Why get dear old dad another tie or toolbelt when you can introduce him to this week’s newly released albums! Previewed at this year’s NonComm, The Decemberists’ As Ever it Was, So it Will Be Again is the Portland group’s ninth album of baroque jangle pop. Following last year’s remake LP Resound NYC, Moby teams up with a variety of vocalists (including José James and serpentwithfeet) for a set of new material on always centered at night. Nearly eight years on from their debut, Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge reunite as NxWorries on the guest-packed Why Lawd?. Instrumental duo Hermanos Gutiérrez deliver spectral guitar passages on their second Dan Auerbach-produced LP, Sonido Cósmico.
Jess Cornelius’s second solo release, the Mikal Cronin-produced CARE/TAKING, charts the New Zealand-born songwriter’s journey to Los Angeles amidst both personal and global tumult. Just over a year after the release of MERCY, restless Velvet Underground legend John Cale returns with his adventurous and reflective 18th album, POPtical Illusion. Featuring former members of Ought, Montreal trio Cola refines their wiry, exploratory sound on their second LP, The Gloss. Prolific beyond words, Nate Amos (Water from Your Eye, My Idea) distills his grandest musical ideas onto Box for Buddy, Box for Star, released under his This is Lorelei moniker.
Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every week on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.