This Week's Top 10 New Releases
New week, new stack. Here's what dropped, the tracklists, and what we think of each one.
1. Quadeca — Life 1
Label: X8 Music | Critics: 90 vs Fans: 84
His fifth album and the follow-up to last year's acclaimed Vanisher, Horizon Scraper, and he's all over the place on this one in the best way, distorted breathing and abrasive guitar drones sitting next to warm electric piano, hip-hop and folk colliding on "Baby Steps," straight-up dance production on "Hell of a Time," flamenco guitar and jazz on the title track. Our pick of the week, genre-fluid and genuinely surprising front to back.
2. Dead Poet Society — Monarch
Label: Spinefarm Records | Critics: 90 vs Fans: 84
Third album, produced by Mutemath's Paul Meany and mixed by Adam Hawkins, and frontman Jack Underkofler said he wanted to "swing for the fences" on this one. You can hear it, this is their biggest, most emotionally wide-open record yet, weight and melody, vulnerability and defiance all crammed together. Tied for the highest critic score of the week.
Tracklist: 1. Hollywood On Fire, 2. Roach, 3. Die If You Don't, 4. Sinner Systems, 5. Lost, 6. Cold, 7. Psalm 136, 8. Dead On The Inside, 9. Miami For The Weekend, 10. Get Hot, 11. The Park, 12. The Art Of Suffering
3. Greg Freeman — All Set The Bone
Label: Transgressive | Critics: 84 vs Fans: 84
The Burlington, Vermont alt-country songwriter's follow-up to his well-loved 2022 debut I Looked Out, and a rare case of critics and fans landing in exactly the same place. Weathered, plainspoken songwriting with just enough fuzz and crunch around the edges to keep it from ever going twee. Consistently one of the best-reviewed records of the week.
Tracklist: 1. Cahokia, 2. Totaled, 3. Culture, 4. Withdrawn, 5. Indu, 6. Loser's Prize, 7. Hail Mary, 8. Decade, 9. Marooned, 10. Untitled 10, 11. Next To Nothing, 12. Costs, 13. Bury Me The Shovel
4. Wishy — Nature's Pill
Label: Winspear | Critics: 80 vs Fans: 75
Twelve tracks of the Indianapolis band's fuzzed-out, hooky shoegaze-pop, bigger and more confident than their 2024 debut Triple Seven without losing the scuzzy charm. Easy, melodic, and built for repeat listens, a solid one for anyone who likes their guitar pop a little blown-out.
Tracklist: 1. All The Rage, 2. Covergirl, 3. Sensational, 4. Shift, 5. You're Not Serious, 6. Mona Lisa, 7. Lovesick, 8. Freak 99, 9. Headscratcher, 10. Blitz, 11. Kiss Kiss Kiss, 12. Party World
5. Fat Dog — Cancel Me (I'm Tired)
Label: Domino | Critics: 76 vs Fans: 78
The chaotic London outfit's follow-up to their breakout debut Woof., and the title and tracklist ("Go Fuck Urself," "Bad Dog," "The Devil") tell you most of what you need to know about the mood. Unhinged, danceable, confrontational post-punk that doesn't take a breath for ten tracks straight.
Tracklist: 1. Smile and Wave, 2. Go Fuck Urself, 3. Cancel Me (I'm Tired), 4. Heart Of Darkness, 5. Shit Love, 6. Call It What You Want, 7. Snakes, 8. Bad Dog, 9. The Devil, 10. Aliens
6. Meshell Ndegeocello — Synonym
Label: Blue Note Records | Critics: 75 vs Fans: 87
Her third Blue Note record, and a covers album unlike most covers albums, fifteen tracks completely reimagined with a genuinely wild guest list: Cynthia Erivo, Cat Power, Chaka Khan, Brandi Carlile, ANOHNI, WILLOW and more, all produced by David Gamson, who worked on her earliest classics. She calls it an expression of queer liberation as a stand-in for liberation of all kinds. One of the best fan scores of the week by a wide margin.
Tracklist: 1. I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) feat. Cynthia Erivo, 2. Don't You Want Me feat. Cat Power, 3. Don't Stop The Music feat. Nick Hakim & Robert Glasper, 4. Islands In The Stream feat. Chaka Khan, 5. It Ain't Me Babe feat. Madison Cunningham, 6. Always on Time feat. Laura Lee, 7. Be Real Black For Me feat. Emily King & Lizz Wright, 8. Don't Look Any Further feat. Lianne La Havas, 9. The Closer I Get To You feat. Destin Conrad & Moses Sumney, 10. Golden Ring feat. Brandi Carlile, 11. I Got You Babe feat. ANOHNI, 12. Here We Come (Here He Comes) feat. Evann McIntosh, 13. Guilty feat. Ink, 14. Hunger Strike feat. WILLOW, 15. With God On Our Side feat. Bill Callahan & Chris Thile
7. Imminence — Axis Mundi
Label: Sumerian Records | Critics: 75 vs Fans: 77
Sixth album from the Swedish metalcore band, following 2024's The Black and built around what guitarist Harald Barrett calls a conversation between darkness and light. Produced with Drew Fulk (Twenty One Pilots, Knocked Loose), it's a record designed to be heard start to finish as one emotional arc rather than picked apart single by single.
Tracklist: 1. Twisting In The Wind, 2. The Sword That Never Bends, 3. Devil May Try, 4. Crestfallen, 5. False Light, 6. If Not Now, When, 7. Didn't Think About You (Lately), 8. Leviathan, 9. Shed Your Skin, 10. Power Divine, 11. Exodus
8. Johnny Marr — The Age of Everything
Label: BMG | Critics: 73 vs Fans: 64
The Smiths guitarist's fifth solo album, written in London, road-tested on tour up and down the East Coast, then tracked back home in Manchester. Marr says it's about cultural overwhelm and the possibility still sitting on the other side of it, and he's calling it the most "cathartic" solo record he's made. Opens with lead single "Spin."
9. Amon Amarth — The Allfather Awakens
Label: Metal Blade Records | Critics: 69 vs Fans: 70
The Swedish death metal legends recorded this one in two sessions with Jacob Hansen while actively touring, a first for them, and swapped their usual 5150 amps back for Marshalls to chase a less modern tone. Norse mythology and Odin as always, but framed as history rather than a straight concept record. Also features the band's first-ever acoustic track, "Upphaf."
Tracklist: 1. Gjallarhorn, 2. Eight Legs Of Thunder, 3. Kvasir's Blood, 4. We Rule The Waves, 5. Upphaf, 6. Die With A War Cry, 7. Raven God, 8. The Allfather Awakes, 9. Oden's Hunt, 10. Ascending Like An Eagle
10. Dev Lemons — hunting what we already killed
Fans: 84 (no critic score yet)
Eleven tracks, self-released, and one of the better fan scores of the week despite flying mostly under the radar so far. Moody, internet-native pop with an interlude tucked in the back half and song titles ("Eat The Pavement," "Ice The Bruise") that tell you this isn't exactly a feel-good record. Worth a look if you like finding things early.
That's the stack for this week. Grab whatever's calling to you and we'll see you next Friday.