Wrap up the month with new releases from familiar voices (and some newer ones, too!).

After their Formentera duology, Canadian indie heroes Metric deliver defiant anthems on Romanticize the Dive. Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide features a credit that longtime XPN listeners will recognize: former Kopecky member Gabe Simon co-wrote and produced nearly every song. With new drummer Ilan Rubin officially in the mix, Foo Fighters sound rejuvenated on Your Favorite Toy. His second collaboration in a row with T Bone Burnett, Ringo Starr continues his celebration of country music on Long Long Road.

Friko’s Something Worth Waiting For is true to its name: the Chicago combo’s sophomore release captures multiple generations of their city’s experimental rock tendencies. Stepping away from her band Sunflower Bean, Julia Cumming steals the spotlight with energetic torch songs on her solo debut. Hrishikesh Hirway may have gained legions of listeners as host of the podcast Song Exploder; In the Last Hour of the Light marks his full-length return to music. Taking inspiration from the Rihanna to which it alludes, Miss Grit is ready for the dance floor on Under My Umbrella.

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

Metric –
Romanticize the Dive

CHECK OUT: “Victim of Luck”
“Crush Forever”

Noah Kahan –
The Great Divide

CHECK OUT: “The Great Divide”
“Porch Light”

Foo Fighters –
Your Favorite Toy

CHECK OUT: “Asking for a Friend”
“Your Favorite Toy”

Ringo Starr –
Long Long Road

CHECK OUT: “Choose Love”
“It’s Been Too Long”

Friko –
Something Worth Waiting For

CHECK OUT: “Seven Degrees”
“Still Around”

Julia Cumming –
Julia

CHECK OUT: “My Life”
“Please Let Me Remember This”

Hrishikesh Hirway –
In the Last Hour of Light

CHECK OUT: “Stray Dogs”
“Rollercoaster”

Miss Grit –
Under My Umbrella

CHECK OUT: “Tourist Mind”
“Stranger”

The PRESS PLAY-list

FURTHER LISTENING

Akon – Beautiful Day, Angélique Kidjo – HOPE!!, Angelo De Augustine – Angel in Plainclothes, Anthony da Costa – The No Send Letter, Arden Alexa – HOPE YOU’RE WATCHING, Beatrix – We Swallowed the Sky, Cabaret Voltaire – But What Time is it Really?, Carla dal Forno – Confession, CAVS – Sojourn, Chevreuil – Stadium, Dallas Good and Richard Reed Parry – Were the Watchtowers, doPE – no country for old men, Doug Gillard – Paralell Stride, EmmyJean Jenkins – Gay All This Time, Eugene McGuinness – Eugene McGuinness Versus the Universe, EVOLFO – Of Love, Failure – Location Lost, Fatboi Sharif & Child Actor – Crayola Circles, Françoise Hardy – Françoise Hardy Blues: Complete Vogue Recordings 1962-1967, Gareth Donkin – Extraordinary, Gary Marks – Crossroads, Gay Meat – Blue Water, Gia Margaret – Singing, Glen Hansard – Don+t Settle: Transmissions East (Vol. 1), Irmin Schmidt – Requiem, Jai’Len Josey – Serial Romantic, Jason Aldean – Songs About Us, Jesus Christ Taxi Driver – Taxi the Rich, Jim Lauderdale – The Birds Know, Jordan Rakei – Between Us EP, Kehlani – Kehlani, Kneecap – Fenian, Krooked Tongue – Drugstore Cowboy, Las Cruxes – Las Cruxes, The Leaving – Ultimate Buzz, Lightning Bolt / OOIOO – THE HORIZON SPIRALS / THE HORIZON VIRAL, Lolo Zouaï – Reverie, Michael Bublé – Live! Caught in the Act, The Milk Carton Kids – Lost Cause Lover Fool, Object Hours – Solved by Waking, Octo Octa – Sigils for Survival, Pastel Blank – Unmade in Minutes, Paul Weller – Live at the BBC Vol. 2, Pearl – Love and Grief, Portrayal of Guilt – …Beginning of the End, Quiet Light – Blue Angel Sparkling Silver 2, The Reds, Pinks & Purples – Acknowledge Kindness, The Saddest Landscape – Alone with Heaven, Scorie – Gallodrome EP, Some Fear – Word Eater, Stephen Becker – Gravity Blanket, tofusmell – All My Time, TV Star – Music for Heads, Urq – The Dismal Village, Vinson – Raw Honey, White Denim – 13, White Fence – Orange, Yarn – Saturday Night Sermon

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

I’m on vacation this week but even that won’t stop new albums from being released!

Jessie Ware’s Superbloom completes a trilogy of albums themed around celebrating pleasure and desire. On their 24th studio album, The World is to Dig, They Might Be Giants remain playful and resilient; they’re rebounding from an assortment of health setbacks to both founding Johns. The culmination of a career fusing classical music with hip-hop production, Adrian Younge delivers a cinematic showstopper on Younge.

Canadian combo Arkells took a new approach on Between Us; bandleader Max Kerman worked closer with his bandmates on songwriting than on any previous release. Brooklyn singer (and recent Free at Noon guest) Yaya Bey returns with Fidelity, a companion record to last summer’s breakthrough Do it Afraid. Reemerging with Emerald Press after a 12-year absence, Massachusetts guitarist Christopher Barnes reimagines Gem Club as a solo outlet for his exploratory fretwork.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

Jessie Ware –
Superbloom

CHECK OUT: “I Could Get Used to This”
“Automatic”

They Might Be Giants –
The World is to Dig

CHECK OUT: “Wu-Tang”
“Outside Brain”

Adrian Younge –
Younge

CHECK OUT: “Respond to Sound”
“Human Absence”

Arkells –
Between Us

CHECK OUT: “Money”
“What’s Good?”

Yaya Bey –
Fidelity

CHECK OUT: “Blue”
“Egyptian Musk”

Gem Club –
Emerald Press

CHECK OUT: “Aperture”
“Garlands”

FURTHER LISTENING

Accessory – Dust, beaming – horseshoe, Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs (Deluxe Edition), Benjamin Tod – Vengeance and Grace, The Brudi Brothers – Dark & Stormy EP, The Crosses – Outlier EP, Eaves Wilder – Little Miss Sunshine, Eve Maret – Diamond Cutter EP, EZRA – Whippersnap, Foxtide – Entropy, Gary Marks – Crossroads, Honey Dijon – NightLife, I’m with Her – Sing Me Alive, ISTA – In Sound to All, John-Robert – Where Do You Wanna Go? EP, Julia Minkin – Not Ready, Kathryn Mohr – Carve, La Peste – I Don’t Know Right from Wrong: Lost La Peste 1976-1979 Vol. 1, Latchkey Kids – Year of Summers, lovetempo – There is a Light, Lucy Liyou – MR COBRA, Magus – Music for Mandrax, Marc Broussard – Chance Worth Taking, M.I.A. – M.I.7, MONT LOSER – Confessional, Motörhead – On Parole Sessions, Nick Flessa – A Different Kind of Energy, Sam Blasucci – Physical Dream, Sean Solomon – The World is Not Good Enough, Souled American – Sanctions, Tanya Donelly and Chris Brokaw – The Done Is Done Again EP, Teen Suicide – Nude descending staircase headless, This is Lorelei – Box for Buddy, Box for Star (Super Deluxe), TOMORA – COME CLOSER, Vasilis Kostas – Léna, Winston Hightower – 100 Acre Wood, Yot Club – Simpleton, Various Artists – Mother Mary: Greatest Hits (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

If Vinyl Day inspired you to freshen your own record collection, perhaps one of this week’s new releases will spin you right ‘round…

With a characteristically eclectic sound that he describes as “bicoastal Latin jazz funk rock,” Joe Jackson spins a tale about life in a fictional English seaside town on Hope and Fury. Power-pop hydra Fantastic Cat’s Cat Out of Hell is an addictive showcase of the band’s four songwriters’ distinctive (yet complementary) talents.

Following a series of live performance recitals, bluegrass virtuoso Sierra Hull presents a captivating classical-fusion suite, The Movements. In January 1986, the Gregg Allman Band played a barnstorming set at Philadelphia’s Chestnut Cabaret; a recently unearthed recording is the latest in a series of archival releases from the late guitar icon.

Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every week on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.

Joe Jackson –
Hope and Fury

CHECK OUT: “Fabulous People”
“After All This Time”

Fantastic Cat –
Cat Out of Hell

CHECK OUT: “Donnie Takes the Bus”
“Don’t Let Go”

Sierra Hull –
The Movements

CHECK OUT: “Movement 3”
“Movement 2”

Greg Allman Band –
Great as Ever: Live in Philadelphia ’86

CHECK OUT: “Don’t Want You No More”
“Ain’t My Cross to Bear”

FURTHER LISTENING

Alicia Lázaro – There is no end to anything round, Brown Horse – Total Dive, Craig Wedren – The Dreaming Dream Deluxe, El Ten Eleven – Nowhere Faster, ESYA – Chasing Desire, Flyboys – The Complete Flyboys 1978-1980, Gary Klebe – Out Loud, Gnaw – Inside a Machine That’s Glistening EP, Gracie and Rachel – If We Could, Would We, Hannah Lew – Another Twilight, Holly Humberstone – Cruel World, I Am the Avalanche – The Horror Show, Iguana Death Cult – Guns Out, Juni Habel – Evergreen in My Mind, Kumail – Mudbrown, Laufey – Matter of Time: The Final Hour, Lime Garden – Maybe Not Tonight, Mac N Cheese – Pizza Party, Makthaverskan – Glass and Bones, Marika Che – Bright Flame, Mei Semones – Kurage EP, Rachel Love – Picture in Mind (Reissue) / Lyra (Reissue), Robot Slide – Chimps, Pictish Trail – Life Slime, Prince Daddy & the Hyena – Hotwire Trip Switch, Prism Shores – Softest Attack, The Props – Arrow EP, Punchbag – I am Obsessed EP, Sparkler – Glidewinder, Squarepusher – Kammerkonzert, Steve Gunn – Shape of a Wave EP, Summer Cannibals – Full of It (10^th Anniversary Edition), Tenille Townes – The Acrobat, Touché Amoré – Stage Four (10^th Anniversary Edition), Truckfighters – Masterflow, Weezer – Weezer (Coloring Book) (Box Set), Wesley Joseph – Forever Ends Someday, WU LYF – A Wave That Will Never Break

Mercury Prize winner Arlo Parks explores the dark side of the city at night on her trip-hop-inspired third album, Ambiguous Desire. With songs co-written by Bob Weir and Robert Hunter, Bruce Hornsby honors his history as a Grateful Dead associate while forging ahead on Indigo Park. On Distracted, bass virtuoso Thundercat expands his sonic palette, as well as his impressive roster of collaborators, including Tame Impala and the late Mac Miller. Riding high on an influx of attention to their microtonal grooves, Montreal duo Angine de Poitrine show off locked-in chops on Vol. II.

Prolific country croonerCharley Crockett delivers Age of the Ram, the final installment in a thematic trilogy of albums following the misadventures of a fictional gunslinger. An accomplished guitarist in the worlds of experimental folk and jazz, Wendy Eisenberg leans into melody (without sacrificing exploration) on her self-titled LP. On his first official solo release, Joe Pernice teams up with Aimee Mann and Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake to give Sunny, I Was Wrong a rootsy warmth. Multi-instrumentalist John Andrews spends most of his time supporting other artists (Woods, Quilt, Cut Worms); on his own as John Andrews & the Yawns, he offers catchy homespun pop on STREETSWEEPER.

Arlo Parks –
Ambiguous Desire

CHECK OUT: “2SIDED”
“Heaven”

Bruce Hornsby –
Indigo Park

CHECK OUT: “Indigo Park”
“Ecstatic”

Thundercat –
Distracted

CHECK OUT: “I Did This to Myself”
“I Wish I Didn’t Waste Your Time”

Angine de Poitrine –
Vol.II

CHECK OUT: “Mata Zyklek”
“Fabienk”

Charley Crockett –
Age of the Ram

CHECK OUT: “Kentucky Too Long”
“Fastest Gun Alive”

Wendy Eisenberg –
Wendy Eisenberg

CHECK OUT: “Meaning Business”
“Old Myth Dying”

Joe Pernice –
Sunny, I Was Wrong

CHECK OUT: “I’d Rather Look Away”
“Deep into the Dawn”

John Andrews & the Yawns –
STREETSWEEPER

CHECK OUT: “Something to Be Said”
“Goodbye Dirty Snow”

FURTHER LISTENING

A Place to Bury Strangers – Rare and Deadly 2015-2025, Anthony Pena – 4, Asher Brinson – Midnight Hurricane, Beatrice Deer – Inuit Legend, Billy Fuller – Fragments, Cindy – Another Country, Commitment – Fear Of, Common People – Games EP, David Aaron Greenberg – Trap Poems, deary – Birding, Elizabeth & the Catapult – Responsible Friend, Gabriel Kahane x Roomful of Teeth – Elevator Songs, Grade 2 – Talk About It, Hiding Places – The Secret to Good Living, How to See Know and Fall – Ecologies, Joseph Arthur – You’re Not a Ghost Anymore: Faith, Katie Alice Greer – Perfect Woman Sound Machine, Vol. 1, Kronos Quartet – Glorious Mahalia, Lantlôs – Nowhere in Between Forever, Makthaverskan – Glass and Bones, Poison Ruin – Hymns from the Hills, PS Goner – there’s an atm inside, Robber Robber – Two Wheels Move the Soul, The Shits – Diet of Worms, Spaceport – Cut the Lake, Sunn O))) – Sunn O))), TAURO – Act I, Thrillhouse – Smile, Zachary Baker – Dark Horse

Lollygaggers On South Broad: Kelsey Cork & The Swigs Make An Album | Unmixed, Unmastered, Drop It!