PRESS PLAY: New Albums out November 4th!

With Halloween in our rear-view, it’s time to round up all the freshest Christmas music releases! Okay, not really, but there are lots of non-holiday albums to make the day worth celebrating. First Aid Kit‘s Palomino is the first album of original material from the Swedish sister duo since 2018; it’s packed with otherworldly harmonies and cosmic folk texture. Featuring the band’s first guest vocalist (Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig), French pop purveyors Phoenix recorded Alpha Zulu in the hallowed halls of the Louvre’s decorative arts wing. Brooklyn trio The Lone Bellow give their lovelorn Americana a synth-aided makeover on Love Songs for Losers, their fifth full-length.

Nashville mainstay Rayland Baxter honors the memory of his father, Bob Dylan and Steve Earle sideman Bucky Baxter, on his fourth studio release, the richly arranged If I Were a Butterfly. Best known as the guitarist for The Roots, “Captain” Kirk Douglas steps into the spotlight to explore psychedelic frontiers on New Unknown, his second outing as Hundred Watt Heart. For his debut album Semblance, Toronto musician MorMor offers an ambitious and atmospheric take on electronic R&B.

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.

First Aid Kit – Palomino
CHECK OUT: “Out of My Head” “A Feeling That Never Came”

Phoenix – Alpha Zulu
CHECK OUT: “Tonight (feat. Ezra Koenig)” “Alpha Zulu”

The Lone Bellow – Love Songs for Losers
CHECK OUT: “Honey” “Gold”

Rayland Baxter – If I Were a Butterfly
CHECK OUT: “Rubberband Man” “My Argentina”

Hundred Watt Heart / “Captain” Kirk Douglas – New Unknown
CHECK OUT: “We Can Be One” “Breathe In”

MorMor – Semblance
CHECK OUT: “Seasons Change” “Far Apart”

FURTHER LISTENING:
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie – Me vs Myself, Alicia Keys – Santa Baby, Andy Bell – The Grounding Process EP, Anna of the North – Crazy Life, Barbra Streisand – Live at the Bon Soir, Bert Jansch – Bert at the BBC, Big Joanie – Back Home, Boldy James – Mr. Ten08, Brothertiger – Brothertiger, Caleb Landry Jones – Gadzooks Vol. 2, Carla dal Forno – Come Around, Daniel Avery – Ultra Truth, Dayseeker – Dark Sun, Dean Fertita – Tropical Gothclub, Dermot Kennedy – Sonder, Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss, Ezra Collective – Where I’m Meant to Be, Franz Nicolay – New River, Gold Dust – The Late Great Gold Dust, Jason Collett – Head Full of Water, Jeff Rosenstock and Laura Stevenson – Younger Still EP, John Mellencamp – Scarecrow Deluxe, Kainalu – Ginseng Hourglass, La Femme – Teatro Lucido, Laura Veirs – Found Light (Expanded Edition), Leslie Odom Jr. – Merry Merry, The Menzingers – On the Possible Past EP, Mount Kimbie – MK 3.5: Die Cuts | City Planning, Okay Kaya – SAP, PJ Harvey – B-Sides, Demos and Rarities, Scott Weiland – The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Deluxe Edition), Seal – Seal (Deluxe Edition), Seth Avett – Seth Avett Sings Greg Brown, Spice Girls – SPICEWORLD 25, Spoon vs. On-U Sound – Lucifer on the Moon, Squalls – Squalls (Remastered Expanded Edition), Squeeze – Food for Thought EP, Suki Waterhouse – Milk Teeth EP, Tenci – A Swollen River, a Well Overflowing, Tom Skinner – Voices of Bishara, Turnover – Myself in the Way, Vince Guaraldi Trio – A Charlie Brown Christmas (Deluxe Edition), The Welcome Wagon – Esther, William Fitzsimmons – Covers, Vol. 1, Yonatan Gat – American Quartet, Various Artists – Music from and Inspired by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever