PRESS PLAY: New albums out September 22nd

Got any music-related plans for the weekend? As if the excitement of XPNFest wasn’t enough to get you going, this week’s batch of new records ought to do the trick. One of this year’s Artists to Watch, Stephen Sanchez, makes his full-length debut with the stylish and stylized Angel Face. Another ATW (from just last month, in fact), Philly’s own Slaughter Beach, Dog, return with Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling, their sturdy and inviting fifth album. Ohio songwriter Lydia Loveless faces down personal and professional strife with grace and wit on Nothing’s Gonna Stand in My Way Again. Recent Free at Noon guest Brent Cobb delivers a rollicking and hopeful set on Southern Star, inspired by a return to his Georgia hometown.

Japanese party-starters CHAI celebrate women who buck convention on their ebullient self-titled fourth album. Though he admits he spent the album’s recording sessions “constantly listening to the Grateful Dead,” Devendra Banhart offers slick, futuristic folk-pop on his 11^th LP, Flying Wig. Acting as a counterpart to his BADKID mixtape from 2018, Bakar’s sophomore album Halo dishes out personal meditations atop stark, minimalist arrangements. Former Arcade Fire member Will Butler shares the spotlight with his longtime backing combo Sister Squares on a self-titled set of captivating art-rock anthems.

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.

Stephen Sanchez – Angel Face
CHECK OUT: “Evangeline” “Be More”

Slaughter Beach, Dog – Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling
CHECK OUT: “Strange Weather” “Float Away”

Lydia Loveless – Nothing’s Gonna Stand in My Way Again
CHECK OUT: “Toothache” “Sex and Money”

Brent Cobb – Southern Star
CHECK OUT: “Southern Star” “Patina”

CHAI – CHAI
CHECK OUT: “We the Female!” “NEO KAWAII K?”

Devendra Banhart – Flying Wig
CHECK OUT: “Twin” “Nun”

Bakar – Halo
CHECK OUT: “Alive!” “Right Here, For Now”

Will Butler + Sister Squares – Will Butler + Sister Squares
CHECK OUT: “Long Grass” “Stop Talking”

FUTHER LISTENING:
A Certain Ratio – 2023 EP, Adam Melchor – Fruitland EP, Al Menne – Freak Accident, Another Michael – Wishes to Fulfill, Arkells – Laundry Pile, The Breeders – Last Splash (30th Anniversary Original Analog Edition), Briston Maroney – Ultrapure, Buddy Miller & Julie Miller – In the Throes, Carrie Underwood – Denim & Rhinestones (Deluxe Edition), Cinema Hearts – I Want You EP, Das Koolies – DK.01, Dio – The Studio Albums 1996-2004, Dominique Fils-Aimé – Our Roots Run Deep, Flat Worms – Witness Marks, Grails – Anches En Maat, Grrrl Gang – Spunky!, Jason Mraz – We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. We Deluxe Edition., Jenny Owens Young – Avalanche, JP Saxe – A Grey Area, Kelly Clarkson – chemistry (Deluxe Edition), Kevin Drew – Aging, Kylie Minogue – Tension, Laurel Halo – Atlas, Loraine James – Gentle Confrontation, Mykki Blanco – Postcards from Italia EP, Paul Rodgers – Midnight Rose, Petey – USA, The Replacements – Tim: Let it Bleed Edition, Samantha Urbani – Showing Up, Single Bullet Theory – c. ’79, Soccer Mommy – Karaoke Night EP, Susan Tedeschi – Just Won’t Burn (25th Anniversary Edition), Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever, yeule – softscars, Yoke Lore – Toward a Never Ending New Beginning, zzzahara – Tender, Various Artists – More Than a Whisper: Celebrating The Music of Nanci Griffith