PRESS PLAY: New Albums out June 2nd

The new month gets off to a strong start with the release of some dazzling debuts and compelling returns. Following a scorching performance at this year’s NonComm, Bully‘s Lucky for You is a blistering showcase of Alicia Bognanno’s guitar fury. Just over a year after the death of longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins, Foo Fighters soldier on with their inward-focused eleventh album, But Here We Are. Brimming with signature wit and pathos, Ben Folds‘ lovingly crafted What Matters Most is the songwriter’s first solo release in eight years. Drawing inspiration from personal milestones and the world at large, The Revivalists bring New Orleans energy and grace to their fifth LP, Pour it Out Into the Night.

For their second release, New York dream pop crew Purr worked with Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado to give Who is Afraid of Blue? just the right amount of psychedelic punch. Working again with Unfollow the Rules producer Mitchell Froom, Rufus Wainwright is joined by Brandi Carlile, John Legend, and others to celebrate the folk music canon on Folkocracy. Chilean-American singer Chris Bowers Castillo and his Denver-based trio Kiltro fuse Latin tradition with adventurous alternative for the globetrotting Underbelly.

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.

Bully – Lucky for You
CHECK OUT: “Lose You (feat. Soccer Mommy)” “Days Move Slow”

Foo Fighters – But Here We Are
CHECK OUT: “Under You” “Rescued”

Ben Folds – What Matters Most
CHECK OUT: “Exhausting Lover” “Back to Anonymous”

The Revivalists – Pour it Out Into the Night
CHECK OUT: “Kid” “Down in the Dirt”

Purr – Who is Afraid of Blue?
CHECK OUT: “Drift” “Hesper”

Rufus Wainwright – Folkocracy
CHECK OUT: “Down in the Willow Garden (feat. Brandi Carlile)” “Harvest (feat. Andrew Bird and Chris Stills)”

Kiltro – Underbelly
CHECK OUT: “All the Time in the World” “Cuchito”

FURTHER LISTENING:
The Aces – I’ve Loved You for So Long, The Alarm – Forwards, The Aquadolls – Charmed, Baxter Dury – I Thought I Was Better Than You, Beach Fossils – Bunny, Ben Harper – Wide Open Light, Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom, Body Type – Expired Candy, Cloudland Canyon – Cloudland Canyon, Comet Gain – The Misfit Jukebox, Cowboy Junkies – Such Ferocious Beauty, Gal Pal – This and Other Gestures, Generationals – Heatherhead, Gorgeous – Sapsucker, Gringo Star – On and On and Gone, Half Moon Run – Salt, Jack Johnson – In Between Dub, Jake Shears – Last Man Dancing, John Mellencamp – Orpheus Descending, Juan Waters – Wandering Rebel, Kenny Rogers – Life is Like a Song, Khruangbin – Khruangbin & Friends: Live at Stubb’s  Louise Post – Sleepwalker, McKinley Dixon – Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – What If I EP, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Council Skies, Norah Jones – Little Broken Hearts (Deluxe Edition), Old Crow Medicine Show – Live at Third Man Records, Passion Pit – Gossamer (Expanded Edition), Protomartyr – Formal Growth in the Desert, Rancid – Tomorrow Never Comes, Rival Sons – Darkfighter, RVG – Brain Worms, Ruen Brothers – Ten Paces, The Suffers – It Starts with Love (Deluxe Edition), Sylvester – Disco Heat: The Fantasy Years 1977-1981, Tanya Tucker – Sweet Western Sound, Tom Waits – Closing Time (50th Anniversary Reissue), Tommy Stinson’s Cowboys in the Campfire – WRONGER, WITCH – Zango