Wrap up the month with new releases by some big, big names…

Reflecting on his childhood in Liverpool, Paul McCartney’s The Boys of Dungeon Lane is a nostalgic collection that includes Ringo Starr’s first appearance on a McCartney album in nearly 30 years. Reflecting on his childhood (and adult life) in Philly, Kurt Vile’s Philadelphia’s been good to me features no appearances by Ringo Starr; Vile pours abundant energy and humor into the homespun set. Always an adventurous collaborator, banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck teams up with soprano Renée Fleming for the folk and bluegrass celebration The Fiddle and the Drum. Another Philly mainstay, Greg Mendez adds Beauty Land to his already masterpiece-studded discography.

Luxembourg-based songwriter Jana Bahrich delivers her second album as Francis of Delirium, the raw and urgent Run, Run Pure Beauty. Faced with a medical crisis that upended his life, Joshua Ray Walker channeled unfathomable emotions into Ain’t Dead Yet. Stylish Australian artist Lenka’s seventh album, Good Days, is a blast of sunshine pop and baroque retro soul. Mere days after it was announced, feeble little horse surprise-released their third LP, bitknot, much to the delight of fans of the Pittsburg combo’s lopsided art-rock.

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

Paul McCartney –
The Boys of Dungeon Lane

CHECK OUT: “Home to Us”
“Days We Left Behind”

Kurt Vile –
Philadelphia’s been good to me

CHECK OUT: “Chance to Bleed”
“Zoom 97”

Renée Fleming & Béla Fleck –
The Fiddle and the Drum

CHECK OUT: “In the Pines”
“My Epitaph”

Greg Mendez –
Beauty Land

CHECK OUT: “I Wanna Feel Pretty”
“Gentle Love”

Francis of Delirium –
Run, Run Pure Beauty

CHECK OUT: “Little Black Dress”
“It’s a Beautiful Life”

Joshua Ray Walker –
Ain’t Dead Yet

CHECK OUT: “Capital Letters”
“Chasing Sunsets”

Lenka –
Good Days

CHECK OUT: “Sunshine Girl”
“Good Days”

feeble little horse –
bitknot

CHECK OUT: “Rewind”
“Dior”

The PRESS PLAY-list

FURTHER LISTENING

Bahar Movahed – Together Yet Alone, Boards of Canada – Inferno, The Bug Club – Every Single Muscle, Cole Berliner – The Black Door, Danalogue – Teleportations, District Five – Glut, Dogstar – All in Now, ear – Rumspringa, Guided by Voices – Crawlspace of the Pantheon, Hunx and his Punx – The Punkettes, Iceage – For Love of Grace & the Hereafter, Justine Skye – CANDY EP, Kikù Hibino & Merzbow – Rococo ∞ Echomatter, Kimiko – Modern Dance EP, KulfiGirls – Divinity (Deluxe Edition), Lenie Rayen – Entertain the Space, Nathan Evans Fox – Heirloom, obli – Soft Speak, Paper Pools – Everything, Phoenix James – Teeth EP, Rare DM – Attention, Shinedown – EI8HT, Sparta – Cut a Silhouette, 37 Houses – When and How it Happened, Tomorrow Tomorrow – Dwelling, Tony Silver – In Through the Front with Lasers, villagerrr – Carousel, Violet Grohl – Be Sweet to Me, Willie Nelson – Dream Chaser, Wynona Bleach – Animal Style

PRESS PLAY Back Catalog

Fire up the grill and crack open one of this week’s newly released albums…

Now a few years into their second decade, Bleachers’ evolution from Jack Antonoff’s solo vehicle to full-blown combo gives everyone for ten minutes the kind of heft that comes from creative collaboration. Blue Morpho is the second LP from Radiohead member Ed O’Brien (and first credited to his full name after EOB’s Earth); it’s a reflection on emerging from depression and isolation with renewed purpose. Listeners may recognize Los Angeles-based Jill Ryan from their tenure in the Philly band Great Time, as well as supporting Japanese Breakfast and Miya Folick; All of This and Nothing, their solo debut, is an impressive showcase of their wide-ranging talents.

Little Barrie join Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound family with Gravity Freeze; their first release since the death of drummer Virgil Howe marks the start of a new phase for the British rockers. Collecting over a decade’s worth of outtakes and rarities, Future Islands offer completionists a treasure trove on From a Hole in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth. Settling into a more democratic approach since the departure of lead singer Woody Platt in 2023, Next Act is the 15^th studio album from virtuoso North Carolina sextet Steep Canyon Rangers.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

Bleachers –
everyone for ten minutes

CHECK OUT: “you and forever”
“the van”

Ed O’Brien –
Blue Morpho

CHECK OUT: “Blue Morpho”
“Incantations”

Jill Ryan –
All of This and Nothing

CHECK OUT: “Go Out in Flames”
“Heated”

Little Barrie –
Gravity Freeze

CHECK OUT: “Luggin’ Hurt”
“More Bad Miles of Road”

Future Islands – From a Hole
in the Floor to a Fountain of Youth

CHECK OUT: “Find Love”
“Sail”

Steep Canyon Rangers –
Next Act

CHECK OUT: “Next Act”
“Circling the Drain”

FURTHER LISTENING

aja monet – the color of rain, Ari Lindo – For Much Longer, Beck Zegans – Engraving of Armor, Bladee – Sulfur Surfer, Criteria – Seize!, David J – Tracks from the Attic Revisited, Dolly Creamer – You Make the Revolution Irresistible EP, Ecca Vandal – LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TO UNFOLLOW, Fugue State – After Nothing Comes, Gently Tender – This Was Once Fields EP, it foot – Top Toe Loops, Jacob Augustine – I Love You Forever, Kyle Morgan – Ghost of a Problem, The Laughing Chimes – Behind Your Blue Fields, Laura Misch – Lithic, Lowertown – Ugly Duckling Union, Nora Kelly Band – So Wrong for So Long, Pope – BFM, Scott Fisher – A Billion Suns, Smokin’ Otis aka Tennessee Slick – Two Faced, Sun Ra – Do the Impossible (Original Soundtrack), Thomas Dollbaum – Birds of Paradise, Tim Kasher’s home phone – Sponges of Experience

Have you recovered from the excitement of NonComm? I sure haven’t! Here are this week’s new releases…

The forces of good and evil are raging on Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge, the uncompromising third album by Ghanian-Australian singer-rapper Genesis Owusu. A rising star in the world of modern Americana, Jobi Riccio shows off incisive songwriting craft on Face the Future. With guest appearances by Lucinda Williams, Justin Vernon, and members of MUNA and Sylvan Esso, Kevin Morby’s Little Wide Open is a rollicking family reunion. Since his departure from Vampire Weekend, Rostam has made a name for himself as an in-demand producer and collaborator; his third solo album, American Stories, proves he hasn’t lost his magic touch as a performer.

Fresh off a breathless NonComm set, Seattle’s Telehealth make antsy new wave for the slop era on Green World Image. Shakey Graves charts the changes that come with a growing family on Fondness, Etc.; the home-recorded album is a window into Alejandro Rose-Garcia’s private moments. Drawing the curtain on their thematically linked series of albums, Tank & the Bangas set the stage for their next act on the lively The Last Balloon. One of the most prolific artists around, Spencer Krug follows the surprise resurgence of his Wolf Parade composition ““I’ll Believe in Anything” with a fresh solo set, Same Fangs.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

Genesis Owusu – Redstar Wu
& the Worldwide Scourge

CHECK OUT: “STAMPEDE”
“DEATH CULT ZOMBIE”

Jobi Riccio –
Face the Feeling

CHECK OUT: “Buzzkill”
“Wildfire Season”

Kevin Morby –
Little Wide Open

CHECK OUT: “Javelin”
“Die Young”

Rostam –
American Stories

CHECK OUT: “Like a Spark”
“Back of a Truck”

Telehealth –
Green World Image

CHECK OUT: “Cool Job”
“Things I’ve Killed”

Shakey Graves –
Fondness, Etc.

CHECK OUT: “When the Love is New”
“On My Own”

Tank & the Bangas –
The Last Balloon

CHECK OUT: “Move”
“No Invite”

Spencer Krug –
Same Fangs

CHECK OUT: “Timebomb”
“Berserker Mode”

FURTHER LISTENING

Alan Braufman – Anthem for Peace, Dua Saleh – Of Earth & Wires, Dylan LeBlanc – Cautionary Tale (10^th Anniversary Edition), The Flenser – Ascent Effort, Happy Just to See You – Last Week’s Horse, Holy Sun Opera House – Holy Sun Opera House, IAMEVE – Legacy, Lawrence Kim – The Hours & the Times, Mad Honey – Bridge Over Cumberland, Marty Blick – Neighborhood Cat, MÝA – Retrospect, Nara’s Room – Tearless, thoughtless, New Constellations – It Comes in Waves, New Idea Society – Fire on the Hill, Peter Frampton – Carry the Light, Phillip Golub – Partisan Ship, Primitive Ring – Primitive Ring, Russell Jamie Johnson – Russell Jamie Johnson EP, Ryan Bingham – They Call Us the Lucky Ones, Sam Hoyek – demonstration_01: anomalous, S.G. Goodman – (Re) Planting by the Signs, SUSS – Counting Sunsets, Teddy Thompson – Never Be the Same, Trousdale – Growing Pains (Deluxe Edition), Touch Girl Apple Blossom – Graceful, Wheelchair Sports Camp – oh imperfecta

An all-enveloping mystic power guides this week’s batch of newly released albums…

Fresh off their headlining set capping off night three of this year’s NonComm, Canadian indie institution Broken Social Scene channel their big sound into an anxiety-ridden set on Remember the Humans. On Dancing on the Wall, their fourth LP (and second released through Phoebe Bridgers’s Saddest Factory label), L.A. trio MUNA let their emotions run free under the club lights. Some people, like Stephen Sanchez, want to fill the world with LOVE, LOVE, LOVE; the debonair Nashville-based singer does just that on his swooning second album. Swedish pop auteur Lykke Li has implied that The Afterparty, her sixth full-length, may well be her last; with co-producers including Björn Yttling and Dave Sitek in tow, she’s not going away quietly.

Though they’ve been a near-constant presence on the road, you may be surprised to learn that Social Distortion’s last album came out back in 2011; 15 years and a cancer diagnosis (and recovery) for Mike Ness later, Born to Kill arrives with all the grit and thump you’d hope for from the Fullerton legends. Long Island combo The Lemon Twigs continue to hone their appealing sunshine pop on Look for Your Mind!; it follows the brothers’ recent collaboration with their journeyman songwriter father, and Brian D’Addario’s solo debut. New Zealand singer Aldous Harding makes some of the most wonderfully uncategorizable music out there; with Train on the Island, she continues her long-running collaboration with PJ Harvey associate John Parish. Another standout from this year’s NonComm lineup, recent Free at Noon guest Brother Wallace throws showstopping vocal acrobatics into high-energy soul on his debut, Electric Love.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

Broken Social Scene –
Remember the Humans

CHECK OUT: “Not Around Anymore”
“Hey Amanda”

MUNA –
Dancing on the Wall

CHECK OUT: “Dancing on the Wall”
“So What”

Stephen Sanchez –
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

CHECK OUT: “Sweet Love”
“Love, Love Love”

Lykke Li –
The Afterparty

CHECK OUT: “Lucky Again”
“Knife in the Heart”

Social Distortion –
Born to Kill

CHECK OUT:
“Born to Kill”
“Partners in Crime”

The Lemon Twigs –
Look for Your Mind!

CHECK OUT:
“I Just Can’t Get Over Losing You”
“2 or 3”

Aldous Harding –
Train on the Island

CHECK OUT: “One Stop”
“Venus in the Zinnia”

Brother Wallace –
Electric Love

CHECK OUT: “Who’s That?”
“Electric Love”

FURTHER LISTENING

Adam Gaffney & the Balladeers – Product of Another Sad Song, Basement – WIRED, Bosh Rothman – Joshua EP, Camera Obscura – Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi (Reissue), Chinese American Bear – Dim Sum & Then Some, Cola – Cost of Living Adjustment, Daughn Gibson – Lake Mary not mysterious, Deb Never – Arcade, Frozen Soul – No Place of Warmth, Griffin Brown – Begriffen, The Haunted Youth – Boys Cry Too, India Ramey – Villain Era EP, Josh Groban – Cinematic, Kid Sistr – American Teenage Prophecy, Loraine James – Detached from the Rest of You, Maximilian – Diurnals EP, Namasenda – Limbo, Neil Diamond – Wild at Heart, Olof Dreijer – Loud Boom, runo plum – Bloom Again EP, sadie – Better Angels, Seu Jorge – The Other Side, Stix Hooper – Cookin’ Up the Groove, Trippers & Askers – Tried to Do’s, Unwed Sailor – High Remembrance, War on Women – Time Under Tension

Mayday! Mayday! First new albums of the month incoming!!

Employing medieval imagery for a parable that feels strangely contemporary, Tori Amos spins tales of caution and community on In Times of Dragons. The Black Keys take another run through their deep knowledge of blues rock on the covers collection Peaches!. Leaning back into her earlier country style, Kacey Musgraves sounds perfectly at home on Middle of Nowhere. Joined by collaborators like Bruce Hornsby, Iron & Wine, and members of Dawes and Bonny Light Horseman, MC Taylor finds himself in good company on Hiss Golden Messenger’s I’m People.

Acting as sole producer for the first time in her career, Jesca Hoop steps out of her comfort zone on Long Wave Home. Originally recorded in 2010, Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band deliver surprises on Time, including a previously unreleased Bill Withers composition. Weird Nightmare began as the solo project of METZ’s Alex Edkins; on Hoopla, the Toronto musician goes all-in on melodic noise-pop. On their self-titled third album, youbet breathe fresh life into grungy, guitar-forward shredders.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

Tori Amos –
In Times of Dragons

CHECK OUT: “Stronger Together”
“Gasoline Girls”

The Black Keys –
Peaches!

CHECK OUT: “You Got to Lose”
“Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire”

Kacey Musgraves –
Middle of Nowhere

CHECK OUT: “Dry Spell”
“Middle of Nowhere”

Hiss Golden Messenger –
I’m People

CHECK OUT: “In the Middle of It”
“Shaky Eyes”

Jesca Hoop –
Long Wave Home

CHECK OUT: “Caravan”
“Big Storm”

Taj Mahal –
Time

CHECK OUT: “Time”
“Wild About My Lovin’”

Weird Nightmare –
Hoopla

CHECK OUT: “Forever Elsewhere”
“Might See You There”

youbet –
youbet

CHECK OUT: “Ground Kiss”
“Receive”

FURTHER LISTENING

American Football – American Football (LP4), Arturo Sandoval – SANGÚ, The Boo Radleys – In Spite of Everything, The Claypool Lennon Delirium – The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy, DoYeon Kim – Wellspring, Easy Honey – Plaid EP. Eli Moore – The Power Line, Eric Gabriel – Lucky Day Roadrunner, Face of Ancient Gallery – Like Kites, Florence Dore – Hold the Spark, Furii – Pyromancy, Gemma – Be About It, Gottleib – The Far Fallen Fruit, The Head and the Heart – The Head and the Heart (Deluxe Edition), The High Curbs – HIGH SPEED, Jump Source – Fold, The Klezmatics – We Were Made for These Times, La Doña – Corrientes, Laibach – Musick, Lip Critic – Theft World, Modern Woman – Johnny’s Dreamworld, Moon Walker – Wasteland Country, Mýa – Retrospect, Paisley Fields – Are U Mad at Me, Pope – BFM, Portrayal of Guilt – …Beginning of the End, Ritchie Newtown – Higher Power, The Saddest Landscape – Alone with Heaven, Scott Fisher – A Billion Suns, The Sleeves – The Sleeves, Sub*T – How My Own Voice Sounds, Toadies – The Charmer, Valley Boy – Children of Divorce, Young the Giant – Victory Garden, Various Artists – Let’s Go Dancing: Stopped a Freight Train with a Grain of Sand

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

Shamir: “Father” (The Key Studio Sessions)