Looking at this week’s assortment of newly released albums, there’s no doubt that we’re at the seasonal nexus of leaf-turning, early sunset music. More than a decade and a half after their last studio album, UK gloom-fathers The Cure present their long-teased 14th LP; Songs of a Lost World is everything longtime fans could have hoped for, and it arrives with the promise of at least two more forthcoming releases from Robert Smith and company. Virginia duo Illiterate Light push their genre-defying anthems to new heights on their third full-length, Arches. Though Portland songwriter Haley Heynderickx didn’t take quite as long a break between albums as The Cure, the return of her botanical brand of folk-rock on Seed of a Seed is nonetheless welcome.
With sparse, intimate production by his son Micah, Willie Nelson covers Tom Wait, Beck, and The Flaming Lips on his 76th (!!?!) solo album, Last Leaf on the Tree. Jeremie Albino is the newest member of Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound family; the Toronto-based singer’s fourth album, Our Time in the Sun, is a lively set of swamp-pop recorded with a crack team of Nashville session players. From leading the Only Ones in the ‘70s to his solo debut a mere seven years ago, Peter Perrett’s sharp songwriting has been instantly recognizable for decades; he gives his melodic skill room to move across 20 new compositions on The Cleansing.
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
The Cure – Songs of a Lost World
CHECK OUT: “Alone” “A Fragile Thing”
Illiterate Light – Arches
CHECK OUT: “Payphone” “All the Stars are Burning Out”
Haley Heynderickx – Seed of a Seed
CHECK OUT: “Seed of a Seed” “Foxglove”
Willie Nelson – Last Leaf on the Tree
CHECK OUT: “Last Leaf” “Do You Realize??”
Jeremie Albino – Our Time in the Sun
CHECK OUT: “Rolling Down the 405” “I Don’t Mind Waiting”
Peter Perrett – The Cleansing
CHECK OUT: “Disinfectant” “I Wanna Go with Dignity”