The first full day of Summer 2024 brings a tidal wave of eclectic new albums. Soulful pop combo Lake Street Dive deliver strutting anthems of self-described “joyful rebellion” on their eighth album, Good Together. After making their explosive debut at this year’s NonComm, rising guitar quintet Been Stellar showcase technique and texture on their first LP, Scream from New York, NY. Kate Nash’s 9 Sad Symphonies is the first new album from the versatile singer-composer in six years; producer Frederick Thaae previously co-wrote Nash’s 2022 musical Only God. Their first album recorded in Canada since their 2006 debut, What Occurs is the 10th (and possibly last, for now) album from Nick Thorburn’s prolific and ever-mutating group Islands.
Robbed of her voice over the decades due to a progressive condition, veteran songwriter Linda Thompson recruits celebrated vocalists (including several from her own family) for a set of new compositions on Proxy Music. Instrumental duo O. emerged from the same Brixton scene as experimental rockers black midi and Squid; their manipulated sax-and-drum barrage is packed with character on their full-length debut, WeirdOs. Two multi-artist tributes are out this week as well: Multiple generations of country musicians mine the twangier side of the Tom Petty songbook on Petty Country, and one of the most iconic composers of all time receives a centennial celebration on The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions: Henry Has Company.
Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every week on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.
PRESS PLAY on these new releases
Lake Street Dive – Good Together
CHECK OUT: “Good Together” “Better Not Tell You”
Been Stellar – Scream from New York, NY
CHECK OUT: “All in One” “Pumpkin”
Kate Nash – 9 Sad Symphonies
CHECK OUT: “Change” “Millions of Heartbeats”
Islands – What Occurs
CHECK OUT: “Drown a Fish” “The End”
Linda Thompson – Proxy Music
CHECK OUT: “Darling This Will Never Do (feat. Rufus Wainwright)” “Those Damn Roches (feat. Teddy Thompson)”
O. – WeirdOs
CHECK OUT: “Green Shirt” “176”
Various Artists – Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty
CHECK OUT: Chris Stapleton – “I Should Have Known It” Margo Price – “Ways to Be Wicket (feat. Mike Campbell)”
Various Artists – The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions: Henry Has Company
CHECK OUT: Quincy Jones, John Williams, Herbie
Alice Ivy – Do What Makes You Happy, Chris Keating – PolyDukes EP, Cody Dickinson – Homemade, Daniel Davies – Ghost of the Heart, Daryl Hall – D, Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore – TexiCali, Drop Nineteens – Delaware (Reissue), Emilíana Torrini – Miss Flower, Gracie Abrams – The Secret of Us, Grateful Dead – From the Mars Hotel (50th Anniversary Edition) / From the Mars Hotel: The Angel’s Share, The Greeting Committee – Everyone’s Gone and I Know I’m the Cause, Jahnah Camille – i tried to freeze light, but only remember a girl EP, Jethro Tull – Bursting Out (The Inflated Edition), Jim Lauderdale – My Favorite Place, Joe Gittleman – Hold Up, Joni Mitchell – The Asylum Albums (1976-1980), Kehlani – CRASH, Kronos Quartet & Friends – Outer Spaceways Incorporated: Kronos Quartet & Friends Meet Sun Ra, Lawrence – Family Business, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs – Vagabons, Virgins & Misfits, Moon Diagram – Cemetery Classics, The Mysterines – Afraid of Tomorrows, Pepe Deluxé – Comix Sonix, Peter Murphy – Peter Live Vol. 1: Covers / Peter Live Vol. 2: The Blender Theater NYC 2008, Pond – Stung!, Rich Ruth – Water Still Flows, Sheppard – ZORA, Sis – Vibhuti, Spiritualized – Songs in A&E (Reissue), Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans (Deluxe Edition), Swim Surreal – In the Half Light, Various Artists – Noise for Now Vol. 2
