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PRESS PLAY: New Albums out July 2026

Discover June albums by The Strokes, Michigander, Helado Tropical, Low Cut Connie, Jack White, Mallory Hawk, and more…

July 30, 2026

The Strokes | photo by Jason McDonald, courtesy of the artist

Press Play

The door closes on an eventful month with a fresh crop of summer sounds…

Blending irresistible power pop energy with well-observed and often humorous lyrics, Michigander’s Over Before You Know It is the leveled-up sophomore release from the Nashville-based group led by Jason Singer. Montana duo Buffalo Traffic Jam craft folk songs with enough heart to fill valleys and scale mountains; they previewed their full-length debut, Pictures of You, at NonComm earlier this year.

Originally hailing from North Carolina, Mallory Hawk gigged in bands like Trace Mountains and M(h)aol before landing in Philadelphia; Hawk’s road-honed confidence is on full display on her solo debut, Chinook. Blues generations collide on BLUES NOW as Boston revival combo GA-20 team up with Memphis harmonica icon Charlie Mussellwhite on a set of barnburners.

On The New World, Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg weaves border-blurring instrumentation together with his own globetrotting field recordings of mountainous fauna and Anthropocene oddities. A mainstay of the Los Angeles folk and punk scenes, Shannon Lay incorporates elements of trip-hop and jazz into a tapestry of sonic delights on Past the Veil.

Few creative projects bear a name as fitting as Family Stereo; Blake Watt (son of Everything But the Girl’s Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn) channels a lifetime of music appreciation into his full-length debut, The Thread. An in-demand collaborator whose horn and string arrangements have graced albums by The New Pornographers, Cassandra Jenkins, and Landlady, Nora Stanley steps into the spotlight on the glistening, lustrous Glass.

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

Michigander –
Over Before You Know It

CHECK OUT: “Freaking Out”
“Over Before You Know It”

Buffalo Traffic Jam –
Pictures of You

CHECK OUT: “Fool’s Gold”
“Hanging on Hope”

Mallory Hawk –
Chinook

CHECK OUT: “Revolver”
“Caretaker”

GA-20 with Charlie Musselwhite –
BLUES NOW

CHECK OUT: “I Can’t Hold Out”
“Crazy Love”

Shearwater –
The New World

CHECK OUT: “More and More”
“Daydream Unbeliever”

Shannon Lay –
Past the Veil

CHECK OUT: “Horizons”
“Past the Veil”

Family Stereo –
The Thread

CHECK OUT: “Fault Lines”
“DLR”

Nora Stanley –
Glass

CHECK OUT: “Noble Gas”
“Red”

The PRESS PLAY-list

FURTHER LISTENING

Alice Cooper – The Studio Albums 1975-1978, Arca – XXXXX, Ariana Grande – petal, Bondo – Bondo, Cautious Clay – The Hours: High Noon, Cheekface – Podium, Cindy Blackman Santana – Coherence, Dead Meadow – Foundlings, DICE – I Thought the Altitude Would Make it Worth the View, Doohickey Cubicle – Good at It, The Durutti Column – Renascent, The Family – Delusions of Grandeur, Firas Zreik – Tarabesque, ggwendolyn – Superstar Syndrome, Green Day – NIMRODS: The Soundtrack, HIGHSIGH – Once Bend, Mathias Kunzli – Boundless Reasons to Admire the Moon, Reverend Baron – Daniel, RYMAN – Growing Pains, Trashcan Sinatras – Ever the Optimist, Wang Chung – To Live and Die in L.A. (40th Anniversary Edition), Ween – 12 Golden Country Greats (Deluxe Edition), Wyatt Flores – Scared of Heights, Various Artists – Songs in the Key of Diane: A Reggae Compilation of Diane Warren Songs

PRESS PLAY Back Catalog

Are these the dog days of summer that everyone’s always talking about? Feels more like the very good album releases days of summer to me…

Recorded in Costa Rica (under the guidance of Rick Rubin), The Strokes give their experimental tendencies plenty of breathing room on Reality Awaits. With nearly every member of the band stepping into parenthood, The Revivalists’ Get it Honest shows the New Orleans favorites ruminating on their collective future and the journey that brought them to this moment. Los Angeles songwriter Jilian Medford’s fifth LP as IAN SWEET, Shiverstruck, shifts away from the synthetic pop of her last few releases and toward an organic, analog warmth. Recorded in Nashville with a band that includes Dr. Dog’s Eric Slick and former Soft Boys bandmate Kimberley Rew, Robyn Hitchcock’s The Confuser is a stellar showcase of fantastical power pop.

All the Beauty is the third installment in Pete Yorn’s ongoing collaboration with Day Wave’s Jackson Phillips; the pair craft impeccably taut melodies. Moody R&B purveyor Nick Hakim makes his long-awaited return with I Can See, an album whose title track alone took 20 minutes to demo but four years to complete. Sydney’s Body Type bring a cheeky edginess to their guitar-forward indie sound; Tally was produced by Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa and coincides with the group’s tenth anniversary. After a series of showstopping sets opening for Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory, Houston musician Sir Taegan Harris debuts as Love Spells with the sumptuous Love is the Law.

The Strokes –
Reality Awaits

CHECK OUT: “Going Shopping”
“Falling Out of Love”

The Revivalists –
Get it Honest

CHECK OUT: “Heart Stop”
“Razorblades and Runaways”

IAN SWEET –
Shiverstruck

CHECK OUT: “Criminal Kissing”
“Silver Screen”

Robyn Hitchcock –
The Confuser

CHECK OUT: “I am This Thing”
“How to Feel Alright”

Pete Yorn –
All the Beauty

CHECK OUT: “All the Beauty”
“Idyllwild”

Nick Hakim –
I Can See

CHECK OUT: “I Can See”
“Real Here Now”

Body Type –
Tally

CHECK OUT: “Mulberry”
“Sick Bag”

Love Spells –
Love is the Law

CHECK OUT: “Keep it to Yourself”
“Crutch”

FURTHER LISTENING

Akiko Yano – To the Living Creatures, Alex Cameron – Late to Set, atmos bloom – Everythingness, Big Fat Head – Global Voyeur, Cel Ray – Cel Rayzer, Charles Wesley Godwin – Christian Name, Charli XCX – Music, Fashion, Film, Josh da Costa – New Wave Graveyard, Joudy – Permanent Maintenance, kelz – A Sweet Passerby, Lockstep – I Know What I Saw, Maya de Vitry – All My Faith, Mayday Parade – Sugar, Million Moths – spun, Nu Jazz – Un Jazz, Odor Eater – But for Who?, Sam & Louise Sullivan – Love & Devotion, Spread Joy – III, WILLOW – The Thread

PRESS PLAY Back Catalog

If the heat or the air quality is keeping you cooped up inside, best use the time to discover this week’s new albums…

After a one-off collaboration proved especially fruitful, Helado Negro and Reyna Tropical kept writing more material for their irresistible collision debut as Helado Tropical. You might not suspect that, given the high energy of their previous two records, Yard Act’s You’re Gonna Need a Little Music marks the first time the Mercury Prize-nominated Leeds quartet recorded together in a proper studio. The long-awaited follow-up to his breakthrough Gemini Rights, R&B auteur Steve Lacy is joined by Erykah Badu and SZA on Oh yeah?. Working with producers Aaron Dessner and Dan Nigro to craft a moody atmosphere, Gracie Abrams branches out on her third LP, Daughter from Hell.

NEPA punk heroes The Menzingers enter their third decade with Everything I Ever Saw, a collection of anthems about staying grounded through life’s biggest moments. While giving a voice to those oppressed by colonialism and capitalism, Lido Pimienta acknowledges the influence of a certain elusive Irish singer on Caribenya. Fizzy Australian combo Swapmeet draw influence from classic indie guitar bands as well as progressive folk-rockers on their instant classic debut, Mount Zero. Returning to his beloved Tricky persona for the first time since 2020’s Fall to Pieces, Adrian Thaws reflects on a lifetime in the spotlight and the tragic loss of his daughter on Different When it’s Silent.

Helado Tropical –
Helado Tropical

CHECK OUT: “Tocando”
“Sensación”

Yard Act –
You’re Gonna Need a Little Music

CHECK OUT: “New Beginnings”
“Redeemer”

Steve Lacy –
Oh yeah?

CHECK OUT: “The Feeling”
“Is it Cool?”

Gracie Abrams –
Daughter from Hell

CHECK OUT: “Hit the Wall”
“Look at My Life”

The Menzingers –
Everything I Ever Saw

CHECK OUT: “Chance Encounters”
“Better Angels”

Lido Pimienta –
Caribenya

CHECK OUT: “Tóxica”
“Talento”

Swapmeet –
Mount Zero

CHECK OUT: “I Know!”
“2 C U”

Tricky –
Different When it’s Silent

CHECK OUT: “Out of Place”
“I’m Yours”

FURTHER LISTENING

!franklin – Go Kid Go (Remastered & Expanded), Bella Kay – My Reckless Abandon, CR & the White Lights – My Old Self, Daisy the Great – The Rubber Teeth Talk with Friends, Fantastic Negrito – Alive!, Lesley Mok – transient, Max Subar – Anything Could Be, Mock Media – Rat Bastard, Niko Moon – Roots, Quicksand – Bring on the Psychics, Radkey – Bedroom Sand, Syd – Beard

The heat wave has broken, the fireworks have settled, and we’re left with another week of essential new albums…

For Frozen Charlotte, his seventh solo album, Jack White let fans peek behind the curtain of his celebrated Third Man Records facility to see the process of making physical music media in an increasingly digital age. Joined by a score of friends and collaborators, Allison Russell’s singular, urgent songwriting shines on In the Hour of Chaos. Initially teased under the guise of their longtime pseudonym “The Cockroaches,” The Rolling Stones deliver sass and sleaze on album #25, Foreign Tongues. On Loveland, Suki Waterhouse riffs on the expansive ambition of her 2024 double album with a fine-tuned set of lovestruck (and lovelorn) pop.

Philly power pop favorites Hurry couple humorous and well-observed lyrics with stacked guitars on the glimmering Zoned Out. Another Philly mainstay, Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz turns to her Sad13 project for 1331, a mixtape of memorable melodies in miniature. On A ? of WHEN, their second shared-billing team-up, Panda Bear and Sonic Boom plumb cutout bin samples and push chugging analog synthesizers to their limits. Kelela reflects on her early years in the DC music scene on New Avatar; folding grunge and shoegaze textures into her signature weightless R&B style.

Jack White –
Frozen Charlotte

CHECK OUT: “G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs”
“Derecho Demonico”

Allison Russell –
In the Hour of Chaos

CHECK OUT: “Black Lavender”
“No Springtime”

The Rolling Stones –
Foreign Tongues

CHECK OUT: “In the Stars”
“Rough and Twisted”

Suki Waterhouse –
Loveland

CHECK OUT: “Back in Love”
“Tiny Raisin”

Hurry –
Zoned Out

CHECK OUT: “Zoned Out”
“The Dumbest Person You’ve Ever Seen”

Sad13 –
1331

CHECK OUT: “Watermelon Manicure”
“Art Institute”

Panda Bear & Sonic Boom –
A ? of WHEN

CHECK OUT: “A ? of WHEN”
“Graveyard”

Kelela –
New Avatar

CHECK OUT: “idea 1”
“linknb”

FURTHER LISTENING

Adam Lambert – Adam, Baby Jane – Winter Forever, Bring Me the Horizon – Count Your Blessings (20th Anniversary Edition), Cat Power – The Greatest (20th Anniversary Edition), Conrad Schnitzler – Conal, Effie Zilch – Higher Calling, Finn Wolfhard – Fire from the Hip, foamboy – STUPID HOT, Frost Children – Tweaker Poem EP, Gloorp – Gloorp Life, The Head and the Heart – The Head and The Heart (Live at Neumos), Hew – Your Version, Holy Wave – I’M DADA, Houndmouth – Lordy, Jesus is the Path to Heaven – Power!, Josh Joplin Group – Useful Music (The Silver Anniversary Sessions), Luluc – Sweet Thief, Magi Merlin – POWER HOUSE, Maria Minerva – Contact High EP, Mason Jennings – Dark Wings, Mo Troper – Today I Played My Guitar and Sang, My Chemical Romance – Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Deluxe Edition), Ne-Yo – Highway 79, Pearla – Song Room, Parts & Labor – Set of All Sets, Shonen Knife – Let’s Knife Re-Cut, Sophie Wellington – Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still, The Temper Trap – Sungazer, Ultra Lights – Pleasure’s All Yours, Vorhex Angel – Drain, Wet Leg – moisturizer (deluxe), Will Sheff – Extra Mile, Xiu Xiu – Eraserhead Xiu Xiu

Why sweat to the oldies this holiday weekend when you can get down with the first new releases of the month?

Philly favorites Low Cut Connie deliver their own spin on There’s a Riot Goin’ On with the uplifting and observational Livin in the USA. 21 years after Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madonna reunites with producer and co-writer Stuart Price for the stylish sequel, Confessions II. The members of rising London trio Mary in the Junkyard met when they were teenagers attending a summer camp for classical music performance; their debut, Role Model Hermit, is more Big Thief than Brahms (more Charli than Chopin).

Originally released in late April but abruptly recalled the following week, Charley Crockett’s Clovis marks the prolific songwriter’s fourth collaboration with producer Shooter Jennings. With Ian Paice, Roger Glover, and Ian Gillan still at the helm, hard rock pioneers Deep Purple fantasize about humanity’s next phase on their 24th studio album, SPLAT!. UK singer Sienna Spiro makes her full-length debut with Visitor; fans of Lana Del Rey and Daptone Records productions will find much to enjoy on this sumptuous soul-pop collection.

Low Cut Connie –
Livin in the USA

CHECK OUT: “Can’t Be Wrong”
“Livin in the USA”

Madonna –
Confessions II

CCHECK OUT: “Bring Your Love”
“I Feel So Free”

Mary in the Junkyard –
Role Model Hermit

CHECK OUT: “New Muscles”
“Crash Landing”

Charley Crockett –
Clovis

CHECK OUT: “The Hallelujah Trail”
“Down by Law”

Deep Purple –
SPLAT!

CHECK OUT: “Arrogant Boy”
“Diablo”

Sienna Spiro –
Visitor

CHECK OUT: “Die on this Hill”
“You Stole the Show”

FURTHER LISTENING

Asara – 028 Crises, Concepción Huerta – No Queda Nada, Todo Resuena, Nixon Boyd – Every Time We Turn a Corner, Play Time – Magic Object, Smirk – Speculative Fiction 

Still not enough new music?? For previous editions of PRESS PLAY, click HERE.