Tender folk, progressive pop, adventurous jazz-fusion, and psychedelic poetry highlight this week’s batch of new releases.

Arriving nearly a year after his collaboration with jazz great Bill Frisell, Josh Ritter reunites with his longtime Royal City Band on the exuberant I Believe in You, My Honeydew. Drummer/bandleader/producer Kassa Overall takes hip-hop back to its jazz roots on CREAM, a collection of instrumental covers of classics by Outkast, Wu-Tang Clan, and more. Recent Free at Noon guests Rogue Oliphant bring the words of Irish poet Paul Muldoon to life on Visible from Space; the band is built around Del Fuegos guitarist Warren Zanes and Pogues bassist Cáit O’Riordan. Eric D. Johnson returns with the most intimate Fruit Bats album to date; Baby Man features Johnson alone with his guitar, putting his easygoing songwriting front-and-center.

With Stephen Malkmus in the producer’s seat and a guest appearance by Trey Anastasio, New York combo Guerilla Toss probe the outer spaceways of the mind on You’re Weird Now. Working with novelist David Leviathan (who provides the lyrics and companion book), Swedish musician Jens Lekman draws from his own experience as a performer-for-hire on Songs for Other People’s Weddings. For her third album as King Princess, Girl Violence, Mikaela Straus reflects on her recent personal and professional struggles, channeling them into captivating pop anthems. Celebrated by Oasis, The Killers, and Smashing Pumpkins, The Chameleons return with Arctic Moon, their first album in nearly 25 years and first to feature a new lineup supporting founding members Mark Burgess and Reg Smithies.

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

Josh Ritter –
I Believe in You, My Honeydew

CHECK OUT: “Wild Ways”
“Won’t You Dig My Grave”

Kassa Overall –
CREAM

CHECK OUT: “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)”

Paul Muldoon & Rogue Oliphant – Visible from Space

CHECK OUT: “Visible from Space” “Hit Machine”

Fruit Bats – Baby Man

CHECK OUT: “Stuck in My Head Again”
“Creature from the Wild”

Guerilla Toss –
You’re Weird Now

CHECK OUT: “Red Flag to Angry Bull”
“Psychosis is Just a Number”

Jens Lekman –
Songs for Other People’s Weddings

CHECK OUT: “Candy from a Stranger”
“Wedding in Leipzig”

King Princess – Girl Violence

CHECK OUT: “RIP KP”
“Cry Cry Cry”

The Chameleons – Arctic Moon

CHECK OUT: “Saviours are a Dangerous Thing” “Where are You?”

The PRESS PLAY-list

FURTHER LISTENING

Algernon Cadwallader – Trying Not to Have a Thought, Angel Bat Dawid – The Oracle (IA11 Edition), Asher White – 8 Tips for Full Catastrophe Living, Bass Drum of Death – Six, Baxter Dury – Allbarone, Brent Amaker & the Rodeo – Vaquero, Cafuné – Bite Reality, Carson McHone – Pentimento, Cazwell – Hits All Over Your Face (The Peace Bisquit Collection), Cuco – Ridin’ (Deluxe Edition), Dancer – More or Less, David Bowie – I Can’t Give Everything Away: 2002-2016 (Box Set), Devendra Banhart – Cripple Crow (20^th Anniversary Edition), Die Spitz – Something to Consume, Egoexpress – A Piece of the Action, Emma Swift – The Resurrection Game, Grateful Dead – Blues for Allah (50^th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), Gruff Rhys – Dim Probs, The Hidden Cameras – BRONTO, Hockey Dad – The Clip EP, Holly Palmer – Metamorphosis, Ho99o9 – Tomorrow We Escape, In the Pines – Sunbeam Dream, Iron & Wine and Ben Bridwell – Making Good Time EP, Jasmine.4.t – You Are the Morning (YBT Deluxe), J.D. Crowe & the New South – J.D. Crowe & the New South (50^th Anniversary Edition), Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer – Recordings from the Åland Islands (IA11 Edition), John Prine – Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings (Reissue), Julia, Juia – Sugaring a Strawberry, Karate – If You Can Hold Your Breath (Box Set), King Princess – Girl Violence, Lauren Lovelle – Other Dreams EP, Legss – Unreal, Margaret Glaspy – The Golden Heart Protector EP, Maruja – Pain to Power, Matt Bachmann – Compost Karaoke, Michael Hurley – Broken Homes and Gardens, Mitch Rowland – Whistling Pie, Neal Casal – No One Above You (The Early Years 1991–1998), Nyxy Nyx – Cult Classics Vol. 1, The Paper Kites – If You Go There, I Hope You Find It, Paul Cebar – Paul Cebar, Phil Collins – No Jacket Required: Fully Tailored (Box Set), Public Circuit – Modern Church, Restraining Order – Future Fortune, Selector Dub Narcotic – When Boys Cry EP, Shawn Camp – The Ghost of Sis Draper, Snuggle – Goodbyehouse, Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Perimenopop, Space to Play – Space to Play, Spandau Ballet – Everything is Now Vol 1: 1978-1982 (Box Set), TEKE::TEKE – Hagata Delux, Twenty One Pilots – Breach, Verses GT – Verses GT, Warren Haynes – The Whisper Sessions, West Texas Exiles – 8000 Days, Your Smith – The Rub, Various Artists – Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (Original Soundtrack)

Kathleen Edwards: “Chameleon/Comedian” (XPoNential Music Festival – 2019)