This week, we got a surprise guest appearance from Michael Stipe at Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy’s R.E.M. tribute tour; Piebald announced their first new album in over 15 years; and we got some sad news about legendary ex-Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra. Hear us talk about all those topics and more in today’s episode of BV Weekly.
As for this week’s new albums, we highlight 9 below and Bill tackles 7 more in Indie Basement, including Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, Cut Worms, Tendernness, and The Notwist. On top of those, this week’s honorable mentions include Tinariwen, Sella (The Front Bottoms), No/Más, Prostitute, Shoreline, Votive (ex-Portrayal of Guilt, Respire), Ora Cogan, The Outfit (Daniel Romano), UnityTX, The Black Crowes, The Sophs, Chalk, Bill Orcutt, Shop Talk, Fotocrime, Art School Girlfriend, Hollow Suns, Will Graefe & Spencer Zahn, Laurel Halo, Noémi Büchi, the PUP live album, the Cashier EP, the Hollow Suns EP, the googly eyes EP, the White Reaper deluxe album, and the 40th anniversary reissue of Rush’s Grace Under Pressure. There’s also Sturgill Simpson’s new Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds album, Mutiny After Midnight, that we reviewed last week when it got a surprise release on YouTube; the physical release date is today.
Read on for our picks, and listen to the new episode of BV Weekly for more of this week’s new music and music news. What’s your favorite release of the week?
Kim Gordon – Play Me (Matador)
Picking up where its rage-rap-infused predecessor left off, ‘Play Me’ has more of that, plus synthpop, glitch, soul-infused boom bap, and more.
On the surface, the music that Kim Gordon made on 2024’s great The Collective and now on its followup Play Me is very far removed from the music she made as a member of Sonic Youth. Her last album pulled from industrial hip hop, trap, and rage-rap, and Play Me has more of that, plus synthpop (“Girl With A Look,” “Not Today”), glitch (“No Hands”), soul-infused boom bap (the title track), and more. Atop the dystopian-sounding backdrop, Kim deadpans observations on topical concerns like A.I. and Trump’s list of banned words. It’s an album that no other alternative rock veteran of 40+ years has made anything like–and also an album that probably almost no other alternative rock veteran of 40+ years could make as effectively as Kim has–and for all the surface-level differences to Kim’s most classic material, Play Me actually feels like a natural extension of the body of work that gave us “Kool Thing” and “Sacred Trickster.” As Kim’s former Sonic Youth bandmate Lee Ranaldo put it during my recent conversation with him, “The musical backing is different for sure, and it’s constructed in a completely different way, but in so many ways, it still feels like Kim’s music.”
ELUCID & Sebb Bash – I Guess U Had To Be There (Backwoodz)
Armand Hammer member ELUCID teams with Swiss producer Sebb Bash for his latest offering.
Not a year goes by without at least one Armand Hammer-related album, and after getting an Armand Hammer album and a billy woods solo album in 2025, the first quarter of 2026 gives us a new ELUCID solo album. This one was entirely made with Swiss producer Sebb Bash, and it features billy woods on the song “The Lorax,” as well as appearances from Breezly Brewin, Estee Nack, MATTIE, and Shabaka Hutchings. While not as far out as ELUCID’s last album, Revelator, it’s a very fine example of ELUCID’s ability to churn out sinister, ominous, experimental rap music and virtually never miss.
James Blake – Trying Times (Good Boy)
After rediscovering his comfort zone on his last LP, the atmospheric electronic pop pioneer does it again.
James Blake made a much welcome return to form on 2023’s Playing Robots Into Heaven, an album that embraced his dance music roots and the atmospheric electronic pop of his instant-classic debut LP, and he keeps that going with Trying Times. Much of it recalls the eerie, echoey, minimalist songwriting of his debut, while “Rest of Your Life” gives us the version of James Blake who still loves DJing clubs and “Doesn’t Just Happen” finds him teaming up with his now-frequent collaborator Dave for the kind of downtempo rap song that only these two can make. Trying Times isn’t exactly like any other album James Blake has made, but it does largely find him in his comfort zone. And when James Blake is in that particular zone, there’s really nobody else like him.
Lamb of God – Into Oblivion (Epic)
The heavy metal veterans are fired up on this state-of-the-world LP.
If Lamb of God sound a little extra fired up on this album, well, they are. Vocalist Randy Blythe says the album “is about the ongoing and rapid breakdown of the social contract, particularly here in America… things are acceptable now that would’ve horrified people just 20 years ago.” Blythe’s reaction to everything he’s describing comes through in his intense delivery, and he and the rest of the band spend these 10 songs reminding the world that their reign as New Wave of American Heavy Metal giants is far from over. The chugging attack that they’re best known for is all over this LP, and they’ve also got a few doomy, Swans-y dirges to break up all the bludgeoning. It’s as badass as you’d hope a Lamb of God record would be, and even if they aren’t straying too far from their time-tested formula, it has a freshness that’s pretty remarkable for a band who’s been at it as long as this band has.
Pick up our exclusive green smoke vinyl variant of Into Oblivion in the BV shop.
Sweet Pill – Still There’s A Glow (Hopeless)
The rising emo band combine dizzying math rock, hard-hitting pop hooks, and raw emotion on their remarkable sophomore album.
NJ/Philly band Sweet Pill mastered the art of Midwest emo on their 2022 debut LP Where The Heart Is (Topshelf), then signed to Hopeless and went in more of an early 2000s emo-pop style on 2024’s Starchild EP. Now they release their sophomore album, Still There’s A Glow, and it feels like the culmination of everything that got them to this point. If the dizzying math rock of ’90s Midwest emo didn’t disappear from the genre when its big mainstream boom in the following decade happened, there probably would’ve been more bands back then that sound like Sweet Pill do now. Their new twist on these familiar tricks feels fresh, and singer Zayna Youssef is increasingly proving to be one of emo’s true powerhouses. She can really belt it, and her raw emotion always comes through.
Haute & Freddy – Big Disgrace (Atlantic)
Theatrical alt-pop from a pair of veteran Los Angeles-based songwriters.
Los Angeles-based musicians and songwriters Lance Ship and Michelle Buzz had each spent years working on other artists’ music, with a resume of credits including songs from Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Rauw Alejandro, and more. With their Haute & Freddy project, they’re fully committed to their own theatrical vision, and pairing elaborate costumes with catchy synth-pop. “Our work now is so carefree and so joyous,” Shipp told Rolling Stone. “Our souls are in this. It really feels like we get to be who we are making this music. And I’m just so happy that this album is coming out.” Big Disgrace is their debut full-length, and their first record for Atlantic. [BrooklynVegan Staff]
Anjimile – You’re Free To Go (4AD)
A more intimate, folkier follow-up to his 2023 art rock opus.
North Carolina-based singer-songwriter Anjimile made some of his biggest sounding music yet with his 2023 album The King; for its follow-up, he scaled back his sound, while losing none of his lyrical potency. After delving into art rock with The King, he returned to folkier territory with You’re Free To Go, working with collaborators like Brad Cook and Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam. “This record feels very authentic to my life experiences,” he says. “It’s about as close to getting to know me as you could ever get with a record.” [Amanda Hatfield]
Morgan Nagler – I’ve Got Nothing to Lose, and I’m Losing It (Little Operation)
The Los-Angeles based singer-songwriter’s solo debut gets a lift from a bunch of cool collaborators.
After fronting the bands Whispertown and Supermoon, and co-writing songs for artists like Phoebe Bridgers, HAIM, Kim Deal, and Margo Price, among others, Morgan Nagler officially commenced her solo career in 2025 with the release of the indie/heartland rock-leaning “Cradle the Pain.” That’s the opening track on her debut solo LP, I’ve Got Nothing to Lose, and I’m Losing It, which she enlisted a bunch of cool collaborators for. Allison Crutchfield, Madi Diaz, and Bethany Cosentino all contributed backing vocals, Courtney Barnett, Meg Duffy, and Harrison Whitford played guitar, and King Tuff’s Kyle Thomas co-produced. Nagler names Jenny Lewis, a fellow child actor, as her best friend, and her old bands came up performing with artists like Rilo Kiley, Bright Eyes, She & Him, and M. Ward. “I was never gonna sit down and write a record that’s going to represent me on my ‘solo mission,'” she told The Guardian. “I just feel it’s important to share ourselves with each other, because it’s such an isolating time. Connecting to each other on a deep level is important because we make each other feel seen, and less alone, more connected to the universe, that we’re able to do more positive things.” [BrooklynVegan Staff]
Bruiser Wolf – Push & Paint (Fake Shore Drive/Sheefy LLC/Bruiser House)
The Detroit rapper is in especially outlandish form as he continues his hot streak on this new record.
Detroit rapper Bruiser Wolf is on a roll right now. He released two of our top 10 rap albums of last year, and he’s already back with another, Push & Paint. Bruiser Wolf has a reputation sounding outlandish, and Push & Paint is about as outlandish as he’s ever gotten. From his genuinely hilarious couplets (early favorite lyric: “we in sync like a faucet”) to his over-the-top delivery to his beat selection to some similarly charismatic guests (Sada Baby, BabyTron, Payroll Giovanni, P-Lo, Akeem Aii, G.T.), Push & Paint is a wacky listen, and it’s also a very compelling one.
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Read Indie Basement for more new album reviews, including Crack Cloud, The Monochrome Set, and The Orielles.
Looking for more recent releases? Browse the Notable Releases and Indie Basement archives.
Looking for a podcast to listen to? Check out the latest episodes of our weekly music news podcast BV Weekly and the BV interviews podcast.
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