Rounding third and headed for home, it’s the last new albums of the month!

Anchored by the anthemic “Stay in Your Lane,” which got an early premiere at last year’s XPNFest, Creature of Habit is the latest showcase of Courtney Barnett’s peerless off-the-cuff songwriting. Trading his funk-rock bass prowess for jazz trumpet, Red Hot Chili Peppers/Atoms for Peace member Flea delivers his richly textured solo debut, Honora. Swedish dance icon Robyn revisits and reclaims the energy of her 2010 Body Talk trilogy on the cheeky and cheerful Sexistential. Furthering the transformation of their sound into stately chamber-pop, The New Pornographers offer ten character studies on their tenth album, The Former Site Of.

José González pairs his signature tender melodies with an urgent call for societal collaboration and cooperation on Against the Dying of the Light. Ricochet is the first album in five years from Snail Mail; it arrives after bandleader Lindsey Jordan’s first foray into acting, appearing in (and contributing to the soundtrack of) 2024’s acclaimed I Saw the TV Glow. Returning to his revved-up garage roots, King Tuff’s MOO finds journeyman songwriter/producer Kyle Thomas at the height of his pop powers. Global jazz/spoken word collective Irreversible Entanglements recruit vocalists MOTHERBOARD and Helago Negro into their boundary-pushing world on Future Present Past.

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

Courtney Barnett –
Creature of Habit

CHECK OUT: “Stay in Your Lane”
“Site Unseen”

Flea –
Honora

CHECK OUT: “Thinkin Bout You”
“Traffic Lights”

Robyn –
Sexistential

CHECK OUT: “Dopamine”
“Blow My Mind”

The New Pornographers –
The Former Site Of

CHECK OUT: “Votive”
“Pure Sticker Shock”

José González –
Against the Dying of the Light

CHECK OUT: “Against the Dying of the Light”
“A Perfect Storm”

Snail Mail –
Ricochet

CHECK OUT: “Dead End”
“My Maker”

King Tuff –
MOO

CHECK OUT: “Twisted on a Train”
“Invisible Ink”

Irreversible Entanglements –
Future Present Past

CHECK OUT: “Don’t Lose Your Head”
“Juntos Venecemos”

The PRESS PLAY-list

FURTHER LISTENING

The Academy Is… – Almost There, ADULT. – Kissing Luck Goodbye, a.gris – Gris EP, Andy Thomas – Highway Junkie, Benjamin Bass – Cabin Songs, Butler, Blake & Grant – Murmurs, Charlotte Cornfield – Hurts Like Hell, Connie Converse – How Sad, How Lonely (Reissue), David Gray – Nightjar, Dry Socket – Self Defense Techniques, Em Spel – Bird or Snake, Fcukers – Ö, Haiku Salut & Meg Morley – The Lost Score, Helicopter Leaves – Sabrina Nickels, Highway II – Forever, Hit Like a Girl – Burning at Both Ends, Holy Fuck – Event Beat, Jimmy Bass – Cabin Songs, Konradsen – Hunt, Gather, Krooked Kings – In Another Life, Lauren Adler – Whole World as Vigil, Lone – Hyperphantasia, Lukas Ligeti – Notebook, Melanie Martinez – Hades, Memorials – All Clouds Bring Not Rain, Microwaves – Temporal Shifter, Monster Rally – Echoes of the Emerald Sands, Paula Kelley – Blinking as the Starlight Burns, The Pretty Flowers – Never Felt Better, Robert Francis – Phantasmagoria, Sasami – Blood on the Silver Screen: Director’s Cut, Slayyyter – Wor$t Girl in America, Stimmerman – Challenging Music for Difficult People, Stuck – Optimizer, Taurog – Chott, Tiger’s Jaw – Lost on You, Tom Misch – Full Circle, True Green – Hail Disaster, Trust Me – Why I Like Dead Guys, The Twilight Sad – IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE, Two-Man Giant Squid – A band in the post-modern world., Yttling Jazz – Illegal Hit (Out of Bounds), Young Fresh Fellows – Loft

PRESS PLAY BACK CATALOG

Thank your lucky stars, it’s time for another batch of new albums!

Leaning into their headiest soul-funk inclinations, Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Future Soul is a celebration of the genre’s generations. Already an accomplished club DJ, Avalon Emerson reenters the world of dream pop on her second album backed by The Charm, Written into Changes. Philly favorites Gladie deliver some of their strongest anthems yet on No Need to Be Lonely; highlight “Future Spring” sees Augusta Koch reuniting with her Cayetana bandmates Allegra Anka and Kelly Olsen.

Another local mainstay, Son Little expands his psychedelic acoustic sound on the breezy Cityfolk. Serving as both a sonic reinvention and the companion to her podcast of the same name, Aubrie Sellers’s Attachment Theory is a bold collection from the Nashville songwriter. With renewed interest in the band’s earlier material from viral trends and movie soundtrack features, Ladytron’s Paradises is a victory lap of effortlessly cool pulsations.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

Tedeschi Trucks Band –
Future Soul

CHECK OUT: “I Got You”
“Future Soul”

Avalon Emerson & the Charm –
Written into Changes

CHECK OUT: “Eden”
“Jupiter and Mars”

Gladie –
No Need to Be Lonely

CHECK OUT: “Car Alarm”
“Future Spring”

Son Little –
Cityfolk

CHECK OUT: “In Orbit”
“Be Better”

Aubrie Sellers –
Attachment Theory

CHECK OUT: “Villain of the Week”
“Subatomic”

Ladytron –
Paradises

CHECK OUT: “I Believe in You”
“I See Red”

FURTHER LISTENING

Amiture Music – Amiture Music, Anna Calvi – Is This All There Is? EP, Anna Smyrk – Spectacular Denial, Band of Horses – Everything All the Time (20^th Anniversary Edition), Boiled in Lead – King of the Dogwoods, BTS – ARIRANG, Colleen – Libres antes del final, CROUCH – Breaking the Catatonic State, Damaged Bug – ZUZAX, Evil Twin – Upside Down We’re Flying, Footballhead – Weight of the Truth, ford. – Music Lights Color EP, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart – Bongo Fury (50^th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), Girl Scout – Brink, Grace Ives – Girlfriend, Green-House – Hinterlands, Hit Like a Girl – Burning at Both Ends, Holy Fuck – Event Beat, mclusky – i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley EP, Mike Will Made-It – R3SET, Otracami – Runoff, Rafael Chamone – Sonoluminescence, Ringing – another cycle in the cosmic wash, Rocketship – A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness (30^th Anniversary Edition), The Silver – Looking Glass Hymnal Blue, Silverdeer – House of Devotion EP, Suitor – Saw You Out with the Weeds, The Undercover Dream Lovers – Atomic House, The Volcanics – In 3-D, Water is the Sun – Ritual Fever, Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl & Macie Stewart – Body Sound

Old Man Winter might still be clinging to relevance, but this week’s new albums are in full bloom…

On PLAY ME, her third solo album since the dissolution of Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon focuses her inimitable energy and attitude on those who carelessly clutch the levers of power. Teased with a self-perpetrated leak (and available only on physical formats), Sturgill Simpson reboots his Johnny Blue Skies persona into oversexed dark disco on Mutiny After Midnight. On her impressively ambitious debut, 20nothing, rising Texas-based singer Blessing Jolie delivers witty and thoughtful lyrics against nostalgic melodies. Chicago’s Brigitte Calls Me Baby double down on their stylish new wave-infused pop on their second album, Irreversible.

Working with Brad Cook to give his songs a fuller production than his stark 2023 release The King, Anjimile’s You’re Free to Go offers odes to trans love with shimmering finesse. Cut Worms’ Max Clarke broadcasts rollicking nuggets on his fourth LP, the Jeff Tweedy-produced Transmitter. Still There’s a Glow is the reflective second album from Philly crew Sweet Pill; it’s their first release where the whole band contributed to the writing process. The Black Crowes once again pair a retrospective release (the recent expanded reissue of 1994’s Amorica) with a new one; A Pound of Feathers finds the Robinson brothers trading wits and riffs with easy abandon.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

Kim Gordon –
PLAY ME

CHECK OUT: “NOT TODAY”
“DIRTY TECH”

Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds –
Mutiny After Midnight

CHECK OUT: “Situation”
“Everyone is Welcome”

Blessing Jolie –
20nothing

CHECK OUT: “20teens”
“Frown Lines”

Brigitte Calls Me Baby –
Irreversible

CHECK OUT: “Slumber Party”
“I Danced with Another Love in My Dream”

Anjimile –
You’re Free to Go

CHECK OUT: “Like You Really Mean It”
“Waits for Me”

Cut Worms –
Transmitter

CHECK OUT: “Windows on the World”
“Evil Twin”

Sweet Pill –
Still There’s a Glow

CHECK OUT: “No Control”
“Glow”

The Black Crowes –
A Pound of Feathers

CHECK OUT: “Pharmacy Chronicles”
“It’s Like That”

FURTHER LISTENING

Alexis Taylor – Paris in the Spring, Allison Russell – Rainbows EP, Ana Tijoux x DJ Dacel – 97 EP, Bayonne – Temporary Time Orchestrated, Bentley Anderson – Valence, Bill Orcutt – Music in Continuous Motion, Cailin Russo – Don’t EP, Cashier – The Weight EP, Colton Bowlin – Grandpa’s Mill, Crack Cloud – Peace and Purpose, Daniel Romano & the Outfit – Preservers of the Pearl, Flowers/Ghosts&Echoes – Flow////State, Fotocrime – Security, James Blake – Trying Times, Josephine Network – Hooked, Mary Ocher – Weimar, NO/MÁS – No Peace, The Notwist – News from Planet Zombie, The Orielles – Only You Left, Powerplant – Bridge of Sacrifice, Rush – Grace Under Pressure (Super Deluxe Edition), The Scratch – Pull Like a Dog, Sür Drone – T.I.T.S., Sella – Well I Mean, Shop Talk – Shop Talk, The Sophs – GOLDSTAR, The Third Mind – Spellbinder!, Tinariwen – Hoggar, White Reaper – Only Slightly Expanded

Spring forward into the first new albums of the month…

HELP(2) is the latest in a long series of benefit albums by the War Child organization; producer James Ford invited international superstars like Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo, and Depeche Mode to record exclusive material at Abbey Road Studios. Reviving material written in their teenage years, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook celebrate the earliest fruits of their musical partnership on Squeeze’s Trixies. Partially recorded at Berlin’s famed Hansa Studios, ‘70s home to David Bowie and Iggy Pop, Harry Styles laces up his nightclubbing duds on Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. Will Oldham’s latest album as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, We are Together Again, showcases the prolific Kentucky songwriter’s uncommon way with words and sonic textures.

On Picking Stones, their first new album in a decade, Philadelphia favorite Abi Reimold explores their country leanings with a set of lyrics-forward balladry. Shabaka drew inspiration from D’Angelo’s landmark Brown Sugar for Of the Earth; while lively rhythms occasionally arise, the overall influence is reflected in the creative freedom that comes from self-production. Multi-disciplinary Inuk artist Tanya Tagaq returns to music with Saputjiji; reimagining lyrics from her 2018 book Split Tooth (as well as serving as companion to a new stage production), her sixth album is brutal in its beauty and beautiful in its brutality. Arkansas soul-pop singer Yebba got an early co-sign from producer Mark Ronson; her second solo LP, Jean, is a heartfelt tribute to her late grandmother.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

Various Artists –
War Child Presents: HELP(2)

CHECK OUT: Arctic Monkeys – “Opening Night”
The Last Dinner Party – “Let’s Do it Again!”

Squeeze – Trixies

CHECK OUT: “You Get the Feeling”
“Why Don’t You”

Harry Styles –
Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally

CHECK OUT: “Aperture” “American Girls”

Bonnie “Prince” Billy –
We are Together Again

CHECK OUT: “They Keep Trying to Find You”
“Hey Little”

Abi Reimold –
Picking Stones

CHECK OUT: “Drinking Song”
“Phasing”

Shabaka –
Of the Earth

CHECK OUT: “A Future Untold”
“Dance in Praise”

Tanya Tagaq – Saputjiji

CHECK OUT: “Foxtrot” “Fuck War”

Yebba – Jean

CHECK OUT: “Waterfall” “Yellow Eyes”

FURTHER LISTENING

Ages and Ages – Fine Thanks and You, Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie EXTENDED – Live at Moldejazz, Aukai – Chambers, Bitter Branches – Let’s Give the Land Back to the Animals, Bory – Never Turns to Night, Bosse-de-Nage – Hidden Fires Burn Hottest, The Brook & the Bluff – Werewolf, Carbon Decoy – Crush the Sun, Charlie Puth – Whatever’s Clever!, Cobrah – Torn, Doll Spirit Vessel – Bow, Endearments – An Always Open Door, Flying Lotus – Big Mama EP, Gregory Uhlmann – Extra Stars, GUM – Blue Gum Way, Hater – Mosquito, Hunter Hayes – Evergreen, Jesper Lindell – 3614 Jackson Highway, Joshua Idehen – I Know You’re Hurting, Everyone is Hurting, Everyone is Trying, You Have Got to Try, Koko Love – The Cost of Freedom, Los Frankies – D.E.D. City, Melodi Ghazal – Idol Melodies, Morrissey – Make-Up is a Lie, Mute Swan – Skin Slip, Natalie Jane Hill – Hopeful Woman, Neighborly – Kerplunk, Odd Marshall – Seconds, Ohyung – Iowa, Rosenau & Sanborn – Two, Scout Gillett – Tough Touch, Slag – Losing EP, Snowcuffs – Sweet Gravity EP, Sons of Town Hall – Of Ghosts and Gods, Status/Non-Status – Big Changes, Surfbort – Reality Star, Teerath Majumder – Dust to Dust, Travis Bolt – Burning Bridges, VIAL – Hellhound, Waterbaby – Memory Be a Blade, Western Grip – Follow Your Nightmares, Various Artists – Scribble Benefit Compilation

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

Jonathan Wilson: “Desert Raven” (World Cafe Version)