Labor Day is in the rearview, which means summer is unofficially over and we’ve got one last season of 2025. That means it’s time for our list of 72 albums that we’re anticipating this fall. We (mostly) stuck to albums with confirmed release dates, but we’re also always keeping our fingers crossed for Joanna Newsom, My Bloody Valentine, Frank Ocean, Sky Ferreira, Rihanna, King Diamond / Mercyful Fate, LCD Soundsystem, D’Angelo, Kate Bush, Thursday, another one from The Cure, and other long-teased albums. We also just learned we’ll have to wait until (at least) January for the Lana Del Rey country album that’s changed titles three times.
Read on for the list, in alphabetical order, and let us know which albums you’re looking forward to this fall…
The Acacia Strain – You Are Safe From God Here
due 10/24 via Rise
As death metal and hardcore continue to mix, The Acacia Strain’s combination of those genres has emerged as an important predecessor to the new wave(s), and TAS remain totally tapped in to the future of these genres, as you can see from the amazing support lineups they’re always putting together. You Are Safe From God Here is their 13th album, and all the singles we’ve heard find them meeting the moment. We’ve also got an exclusive “mattal gear solid” vinyl variant of this one up for pre-order.
AFI – Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…
due 10/3 via Run For Cover
AFI have long mixed punk with ’80s goth, and Davey Havok and Jade Puget’s Blaqk Audio is full-on classic goth, but AFI themselves haven’t gone all in on ’80s goth the way they do on Silver Bleeds the Black Sun‘s lead single “Behind the Clock.” It seems like the new album is gonna be one of the band’s most drastic shifts in a very long time.
Agriculture – The Spiritual Sound
due 10/3 via The Flenser
Agriculture are one of the most interesting bands in US black metal right now. For The Spiritual Sound, they make black metal that dabbles in slowcore, sludge, noise, post-rock, psychedelia, and more, with lyrics that tackle trans rights and Zen Buddhism. It’s gonna be a trip.
Algernon Cadwallader – Trying Not to Have a Thought
due 9/12 via Saddle Creek
Emo revival OGs Algernon Cadwallader made a triumphant return to the stage a few years ago, and now they’re set to release their first new album in 14 years! Lead single “Hawk” is about as classic Algernon as it gets.
Amanda Shires – Nobody’s Girl
due 9/26 via ATO
One of our favorite country-leaning songwriters around is about to release her first album since her divorce from Jason Isbell (who released his own divorce album earlier this year). Judging by the singles, this might be Amanda’s most heartbreaking album yet.
Anna Von Hausswolff – ICONOCLASTS
due 10/31 via YEAR0001
Swedish musician and composer Anna Von Hausswolff enlisted some exciting guests for her new album, including Iggy Pop and Ethel Cain. She calls “The Whole Woman” ft. Iggy “a love ballad for the rebels,” saying of Iggy, “Instead of giving him another rock anthem to sing on, I wanted to honour the sensitive, thoughtful mind behind the legend. The man I met, who immediately made me laugh and touched my soul with his depth and genuine kindness.”
Bar Italia – Some Like It Hot
due 10/17 via Matador
London trio Bar Italia have, thus far, played the Enigmatic card, not taking proper press photos, strange song structures, not talking to the audience, etc, but with Some Like it Hot they seem to be ready for their close-up. Still cool, no longer coy.
The Bats – Corner Coming Up
due 10/17 via Flying Nun
The Bats are New Zealand indie royalty, having made jangly guitar pop with the same lineup for over 40 years. Corner Coming Up is the band’s 11th album and judging by the singles, their signature sound remains resilient.
Baxter Dury – Allbarone
due 9/12 via Heavenly
Baxter Dury, son of the great Ian Dury, has dabbled in dance music before, including an album with Etienne De Crecy, but on his eighth long-player he’s gone full electro. Helping his transformation is producer Paul Epworth who is most famous for working with Adele and Florence but has also twiddled knobs for FKA twigs, Bloc Party, The Futureheads and more. “I don’t want to say it’s contemporary, because I sound like a cunt using that word,” Baxter says of Allbarone. “But it does sound really contemporary. It doesn’t sound like a band made it all. Which is what I wanted most of all. It’s just something that’s brand new for me. It’s quite exciting, really.”
The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes are the Ghost Nation
due 10/10 via Full Time Hobby
“I feel like it’s a very formidable title, symbolic of the times,” says Besnard Lakes co-leader Jace Lasek, who composed and produced the Montreal band’s seventh album with partner Olga Goreas. “It’s talking about the death of nations, the threat of Canada being the 51st state. There is the desire to be left alone, to let community be community, all of those things that feel like they might be under siege; that’s what the ghost nation is.” It’s also about magisterial rock as only The Besnard Lakes can do.
Black Eyes – Hostile Design
due 10/10 via Dischord
DC post-hardcore/art punk vets Black Eyes returned in 2023 for their first shows since 2004, a reissue, and archival releases, and now they announced their first new album in 21 years. Like their first two albums, it was produced by Ian MacKaye, and lead single “Pestilence” has them sounding as chaotic as ever.
Big Thief – Double Infinity
due 9/5 via 4AD
The ever-changing Big Thief’s first album in over three years arrives this month, and the songs released so far sound like the start of a whole new era for this band.
Biohazard – Divided We Fall
due 10/17 via BLKIIBLK
Divided We Fall will be Brooklyn hardcore/metal veterans Biohazard’s first album in 13 years, and the singles have found this band kicking a lot more ass than you might’ve guessed they would in 2025. If you’re as excited as we are, pre-order our exclusive white/black corona vinyl variant.
Bright Eyes – Kids Table EP
due 9/26 via Dead Oceans
Bright Eyes’ new EP comes almost exactly a year after last year’s great Five Dice, All Threes, and among its eight tracks are a ska song, a Lucinda Williams cover, and a beautiful duet with Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Segarra, which is rich with melancholic twang.
Cardi B – Am I The Drama?
due 9/19 via Atlantic
IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING. Over seven years and multiple hit singles since Invasion of Privacy, the Cardi B album is actually coming out. Two of those massive singles are on the album (“WAP” and “Up”), along with over 20 other new songs.
Cardiacs – LSD
due 9/19 via Alphabet Business Concern
Cardiacs’ first album in over 25 years has been in the works since before bandleader Tim Smith’s 2020 death, and they’ve finally finished it. Cardiacs are one of the most delightfully weird rock bands we’ve ever heard (their mixed progressive rock and punk caused some people to call them “pronk”), and we are beyond curious to hear what kind of strange brew Tim was stirring before his death. Also, the album has a few cool guest contributors, including Pinback’s Rob Crow.
Cate Le Bon – Michelangelo Dying
due 9/26 via Mexican Summer
Cate Le Bon says her seventh album — and first in three years — was the product of “all-consuming heartache” and became a sort of exorcism. She leaned on regular collaborator Euan Hinshelwood, whose guitar is “the voice that takes over when words are too concrete for the feeling,” and the album also features contributions from another notable Welsh musician, John Cale, and phenomenal drummer Valentina Magaletti.
The Chameleons – Arctic Moon
due 9/12 via Metropolis Records
Mark Burgess has kept some version of The Chameleons going since the band reformed at the start of the millennium, but Arctic Moon is the group’s first album in 24 years (and last one was their first in 15 years). “Arctic Moon signals a departure from the sound of earlier Chameleons albums,” Burgess says, adding it “represents a new chapter.” Album single “Saviors Are a Dangerous Thing” sounds like The Chameleons to our ears, though.
The Charlatans – We Are Love
due 10/31 via BMG
For their 14th album and first in eight years, Manchester greats The Charlatans headed to Wales’ Rockfield Studio — a bittersweet location where they made their 1997 album Tellin’ Stories and where keyboardist Rob Collins died in a car wreck during the making of. They tapped Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes to produce, with additional knob-twiddling by Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur) and Fred Macpherson, and the excellent, jangly title track finds them in good spirits.
Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo – In The Earth Again
due 10/31 via Computer Students
Sludgy noise rockers Chat Pile and Texas fingerstyle guitarist Hayden Pedigo have come together for a collaborative album, of which Hayden says: “We all wanted to avoid the downfall you see in a lot of collab records. We didn’t want this record to either end up primarily sounding like one of us more than the other.” Judging by the sludgy Americana slowcore of lead single “Radioactive Dreams,” I’d say they achieved their goal.
Daniel Avery – Tremor
due 10/31 via Domino
Techno great Daniel Avery is switching things up on his first album in three years, signing to Domino after years on Phantasy/Mute, and letting his love of shoegaze and rock come to the forefront. Guests include Andy Bell (Ride), Alison Mosshart (The Kills), yeule, Walter Schreifels (Quicksand / Gorilla Biscuits), rising UK shoegazers bdrmm, Julie Dawson (NewDad), Ellie, yuné pinku, Art School Girlfriend, and more. “This is a record for the post-rave comedown kids, the guitar heads and anyone else who wants to come along for the ride,” says Daniel. “Everyone is welcome.”
David Byrne – Who Is the Sky?
due 9/5 via Matador
Fresh off performing with Olivia Rodrigo, David Byrne announced his first solo album in seven years, Who Is the Sky?. It was made in collaboration with New York chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra and producer Kid Harpoon, and it also features Paramore’s Hayley Williams, St. Vincent, Tom Skinner (The Smile), Mauro Refosco (Atoms For Peace), and more. Lead single “Everybody Laughs” finds the former Talking Head delivering the kind of polyrhythmic pop he’s excelled at since Remain In Light.
Drain – …Is Your Friend
due 11/7 via Epitaph
No other band in the current hardcore scene is like Drain. They can veer into Pantera-esque groove metal but they never sound evil; it’s always fun in the sun for this California band. …Is Your Friend is their third album, and the singles have been some of their most addictive songs to date. We’ve also got an exclusive “patina rust splash” vinyl variant of this one up for pre-order.
Eliza McLamb – Good Story
due 10/24 via Royal Mountain
“I carved out room and brought in new songs that felt fresher, able to pick up on ideas outside of this compulsion to build a personal narrative,” Eliza McLamb says of the follow-up to 2024’s great Going Through It. “But then I wrote all these songs about the compulsion to make a personal narrative.” She recorded Good Story with Sarah Tudzin of illuminati hotties, and from what we’ve heard so far, it has her making more appealing indie rock.
Erykah Badu & The Alchemist – Abi & Alan
due ?? via Control Freaq/EMPIRE
Erykah Badu’s long-awaited new album–a collaboration with the prolific post-boom bap producer The Alchemist–was supposed to drop on August 29, but Erykah posted a message on Instagram that day that the album has been delayed. No word yet on a new release date, but here’s to hoping one of our most anticipated albums of 2025 drops before the year ends!
Fleshwater – 2000: In Search Of The Endless Sky
due 9/5 via Closed Casket Activities
Fleshwater have quickly become one of our favorite bands in the grunge/shoegaze/post-hardcore crossover space–they were a perfect fit when they opened for Deftones earlier this year, and we expect their new album to make a great double feature with that band’s excellent new album too.
Florence + The Machine – Everybody Scream
due 10/31 via Republic
Florence + The Machine worked on her sixth album with Mitski, The National’s Aaron Dessner, and IDLES’ Mark Bowen. The spooky title track, which she co-wrote with Mitski and Bowen, feels extra appropriate for a Halloween release date.
Geese – Getting Killed
due 9/26 via Partisan
Geese frontman Cameron Winter’s fantastic December solo album defies easy categorization, and it looks like the band’s third album, Getting Killed, is shaping up to be just as surprising, in a very good way. The singles we’ve heard so far veer off in different directions, from the soaring, anthemic “Taxes” to the chaotic, percussive “100 Horses.” A retread of 3D Country this definitely isn’t.
Georgia Maq – God’s Favourite
due 9/4 via 1000 Rats
Former Camp Cope leader Georgia Maq calls her new EP “the next big step for me,” and it finds her powerful voice and lyricism in full, devastating effect.
Good Luck – Big Dreams, Mister
due 10/17 via Lauren Records
Algernon Cadwallader isn’t the only band from the OG emo revival era whose first album in 14 years comes out this year. Their old friends Good Luck are releasing their first album in the same amount of time, and in fact, they recorded it with Algernon guitarist Joe Reinhart. You should get excited for this one, but don’t listen to us. Listen to Jeff Rosenstock, who said, “It exists in the rarified air of Superchunk’s fantastic post-hibernation record Majesty Shredding and not those ‘why would they do this?’ reunion records of beloved bands whomst shall go unnamed.”
Guerilla Toss – You’re Weird Now
due 9/12 via Sub Pop
If nothing else, Guerilla Toss’ new album will be known as the record where Stephen Malkmus and Trey Anastasio finally appear on a song together. The Pavement frontman produced You’re Weird Now while the Phish frontman co-owns the Vermont studio where it was made. The two notable noodlers don’t seem to have changed Guerilla Toss too much, at least judging from the song they’re on, ”Red Flag to Angry Bull.”
Ivy – Traces of You
due 9/5 via Bar-None
“The world thought IVY was gone after 2012, and for a time we did too,” says Andy Chase of Ivy, a band who haven’t put out a record in 13 years and whose time seemed to be permanently over with the 2020 death of cofounder Adam Schlesinger.“So Dominique and I are thrilled to give everyone a brand new IVY album, with our beloved Adam playing on every song!” While working on Ivy reissues, Chase and singer Dominique Durand stumbled across a box of reel-to-reel tapes featuring unreleased songs. They got ahold of Ivy keyboardist/guitarist Bruce Driscoll to help bring these songs back to life. As Chase mentions, every song features Adam Schlesinger on bass with his family’s blessing.
Jay Som – Belong
due 10/10 via Polyvinyl
Melina Duterte has been busy in the six years since her last album as Jay Som, 2019’s Anak Ko — as a producer, audio engineer, and as part of boygenius’ touring band. She also wrote, composed, performed, produced, engineered her new album, Belong, and it also features some exciting guests, including Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Adkins, and Mini Trees’ Lexi Vega. “This record is essentially still me, but a lot of choices were made by friends who helped me, because I trusted them,” Duterte says.
Jeff Tweedy – Twilight Override
due 9/26 via dBpm Records
Jeff Tweedy has been looking to combat this oppressive sense of doom that is hanging over much of the world through song. “Whatever it is out there (or in there) squeezing this ennui into my day, it’s fucking overwhelming. It’s difficult to ignore. Twilight Override is my effort to overwhelm it right back.” He means “overwhelm,” too,” as Twilight Override is a 30-song triple album. “Here are the songs and sounds and voices and guitars and words that are an effort to let go of some of the heaviness and up the wattage on my own light.”
Joan Shelley – Real Warmth
due 9/19 via No Quarter
Joan Shelley is one of the most consistently great modern torch-carriers for late ’60s / early ’70s style folk music, and the two singles from her upcoming tenth album Real Warmth are as gorgeous as Joan’s music ever is.
Joshua Ray Walker – Stuff
due 10/17 via East Dallas
Country singer Joshua Ray Walker already released one great album this year with Tropicana–a self-proclaimed “beach country” album that he said was inspired by when he was (successfully!) undergoing chemotherapy, and all he wanted to do was be on a beach and see palm trees–and now he captures the more contemplative side of his cancer journey on the quieter, more stripped-back Stuff. A press release says it was inspired by “the indie music he listened to as a teenager like Bon Iver, Beirut, and The Postal Service.”
Just Mustard – WE WERE JUST HERE
due 10/31 via Partisan
Irish electronic/shoegazy group Just Mustard are letting a little more light in on their third album. Singles “POLYANNA” and the WE WERE JUST HERE title track find those bright and dark sides in good balance.
Kieran Hebden & William Tyler – 41 Longfield Street Late ‘80s
due 9/19 via Temporary Residence Ltd
Four Tet (Kieran Hebden) and William Tyler first met at Bonnaroo in 2013 and have been planning a record ever since, which finally came to be thanks to the pandemic. “The main influence was found when we discovered a shared deep connection to ‘80s American country and folk music – artists like Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, and Joe Ely,” says Hebden. “Our idea for the album was to make music that focused on that influence and brought it to the front of our awareness.”
La Dispute – No One Was Driving The Car
due 9/5 via Epitaph
The ever-ambitious post-hardcore band La Dispute’s first album in six years is a multi-act concept album and the new singles find the band in great form. We’ve also got an exclusive tri-color vinyl variant of this one up for pre-order.
The Last Dinner Party – From The Pyre
due 10/17 via Island
London baroque pop outfit The Last Dinner Party say their second album “feels a little darker, more raw and more earthy; it takes place looking out at a sublime landscape rather than seated at an opulent table. It also feels metatextual and cheeky in places, like a knowing look reflected back at ourselves.” They’re in fully dramatic form on this first single, “This is the Killer Speaking.”
The Lemonheads – Love Chant
due 10/24 via Fire Records
It’s been nearly two decades since Evan Dando has made a Lemonheads album of original material, but after a few years of promises, it’s finally finished. Love Chant has a lot of familiar faces on it, including J Mascis, Juliana Hatfield, The Bevis Frond’s Nick Saloman, and Adam Green.
Liquid Mike – Hell Is An Airport
due 9/12 via self-release
Marquette, Michigan guitar-slingers Liquid Mike have made a name for themselves as torch-carriers of power-poppy, ’90s-style alt-rock, and the singles from their upcoming album Hell Is An Airport have all been a blast. If you’re unfamiliar but you’re into Guided by Voices, Weezer, Superchunk, Sugar, Sebadoh, etc, this might be right up your alley.
Madi Diaz – Fatal Optimist
due 10/10 via ANTI-
Madi Diaz’s “heartache trilogy,” which she began with 2021’s fantastic History of a Feeling, will conclude with Fatal Optimist next month. It’s mostly Diaz alone with her acoustic guitar, and she doesn’t need much more than that to leave an impression.
Makaya McCraven – Off the Record
due 10/31 via International Anthem/Nonesuch/XL
Makaya McCraven is one of the leading trailblazers in modern-day jazz, and for this next project, he’ll be releasing four “distinct yet interconnected” EPs that he’s also compiling as a full-length album called Off the Record. It’s hard to sum this project up in a short blurb so read more about it here.
Maruja – Pain to Power
due 9/12 via Music For Nations
After a string of impressive EPs, the undefinable UK band Maruja are set to release their debut album. Recent single “Look Down On Us” is a 10-minute protest song that touches on almost everything Maruja have proven to be capable of: punk, jazz, prog, spoken word, hip hop, experimental art rock, and more. If that’s just one song on this album, it should be needless to say that we’re excited to hear more.
Mavis Staples – Sad and Beautiful World
due 11/7 via ANTI-
Mavis Staples’ 14th solo album boasts a pretty exciting list of guests, including Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, MJ Lenderman, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, and Derek Trucks. Her own voice has lost none of its power either, and the two covers she’s shared so far, of Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed” and Kevin Morby’s “Beautiful Strangers,” are beautiful and transformative.
Midlake – A Bridge To Far
due 11/7 via Midlake Records / Believe
For their sixth album, Texas baroque psych band Midlake worked with producer Sam Evian at Austin’s The Echo Lab. Frontman Eric Pulido notes the album title (“To” not “Too”) is not a typo. “Escapism can be a double edged sword but the desire is to encourage it for good,” Pulido says. “To just play in the room together and capture an authentic interpretation of songs is a great joy and on this album we did just that. Stylistically there’s familiarity in places we’ve been as a band in the past as well as new places…we’re still here and grateful for that and so much more.”
Militarie Gun – God Save the Gun
due 10/17 via Loma Vista
Militarie Gun skyrocketed to the forefront of the recent hardcore/alt-rock crossover thing that’s been going on with 2023’s Life Under the Gun, and the singles from its followup God Save the Gun suggest that Ian Shelton & co. have sharpened their pop sensibilities even further since then.
Modern Life Is War – Life On The Moon
due 9/5 via Deathwish/Iodine
The past two decades of melodic hardcore would sound a lot different without Modern Life Is War’s influence, and though the band have been active, they haven’t released a full-length album since 2013. That finally changes in September.
Nation of Language – Dance Called Memory
due 9/19 via Sub Pop
For their fourth album and first for Sub Pop, NYC synthpop trio Nation of Language worked with Nick Millhiser of Holy Ghost! to take their music somewhere new. “In this era quickly being defined by the rise of AI supplanting human creators I’m focusing more on the human condition, and I need the underlying music to support that,” says frontman Ian Devaney. “Instead of hopelessness, I want to leave the listener with a feeling of us really seeing one another, that our individual struggles can actually unite us in empathy.”
Neko Case – Neon Grey Midnight Green
due 9/26 via ANTI-
Neon Grey Midnight Green is Neko Case’s first album since 2018, and she says it’s “for and about musicians” and “a love letter and a testimony.” Her voice sounds as powerful as ever on the songs we’ve heard so far, with lush, varied musical backing. “I’m proud to say I produced this record,” she says, adding, “It is my vision. It is my veto power. It is my taste.”
Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares soundtrack
due 9/19 via Interscope
Unlike the rest of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross prolific work scoring films over the last 20 years, the Tron: Ares soundtrack is credited to Nine Inch Nails, and it’s also the band’s first new music in five years. The first preview, “As Alive As You Need Me To Be,” totally rips.
Prewn – System
due 10/3 via Exploding in Sound
Prewn’s 2023 album Through the Window was one of our favorites of that year, and she calls the follow-up a “private journal made public.” From what we’ve heard so far, she’s still melding the sounds of freak folk with ramshackle guitars like no one else.
Robert Plant – Saving Grace
due 9/26 via Nonesuch
Robert Plant has remained a powerhouse all throughout his post-Led Zeppelin days, and he’s now gearing up to release the self-titled debut album by his new band Saving Grace. It’s mostly made up of covers and reinterpretations of other people’s songs, including songs by blues legend Blind Willie Johnson, Zeppelin peers Moby Grape, newer (than Led Zeppelin) indie bands Low and The Low Anthem, and more.
Saint Etienne – International
due 9/5 via Heavenly
After 35 years of heavenly pop, Saint Etienne have decided to call it a day. They’re not “breaking up,” per se, as Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and Sarah Crackness remain great friends, but they’re ceasing operations. They’re going out with a bang, with one last album. International was co-produced by the band and Tim Powell of hitmakers Xenomania, who worked on 2012’s fabulous Words & Music. International is also packed with guest collaborators, including Erasure‘s Vince Clarke, The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands, Doves’ Jez Williams, Haircut 100‘s Nick Heyward, Erol Alkan, Confidence Man‘s Janet Planet, Orbital‘s Paul Hartnoll, and more.
Saturdays At Your Place – These Things Happen
due 9/12 via Wax Bodega
The same day the new Algernon record drops, we get a new album from one of the most promising new emo bands, Saturdays At Your Place. 2023’s Always Cloudy EP felt like a pivotal breakthrough for SAYP and this is their first full-length since.
Shame – Cutthroat
due 9/5 via Dead Oceans
Shame frontman Charlie Steen says his band’s fourth album is “about the cowards, the cunts, the hypocrites. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of them around right now.” For this one they worked with producer John Congleton to take more risks, mixing rock with more electronic elements.
Sloan – Based on the Best Seller
due 9/27 via Murderrecords / Yep Roc
“It’s not a challenge to make a 14th album,” says Sloan guitarist Jay Ferguson. “But sometimes it’s a challenge to think of a new overarching theme for a 14th album.” At this point Sloan, whose four members are all talented songwriters and singers, don’t really need a theme. News of a new album is enough.
Snooper – Worldwide
due 10/3 via Third Man
“The whole idea behind this record was experimentation and change,” says Snooper’s Connor Cummins of the band’s new album Worldwide. One big change was unlike previous records, which they made at home on their laptop, they went to Los Angeles to record with in-demand producer John Congleton. Judging by the title track, Congleton didn’t do much to temper Snooper’s wild hyperactive energy or mix of punk with low-fi laptop electronics.
The Sound of Animals Fighting – The Maiden
due 9/12 via Born Losers
Experimental post-hardcore band supergroup The Sound of Animals Fighting (members of RX Bandits, Circa Survive, L.S. Dunes, etc) returned with their first new music in 14 years on 2022’s Apeshit EP, and now they’re set to release their first full-length album in 17 years. No band does it like this band does, and even with a few singles out, there’s still no way to predict what kinds of twists and turns this album will offer.
Sorry – COSPLAY
due 11/7 via Domino
“We died when we started writing this album,” say Sorry in regards to COSPLAY, their third long-player. Not actual death, of course, but perhaps a creative death and rebirth, though the songs released from it don’t sound all that different from the creative, bummed-out pop of their first two records. Bandleaders Asha Lorenz and Louis O’Bryen co-produced most of this album with Wet Leg collaborator Dan Carey, and those singles, bummed out as they are, make us want to hear the rest of it.
Soulwax – All Systems Are Lying
due 10/17 via DEEWEE
Soulwax’s Steve and David Dewaele call All Systems Are Lying “a rock album made without any electric guitars,” adding, “We wanted to capture the feeling of a band playing electronic instruments — live, loud and loose. This record is the result of that experiment.” Live, loud and loose as it may be, what we’ve heard so far also bears the impeccable stamp of Soulwax’s mastery of sound.
Spiritual Cramp – RUDE
due 10/24 via Blue Grape Music
San Francisco’s Spiritual Cramp made one of the most fun rock records of 2023, hearkening back to the early-’00s days of The Hives, The Strokes and Electric Six. For its follow-up they tapped John Congleton to help them elevate the party vibes, and got Sharon Van Etten to sing on “You’ve Got My Number.”
The Starting Line – Eternal Youth
due 9/26 via Lineage
Emo/pop punk vets The Starting Line ended their career on their most adventurous note (2007’s Direction), and doing so always left us wondering what they might’ve done next if they didn’t break up. Now, they’re finally releasing their first new album in 18 years, and so far the album’s pre-release singles only strengthen their legacy.
Sudan Archives – THE BPM
due 10/17 via Stones Throw
Sudan Archives’ 2022 sophomore album Natural Brown Prom Queen was one of our favorites of that year, and for its follow up she’s introducing a new persona, “Gadget Girl,” and delivering her “rap rap song,” and more futuristic R&B. “I was never the girl in a band in high school – I could only express myself for the first time when I got my first iPad and started making beats on it, and when I got my first electric violin,” she says. “I’m all gadget girled out now, but I’ve never felt so free as a human.”
Suede – Antidepressants
due 9/5 via BMG
“If Autofiction was our punk record, Antidepressants is our post-punk record,” says Suede frontman Brett Anderson of the Britpop vets’ 10th album. “It’s about the tensions of modern life, the paranoia, the anxiety, the neurosis. We are all striving for connection in a disconnected world. This was the feel I wanted the songs to have. The album is called Antidepressants. This is broken music for broken people.”
Taylor Swift – The Life of a Showgirl
due 10/3 via Republic
After working with Jack Antonoff and The National’s Aaron Dessner on her last few albums, Taylor Swift reunited with Max Martin and Shellback for The Life of a Showgirl. Their previous credits include “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off,” and it looks like we can expect more pop bangers. During her recent appearance on her new fiancee and his brother’s New Heights podcast, she said one of her goals was to create “melodies that were so infectious that you’re almost angry.”
They Are Gutting a Body of Water – LOTTO
due 10/17 via Julia’s War/Smoking Room/ATO
TAGABOW have been a key part of the whole shoegaze resurgence that’s been going on, though really “shoegaze” feels like too limiting a word for this band’s noisy, post-genre approach. Their upcoming album LOTTO is their ATO debut.
Thrice – Horizons/West
due 10/3 via Epitaph
A new album from post-hardcore veterans Thrice is always gonna be exciting, and that’s even more true when the lead single (“Gnash”) is one of the band’s heaviest songs in years.
Today Is The Day – Never Give In
due 10/3 via SuperNova
The impossible-to-pigeonhole heavy/extreme music greats Today Is The Day haven’t released an album since 2020’s very good No Good To Anyone, and this fall we’ll finally get to hear more nasty darkness from Steve Austin & co.
Tribal Gaze – Inveighing Brilliance
due 10/17 via Nuclear Blast
Something’s in the hardcore/thrash/death metal water in Texas, and Tribal Gaze are one of the many killer bands to emerge from that Texas dust. They’ve been on fire, and Inveighing Brilliance‘s lead single “Beyond Recognition” suggests their sophomore album will keep that fire burning.
TRSH – String Theory
due 9/19 via Wax Bodega
Midwest emo band TRSH have been on the rise lately, and the new material they’ve released from their upcoming Wax Bodega debut has been their tightest and catchiest music yet.
Wednesday – Bleeds
due 9/19 via Dead Oceans
Wednesday bandleader Karly Hartzman calls Bleeds “the spiritual successor” to their 2023 breakthrough album Rat Saw God and adds, “This is what Wednesday songs are supposed to sound like. We’ve devoted a lot of our lives to figuring this out—and I feel like we did.” We’ve heard the album’s country side (“Elderberry Wine”) and its grungy, shoegazy side (“Wound Up Here [By Holdin On]”), and these songs already make good on Karly’s promise.