This Week's Top 10 New Releases
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New week, new stack. Here's what dropped, the tracklists, and what we think of each one. (Cover art coming shortly, we're having a technical hiccup getting images uploaded, so bear with us.)
1. This Is Lorelei — The Singer in My Band
Label: Double Double Whammy | Critics: 79 vs Fans: 72
Nate Amos's project as This Is Lorelei follows up last year's breakout Box for Buddy, Box for Star with a shaggier, more collaged record built from home demos and loose studio sessions. Still that same wobbly, deeply melodic songwriting underneath, just messier around the edges this time. A worthy, if less immediate, follow-up.
Tracklist: 1. Dracula, 2. Angel's Eye, 3. Where the Wind Blows, 4. Don't You Cry, 5. The Singer In My Band, 6. Two Legs, 7. All My Life, 8. The Sun's Gonna Shine, 9. Crayola, 10. Perfect Hand, 11. My Own World
2. Bonobo — Distance in Static
Label: Ninja Tune | Critics: 73 vs Fans: 73
Simon Green's eighth album, written mostly on long solo hikes and built to feel wide-open and spacious, less club-facing than Fragments, more ambient downtempo. Not a huge stylistic swing, but a warm, well-crafted one for anyone who likes their electronic music to breathe.
Tracklist: 1. Distance In Static, 2. First Light, 3. Age Of, 4. Otherwhere, 5. Slow Fade, 6. Quiet Hours, 7. Pale Horizon, 8. Ground Level, 9. Wide Open, 10. Static Bloom
3. The Tubs — Hard Life
Label: Trouble in Mind Records | Critics: 85 vs Fans: 67
The Welsh jangle-punk outfit's second album, and one of the best-reviewed releases of the week by a mile. Sharper, tighter and more melodic than their debut, with frontman Owen Williams's wry, self-lacerating lyrics doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Critics are all over this one; get in before it blows up further.
Tracklist: 1. Illusion, 2. I Don't Know How It Works, 3. Wretched Lie, 4. Chain Reaction, 5. Round the Bend, 6. Pain, 7. Strange, 8. A Windowless Room, 9. Sniveling Face, 10. Wild Ride, 11. Dead Tired
4. Green Lung — Necropolitan
Label: Nuclear Blast | Critics: 90 vs Fans: 79
Our pick of the week. The London occult-rock outfit's fourth album, and the highest critic score of the batch. Big, riff-heavy Sabbath-worship with a genuinely theatrical streak, think graveyard gothic meets arena rock. If you're into doom or stoner rock at all, this is an easy, confident recommendation.
Tracklist: 1. Necropolitan, 2. Bat Kingdom, 3. The Forgotten Fen, 4. Mausoleum Mind, 5. Fable of the Fallen King, 6. Cloak & Dagger, 7. Ghosts of the Living, 8. Silver Tongue, 9. The Ballad of Yates, 10. Old Gods
5. Natanya — ATTITUDE ERA!
Critics: 80 vs Fans: 79
A wild, maximalist pop-punk-meets-hyperpop record, loud and chaotic in the best way, drawing from early 2000s wrestling and internet culture as much as it does music. Strong scores across the board and a really fun, distinct listen if you want something that doesn't sound like anything else on this list.
6. Bloc Party — Anatomy of a Brief Romance
Label: Infectious Music | Critics: 60 vs Fans: 36
The London post-punk vets' latest, and easily the most divisive release of the week, fans have been especially rough on it. A concept record tracing a relationship start to finish, more polished and restrained than their spikier early work, which seems to be exactly what's rubbing longtime fans the wrong way.
7. bleood — haunted hills
Fans: 72 (no critic score yet)
A hazy, lo-fi bedroom project blending shoegaze fuzz with quieter, more intimate songwriting. Still building an audience, but the kind of record that rewards people who go looking for it rather than having it handed to them.
8. shteppi — grl.
Fans: 76 (no critic score yet)
A short, sharp hyperpop-adjacent EP, glitchy production and blunt, diaristic lyrics. Another one of this week's more internet-native releases, built for quick, repeat listens rather than a long sit-down.
9. Asia Menor — Vaho
Fans: 84 (no critic score yet)
Chilean indie/post-punk outfit's latest, moody and atmospheric with a strong sense of place. One of the best fan scores of the week despite flying almost entirely under critics' radar so far, worth seeking out if you like discovering things early.
10. Haruomi Hosono — Yours Sincerely
Label: Victor Entertainment | Critics: 78 vs Fans: 73
The legendary Yellow Magic Orchestra co-founder, still putting out genuinely lovely, understated work well into his seventies. Warm, gentle, exotica-tinged pop from one of Japanese music's true elder statesmen. A quiet, graceful way to close out this week's list.
That's the stack for this week. Grab whatever's calling to you and we'll be back next Friday with another ten. (Cover art getting added as soon as our image upload issue clears up!)