Whether you’re in the mood for summery back porch rock, surreal post-punk or fascinating experimental music, Paste is here to cover all your new music needs. Today’s New Music Friday brings new albums from rising Irish rock stars Fontaines D.C., plus longtime alternative outfit The Psychedelic Furs and folky dream pop veterans Wye Oak. Featuring those artists and more, here are 10 essential new albums we think you should listen to today.
1. Fontaines D.C.: A Hero’s Death
Irish rockers Fontaines D.C. came out swinging on their debut album Dogrel—it became one of Paste’s favorite albums of last year thanks to its propulsive rhythms, Grian Chatten’s mesmerizing speak-sing and their satisfying blend of post-punk, garage and surf sounds. After cementing themselves as one of the most exciting new bands of 2019, excitement began to swirl when news started circulating about a quick follow-up album that was recorded in Los Angeles and influenced by The Beach Boys. I figured an album full of surfy tunes like Dogrel highlight “Liberty Belle” and 2017 b-side “Winter in the Sun” was on the way, which I undoubtedly would’ve devoured, but that’s pretty far from what we’ll actually receive at the end of July. A Hero’s Death is decidedly not perky—it’s full of somber, gothic numbers, slow ballads and a few very on-the-nose nods to Brian Wilson (but this is dejected Pet Sounds era Beach Boys—not the carefree “Surfin’ U.S.A.” Beach Boys). It’s not what many will expect from the group, but it’s a noticeably more mature second chapter that pays dividends with each listen. Sprinkled with ’60s armchair pop and ’80s post-punk references, this is a gloomy outdoor stroll record—but a very special one at that. —Lizzie Manno
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2. Ganser: Just Look at That Sky
Just Look at That Sky is full of poetic recitations about maintaining one’s sanity while the world caves in. The Chicago outfit’s second album contains the wide-eyed glare and off-the-wall energy of someone who’s close to the final straw and searching for the best way to cope. Its on-edge nature is quelled by surreal humor and dark playfulness, though they leave plenty of room for existential spiraling, too. Meshing noise, art rock and post-punk, there’s a palpable sense of forward motion and doom, but it’s not a resigned doom—it’s a contemplative, purposeful doom that wouldn’t dare waste space on nihilism. —Lizzie Manno
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3. Jordana: Something to Say
Jordana has shared a new EP titled Something To Say via Grand Jury Music. It’s the first of a two-part EP series, with her follow-up To You arriving in the fall. Classical Notions of Happiness has plenty of folk and lo-fi pop moments as well as stripped-back indie-pop ones, and Jordana’s music has only become more dense since then. Something To Say is full of richly-produced, hooky indie-pop—each song brimming with intriguing textures. Fried synths and warm guitar tones hover over bulky, glitchy beats, and there’s never a flat moment. The six-track EP’s sonic magnetism is due in part to producer MELVV, who also worked on “Crunch,” a standout track from her re-released debut album. Jordana’s stylish, airy vocals have never sounded better as they float effortlessly like plush clouds. —Lizzie Manno
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4. Land of Talk: Indistinct Conversations
When Land of Talk resurfaced after seven years away in 2017, bandleader Elizabeth Powell’s first single back was “This Time,” a song that began with the line, “I don’t want to waste it, this time.” And Powell made the most of her comeback: Life After Youth was a stunning record, a personal collection of upbeat, dreamy songs that easily ranks as her best to date. Thank goodness we don’t have to wait another seven years. Just three years removed from Life After Youth, Land of Talk are back with their fourth album since 2008. —Steven Edelstone
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5. Madeline Kenney: Sucker’s Lunch
As she prepares to release her third LP, Oakland’s Madeline Kenney is building a consistent and downright exquisite body of work. The singer and multi-instrumentalist co-produced Sucker’s Lunch with Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, and Kenney has tightened her role in a bicoastal clique that has been spawning intriguing indie pop from Durham, N.C. to the Bay Area. On “Double Hearted,” Kenney’s synths and vocals soar in wavelengths as she sings, “voices get me high…!” on the hook, alongside Stack’s rhythmic percussion and Wasner’s unmistakable bass. Kenney’s first two albums showed skill and promise, but there’s something bolder and lasting building on Sucker’s Lunch. —Adrian Spinelli
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6. Mike Polizze: Long Lost Solace Find
Most likely, your impression of Mike Polizze is skewed by his psych-garage-noise releases under the name Purling Hiss—an especially fitting band name if there ever was one. But the Philadelphia singer/songwriter decided to tone things down and make an acoustic album with the help of frequent collaborator Kurt Vile and producer Jeff Zeigler (The War on Drugs, Allison Crutchfield, Steve Gunn) for his solo debut. You won’t find any meandering guitar screeches on Long Lost Solace Find—but these meditative sounds will still take you down some worthwhile trails. Delicate guitar fingerpicks dance around Polizze’s inspired vocal hooks—the off-the-cuff nature of his voice (not at all dissimilar from Vile’s) makes everything sound so effortless, but the melodies are incredibly hearty. Its light (but not over-the-top) twang and Polizze’s grizzled warmth are a match made in heaven—especially during these summer months. —Lizzie Manno
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7. The Ninth Wave: Happy Days!
Scottish quartet The Ninth Wave have shared a new EP following the release of their 2019 debut full length Infancy. Happy Days! was produced by The Horrors’ Faris Badwan and features the band’s signature gothic electro-pop, but with a few interesting twists. “Abattoir” finds them testing the waters with a tender piano ballad and folding in noisy textures, while “There Is Nothing I Hate More Than Small Talk” sees them dive into forceful art-pop. As always, the bold, low voice of Haydn Park-Patterson is a nice contrast with the ribbon-like vocals of Millie Kidd, as are the sharp electronic beats with the more atmospheric elements. Happy Days! is teeming with desire and intrigue thanks to its shadowy, shape-shifting sounds. —Lizzie Manno
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8. The Psychedelic Furs: Made of Rain
The Psychedelic Furs have been in the cultural lexicon for almost longer than some of us actual adults have been alive—their songs have held cinematic stock in classics like Pretty in Pink and The Wedding Singer (as well as a more recent classic, Call Me By Your Name), and been featured in cherished TV shows like Gilmore Girls and Stranger Things. Now the post-punk band will add to their storied legacy by releasing their first new album in almost three decades, Made of Rain. —Natalia Keogan
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9. Thanya Iyer: KIND
KIND, the sophomore album from Montreal’s Thanya Iyer, is anything but ordinary. Harps swell, synths bubble, choirs radiate, and beats contort—it’s a mystifying, quelling trip whose subject matters are as equally rich and complicated as its song structures. The album melds avant-garde pop with jazz, psych and electro-pop, and it sees Iyer (who serves as the lead vocalist and bandleader) explore the deeply personal and universal. Iyer describes it as “a journey filled with questions that travel around grief, depression, anxiety, racism, disability, chronic pain, healing, self love, and giving that love outwards to the relationships around you.” While they traverse individual and collective struggles in their lyrics, the band stuns on similarly small and large sonic scales—dramatic brass and sinister strings collide with silky vocals and subtle percussion. Their varied time signatures and all sorts of bells and whistles will keep you on your toes as songs gracefully transform out of nowhere—intergalactic imagination and wonder turns to equally intriguing doom on “Alien,” and avant jazz minimalism becomes skittering electro-pop on “Look Up to The Light.” It’s a masterclass in detail. —Lizzie Manno
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10. Wye Oak: No Horizon
Indie rock duo Wye Oak, comprised of Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner, released a new EP titled No Horizon. The EP is a collection of songs written for and featuring the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, a Grammy Award-winning youth ensemble led by Dianne Berkun Menaker. —Lia Pikus
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