewis Trio – Apple Cores, Joe Ely – Love and Freedom, JOHNNYSWIM – When the War is Over, John Coltrane – A Love Supreme (60^th Anniversary Edition), Matt Pond PA – The Ballad of the Natural Lines, The Moles – Composition Book, New Orthodox – Bull Market on Corn, Oklou – Choke Enough, Olly Alexander – Polari, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Perfect Right Now: A Slumberland Collection 2008–2010, R.O. Shapiro – The Worthy EP, Tommy Castro & the Painkillers – Closer to the Bone, Vashti Bunyan – Lookaftering (20^th Anniversary Expanded Edition), Vera Sola – The Ghostmaster’s Daughter EP, WAR – Live in Japan 1974, Wilco – A Ghost is Born (Deluxe Edition), Various Artists – A Tribute to Nirvana, the Songs of MTV Unplugged in New York