PRESS PLAY: New Albums out June 12th
The latest by Olivia Rodrigo, Goose, Kelsey Lu, Jesse Welles, Alex Amen, and more…
Olivia Rodrigo | photo by Adrian Martin, courtesy of the artist
Things are heating up with this week’s assortment of new albums. Wait, didn’t I say something similar last week? It’s hot out!!
Fresh off a surprise appearance at Primavera Sound last weekend, Olivia Rodrigo works out her feels (with some help from The Cure’s Robert Smith) on you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. Connecticut combo Goose streamline their sound on Big Modern! while still leaving plenty of room for exploratory jams. It’s been seven years since Kelsey Lu’s debut, Blood; So Help Me God arrives after a pair of film scores from the singer/cellist. Prolific songwriter Jesse Welles turns the screws on those pushing buttons and pulling levers on his sixth LP, Masks Off.
At this year’s NonComm, Alex Amen and his band put on a warm and welcoming acoustic set; those rustic vibes are abundant on Sun of Amen. 20 years ago, in-demand collaborator Joan Wasser released Real Life, her debut under the name Joan as Police Woman; on Real Life Evolution, Wasser revisits her solo breakthrough with reimagined arrangements. The Landfill is Eric D. Johnson’s 13th full-length as Fruit Bats, channeling his Midwest roots into breezy, observational odes to seeking comfort in nature. Midge Ure’s first collection of new material in over a decade is actually a pair of collections: A Man of Two Worlds’ first disc is a set of meditative instrumentals while the second contains similarly atmospheric songs.
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
Olivia Rodrigo – you seem pretty sad
for a girl so in love
CHECK OUT: “drop dead”
“the cure”
Goose –
Big Modern!
CHECK OUT: “Good2B”
“Torero”
Kelsey Lu –
So Help Me God
CHECK OUT: “Running to Pain”
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
Jesse Welles –
Masks Off
CHECK OUT: “Red”
“Domestic Error”
Alex Amen –
Sun of Amen
CHECK OUT: “Cabin by the Sea”
“California Blues”
Joan as Police Woman –
Real Life Evolution
CHECK OUT: “The Ride”
“Eternal Flame”
Fruit Bats –
The Landfill
CHECK OUT: “The Landfill”
“That Goddamn Sun”
Midge Ure –
A Man of Two Worlds
CHECK OUT: “Just Words”
“The Man Who Stole Your Soul”
The PRESS PLAY-list
FURTHER LISTENING
Alexis Taylor and Mike Simonetti – I See a Darkness / Perfect Kiss EP, The Army, the Navy – Fake Brave Life, Baauer – U, Bebe Rexha – DIRTY BLONDE, BendreTheGiant – Swollen Eyes, BIG|BRAVE – in grief or in hope, Big D and the Kids Table – The Good Ole American Saturday Night, Bob Bert – Beach Bongo Bloodbath, The Bobby Lees – New Self, CFCF – L.U.V., Duane Betts – Isle of Hope, Dustin O’Halloran – Lumière (Expanded), Elujay – A Constant Charade Deluxe, Holland Andrews x Methods Body – REMAIN, Horse Lords – Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive!, ISMAY – Half Truth, Jenny Gillespie Mason – In the Safety of the Light, Jon Spencer – Songs of Personal Loss and Protest, josh conway – plum, KALEO – A/B (10th Anniversary Edition), Kalia Vendever – Mana, Keith Urban – Flow State, King G & the J Krew – Indestructible Sounds of the Humpback Whale (Reissue), Kit Major – Miss Ego EP, Lake Dorn – Black American Princess, The Mekons – HORROR/HORRORble (Mekons vs. Tony Maimone in Dub Conference), Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs – Mission of Mercy, Orange Doors – Corn Planet, Paycheque – Paycheque, Pharis and Jason Romero – These are the Days That Turn in to Years, Picastro – Double on Time EP, Piebald – Tales for the Rages, Pluralone – A Drop in the Ocean, Pussy Riot – CYKA, Sierra Spirit – Rodeo Clown EP, Spacey Jane – Exit Wounds EP, Stephanie Babirak – Rotten Fruit, Sublime – Until the Sun Explodes, Telescreens – Why the Lights Flicker, Trabants – Mirage
PRESS PLAY Back Catalog
Still not enough new music?? For previous editions of PRESS PLAY, click HERE.