PRESS PLAY: New Albums out October 20th

It’s not every week that I get to highlight the release of a new album by one of the most celebrated and enduring bands of the 20^th (and 21^st) century, but here we are in mid-October 2023 with a new album by The Rolling Stones. Their first set of new originals since 2005, Hackney Diamonds features appearances by Paul McCartney, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, and returning bassist Bill Wyman. If this turns out to be the veteran group’s studio swansong, Mick, Keith, and Ronnie (and, posthumously, Charlie) have delivered a joyfully energetic record to stand proud alongside their classics.

Around the rest of the music world, Glen Hansard’s All That Was East is West of Me Now presents songs that were honed during a residency organized in near secrecy at a pub in his native Ireland. For their second album, Spike Field, Oakland-based Maria BC weaves tender strings and ominous noise into the backdrop for their arresting, classically trained voice. In the years since his Mercury Prize-winning debut, Sampha has become a go-to vocalist for hitmakers like Drake, Solange, and Kendrick Lamar; with Lahai, he returns to the spotlight with a collection of tense, gripping imagery.

True to its Nilsson-inspired title, New York songwriter/producer Katie Von Schleicher’s A Little Touch of Schleicher in the Night is a set of expertly crafted pop that is never more than a few moments away from an unexpected production flourish or heart-wrenching lyrical turn. Listening to the evocative, placemaking songs on Bad Dream Jaguar, it won’t surprise you to learn that the core members of Austin’s Sun June met while working as editors on a Terrence Malick film. Shifting away from the Sarah- and Creation-informed guitar pop of their previous albums, Amsterdam’s Pip Blom (led by the singer-guitarist of the same name) pack the dance floor on their sleek third LP, Bobbie.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases below. Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every Friday on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.

The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
CHECK OUT: “Angry” “Sweet Sounds of Heaven (feat. Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder)

Glen Hansard – All That Was East is West of Me Now
CHECK OUT: “There’s No Mountain” “Sure as the Rain”

Maria BC – Spike Field
CHECK OUT: “Watcher” “Amber”

Sampha – Lahai
CHECK OUT: “Spirit 2.0” “Only”

Katie von Schleicher – A Little Touch of Schleicher in the Night
CHECK OUT: “Overjoyed” “Every Step is an Ocean”

Sun June – Bad Dream Jaguar
CHECK OUT: “Mixed Bag” “Get Enough”

Pip Blom – Bobbie
CHECK OUT: “Is This Love? (feat. Alex Kapranos)” “Tiger”

FURTHER LISTENING:
Bernie Worrell, Cindy Blackman Santana, and John King – Spherical, blink-182 – One More Time, Blues Traveler – Traveler’s Soul, Bombay Bicycle Club – My Big Day, Brendan Perry – Eye of the Hunter (Reissue), Chris Shiflett – Lost at Sea, Dhani Harrison – INNERSTANDING, DEVO – 50 Years of De-Evolution (1973-2023), Duff McKagan – Lighthouse, Dylan LeBlanc – Coyote, Eli Paperboy Reed – Hits and Misses: The Singles, Emma Anderson – Pearlies, Forest Swords – Bolted, Goo Goo Dolls – Live at the Academy, Hannah Marks – Outsider, Outlier, Il Sogno del Marinaio – A Tribute to Miles Cooper Seaton, Israel Nash – Ozarker, Lee Gamble – Models, Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville (30^th Anniversary Edition), Lost Girls – Selvutsletter, Nancy Sinatra – Keep Walkin’: Singles, Demos & Rarities 1965-1978, Nick Lowe – Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family (10^th Anniversary Edition), Products Band – Some Sudden Weather, Richard Hawley – Now Then: The Very Best of Richard Hawley, Rival Sons – Lightbringer, Santa Chiara – Imported, Salt-N-Pepa – Very Necessary (30^th Anniversary Edition), Selcouth Quartet – Selcouth Quartet, The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow (20^th Anniversary Edition), Skinny Lister – Shanty Punk, Sleaford Mods – MORE UK GRIM EP, Slothrust – I Promise EP, Sparkle Division – Foxy, Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret (Deluxe Edition), Sondre Lerche – Understudy, The Streets – The Darker the Shadow, the Brighter the Light, Teenage Halloween – Till You Return, The Three O’Clock – Sixteen Tambourines (40^th Anniversary Edition)