Best Ever Albums

Re: Release Day Eve

musicoed — Thu, 1 Oct 2026 04:48:50 GMT

Author: musicoed

Posted: 10/01/2026 08:48

MadhattanJack wrote:

... But maybe it could also indicate that aging male pop musicians like Todd Rundgren are just hearing more women in a field where there used to be relatively few, and they're having some sort of male-ego panic reaction whereby they think women are "taking over, OMG!!!" when they're really just bringing things into the kind of balance that should have been the norm in the first place.

I agree—balance is the key word in this whole story.
Men need women and vice versa; it is a condition for the survival of the species. I have no doubt that I enjoy female voices just as much as male ones.
I don’t think Todd Rundgren has anything against women in music. He opposes the mediocrity that gets hidden behind attractive female faces—using them like masks. I am well aware of the current state of women's rights globally. Yet, no matter how hard the world tries, women remain the physically weaker sex. This means they are still easier to manipulate. So, in my view, there are usually men behind all these masks—whether the face is a woman’s or an AI’s. And these men have found a way to monopolize the music industry. This didn't happen overnight; today, we are seeing the consequences that inevitably arise when competition is absent.

Re: Release Day Eve

MadhattanJack — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 17:52:48 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/30/2026 21:52

musicoed wrote:

I realize this is a trick question.)) Of course, I’d like to believe I can spot those who speak the language of the stars. But the rules of the game dictate that no one is supposed to know that.

I actually didn't intend it to be a trick question, I was just worried that you meant "men, specifically" instead of "people in general" or (ideally) "living creatures as opposed to machines."

There are actually lots of other reasons why there are (ostensibly) more women recording and selling music now than there were 30 years ago... we could go into them if you like, though it probably wouldn't be appropriate for this particular thread, other than to explain my apparent preference (recently at least) for female singers.

I will say though, even though it's excessively self-congratulatory, I was looking at my 2026 album chart just now and out of the Top 20, there's an even gender split — ten of the artists have male singers and ten have female singers. (Admittedly one of them has both, but I don't really like the male singer so much in their case so I counted that one with the females). Obviously it's a tiny sample size, my musical tastes are somewhat unusual, and it amounts to completely anecdotal "evidence" regardless. But maybe it could also indicate that aging male pop musicians like Todd Rundgren are just hearing more women in a field where there used to be relatively few, and they're having some sort of male-ego panic reaction whereby they think women are "taking over, OMG!!!" when they're really just bringing things into the kind of balance that should have been the norm in the first place.

By the way, the next Death From Above 1979 album album doesn't come out until January 29. I used to confuse them with Death In June because they're kind of similar-sounding, though less punky. Death From Above 1979 sounds more like Green Day... also, starting in about 2000 or so, which is when Death From Above 1979 initially formed, the lead singer for Death in June started wearing this mask most of the time, at least in public:

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Re: Release Day Eve

musicoed — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 06:51:14 GMT

Author: musicoed

Posted: 09/30/2026 10:51

Here is an example of how the stars might speak to you—or, more accurately, mock you. After posting the comment above, I set out—as usual—to track down that "voice from the heavens" in the form of new music releases. On one of the channels, the very first post I encountered was the brand-new music video for a song titled "Private Lives" by a band I hadn't heard of before: Death From Above 1979.
For me, that figure—1979—was like a red rag to a bull. I immediately set out to find a translation and an explanation.

Quote:

The name of the Canadian dance-punk duo Death From Above 1979 conceals a story involving a legal dispute, military slogans, and the birth year of one of the members.
Initially, the band was simply called Death From Above. Musicians Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler adopted the phrase from pop culture; "Death From Above" is the official motto of the US 82nd Airborne Division and frequently appears in films (for instance, on a helicopter in *Apocalypse Now*).
However, shortly after the band's formation, issues arose that led to a name change:
• Conflict with James Murphy: Immediately following the release of their successful debut EP in 2004, the New York indie label DFA Records—co-founded by James Murphy (frontman of LCD Soundsystem)—sued the band. Murphy’s label originally stood for "Death From Above Records," and they demanded the Canadians change their name to avoid confusion.
• The addition of "1979": To avoid a complete name change and protect themselves from lawsuits, the duo simply appended "1979" to the end. This is the birth year of the band's drummer and vocalist, Sebastien Grainger.
Fun fact: In 2017, the band officially dropped the numbers, deeming them "too long and silly," and performed as Death From Above for a time. However, to the delight of longtime fans, the musicians later returned to their full, iconic name including the numerical suffix.

Let me remind you that just recently I mentioned once again that...

Quote:

I have always believed that music reached its peak in 1979, when the album *The Wall* was recorded.

I also believe that it is no accident that this album is regressive in its structure.

Once again, it’s as if I’m being given to understand that time isn’t what we think it is.
This band has existed for over twenty years with a name I couldn't possibly have missed, yet it only catches my eye at this specific moment. It’s as if they never existed at all and only appeared retroactively—just so someone could have a laugh at my expense.))
Now, I hope it has become even clearer to everyone that my musings shouldn't be taken too seriously.))

Re: Release Day Eve

musicoed — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 04:23:32 GMT

Author: musicoed

Posted: 09/30/2026 08:23

MadhattanJack wrote:

musicoed wrote:

What will become of humanity when people finally lose the need for music composed by the chosen of the heavens? In my view, the answer is easily found in news feeds.

Who (or what) are the chosen of the heavens?

I realize this is a trick question.)) Of course, I’d like to believe I can spot those who speak the language of the stars. But the rules of the game dictate that no one is supposed to know that.
And when those rules are artificially broken, the whole point is lost—the motivation vanishes.
I once saw a child—born around the turn of the millennium—watching *Teletubbies*. It took me just two minutes to realize how dangerous such characters are—completely devoid of any motivation. I nearly threw up right there in front of the TV. It came as a shock to me to learn that it was a British production.
Music—much like human health and safety—has been turned into an ordinary commodity, with attempts made to extract maximum profit from it. All of this inevitably affects people's psyches and their motivation.
But we live in a closed space; there is nowhere for us to escape from this planet. And it is round, as we know, so all sellers will inevitably meet their buyers someday.

Re: Release Day Eve

Repo — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 03:42:35 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 09/30/2026 07:42

MadhattanJack wrote:

SUPPLEMENTAL

Apparently Todd Rundgren is in some hot water these days for having said, in an interview with Vulture, that "there’s an argument to be made that [Taylor Swift] ruined music," and that to him, she's the "apotheosis of mediocrity." This seems harsh to me, but I was actually more interested in what he said next — that we're in the “'era of female artists,' and that the biggest artists in the world are all women 'because boys in the ‘90s started spending money on video games instead of music.'" Todd seems to have forgotten that boys in the 90s didn't spend money on video games either, they were actually pirating pretty much everything, including movies, music, and games, that could be distributed electronically. But that still doesn't explain why so many more female artists have become prominent lately. Looking at the list below, for example, only four of the twelve artists are, or have, male singers. My theory is simply that men finally realized that women are more attracted to guitarists and drummers, so they started handing the microphones over to women, who don't care as much about who among their fans is attracted to them and have nicer-sounding voices anyway. Another advantage to having women in your band is that they have friends, many of whom are also women. Of course, this is just a theory. Meanwhile, Todd Rundgren once produced an XTC album, so I can't say anything too mean about him... let's just say that I've heard he can sometimes be "a little difficult to work with."

Hmmm.... I guess video [games] did kill the radio star. I blame Lana.

Re: Release Day Eve

MadhattanJack — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 19:37:26 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/29/2026 23:37

musicoed wrote:

What will become of humanity when people finally lose the need for music composed by the chosen of the heavens? In my view, the answer is easily found in news feeds.

Who (or what) are the chosen of the heavens?

Re: Release Day Eve

musicoed — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:12:11 GMT

Author: musicoed

Posted: 09/29/2026 20:12

MadhattanJack wrote:

...
Apparently Todd Rundgren is in some hot water these days for having said, in an interview with Vulture, that "there’s an argument to be made that [Taylor Swift] ruined music," and that to him, she's the "apotheosis of mediocrity." This seems harsh to me, but I was actually more interested in what he said next — that we're in the “'era of female artists,' and that the biggest artists in the world are all women 'because boys in the ‘90s started spending money on video games instead of music.'" Todd seems to have forgotten that boys in the 90s didn't spend money on video games either, they were actually pirating pretty much everything, including movies, music, and games, that could be distributed electronically. But that still doesn't explain why so many more female artists have become prominent lately. Looking at the list below, for example, only four of the twelve artists are, or have, male singers. My theory is simply that men finally realized that women are more attracted to guitarists and drummers, so they started handing the microphones over to women, who don't care as much about who among their fans is attracted to them and have nicer-sounding voices anyway. Another advantage to having women in your band is that they have friends, many of whom are also women. Of course, this is just a theory. Meanwhile, Todd Rundgren once produced an XTC album, so I can't say anything too mean about him... let's just say that I've heard he can sometimes be "a little difficult to work with."

It’s yet another occasion to reiterate: if it weren’t for Taylor Swift and everyone behind her, I simply wouldn’t have anything to do. After all, it is so boring when, upon searching for "the best song of the week," you are instantly played the song that is actually the best.
No matter how much of an adventurer a man might be at times, for the most part, he is the pillar of the family. We shouldn't judge them for no longer believing that one can support one's loved ones through music.
What will become of humanity when people finally lose the need for music composed by the chosen of the heavens? In my view, the answer is easily found in news feeds.

Re: Release Day Eve

MadhattanJack — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:23:12 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/29/2026 04:23

SUPPLEMENTAL

Apparently Todd Rundgren is in some hot water these days for having said, in an interview with Vulture, that "there’s an argument to be made that [Taylor Swift] ruined music," and that to him, she's the "apotheosis of mediocrity." This seems harsh to me, but I was actually more interested in what he said next — that we're in the “'era of female artists,' and that the biggest artists in the world are all women 'because boys in the ‘90s started spending money on video games instead of music.'" Todd seems to have forgotten that boys in the 90s didn't spend money on video games either, they were actually pirating pretty much everything, including movies, music, and games, that could be distributed electronically. But that still doesn't explain why so many more female artists have become prominent lately. Looking at the list below, for example, only four of the twelve artists are, or have, male singers. My theory is simply that men finally realized that women are more attracted to guitarists and drummers, so they started handing the microphones over to women, who don't care as much about who among their fans is attracted to them and have nicer-sounding voices anyway. Another advantage to having women in your band is that they have friends, many of whom are also women. Of course, this is just a theory. Meanwhile, Todd Rundgren once produced an XTC album, so I can't say anything too mean about him... let's just say that I've heard he can sometimes be "a little difficult to work with."

Pearl Moth, Feverish Wild Things
This is a "soft-grunge" (whatever that means) band from Rome, Italy, with a very good female singer. This is their second LP, and while I doubt it will get much traction, I'd say it deserves some. I would've liked to hear more harmonies, because they seem to be good at those, but they probably held back on them since that would have made it harder to reproduce the songs live.
Palm Ghosts, Love Factions
Kind of an old-style new wave/post-punk band from Nashville with a male singer, who do songs that sort of lean in different directions — power-pop, goth, and psychedelia, among others. It's well-produced, though there's a bit too much of what seems to be auto-tune on the guy's vocals... aside from that, it's a good, interesting record with some cool ideas that should appeal very strongly to all you 60-year-old hipsters out there.
Sweetie, Dogtooth
I assume this band's name is ironic, and if they keep making records like this they'll regret choosing it, but Sweetie is an all-women post-punk trio with just a slight tinge of country/Americana (I guess they also have a guy who plays bass, he just isn't included in the band photos). They're from Sydney, Australia and this is their debut album — they describe themselves, somewhat accurately, as "tuff songs for sad girls." They're kind of sinuous and menacing, maybe like Warpaint, only louder, angrier, more guitar-oriented, and even more feminist. The centerpiece of the album is track 5, "Hanging Rock," a slow-burning epic homage to the "fictional true story" novel and film — it's probably worth the price of admission in itself, but the whole thing is worth a listen if you ask me.
Comet, Autopsy of Me
From what I gather, this is the debut LP by a band from NYC named after their lead singer, a somewhat scary-looking woman (exactly my type!) who simply goes by "Comet," which I'm sure won't confuse anyone, and they're basically a gothic/grungey darkgaze band with fairly overt metal tendencies. I guess you could call them "dark metalgaze"? Comet (the singer, that is) can do that not-quite-screamo strangled-growling vocal thing pretty well, so that's impressive. I hope they stick around — this is a really good album if you're into this kinda stuff. (I'm usually not, but... maybe this time.)
Dogs on Shady Lane, Knots
Everyone knows about Throwing Muses and Belly, but aside from them there haven't been many quality female-fronted alt-rock/post-punk/dreampop bands that have come out of the Providence, Rhode Island area. That changes now! This band, who have since moved to Brooklyn of course, has cool songs and a pleasant folk-rock vibe that's hard not to like. They could probably stand to include more rave-ups, but that only matters if you're driving at highway speeds and/or trying to get a party started. Anyway, it's their debut album, and hopefully not their last... but since this one apparently took them seven years to finish, I guess we shouldn't expect a follow-up any time soon.
Gurriers, Nobody's Coming to Save You
Here's a snarly/grungey post-punk, or maybe just-plain punk, band from Dublin with their second album. Apparently in Ireland, the word "gurrier" means "young anti-social hooligan," or something to that effect. So they might regret choosing that name once they're all millionaires with fancy cars and they inevitably decide to do their first "all-electronics" album.
Thunder Queens, Deep Below
An all-women pop-punk trio from London, Ontario, Canada, this album (their second) should also appeal to fans of the more Sleater-Kinneyesque side of the riot grrl genre. Just about all of the vocals are done in precise B-52's-style two-part harmony, which sounds cheesy at first but somehow gets better as it goes along. (Or maybe you just get used to it.) The whole album kind of does that too, it's bangers all the way through if you don't mind not getting a break from them until the last track, where they finally break out the acoustic. (Probably just so they could write it off on their taxes.) Good stuff!
The Wrecks, Outside
They're calling the five tracks on this release the "second half" of their third full-length album, the first half being, of course, last year's "Inside:" — but apparently nobody told them this was cheating, and that they're going to be credited with just having made two EPs and everyone will call their next album their "third album," assuming they don't try the same trick on that one. Anyway, they're a decent-sounding power-pop band from Thousand Oaks, California, but they usually just say they're from nearby Los Angeles, which is probably also cheating.
Flowers Must Die, Tystnad
Loose-sounding 60s-style psychedelia from Sweden; it's their sixth LP (I think; it depends on how you count 'em). I actually don't like stuff like this, it's too jam-oriented and meandering for my tastes, but they've been around for 20 years so I guess someone does.
Smidley, Murphy Horse
Some of you might remember Foxing, the 2010s emo-pop band from St. Louis. They went on "indefinite hiatus" last December, and lead singer/bass-player Conor Murphy, aka "Smidley," just went back to his already-existing 4-piece band that he started in 2016 and named after himself (or rather, his nickname). They're not an emo band, which is good because I mostly can't stand emo bands. I would describe them as a fairly commercial, (mostly) danceable, indie-pop/rock act with "very occasional undesirable emo tendencies."
7ebra, How to Land a Plane
7ebra are Inez and Ella Johansson, twin sisters from Malmo, Sweden who make subdued, lo-fi indie-pop records. This is their second LP, after 2023's Bird Hour. If I had to draw a comparison, I'd say they sound sort of like what you'd get if Boygenius recorded an Elliott Smith tribute album, only none of the songs are actually written by Elliott Smith, but rather by two girls from Sweden.
JanesWish, Colours Fade
I'm 99% sure this is AI (which claims to be from New South Wales, Australia, but releasing a full album every month is just a dead giveaway). If I'm wrong, well, sorry... but it's actually quite pleasant background music if you're one of those dreampop-with-airy-fairy-vocals fans who aren't yet in the "all AI entertainment product must be destroyed' camp.

Re: Release Day Eve

musicoed — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 06:27:40 GMT

Author: musicoed

Posted: 09/27/2026 10:27

I didn't expect anything special from this week.

Protomartyr is a band I’m quite familiar with; they’ve certainly released two memorable singles, but otherwise, the album hasn't really piqued my interest so far.

I don't recall Blondshell ever making it onto my year-end lists before. The pre-release singles from this year caught my attention, but overall, the album hasn't impressed me yet either. There are two tracks at the very beginning and two at the very end, but the bulk of the material in the middle falls flat.

All else being equal, I would single out another female artist who hadn't released any full-length albums prior to this year.
Susannah Joffe - Dust Settles and So Will I (25/IX-2026/39) (Album)

A pleasant surprise for me is an unusual album by a musician I’m particularly fond of. All his transformations and projects always spark my genuine interest. I’m not sure if this release will make it onto my "best of the year" list, but the Guinness Book of Records—well, why not?!))
Tōth - 111 Birthday Songs (24/IX-2026/39) (Album)

Re: Release Day Eve

MadhattanJack — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:09:37 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/24/2026 21:09

What Sept. 25, 2026 releases are YOU eating for lunch?

I'm running out of ideas for intro blurbs. I guess I just assumed there would be an infinite supply of them...

Famous Folks Who Make Records Dept.

Relatively few of these this week, for some reason. The media is abuzz about a new Taylor Swift single called "Patient Zero," which I guess is her ode to the first person the billionaires (she's one of them) plan to infect with the deadly global contagion that will ultimately kill us all. (At least we know she cares, though.) While everyone gushes over that, Brandi Carlile is the latest to join the "reimagined album" trend with a remix of last year's Returning to Myself. She's calling it the "Sad Gay Version," but she's been kind enough to include the original album too (which I guess will be the "Happy Straight Version" now) along with it. There's one new track called "And So It Goes," but apparently it's not a cover of the Nick Lowe song from 1978, nor is it a reference to a Kurt Vonnegut novel, so I'm just going to move on from that one... Another famous person with a new album this week is movie actress Cara Delevingne, perhaps best known for being personally blamed for the failure of 2017's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets at the box office (hint: it wasn't just her fault). The album is called Not Normal, and it's not bad, though I'm afraid it is relatively normal compared to... oh, about 90 percent of my own music collection. (I might add that she isn't a blonde anymore, so don't have a heart attack next time you see her, like I did.)

Robin Trower's new album, Shine, sounds like it's pretty good, one of his best "mature era" efforts, even — I think it's his 29th LP, not counting the albums he did with Procol Harum. Dude can definitely still play, but his voice is wearing out from age and has been for some time now (he's 81). Thankfully you don't have to be young to play blues-rock for the masses, you just need a good track-record, a decent amp, and a few bottles of bourbon. Meanwhile, there's former Van Der Graaf Generator founder Peter Hammill, practically a callow youth at age 77, with another solo LP called Tears In Time. I'm not sure if this qualifies as a proper new album though, because apparently he's been recording these tracks in various locations over the past 35 years. Not sure why he couldn't have released them before now, but maybe there was a technical problem, or he had a flat tire or something. Perhaps the dog ate it... You never know with Peter Hammill!

Sabrina Does it Again Dept.

I'm just going to call it right now and say that Violins, the new album from Blondshell (aka Sabrina Teitelbaum) is yet another Big Winner from her and, as predicted, my personal pick-of-the-week. This time around, the songs are more serious in terms of lyrical content, even political in some cases. Good for her! And maybe it's just me, it probably is, but I just find her voice very distinctive, so that when a song of hers comes on I almost know it's her right away, and to me that's worth something. I say "almost" because... as Yoda would say, "there is another." And it's...

Julia Jacklin, The Gem
What can I say, her voice sounds a lot like Sabrina's. Thankfully her songs are more folk-rock-oriented, and she's from Australia so I guess she has slightly less to be angry at society about, which means you can still tell when it's Sabrina and not Julia — assuming you're a "good listener."
M83, I Wrote You A Letter
I'm not so sure about this one. There's only one preview track — it's the leadoff, "Blister Sunrise," which is great — but all the reviews are saying the rest of the LP is all over the place, mostly instrumentals, more subdued, more atmospheric, and less bombastic than the last few M83 records. (An M83 album without bombast? That's just... wrong.) Bandleader Anthony Gonzalez seemingly wants us to believe this is a return to M83's more "punkish" roots, except that M83 were never really punkish. He's also saying it's "a product of his disillusionment in his perception of the world," so hey — join the club, Anthony, but it's easy to say things like that when the songs either have no lyrics at all or only unintelligible ones you can barely hear. And besides, if nobody is singing, that just increases the temptation to "fill the space" with saxophones, does it not? And we all know what happens then.
Penelope Isles, 3
The problem here is that this is the glamour-averse Brighton brother-sister duo's fourth album, so naming it "3" is a little confusing. This one was recorded in Scotland's Black Bay Studio (whereas all their previous stuff was recorded in their home studio), and it sounds more polished and, well, nice. Maybe a little too soft 'n' dreamy to have serious hit potential, but who knows — there are some good tunes here, and they've always gotten good reviews. Now if they could just get some better clothes.
Protomartyr, Hotel Usona
Produced by Dave Fridmann, this is their seventh album, and personally I think it may be their best one yet. Only, well, coming from me... let's just say I'm still not a big fan of their singer, Joe Casey, but he's been getting better at it, and overall they seem to be expanding their "sonic palette" here quite a bit, which I personally felt was what they needed all along. It's more subversive, still with plenty of oomph and bombast, but maybe not quite as anthemic as their last LP. I suspect Fridmann has something to do with all that, so hopefully they'll be smart and bring him on for the next one too.
Squanderers, Bright Madness
This is a new-ish trio consisting of Wendy Eisenberg, David Grubbs (from Gastr del Sol), and Kramer (not the Seinfeld sitcom character — his album got shelved years ago). It's an ambient-instrumental, not-quite-jazz record; possibly improvisational, and it's rather loose and meandering, though pleasant-sounding. (No word yet on what they've been squandering or how much has been squandered.)

The Late 20th Century Won't Go Away and Leave Us Alone Dept.

Soft Cell, Danceteria
Dave Ball tragically died last October, but not before co-writing and producing most of the material on this album. So Marc Almond, the other half of Soft Cell, is calling it a "farewell" LP, dedicated to Dave Ball. He's also calling it "a love letter to New York in the early 80's," which is to say the album sounds like late-period disco music. So I'm not actually going to listen to it, but I will extend my (delayed) condolences to Dave Ball's family and suggest that diehard disco fans could do a lot worse than to check this one out.
Pete Fij, Up's the New Down
Early-90s shoegaze-pop fans will of course remember Adorable, one of the most accessible bands in the scene (you know, the one that "celebrated itself"). After they broke up, singer Piotr "Pete Fij" Fijalkowski went off to form Polak, who were just kind of okay, and then did some stuff with The House of Love's original guitarist Terry Bickers. I'm not 100% certain, but I think this may technically be the first album Fij has made all by himself! It's good, and he still writes cool tunes, but I'm afraid it does sort of answer the question of "why get Terry Bickers." Not a lot of virtuoso guitar-playing on this one, but thankfully you don't always need that to make a good record.
The Wolfgang Press, Asylum Variations (Boomkat link)
These guys were one of the original 4AD bands, and after a lengthy hiatus starting in 1995, they returned in 2024 with A 2nd Shape, though they were (and still are) without original keyboard player Mark Cox. This is now their 7th album (since I don't count Unremembered Remembered, their 2020 demos EP), but they're not on 4AD anymore, they're on a label called Downward (or possibly "Downwards") Records. Perhaps an aptly-named label too, because there's been almost zero fanfare about this LP, and quite a bit of confusion over the release date (apparently some CDs were pressed and made available as far back as July 14). But it's no big deal from my perspective, really — I still don't like them all that much, and this album isn't going to change that. But their fans should be happy enough with it, assuming they can actually get their hands on a copy at some point.

"OMG, It's the Tartan Horde Again" Dept.

Three bands from Scotland this week, and though I love Scottish bands as a general rule, I would consider all three of these to be "twee" to some extent (note that it's become increasingly clear as of late that the genre is now to be referred to as simply "jangle-pop"). I already mentioned The Proclaimers and their new LP, You May Offend, the release date for which was supposedly moved from Sept. 11 to Sept. 25. Well, that was a total lie, apparently. All the streamers are now saying it came out on Sept. 11 after all, and sure enough, there it is, all tracks available. So that cheeses me off because it makes me look stupid, or at least lazy (which I am), so of course I refuse to apologize, etc., etc., because these days you can only win by being a sociopathic narcissist, and I'm going to keep calling them "twee," too, though it's a decent enough album if you like Charlie & Craig's Scottish accents. (Which I do, if I'm being honest.)

In addition to that, we've got The Yummy Fur with Everybody Talks About the Weather, which is really more "art punk" than "jangle-pop," but either way this is the best album of these three by far. By a wide margin! Great high-energy, hook-filled guitar album, though not as heavy on the Scottish accents as it could be. (Also, fur nearly always tastes terrible.)

I also have to at least mention the dubiously-named Catburgers and their very first LP, Galashiels, recorded 40 years ago and finally being released this week for the first time. It's twee for sure, so much so that if you look up the word "twee" in the dictionary, it doesn't even matter if it's an old-fashioned paper-printed dictionary, the dictionary will start playing this album. That's how twee it is. Also, they'd better not try to eat my cat, or there's gonna be HELL TO PAY.

(By the way, there's also a new LP from UK trad-folk-poppers Stornoway called Beyonder — they're somewhat twee too really, but the problem is they're not actually from Scotland. They just want you to believe they are, because I guess that's cooler than being from Oxford.)

Masked Band Dept.

Luckily I didn't have to look far down on the alphabetized list this week, as UK doom/death-metal guys Altera Doomonica are releasing their debut LP, Angelic Doomology. (All 10 tracks are already streamable on Bandcamp.) I think the title is a reference to the notion that all angels are doomed (perhaps because they are NOT REAL) rather than an attempt to convince us that "doomology" is an "angelic" pursuit. I looked it up, and found no evidence of it being a "pursuit" at all, but I did find that the Swedish metal band Candlemass released a 5-CD box set called Doomology back in 2010, so... maybe a little "homage" action going on there. That's nice! Regardless of all that, their masks look pretty scary, which is all anyone can reasonably ask for these days.

Also, The Residents have a new six-song 10-inch vinyl EP called Eskimo Folk Tales. They're saying these are "brand new recordings" based on a "set of handwritten Inuit folk tales" given to the band "in the 1970s." Of course, they say a lot of things... It doesn't matter! What matters is, those eyeballs they wore on their heads back then were the greatest masks in pop-music history! (In my opinion, anyway.)

Finally A Band That Truly Understands Me Dept.

This post has already gone on way longer than I'd promised, but I can't go without mentioning the new album from the band with my favorite band name, namely New Zealand's Same Name Confusion and their new LP, SNC. One might assume "SNC" is simply an abbreviation for "Same Name Confusion," making it a self-titled album, but they already made a self-titled album in 2016, just to confuse you later on. Great! (The new SNC album itself isn't so great, though — it's actually pretty bad.)

Next week, the gradual reduction in new-LP volume continues, but we still (assuming they're not all lying to us) have Johnny Marr, Deerhoof, analog synth-whiz Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Indianapolis-based twee — oops, sorry, jangle-popsters Wishy, and the always-dreadful Queens of the Stone Age. There might also be enough for another Supplemental this week, but we'll see. 😄

Re: Release Day Eve

MadhattanJack — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 18:39:30 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/21/2026 22:39

ANOTHER SUPPLEMENTAL

Look, things obviously got out of control this week, due to the unusual number of releases (which is to say, actual new albums from bands I like, not just reissues and... "other stuff"). Hopefully that won't happen again, because it definitely got well into the "TL;DR realm" there and that should be avoided.

Of course, that's just another way of saying... there's more!

There was some confusion this time around with the new Jesus Jones album, Twilight. That's an Apple Music link, because apparently there's some sort of partial exclusivity arrangement going on. The album is also on Spotify, but right now it looks like none of their records are streamable on Amazon Music, at least in the USA, and there are just two self-released live albums of theirs on Bandcamp. As it happens, the Apple Music/Spotify release date was Sept. 18, but I had it down as Sept. 21, and then that was moved to Sept. 25, the latter probably being the date you can buy the physical media online and in stores. Not well-handled at all by whoever is doing the business side for them, but if anything that's becoming more common... As for the album, it sounds pretty much like all their other stuff — good but not great, fun but not fascinating, and maybe a single or two.

Another case of release-date confusion: Dina Summer's new album, Children of the Night, was supposed to come out on Sept. 20, but at the last minute they moved it back to October 9. They're a "dark disco" electropop trio from Berlin; they must have thought they were being clever with the band name, but if they're not careful they could be accused of cultural misappropriation. Perhaps rightly so!

I missed the new debut LP from Daymoon, entitled Myriad, though I suspect there was just no pre-announcement. They're from Lancaster, PA, and the album is actually kind of hard to describe — it's almost too interesting, like they're trying too hard to be musically inventive (not to mention lyrically brilliant and highly psychedelic), and they're at least partially succeeding, but at the cost of accessibility, listenability, all that sort of thing. (The lyrics are, frankly, quite pretentious, so it's just as well that they use a lot of reverb on the vocals so you can't understand them easily.) I'm not saying it's Trout Mask Replica, it's still basically a rock/pop record, not to mention a good one as long as you ignore the lyrics. But it reminds me of my own years of "trying too hard" as an adult-film actor and "weirdotech" entrepreneur, and look where all that got me.

Finally, there's a new 5-song (all but one of which are instrumentals) EP released today from Bring Your Own Drugs, a solo act from Berlin, called Ants as a Unit of Effort. It's gauzy, dreamy, atmospheric, keyboard-driven fuzzy slowcore, basically. I noticed the guy earlier this year, kind of by accident, and I was hoping for a full-length non-bedroom production from him, but this isn't it. I guess we'll see what happens. And yes, it's easy to make a concept EP about ants if all the songs are instrumentals and you can just give them whatever titles you want. It's a bit of a "cheat," really. I just feel kind of sorry for all those ants.

Now that I've taken the trouble to check, this last week was definitely (and probably will remain) the biggest of the year — there were almost twice as many releases coming out as the next-biggest, which (for me at least) was three weeks ago on Sept. 4. Three more not-as-big weeks to go and then it's Christmas season, so hopefully no more TL;DR after this!

Re: Release Day Eve

musicoed — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 02:00:28 GMT

Author: musicoed

Posted: 09/20/2026 06:00

MadhattanJack wrote:

..., the Exbats really have three problems:[list]
... but that's another thing too, their last album was on Goner Records, and the new one is self-released. So maybe they're not used to doing their own marketing campaigns, which could easily become problem #4 for them.

Thanks—as always, this was very informative; naturally, I knew none of this and never would have found out otherwise. But of all the obvious reasons that hindered the new album's promotion, the one that resonates most with me is the non-obvious one—number 4.
These days, any mention or discussion counts as promotion, regardless of the tone. So, in my view, we’ve actually done quite a bit for this band.))

Now I want to support the chapter too – Supplemental.
I am very familiar with the name Ratatat and would never normally miss a release from the group.
However, one of the members released an album under a different project name.
As a result, the album didn't make it onto my watchlist—even though a solid single and video, "Soursop," had come out back in early August and had also slipped under my radar.
This is a case where the atmosphere—or rather, the sound—matters most to me, specifically a sound with minimal vocals.
That’s not surprising, really, as I often hear echoes of Mike Oldfield’s guitar work in the music.
Kunzite - Secrets (18/IX-2026/38) (Album)

A second album bursting with energy, crafted according to all the rules of dance-punk.
The tracks are like short, stunning bursts of gunfire—albeit a bit repetitive.
I don't recall this band making my lists before, but the release is worth checking out.
Perennial - Modernism (18/IX-2026/38) (Album)

Re: Release Day Eve

MadhattanJack — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 17:39:34 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/19/2026 21:39

musicoed wrote:

The first coincidence is that The Exbats’ album also flew under the radar last week; at any rate, I didn’t come across any mentions of it on the forums I frequent.
This is a very sensitive topic that I’m really keen to discuss. On the other hand, it borders closely on the issue of information sources and immediately intertwines with the reasons behind popularity—reasons that, in my view, have become far too toxic these days.

I can really only speak in terms of English-speaking countries, and the USA in particular, but as far as the US/UK/etc. market is concerned, the Exbats really have three problems:

First, all their previous albums have a common musical approach, which they themselves have described as "a dystopian garage version of the Shangri-Las, or pre-Velvet Underground Lou Reed doo-wop." That's almost an anti-commercial approach here these days, but now they're moving away from that approach — and that might alienate their existing fan base.
Second, their marketing and visual image is not good. Their album covers are misleading and unattractive, making you think they're much more punk-ish than they actually are. Also, their band name contains the word "bats," and nobody likes bats, since they get into your house and then you're not supposed to kill them because they eat disease-spreading bugs, but if you capture them and release them outside they just fly back in and it can cost a fortune to finally get rid of them.
Third (and last), they're a father-daughter act. There's a reason why you don't see a lot of those around, and I won't go into it in detail, but it's a huge disadvantage for them in terms of breaking through into "mainstream" success, and that's before either of the aforementioned other two things are factored in.

So... while I totally agree that it's a good album, and the best one they've ever recorded, I just don't think they're going to overcome these issues to achieve general popularity. I'm happy to help you (or anyone else) discuss and promote them, of course (for whatever that's worth)... but that's another thing too, their last album was on Goner Records, and the new one is self-released. So maybe they're not used to doing their own marketing campaigns, which could easily become problem #4 for them.

Re: Release Day Eve

musicoed — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 05:31:52 GMT

Author: musicoed

Posted: 09/19/2026 09:31

MadhattanJack wrote:

musicoed wrote:

For me, the standout album this week will likely be the release from a band that managed to put out three singles, all of which made my weekly lists. That’s a 100% success rate—something that happens quite rarely. Unfortunately, all these songs are sequenced back-to-back at the very end of the album's first half, which once again leaves almost no chance for a strong finish.
Both Hands - Be Like A Mountain In A Moonlit Way (18/IX-2026/38) (Album)

I didn't see that announced anywhere. Did you just accidentally see it somewhere, maybe just clicking around on Bandcamp? Pretty good record, actually! 😄 ...

This once again showed just how different our tastes are. What surprises me most is that one of my most revered bands—Cocteau Twins—might have played a part in this; they are the ones usually cited for actively championing shoegaze and dream pop.))

I don’t really like getting into genre distinctions, but here it’s unavoidable. After all, as attuned as I am to the sound of dream pop, I am equally far removed from everything labeled "shoegaze."
And the difference is quite simple: one genre is rooted in atmosphere, the other in melody.
In the case of this release, two other subgenres collide: synth-pop and ambient pop.
On one hand, for me, the music evokes the likes of Vince Clarke; on the other, it brings to mind Cassandra Jenkins.

All three singles certainly had ambient undertones, yet the focus remained on rhythm and melody. For me, the standout—and most melodic—track is "Lips Parted," which closes out the first side of the record. The entire second half, however, is pure ambient pop.
Still, the fact that the band chose the more melodic tracks as singles bodes well for the future!))
So, I recommend that fans of Vince Clarke listen to the album starting with Side B and finishing with Side A. By the way, that’s the second coincidence involving The Exbats’ album!))

The first coincidence is that The Exbats’ album also flew under the radar last week; at any rate, I didn’t come across any mentions of it on the forums I frequent.
This is a very sensitive topic that I’m really keen to discuss. On the other hand, it borders closely on the issue of information sources and immediately intertwines with the reasons behind popularity—reasons that, in my view, have become far too toxic these days.

I find all my music through singles and video clips, literally digging through musical junk heaps every day. That’s because shops where music is neatly arranged on shelves simply don’t exist anymore.
And they don’t exist because no one intends to pay for music—after all, for some time now, you haven't had to.
It seems to me that these contradictions could be resolved quite easily. But whether those in power have any interest in doing so is a big question. On the other hand, if this problem were solved, I wouldn't have the same drive to search and keep moving. At my age, that would practically mean losing my reason for living.))

Re: Release Day Eve

MadhattanJack — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 05:18:35 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/19/2026 09:18

SUPPLEMENTAL

Okay, so in addition to not noticing that Dragonflies LP, I also missed this new thingy from Drake, called Fear of Missing Out — it's actually a short "surrealist" film accompanied by a short album, and while I'm not entirely clear on this yet (nor do I really intend to be), the album was originally going to be the "soundtrack" to the short film but he decided to include at least a few (maybe most of them?) that aren't used in the film. I'm sure it's fabulous.

Meanwhile, the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart has a new album called The Way It Was Back Then, except that the album doesn't have Annie Lennox on it, so it isn't really the way it was back then, is it? And in Nashville, also-fabulous "pop-noir" singer Nicole Atkins is back with her 7th really good LP, Drama — I think it might be her best one yet. Plus there's even a new collection of (mostly, I think) "lost," or maybe just "shelved," David Bowie tracks from 1965 entitled The Shel Talmy Recordings. There are 22 tracks on it, 10 of which are previously unreleased, supposedly comprising all known recordings of the act then known as Davie Jones & The Lower Third. My problem with it is that I consider Talmy to be one of the worst music producers of that era, as he practically ruined the early Kinks recordings with deliberately bad mixing and equalization (assuming he even knew what the latter even was). He got better eventually, and these tracks have been "fixed up" somewhat, but I can't really recommend this LP to anyone who isn't a Bowie completist (and good luck with that, by the way).

But there's more!

Roomer, Staircase Made of Rope
The second album by this trio from Berlin, it's kind of like sadgaze/slowcore post-rock with occasional bursts of heavy guitar noise and fewer crescendoes, but there are also vocals, mostly provided by a female singer (Ronja Schößler) who has that whispery, half-asleep, barely-present style I like so much. On their quieter songs, I wouldn't make a direct comparison to a band like Mazzy Star, but they can produce a very similar "vibe" when they want to. It's... kind of nice, actually.
Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Hopium
You'll remember Roger as a member of Jellyfish, one of my 40 (or so) favorite bands ever, and various other projects such as the Moog Cookbook and Imperial Drag. He's amassed a small-but-interesting discography over the years, but this album seems to be a "back to the start" record, almost like it's fan service for Jellyfish fans and other power-poppers. Great! I'm all for fan-service when it's done as well as this, but unfortunately there are only 5 new studio tracks here (along with 5 live tunes recorded at the International Pop Overthrow in Los Angeles, including two Jellyfish songs, "That Is Why" and "The King is Half-Undressed"). More would be better.
Carrousel, Memphis, Again
I loved the very first album by this Los Angeles husband-and-wife duo (aka Sharon & Joel Piedt), 2012's 27 Rue de Mi'chelle — I thought it was one of the best examples of American chamber-pop I'd heard up to that point — but they've gotten progressively more trip-hop-oriented, bigger-sounding, and psychedelia-tinged since then, and while there are still elements of the earlier sound that pop up now and again, I think I still just prefer the older stuff. Carrousel is hugely underrated in my opinion, as they write beautiful tunes, put enormous amounts of effort into their recordings, and spare no expense to hire large numbers of backing musicians, this time including the London Strings (at Abbey Road, no less) and even the Czech National Symphony to do real instruments and orchestra parts when they could easily settle for digital samplers and drum machines. I'm not sure how they manage all that, but the fact remains, hardly anyone else seems to have heard of them. Anyway, they're saying this is the fourth album in their four-part "Memphis cycle," which I guess means they've been mentioning Memphis a lot in their lyrics recently, and now maybe they'll... stop doing that? (That might be for the best. Memphis has been taken over by ICE, and there are other cities they could mention that haven't.)
The Bernadette Maries, Soft
Here's a nice-sounding debut LP by a "shoegaze-adjacent" post-punk sort of band, with occasional twee-ish overtones, from Brussels. Obviously that's in Belgium, so they have to be good, and they are, but the album cover on this thing is... let's just say "unimpressive." (I guess I've seen worse, though. Actually no, I don't think I have...)
Outer World, Home
I can't really tell how many people are in this band, but they're from Richmond, Virginia and they bill themselves as "retro-future, crate digger delights, French freakbeats, psychedelic garage-pop, Bond spy themes, space-age post-punk, and '80s NYC disco punk." That's a lot, and of course I still think "disco punk" is a contradiction in terms, but aside from that it's not an inaccurate description. I'm particularly fond of the "Bond spy themes," which they seem to throw in there at nearly every possible opportunity.
Machinery of the Human Heart, The Grand Scream
This surprisingly wacky and fun album comes from Marvin Allister, a trans cabaret singer from New Jersey with a real penchant for early 20th-century musical theatre. It also kind of reminds me of an old Amanda Palmer album — not one of the ukelele ones, I'm thinking of the ones she did that had decent production budgets. I never really liked Amanda Palmer's albums... I did sort of like Amanda Palmer herself, though!
ELM, The Midnight Zone
Maybe it's just the album title, or the singer's voice, or what-I-don't-know, but this post-punkish quartet from Cuneo, Italy reminds me a lot of Australia's Midnight Oil, though they're rougher around the edges. Most of the songs seem to be in the same key, which I think is E-flat, so that would mean they're probably tuning everything down a half-step... Minor quibble! There are elements of math rock, goth and post-hardcore here too, and overall it's not bad, just be aware that there's a fair amount of snarly aggression involved.
Roger Clark Miller, The Green Man
Miller used to be the singer/guitarist for Mission of Burma. More recently he's been in a lo-fi indie-rock band called Trinary System, but apparently when he records under just his own name, it's just him and a guitar (usually an acoustic or a clean electric), with some vocal overdubs and that's pretty much it. It's not folk music though, it's more like solo-acoustic post-punk, so I personally hear it as "unfinished." But that's just me, YMMV!
Thisquietarmy, Erosion
Thisquietarmy is basically the solo ambient-distorted-feedback drone guitar project of Eric Quach. He's made albums that were more musical and less droney than this, so maybe this isn't the ideal introduction to his work, but since he's also considered a shoegaze act I guess I had to mention it.
Winter (Samira Winter, originally from Brazil), Romantix Mixtape
Adult Romantix was one of my favorite albums from last year, but I assumed this "mixtape" was just another one of those "reimagined" albums that people insist on making these days. It's a bit more interesting than that; there are two completely new tracks and four remixes, including one by Soccer Mommy and another by Peel Dream Magazine. And yes, I like at least two of the remixes better than the originals. Still, not a "new album" by most definitions.
The Bends, If You Insist
I'd have to call this group from Louisiana a "standard rock" band, meaning it would fit into the "modern rock" radio format and sounds like the typical sort of upbeat, major-key stuff they play when they go to commercial during football games. I'm just mentioning it in case you saw the band name and thought it might be some sort of Radiohead pastiche.
Post Sex Nachos, Big Bad
If you're a regular listener to The Tony Kornheiser Show, you'll have heard of these guys. They're kind of a multi-genre, but mostly alt-rock/alt-pop band from Missouri (though they're currently based in Nashville). They bill themselves as "your second-favorite boyband," so they must think you have a first-favorite boyband, which to me would be a grievous insult since I don't like any boybands whatsoever. (Unless you count the Beatles as a boyband, which most people don't.)

There are probably still more out there, but I guess I have to stop somewhere. Ciao!

Re: Release Day Eve

MadhattanJack — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 05:55:18 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/18/2026 09:55

musicoed wrote:

I didn't see that announced anywhere. Did you just accidentally see it somewhere, maybe just clicking around on Bandcamp? Pretty good record, actually! 😄

There are actually a whole bunch of late announcements this week — I guess I'll have to make another "supplementary" list, since some of them are definitely worth a listen. One in particular: BEA's #1-ranked album ever is Radiohead's OK Computer, and it just so happens the producer of that album, Nigel Godrich, got together with Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison from the Beatles, to form a project called Dragonflies, whose debut LP is coming out... today! Practically no advance promotion whatsoever, that I could detect. Maybe people just don't believe in that anymore? Nothing about them on Discogs, but they're on Spotify at least, and here's an Amazon Music page that just appeared within the last few days. I'm not saying it's a great record, it's more like "very well put-together," also very trip-hoppy, and they've got female guest vocalists on the first two tracks... when he's singing (on the other six), Dhani Harrison operates (no doubt intentionally) in the same vocal range as Thom Yorke, but doesn't really sound much like him at all if you ask me, he really sounds more like his Dad. (Harrison's, not Thom Yorke's.) Anyway, I'm just surprised that they didn't do advance PR on this thing.

Re: Release Day Eve

musicoed — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:08:07 GMT

Author: musicoed

Posted: 09/18/2026 01:08

Thanks, MadhattanJack - as always, this is fascinating and informative!
For me, the standout album this week will likely be the release from a band that managed to put out three singles, all of which made my weekly lists. That’s a 100% success rate—something that happens quite rarely. Unfortunately, all these songs are sequenced back-to-back at the very end of the album's first half, which once again leaves almost no chance for a strong finish.
Both Hands - Be Like A Mountain In A Moonlit Way (18/IX-2026/38) (Album)

The second album of the week that caught my interest was recorded by a band that also released three singles. However, so far, only two of those songs have appealed to me. And most disappointingly, I remained indifferent to the album's very last track. But I do like the minimalist cover.))
Son Lux - Out Into (18/IX-2026/38) (Album)

Out Into (2026) by Son Lux

Re: Release Day Eve

MadhattanJack — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:55:16 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/17/2026 23:55

What September 18, 2026 releases make YOU want to review a long list of them that seemingly goes on forever and forces you to apologize for the length of the review post in advance?

Obviously the only release this week that matters to me personally is the new single from XTC's Colin Moulding, entitled "Want It Bad." Apparently Colin has been trying to write positive, uplifting tunes to help counteract all the negativity and down-pushing that's been going on in the world lately, so that's nice, but it's also unfortunate that he still hasn't managed to produce a full-length solo LP after all these years. But hope springs eternal, as Colin himself would incredulously seem to believe!

As for this week's actual albums, the new Echo & the Bunnymen LP, Apples for Isaac, is getting some great reviews and sounds like it's going to be at least as good as anything they've done since the 80s. In other words, it still doesn't quite surpass what they did during the 80s, but it's clearly worth checking out, even if it's basically an Ian McCulloch solo project at this point. Guitarist Will Sergeant is still there, and still contributes, but doesn't play most of the guitar parts and doesn't seem to be in on writing the songs much now, either. Original bass-guy Les Pattinson is apparently out of the picture. As an interesting (though sad) side-note, this album might be the last recorded work of Blondie drummer Clem Burke, before his death last year from cancer. (He played on 10 of the album's 11 tracks.)

So I guess this is probably my personal pick-of-the-week, but is it the week's best album... possibly, not sure, maybe not? And yes, the album cover is... not great, but it's still better than the one for 1990's Reverberation. (Bleah!)

Age Before Beauty Dept.

In terms of name-recognition, the biggest thing this week is probably Second Song, the new 7-track mini-album from Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts. I haven't been able to hear much of it, but apparently it's his usual acoustic folk-rock/Americana stuff, with five new tunes and two new versions of old ones ("Casting Me Away From You" and "I Will Love You Forever"). Probably nothing to get excited about, but who can say? At #2 on the name-recognition scale, Beck has a new one called Ride Lonesome, which he's calling a "heartbreak album," and which he described as "slow motion, twilight, Mojave, acoustic, a trance of sound and emotion.” Frankly it borders on easy-listening, but at least he's willing to supply tags for us. What a guy!

The much-beloved Chaka Khan has a new one called Chakzilla, so that's obviously cool, and Queen's drummer Roger Taylor (no relation to the one from Duran Duran) is releasing his seventh solo album, Violence Insane in a Beautiful World. It, too, borders on easy-listening, but I can't criticize its lyrical content because Colin Moulding is doing essentially the same thing. (Dang!) So if you don't want easy listening (or Chaka Khan), there's a new LP from Anthrax, Cursum Perficio (Latin for "your journey ends here"), which I'm pretty sure won't be. (There's also a new Ozric Tentacles album called Harmonic Mind, but if you're still buying new Ozric Tentacles albums thinking this one is finally gonna be the one where they do something that's contrary to their usual jazzy-prog psychedelic space-rock formula, I don't know what to tell you, man. Just keep on keepin' on...)

Finally, Will Bonnie “Prince” Billy Oldham has a new live LP out called Ghosts of American Psychonauts, apparently recorded in Los Angeles (aka the "City of Ghosts," though I personally have never seen a ghost there). I might have preferred an album consisting of "Arrest Warrants for American Psychonauts," but anyone who knows anything about Bonnie “Prince” Billy will tell you he tends to "follow his own muse."

New Albums by Awesomely Talented Women Dept.

There have been few, if any, weeks that I can recall featuring this many new albums from so many of my favorite famous female solo singer/songwriters. It's a cascading cornucopia of cool new stuff!

Emma Ruth Rundle, These Killing Times
Probably the week's best album, not to mention one of her most... powerful? I usually don't like to use that word to describe albums, but this may be an exception. Unfortunately I haven't been able to hear the whole thing yet, so I can't report on whether or not there's any screamo involved (doesn't sound like it based on the preview tracks), but at least we know she could do it if she had to.
Kristin Hersh, Sugar on Blackstone
Kristin Hersh used to be the leader and lead singer of the Throwing Muses, and I'm going to say this is her... 14th solo studio album? (I'm not counting 2016's Wyatt at the Coyote Palace.) Hard to say where this will rank among her solo discography, but I'd put it in the Top Five, I think. It's darker and a little harsher than her last few albums, but I see that as a good thing, and frankly, it sounds more like a Throwing Muses album than anything she's done in the last dozen years or so. Just a little less frenetic.
Frankie Rose, HILA
You might remember her from the Vivian Girls or Crystal Stilts, but this is her sixth solo album, and this one is more commercial and pop-oriented than her previous stuff. But that's not really a bad thing in her case. Her voice is perfect for this material, with just enough of a dark edge to (hopefully) satisfy all those people like me who might never have discovered her if it hadn't been for that song-for-song remake of The Cure's Seventeen Seconds she did back in 2017.
Susanna Hoffs, The List
The 80s It-Girl and superstar lead singer of The Bangles is back with another album of sweet-sounding Americana-style love songs with just a dash of 60s pop and "California rock" in them. This LP is significantly better than her previous one, 2024's (appropriately-titled) The Lost Record, and while it won't make anybody forget "Hero Takes a Fall" or the video for "Walk Like an Egyptian," she still has a great voice and it's a nice album. It would've been even nicer to have gotten a rave-up or three, but ehh, maybe next time.
Carly Rae Jepsen, Day And Night
Jepsen is more of a "pop diva" than the four others above, and this album doesn't deviate from her usual glossy dance-oriented approach. A couple of these tracks are just straight-up disco even, so I probably shouldn't even mention the album at all, but still... her songs are infectious (and not in a bad way), and there's more craft and sophistication in them than most of what you hear from her Top 40 dancepop and girlpop peers. (Besides, five is a better number than four when you're making a list.)

And Now, the "Cool" Stuff

Again, there's a lot of stuff this week, so I'm going to leave some things out, but I already mentioned that Colin Moulding single so nobody has any right to complain.

The Drin, I Lost My Way For Centuries
A somewhat hypnotic, if not actually droney, genre-bending post-punk band From Cincinnati, Ohio, this is The Drin's 5th album (if you include their 2021 self-released cassette, Engines Sing for the Pale Moon). I'd have to say that they're getting progressively more "accessible" as they go, as this is almost certainly their most listenable release so far. I like it, but they're still likely to be an acquired taste for most (if not all) people.
Scarves, Strays Forever
This "dream punk" band from Seattle is led by singer Niko Stathakopoulos, and they're not bad, except they're not particularly dreamy or punky. They're a bit quirky, somewhat psychedelic, and occasionally chaotic, and they sound like they might be a lot of fun as a live band. They're less lo-fi than they have been in the past. We'll see what happens, but they're probably a bit too loose around the edges to have much hit potential.
Cor de Lux, Year of the Horse
The third album from an interesting, slightly weird post-punk quartet with occasional spacegaze from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, who I guess I noticed because my parents used to take us to Kill Devil Hills (which is near Kitty Hawk) for vacations fairly often so that I could have fun running out of control down the steep sand dunes. (I think they might have closed them off since then, to save them from people like me.) They seem to put a fair amount of effort into sounding good, and I'd have to say they have a lot of panache for such an obscure band. There, I said it — "panache." You probably thought I didn't even know what that word meant! (I'm probably still misusing it, of course.)
Slow Pulp, Melodie
Here's a pretty cool 4-piece band from Madison, Wisconsin with occasional folk-rock overtones that has a really good female singer-guitarist named Emily Massey, and could be just one decent recording budget away from being a big-time indie-rock success story. Or, maybe I just like them. I don't know! I just post here!
LEILA, 20 Something is a F*Cking Strange Place
A punkier-than-most electro-girlpop singer from — let's see, she sort of semi-randomly divides her time between Bern, Sarajevo, and New York City. That could get tiring... Unfortunately, there are a lot of acts named "Leila" so she's going to get buried in amongst them, but this album has considerable merit. (There's some auto-tune being used, but I don't get the impression it's to hide a lack of singing ability.)
Beabadoobee, Pylon
Bea "Beabadoobee" Kristi Ilejay Laus, who was born in the Philippines but moved to London at age 3, makes a kind of "soft-grunge"/girtlpop hybrid pop music for Gen Z'ers and anybody else who spends a lot of time on Tiktok. Looks like this is her fourth album... Honestly, I'd never heard of her before now. But apparently she's a fairly big deal in younger circles, and I have to admit, that aforementioned hybridization strategy of hers seems to work better than I would have expected.

Masked Band Dept.

I got a little excited when I saw that there was a new album from Big Trouble called On Elephant Hill, but hopes were dashed when I learned this was the digital-only debut (and not bad at all, actually) from a new, slightly-retro Los Angeles alt-folk/indie-rock duo, and not another LP from the masked Athens, GA hardcore punk band. (Nothing fancy, they just wear balaclavas.) The latter, one of at least 15 bands to have called themselves "Big Trouble" throughout rock history, did release a 5-song EP less than a month ago — which I completely missed — called 5 Final Songs. So based on that title, I suppose we might never find out who they actually are.

Rescheduled Due to Artist (Mis)behavior Dept.

Those of you who were looking forward to the new album from Wavves with Say Anything, entitled Cherry Soda and originally scheduled for tomorrow, will have to wait until October 30 because of this whole situation.

Also, something weird happened with the new Soft Palms album, In Echo (though I haven't done anything about this on BEA yet) — apparently they pre-announced that tomorrow would be the release date, but then they just went ahead and uploaded the album to the streaming services three months ago (!) with a release date of either June 12 or June 19. It's a fairly good album, kind of a surf/garage-punk affair with a cute-sounding retro-girlpop singer and minimal instrumentation but lots of reverb... Anyway, I think the problem here was that it was supposed to be released in conjunction with a book entitled How to Be Self-Reliant in the Music Business, except the book actually came out on May 18, two months before the album. So, my guess would be that tomorrow is the release date for the bundle, whereby you can get both in order-item for less than the price of both separately? I dunno, but maybe they didn't want to make a big deal out of this because failing to accurately coordinate your actual release dates with your announced release dates is a good way to fail badly in the music business, regardless of how self-reliant you supposedly are.

Next Week...

If anything, next week is looking even bigger than this week. There's even a new Robin Trower album, if you can believe that... I'll probably be falling all over myself singing the praises of the new Blondshell LP, but who knows — she could surprise me and put out a total dud. Anything can happen! (Hopefully not that.) 😐

Re: Release Day Eve

musicoed — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:40:07 GMT

Author: musicoed

Posted: 09/12/2026 04:40

MadhattanJack wrote:

musicoed wrote:

The Exbats managed to give the public a preview of most of the tracks from their album beforehand. What’s more, these tracks usually appeared without any fanfare or announcements. In terms of hit songs, this album is definitely in the lead so far; I’ve already counted three. I’m sure that’s enough to make it the Album of the Week.
The Exbats - My Dinner With Crumar (11/IX-2026/37) (Album)

I liked that one; I thought it was a bit too loose and lo-fi, and in particular their singer isn't recorded properly at all, but I can certainly see how people might recommend it. Still, with the lyrical refrain on track 1 being what it is (she repeats "just like a little bitch" about two dozen times), that could reduce the hit potential quite a bit, at least in the English-speaking world. I was also disappointed by the fact that you never hear any sort of classic Crumar™ organ sound anywhere on the album — Barry Andrews used a Crumar organ extensively on XTC's Go 2, which I currently have ranked as my #1 album ever, so of course I'm listening to this thing and wondering "where's that frickin' Crumar?" literally the whole time. But that's more of a "me problem."
...

As it happens, the sound of the band XTC isn't something deeply ingrained in my subconscious. However, the synthesizer sound used in the album's opening track immediately reminded me of Röyksopp. And that outweighs the drawbacks of the lyrics, which, of course, I didn't catch by ear.
That said, I don't consider the opening track particularly outstanding. It’s just that the first and last tracks don’t spoil the overall picture, and that’s important.
Unfortunately, the band followed a pattern common among musicians—especially those lacking confidence—by placing the tracks released as official singles and music videos right at the start of the album. Consequently, the first half is more engaging than the second, making it a bit of a challenge to listen to the release in its entirety—unless, perhaps, you were to at least swap the order of the sides.))
Of course, I’m willing to concede that the lyrics might be fascinating or provocative.
But some tracks, with their repetitive nature, feel overly monotonous and long-winded.
And yet, the band has a melodic quality, and that’s cool.

Re: Release Day Eve

MadhattanJack — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 19:32:12 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/11/2026 23:32

Repo wrote:

Huh. I've never heard of Killer. As an old school metal head, I'll have to check out a few of their early releases. I wonder what Dihansse thinks of them. 🤔

They're kind of a Motorhead-style band. And if I'm being (brutally) honest, Belgium hasn't really produced a lot of metal bands, at least not famous ones — I just looked at the Wikipedia category for Belgian heavy metal musical groups and while it's far from exhaustive, there was only one band on it (other than Killer) that I'd heard of, namely Channel Zero. They've got 8 albums listed here on BEA, but their highest album ranking is 38,424, so... I dunno, maybe they're the most commercially successful Belgian metal band? Even if they're not the "best-known." (Killer has only two albums on BEA, and neither of them have enough ranking points here to even make a dent.)

Of course, the English would say something derisive like "must be something in the waffles," but personally I think it's just the overall culture, similar to France, Spain, and Italy — they all like to dress nice and not smell bad there, so that makes it pretty hard for them to be proper metalheads.