New Releases & Staff Picks - 5/15/26

STAFF PICKS
 DARIO - Cola and Jeff Parker
ASH - Marcos Valle
 JAKE - Dove Ellis
KIMBER - Kevin Morby and Jeff Parker
MARY - Rostam and Kevin Morby
ZACH - Cola and Ramsey Thornton
DREW -
PAT-

COLA - Cost Of Living Adjustment CD/LP (Fire Talk Records)  
Cost of Living Adjustment is the sort-of self-titled album from Cola, the Montreal trio of Tim Darcy (vocals/guitar), Ben Stidworthy (bass), and Evan Cartwright (percussion). C.O.L.A. an acronym for Cost of Living Adjustment, is a fitting conceptual framework for the band's third record. Why? Because C.O.L.A. considers, among other things, socialism vs. Hell. It considers: rolling the dice of life. The erie and sweet pangs that nostalgia can provoke. Following two studio LPs which earned the trio praise from Rolling Stone (Best Indie Rock Albums of 2024), Pitchfork (Best Rock Albums of 2024), Stereogum (Best Songs of 2022) and more, Cost of Living Adjustment is abstract, oblique, sometimes strange, whatever you want to call it. But it is also beautiful, in the classic sense. Beautiful like a painting can be beautiful. It touches on the sublime. It is Cola, the band, at their very best.

KEVIN MORBY - Little Wide Open CD/LP (Dead Oceans)  
Little Wide Open is the title of Kevin Morby's eighth studio album, produced by Aaron Dessner. In the summer of 2024, Dessner had asked Morby to support The National at their London show in Crystal Palace Park. Shortly after, Dessner - who was on a hot streak, having produced albums for Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Gracie Abrams-reached out to Morby to say he'd love to produce his next album. They began recording at Aaron's Long Pond Studio in Stuyvesant, NY, early in 2025 and finished in September of that year. The album, which features a host of contributors such as Dessner - who plays multiple instruments across it - Amelia Meath, Andrew Barr, Justin Vernon, Katie Gavin, Lucinda Williams, Meg Duffy, and more, has been described by Morby as the third in a trilogy of releases, following 2020's Sundowner and 2022's This Is a Photograph, which catalogued his time in the Midwest after moving back to Kansas City.

DOVE ELLIS - Blizzard CD/LP (Black Butter Records)  
Blizzard is the striking debut album by Dove Ellis. Featuring the singles 'To The Sandals,' 'Love Is,' 'Pale Song,' and 'Heaven Has No Wings.' The album has received outstanding critical acclaim including 5 stars at MOJO, the Guardian and the Irish Times, plus Album of the Week at Stereogum and the Financial Times. The ambitious young Irish balladeer crafts a debut album that's heavy on the drama, letting moments of anthemic beauty peak through his cryptic delivery. - Pitchfork

DON TOLIVER - OCTANE CD/LP (Atlantic) 
Octane is the fifth studio album Don Toliver. It was released through Donnway & Co and Cactus Jack under license to Atlantic Records on January 2026. The album features guest vocals from Yeat, Rema, Travis Scott, Teezo Touchdown, and SahBabii. Production was handled by Toliver and Scott themselves, alongside past collaborators including 206Derek, Bnyx and Honorable C.N.O.T.E., among others.

JEFF PARKER & THE ETA IVTET - Happy Today CD/LP (Nonesuch) 
Happy Today, the third album from guitarist/bandleader Jeff Parker's long-running ETA IVtet, was recorded live at Lodge Room in Los Angeles on August 20, 2025. This fresh entry into the IVtet's catalog captures Parker and the band - including drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Anna Butterss, and saxophonist Josh Johnson - on record outside of the now-shuttered Highland Park micro-club ETA for the first time.

FACES - Ooh La La LP [Reissue/1973] (Rhino)  
The final studio album from iconic English rock band, Faces. Released in March of 1973, the album reached the number one spot on the UK charts and number twenty-one in the United States. The album's title track Ooh La La is one of the band's most beloved tracks, and was listed at Number 246 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list in 2021. Now available on standard black vinyl in the original moving sleeve package + poster.

JESS SAH BI - Jesus-Christ Ne Decoit Pas LP (Awesome Tapes From Africa)  
Jess Sah Bi is well-known as half of the legendary duo Jess Sah Bi & Peter One who brought home grown Country-Americana to the West African masses with their smash debut Our Garden Needs It's Flowers in the mid-1980s. Sometime in the early 90s, Die Sahbi - or Jesse, as he known to friends-became gravely ill with an unknown ailment and almost died. He visited various doctors and all kinds of religious healers and nothing helped until he became a born-again Christian. He recorded an album of music praising God in order to honor a promise he made to himself at the depths of his desperation in the hospital. That album, Jesus-Christ Ne Deçoit Pas[Jesus Christ Does Not Let Us Down], came out in 1991 and sold around 3000 cassettes in Ivory Coast.

JESCA HOOP - Long Wave Home LP (Last Laugh)  
Today, visionary artist Jesca Hoop releases her new album Long Wave home. Staying true to her folk roots, though never purely, Hoop delivers strikingly original songwriting showcasing her innovative vocals augmented by imaginative arrangements. Long Wave Home is energized and rings with the promise of a fresh new chapter for the artist. “Long Wave Home is not just a renewal of my commitment to the craft of writing and record-making-it's a vote of confidence and an investment in myself as an artist and authority over my vocation and life's path.:” - Jesca Hoop, January 2026

KHUN NARIN - III LP  (Innovative Leisure)  
Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band are a multi-generational psychedelic powerhouse from rural Thailand whose ecstatic, amplifier-blown folk music has quietly become one of the most unlikely global cult phenomena of the last decade. Hailing from Phetchabun Province, the group formed as a community celebration band - playing weddings, temple fairs, ordinations and village parades. At the center of their sound is the electrified phin, a traditional three-stringed Thai lute whose piercing, spiraling melodies cut through walls of percussion and portable PA distortion. What might begin as a local procession quickly transforms into something transcendent: hypnotic riffs cycling endlessly, rhythms pushing forward with relentless momentum, musicians of all ages locked into communal euphoria.

KRAFTWERK - Radio-Activity 12" (Parlophone)  
Single picture disc vinyl LP in a spined sleeve, with die-cut to front cover, shrinkwrap, marketing sticker. Kraftwerk founder Ralf Hütter and engineer Fritz Hilpert have created the Dolby Atmos mix from the original 16-track master tapes at their Kling Klang Studio. The stereo album (2009 remaster) pressed as a highly collectible vinyl picture disc.

HIDING PLACES - Secret To Good Living LP (Keeled Scales)  
NYC-based indie rockers Hiding Places release their debut LP, The Secret to Good Living. Refined through years of live performance and studio work, their debut LP is the first in their catalog recorded together in a professional studio, instead of in their separate home bases. Originally hailing from North Carolina and Georgia, the band includes Audrey Keelin (vocals, guitar), Nicholas Byrne (vocals, guitar), Henry Cutting (drums), and Michael Matsikis (bass, production). Together, they've developed a forward-thinking sound with a sense of nostalgia built into it: a blend that draws from the collage-like indie rock of Yo La Tengo, the elegant slowcore of The New Year, the riffy story-songs of Drive-By Truckers, and the analog hum of The Microphones.

SPATULAS - Blue Dot LP (Post Present Medium)  
The first thing you hear is a lone clean guitar and a sweet warble singing about city scenes caught up in the moment before the drums enter and we're off! Thus begins the stunning power strum elegance of The Spatula's newest album A Blue Dot. The Spatulas is essentially Miranda Soileau-Pratt and whomever she enlists to bring her vision to fruition. This all began in Oregon, where earlier releases like March Chant and Beehive Mind shimmered with the bedroom ache of Beyond the Implode and the wobble-psych magic of Garbage and the Flowers. But while those elements have not vanished, A Blue Dot is a whole 'nother beast entirely.

SHAKEY GRAVES - Fondness Etc. LP (Dualtone Music Group)  
Long celebrated as one of America's most inventive DIY singer-songwriters, Shakey Graves (born Alejandro Rose-Garcia) has built a singular career on experimentation and emotional honesty. Fondness, etc. feels like a window into his most personal world yet - and a full creative reset - placing emphasis on lo-fi sound and analog warmth, packed with soft vocals, haunted guitars, experimental textures, and tender imperfections. His songs explore trying to do better and holding onto fleeting beauty in a chaotic world. The title is a twist on absence makes the heart grow fonder, delivered with classic Shakey self-effacing charm - capturing moments of life, love, and fatherhood with striking vulnerability and sonic exploration. An album built purely for joy, reminding us that the quietest moments often hold the most profound beauty.

ROSTAM - American Stories LP (Matsor Projects)  
Rostam's third album, American Stories, arrives May 15, his first new music in over five years. The Iranian-American artist and acclaimed producer returns with a record that explores his life across dual cultural worlds. The music weaves together elements of Americana and Persian traditions, blending finger-picked guitars, pedal steel, and strummed chords with microtonal Persian melodies. “That marriage of east and west felt like music that I needed to make for this album.” Interweaving his own experiences, Rostam's lyrics are a collection of stories and reflections. “Ultimately I hope listeners find comfort in this record and I want to leave people with a feeling of optimism.”

TENNIS - Face Down In The Garden LP  (Mutually Detrimental)  
[Released in 2025 and now available widely for the first time] Tennis is an indie pop duo comprising husband and wife Patrick Riley (guitar, keyboards, production) and Alaina Moore (vocals, keyboards). Face Down In the Garden is the seventh LP from the critically acclaimed duo Tennis. Offsetting intuitive melodies with unusual arrangements, Tennis returns with music that feels familiar but resists convention. Lead singles ‘Weight of Desire,’ 'At The Wedding’ and ‘Sister’ highlight Tennis' range as writers and producers, evolving beyond their girl-group roots into what is their most fully-realized effort to date.

MARCOS VALLE - Samba '68 (Verve Vault Series) LP [Reissue/1968] (Verve)  
Samba '68, released on Verve, introduced Brazilian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Marcos Valle to a wider international audience. Already established in Brazil through songs such as ‘Samba de Verao (Summer Samba),' Valle worked here with producer Creed Taylor on a recording that pairs Brazilian rhythmic forms with contemporary American studio orchestration. The sessions include vocals by Anamaria Valle and arrangements by Eumir Deodato. The repertoire features English-language versions of compositions co-written by Valle, including So Nice (Summer Samba), Chup Chup, I Got Away, and Safely In Your Arms, alongside additional material that reflects his economical writing and feather-light rhythmic approach.

RAMSEY THORNTON - I Called It LP (Gar Hole Records)  
Ramsey Thornton makes modern-day folk music for early mornings and quiet hours. It's a warm, rhythmic sound, fueled by intricate fingerpicking and the observational storytelling of a lifelong musician who's still discovering new horizons. Long before he became an unsung hero of Tulsa's music scene - playing banjo in Ken Pomeroy's band, drumming for jazz combos, and collaborating with hometown heroes like Wilderado - the Oklahoma native began drumming at 6 years old. By his late-teens, he was playing stringed instruments, too. Banjo came first. Acoustic guitar followed, with Ramsey developing a hypnotic, percussive style - including intricate rhythms and uniquely phrased arpeggios - that seemed to nod to the two instruments he'd already learned.

AALIYAH - Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number LP [Reissue/1994] (Sony Legacy)  
Aaliyah's groundbreaking debut album Age Ain't Nothing But A Number returns on classic black vinyl. First released in 1994, this record introduced the world to Aaliyah's smooth, confident sound. Rediscover the sensual grooves, smooth vocals, and timeless hits that defined an era, including ‘Age Ain't Nothing But a Number,’ ‘Back & Forth,’ and the unforgettable ‘At Your Best (You Are Love).’ Also includes the bonus international track ‘The Thing I Like’ which also appeared on the A Low Down Dirty Shame soundtrack.

BEACH BOYS - Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights CD/LP (Capitol)  
Double vinyl LP pressing. Celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Beach Boys' legendary masterpiece, The Pet Sounds Sessions Highlights features selections from the 1997 Grammy-nominated 4CD box set The Pet Sounds Sessions. It includes 25 Pet Sounds a cappellas, alternate versions and tracking sessions, along with new liner notes. Audio is a mix of both mono and stereo sources. Released on May 16, 1966, Pet Sounds was produced and primarily composed by Brian Wilson and is considered a masterpiece of pop music and one of the most influential albums in history. It features the classic singles God Only Knows,  Sloop John B and Wouldn't It Be Nice.

DUA SALEH - Of Earth And Wires LP (Ghostly)
Sudanese-American artist Dua Saleh continues their boundless ascent with Of Earth & Wires, a resolutely warm, spiritual, and frenetic album exploring notions of home, humanity, and renewal. Featuring contributions from Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), aja monet, Gaidaa, and more, Saleh threads and deconstructs indie, R&B, and electronic pop with flashes of Sudanese folk, UK dance, and reggaeton, sounds intrinsic to their story, all held together by ambitious, future-facing production and clear-eyed lyricism.Saleh’s soulful, gritty, shape-shifting style has found fans from The New York Times to NME, alongside their breakout role in the Netflix series Sex Education, making 2024's Ghostly International debut, I SHOULD CALL THEM, a proper arrival. The highly anticipated Of Earth & Wires responds to the moment as both a watershed in their career and an urgent dialogue with struggles faced on a universal level.

ELUVIUM - VIGRA III LP (Temporary Residence) 
Virga III is the third installment in Eluvium’s inspired experimental series – and the first in nearly five years. In unmistakable contrast to the dense, ominous sprawl of Virga II, the works that make up Virga III offer an almost divine reprieve. The nervous tension, loss of control, and patient recontextualization that inspires each volume of the Virga series manifests in unique ways. As composer and Eluvium architect, Matthew Robert Cooper describes, “While Virga I was brought to me by a temporarily evacuation from my house to my garage during a winter snowstorm – and Virga II by a phantasmal dream sequence during the height of a global pandemic – Virga III takes its inspiration from the worlds found in minor green spaces, culverts, and other miniature biological ecosystems operating within our daily deluge of cruel rhetoric, unspeakable violence, unending disruption and devastating disparity. A reflection on the micro and macro universes that surround us.”

MERKABA BROTHERHOOD - The MerKaba Brotherhood LP (Mississippi Records) 
The MerKaBa Brotherhood explores hidden knowledge through rhythm and sonic texture. Roman Norfleet (The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, Be Present Art Group) and Andre Raiah (Brown Calvin) draw from esoteric texts, sacred imagery, and mystic thought, shaping sound into space, tone, and pulse. Their self-titled album, The MerKaBa Brotherhood, turns sound into a working language—textures as diagrams, melodies as signals—resonating between rhythm and revelation.

CATHY HAMER - Lady Full of Dreams LP (Numero)
Caught between the Canyon and the Caribbean, Cathy Hamer’s pair of extremely private LP’s got lost in the Me Decade’s hippy hangover. Tracked in ‘79 and ‘80 at Roanoke, Virginia’s custom bluegrass powerhouse Threshold Recordings, these 11 originals breeze through all colors— folk, country, yacht, etc—of the cosmic American rainbow. Remastered LP comes housed in a tip-on jacket with accompanying booklet of notes and the precious few photos that survived from Hamer’s brief time as a lady of the canyon, full of dreams and nowhere to go.

ALAN BRAUFMAN - Anthem for Peace LP (Valley of Search)
Alto saxophonist and flutist Alan Braufman first emerged as a singular voice in New York’s 1970s loft-jazz scene with his 1975 debut Valley of Search, a record that would later be recognized as a landmark of spiritual and free jazz. After decades outside the spotlight, Braufman returned with a new wave of acclaim, releasing two highly regarded albums in 2020 and 2024 that reestablished him as both an essential elder and a vital contemporary presence—long described as “a legend in free music” (Gilles Peterson / BBC).Recorded in a single day in the fall of 2025, Anthem for Peace is a fully new studio album that captures Braufman in the present tense. Leading a quartet with vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, bassist Luke Stewart, and drummer Chad Taylor, he delivers concise, hook-forward compositions that move fluidly between spiritual anthems, buoyant post-bop, and hypnotic, eastern-influenced themes. Brennan’s vibraphone—shimmering acoustically and occasionally treated electronically—adds depth and color, while Stewart and Taylor form a deeply locked, responsive rhythm section. The result is music that is “playful and light, yet texturally dense” (NPR): optimistic, focused, and driven by a clear sense of forward motion.

DONALD BYRD - Cat Walk (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition) LP [Reissue/1962] (Blue Note Records)
Donald Byrd was deep in a groove in 1961 as the trumpeter turned out one hard bop classic after another for Blue Note including The Cat Walk featuring Byrd’s quintet with Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, Duke Pearson on piano, Laymon Jackson on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The band struts their stuff on an engaging set of swinging originals including Pearson’s alluring opener “Say You’re Mine,” Byrd’s swaggering title track, and an up-tempo sprint through Neal Hefti’s tune “Cute” featuring a commanding performance by Jones.

KENNY DORHAM - Whistle Stop (Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition) LP [Reissue/1961]  (Blue Note Records)  
After having recorded early bop classics like Afro-Cuban and ‘Round About Midnight At The Café Bohemia for Blue Note in the mid-1950s, trumpeter Kenny Dorham made an invigorating return to the label in 1961 with Whistle Stop. The album is a 7-song set of Dorham originals performed by a top-shelf hard bop quintet with Hank Mobley on tenor saxophone, Kenny Drew on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Inventive compositions like “Philly Twist,” “Sunset,” and “Sunrise In Mexico” provide ample grist for the mill, leading the musicians down inspired paths.

COMING NEXT WEEK
FUTURE ISLANDS - From A Hole In The Floor… CD/LP
THEE MARLOES - Di Hotel Malibu CD/LP
DIIV - Oshin LP reissue
UNDERSCORES - U CD/LP
RILO KILEY - Rkives CD/LP
WHIRR - CD/LP Reissues
BLEACHERS - Everyone For Ten Minutes CD/LP
DESLONDES - Don’t Let It Die Vol 1 CD/LP
MARISA ANDERSON - Anthology Of Unamerican Folk Music LP
WHY? - Elephant Eyelash CD/LP reissue
TIM KASHER - Sponges Of Experience CD/LP
J COLE - The Fall Off CD/LP