Got any plans for the weekend? To get you in the mood for XPNFest, here’s a look at a few of the MANY new albums out this week: Indie heroes Death Cab for Cutie return to the realm of punchy, guitar-based rock with their 10th full-length, Asphalt Meadows. New Zealand’s The Beths cook up another effervescent set on Expert in a Dying Field, their third studio album. Stepping away from his longtime group for a solo debut, Marcus Mumford confronts past traumas on (self-titled). Minneapolis-via-Nairobi singer Ondara is joined by members of Dawes on Spanish Villager No. 3, which continues the narrative of the artist’s recent graphic novel.
With a sound that sits squarely between ‘70s folk-rock and ‘80s bombast, Lissie makes a thundering return on Carving Canyons. Hailing from upstate New York, Danielle Ponder makes a powerful impression on her debut album, Some of Us Are Brave. Ahead of their XPNFest-opening performance, Philly faves The Tisburys channel the Stones, the ‘Mats and more on Exile on Main Street. As its name suggests, Words & Music, May 1965 unearths over a dozen of Lou Reed’s home-recorded demos for what would later become Velvet Underground classics. PRESS PLAY on these new releases (and so many more) below…
Death Cab For Cutie – Asphalt Meadows
CHECK OUT: “Here to Forever” “Roman Candles”
The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field
CHECK OUT: “Silence is Golden” “Expert in a Dying Field”
Marcus Mumford – (self-titled)
CHECK OUT: “Grace” “Cannibal”
Ondara – Spanish Villager No. 3
CHECK OUT: “A Nocturnal Heresy” “An Alien in Minneapolis”
Lissie – Carving Canyons
CHECK OUT: “Night Moves” “Chasing the Sun”
Danielle Ponder – Some of Us Are Brave
CHECK OUT: “So Long” “Only the Lonely”
The Tisburys – Exile on Main Street
CHECK OUT: “Garden” “Language of Luxury”
Lou Reed – Words & Music, May 1965
CHECK OUT: “I’m Waiting for the Man” “Heroin”