New Releases & Staff Picks - 6/6/26

STAFF PICKS
 DARIO - Zoh Amba and Tara Clerkin Trio
ASH - Modest Mouse
JAKE -
KIMBER - Jalen Ngonda
MARY -
ZACH - Zoh Amba and Lee "Scratch" Perry / Mouse on Mars
DREW -
PAT- Tara Clerkin Trio and Lee "Scratch" Perry / Mouse on Mars 

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - I Built You A Tower CD/LP (ANTI-)  
Death Cab for Cutie is one of the definitive indie-rock bands of the century. After twenty-odd years in the major label system, the band returned to their indie roots and signed with ANTI- Records and they're back with a brand-new eleventh album titled, I Built You A Tower out June 5th. I Built You A Tower is the sound of loss, compartmentalization, and then grief bursting out from the seams. It's also the sound of the growth that comes after falling apart, of acknowledging pain without letting it destroy you. “I see the tower existing on your emotional horizon,” Ben Gibbard states. “You don't always have to look at what's inside it, but it's a reminder that it happened. You know it's there. You have to face it.” The band will tour in support of the new album, including a play at Outside Lands. This comes on the heels of a historic, sold-out global tour marking the 20th anniversary of the album Transatlanticism, and the release of their universally acclaimed, 2022's Asphalt Meadow.

MODEST MOUSE - Eraser & A Maze CD/LP (Glacial Pace Rec.)  
A physics theory says past, present, and future coexist - and that's the best lens for An Eraser and a Maze, which feels like every era of Modest Mouse happening at once. Guided by Isaac Brock's instinct-first process, the album is both familiar and alien, warm and cold. It stretches across the band's sonic history, from propulsive classics to stripped, raw moments, while carrying an undercurrent of mortality and loss that refuses easy optimism.

OF MONTREAL - Aethermead CD/LP (Polyvinyl Records)  
Aethermead, the newest offering and 20th full-length album from Of Montreal, finds the band revisiting sounds from their early years, while still pushing artistic boundaries with their iconic style of pop & indie rock. Celebrated for their unique and prolific output, front person and primary songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Kevin Barnes recorded the album at Brooklyn's Honey Jar studios with audio engineer, Drew Vandenberg (Faye Webster, Toro y Moi), with basic tracking done live to a 16-track tape machine with Barnes' longtime live band. “I wanted to capture a quick moment together and to make on-the-fly, spontaneous creative decisions,” says Barnes. “It felt very liberating and exhilarating to have to start and finish an album in a month's time.” The result shimmers with indie pop elements of their 2004 release, Satanic Panic in the Attic, as well as the raw, live energy of 2013's Lousy With Sylvianbriar.

JALEN NGONDA - Doctrine Of Love CD/LP (Daptone)  
Since the release of his critically acclaimed debut full length, 2023's Come Around and Love Me, Jalen's career has undergone a meteoric trajectory. The track ‘If You Don't Want My Love’ went viral, garnering 253 million streams to date. Jalen has appeared on a bevy of first-rate television programs-notably, Graham Norton, Late Night with Steven Colbert and Later with Jools Holland. He opened for Thee Sacred Souls on their national US tour, as well as Olivia Dean on her 2023 UK tour, and has sold out countless club dates across the globe as a headliner. Now, in 2026, with the embers of his debut still burning brightly, Jalen prepares to drop his eagerly awaited sophomore album, Doctrine of Love. The hard work and relentless touring behind his debut has fortified his craft. His message: The doctrine of love holds that every thought and action should be guided first by compassion for others, because love is the highest measure of human worth. The tracks on the forthcoming album are born from this creed. With his deep knowledge and love of classic soul, Jalen delivers authenticity in abundance.

ZOH AMBA - Eyes Full CD/LP (Matador Records)  
In music, Zoh Amba is always striving for greater proximity to the divine. On Eyes Full, their debut singer-songwriter release and first with Matador, they've never come closer. Having already become one of the most exciting saxophonists to emerge from NYC's avant-garde scene, Amba is now letting their heart guide them back to their first instrument, the guitar, and to their hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee. The music is distinctly, instinctively tied to that place: muddy, loose blues with sweet burnishes of Appalachian folk. It feels like a pure transmission of their soul.

WIDOWSPEAK - Roses CD/LP (Captured Tracks)  
An album called Roses would be concerned with romantic gestures. Across the ten tracks that make up the seventh and newest Widowspeak record, intimate spaces and stages of love are captured with a nostalgic, vaseline-coated lens. Widowspeak is a band that riffs on big emotions without being too self-serious. The sweetness, even silliness, of an extended limerent phase that becomes as all-consuming as a pulpy trade paperback. Cars and their drivers serve as a way to talk about odependency. If music can simultaneously be naturalistic and noir, saturated and lush, that is Widowspeak. They're a band that knows how to set a scene. These songs use intimate moments to talk about deeper heartaches: the restlessness inherent in modern existence, waiting around for something to happen. Or, feeling at odds with playing a role in your own life.

SIERRA FERRELL - Live At Third Man Records LP  (Third Man Records)  
Fresh off a landmark year, GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter, and multi- instrumentalist Sierra Ferrell brought her 2025 tour to a close in her adopted hometown of Nashville, TN. Recorded live, direct-to-acetate at Third Man Records' Blue Room, this singular performance bottles the raw energy, firebrand spirit, and spellbinding showmanship that have propelled Ferrell to the forefront of modern bluegrass and country

BEDOUINE - Neon Summer Skin CD/LP (Bedouine Music)  
On her 2026 album, Neon Summer Skin, Bedouine, the project of Azniv Korkejian, explores this feeling of safety long before one can fully understand the concept. Written with vivid, honest and intimate imagery after visiting her family in Saudi Arabia, it tells the story of family and upbringing, and mourns the end of her childhood. There is a singular resonance and newfound heft in this music previously unheard in Bedouine's discography.

VINCE STAPLES - Cry Baby CD/LP (Loma Vista)  
Vince Staples is one of the most revered voices of his generation. Though he's a celebrated multi-hyphenate, making an impact in TV, film & contemporary culture, music is where he most naturally pushes boundaries as an artist, storyteller & creative force. Following a string of acclaimed introspective projects, Ramona Park (a melancholic tribute to his hometown) & Dark Times (deeper, more personal themes), Cry Baby is a more outwardly facing artistic statement and piece of social commentary.

DEER TICK - Coin-O-Matic LP (Ato Records)  
Providence-bred Deer Tick returns with their 9th album, Coin-O-Matic. Rooted in their hometown, it draws from the city's colorful & once-seedy past, telling stories inspired by the characters that shaped it's reputation & the hardworking people who call it home. Named after the former Atwells Avenue headquarters of the Patriarca Crime Family, Coin-O-Matic blends nostalgia with universal themes, delivering the kind of hook-filled, lived-in songwriting longtime fans have come to expect.

DJ SEINFELD - If This Is It CD/LP (Ninja Tune)  
With his multi-layered and highly-accomplished third album If This Is It, Armand Jakobsson AKA DJ Seinfeld has evolved into the artist he always wanted to be. The 12-track LP is an exploration of letting go, embracing the present, and turning what ifs into acceptance. If This Is It is about reflecting on the past without dwelling in it, and finding harmony in restlessness. If This Is It arrives nearly five years to the day after DJ Seinfeld's Ninja Tune debut, Mirrors, but he's been nothing but busy during that time, touring the globe and taking his acclaimed live show to massive crowds at The Warehouse Project and Printworks, playing regular DJ residencies at DC10 and Chicago's beloved Smart Bar, iconic Boiler Room sets in New York, plus slots at Primavera, AVA, Lost Village, Coachella, EDC, Glastonbury and many more.

DRUG CHURCH - Hit Your Head LP [Reissue/2015] (Pure Noise)
DRUG CHURCH - Paul Walker LP [Reissue/2013] (Pure Noise)  
DRUG CHURCH - Swell LP [Reissue/2015] (Pure Noise) 
Limited color reissues from the post-hardcore band.

BLOOD INCANTATION - All Gates Open CD/LP (Century Media)  
The band reveals a light, beautiful and holistic side of their musical lexicon, serving as the pastoral yang energy to the dark atmosphere of Timewave Zero. The soundtrack and documentary originally appeared only in the limited edition Artbook of Absolute Elsewhere. This marks the first standalone release for both, including the first-ever vinyl pressing of the soundtrack. Now on home video, the included 73-minute documentary takes you inside the legendary Hansa Tonstudios. Go behind the scenes as the band rehearses and records with appearances by members of Tangerine Dream, Hällas and Sijjin, fully immersing themselves in Berlin's multifaceted culture. Mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk and featuring retro-futuristic cover art by Jodie Day. This definitive collection is available as a Gatefold 180g 2LP & Blu-Ray featuring an etching on Side D (with limited vinyl variants also including an A2 poster), as well as a Ltd. CD + Blu-Ray Edition which includes an exclusive poster booklet or as a Digital Album. Both Blu-Ray versions feature the documentary in Full HD alongside the official music videos for 'Obliquity of the Ecliptic', 'Luminescent Bridge' and 'The Stargate’.

FLOATING POINTS - Elaenia LP [Reissue/2016]  (Luaka Bop)
It's the 10th anniversary of the record that paved the way for Promises. When we first released Elaenia, Sam Shepherd had already made a name for himself through traveling the world as a DJ, and developing the now legendary club Plastic People in London, together with his friends. He had been working on this album for more than five years, and even built (invented?) an instrument that would draw the album cover, based on the music of the album. This was his first ever full-length release, and he rose to the occasion: Broken beat, spiritual jazz and krautrock, revered by the critics - earning one of the highest scores that year from Pitchfork, back when that meant something. Even before it was released, it was the music that Pharoah Sanders first heard by him, which set the foundation for their later collaboration. A lot has happened in the last 10 years, but this record still kills - and more than anything shows his origins. This limited, color anniversary edition includes a new bonus track on the LP (Precursor), and also comes with the Kuiper EP, all in a hand-numbered gatefold jacket.

NIALL HORAN - Dinner Party CD/LP (Capitol)
Niall Horan returns with his fourth solo album, Dinner Party. Calling it a thank you to the past and a hello to the present, Niall delivers 12 new tracks shaped by love, intimacy, fear, loss, hope and dreams. Cinematic yet organic, Dinner Party invites listeners to take a seat at the table and share in the warmth, wit and sincerity that define the album.

LIZZO - Bitch CD/LP (Atlantic)  
Bitch is the third studio album from 4x Grammy Award-winning artist Lizzo.

JOHN R. MILLER - Great Unknowing LP (Rounder)
As John R. Miller began work on his fourth album, he set out to challenge himself both creatively and geographically. The result is Miller's most ambitious work to date - a spacious, textured collection, blending road-worn storytelling, fuzzy atmospheres, and reflections on movement, memory, and change. Rooted in his West Virginia past yet shaped by constant travel, The Great Unknowing captures an artist trusting the process, embracing risk, and letting the groove lead the way.

NINE INCH NAILS - Tron Ares: Divergence LP (The Null Corporation)  
TRON Ares: Divergence reimagines the original TRON: Ares soundtrack with 20 songs - a mix of new, original music alongside remixes from ARCA, Mark Pritchard, Boys Noize, Lanark Artefax, Chilly Gonzales, Danny L Harle, Jack Dangers, Pixel Grip, Working Men's Club, The Dare, and Schwefelgelb.

OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW - Union Made CD/LP  (Hartland Records)  
Grammy Award winners Old Crow Medicine Show's new album Union Made is rooted in the people, places and pulse of America. It features special guests such as Ray Benson, Evan Felker, Del McCoury, Lee Oskar, Maggie Rose, Molly Tuttle, Jesse Welles, and more. It has ten new OCMS songs and two classic covers: Buffalo Springfield's ‘For What It's Worth’ and Merle Haggard's 'Rainbow Stew.’

LEE SCRATCH PERRY & MOUSE ON MARS - Spatial No Problem CD/LP  (Domino)   After the passing of Lee Scratch Perry, a deluge of recordings appeared claiming to be the final project of the Jamaican icon. These came from musicians and producers from an incredible range of genres-trip hop, dub, ambient, rock, reggae. However, his last official album project took him to Berlin, Germany where he landed on the doorstop of electronic pioneers Mouse on Mars (aka Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma). Spatial, No Problem is the story of what Lee Scratch Perry left behind in Berlin in his encounter with Mouse on Mars. It's a story of spaces mixing, and cultures morphing towards a different kind of future.

RED CLAY STRAYS - Grateful CD/LP (RCA)  
Grateful marks the third studio album from award-winning band The Red Clay Strays. Featuring standout singles ‘Demons In Your Choir,’ ‘Revival,’ ‘If I Didn't Know You,’ and ‘Do Today,’ the album sees the band reuniting with their previous Made by These Moments collaborator and producer Dave Cobb. The assured songs of faith and redemption are fueled by a collective songwriting effort and executed with powerful lead vocals and a thunderous, heart throbbing performance from the band. Grateful is an impactful collection of songs from one of today's most beloved bands.

SLIFT - Fantasia CD/LP (Sub Pop)  
In the technical sense, every previous album by the radiant and heavy French trio SLIFT has been a fantasia-a composite of genres and forms that allowed the band to improvise, to jam on themes until they seemed to spiral together into space. Their acclaimed third album, 2024's Ilion, was a sci-fi story built with 10- to 13-minute exploratory escapades, often starting with doom metal or stoner rock before spinning freely into glorious instrumental oblivion. But, in a bit of intentional irony, SLIFT's fourth album is actually called Fantasia. It's their leanest and most direct record to date. It is also their most riveting album yet, a pointed saga about overcoming international upheaval delivered by a band bearing down, not wasting a single second in the process.

21 SAVAGE - What Happened To The Streets? LP (Epic)  
21 Savage continues to solidify his case as one of the preeminent Hip Hop stars of his generation with the release of his fourth solo studio album, What Happened To The Streets? This version of the album features 21 Savage & Drake's Mr. Recoup and also includes cover art by renowned designer and artist, Slawn.

TARA CLERKIN TRIO - Somewhere Good LP (World of Echo)  
With two extraordinary mini-albums making a splash on London’s World of Echo label in wake of their self-titled 2020 debut, Somewhere Good is, in many ways, the Tara Clerkin Trio's most realised work. In running their usual gauntlet of idiosyncratic approaches, Clerkin & co. color in and outside of compositional lines over the course of 40+ celebratory minutes - never wallowing, despite inherently somber subject matters of self-defeat, disease, displacement, restlessness, gentrification - allowing their arrangements and improvisations ample space and time to situate, stretch out, breathe, cross-pollinate, and ultimately take deeper hold on the listener’s imagination – all while somehow sounding more like themselves than ever before.

JARED MATTSON & RUBAN NIELSON - Fear LP (Jagjaguwar)  
FEAR - the joint album from Jared Mattson of The Mattson 2 and Ruban Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra - was recorded in June of 2024. All recording and mixing took place in Palm Springs. Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios in London.

SLIPPERS  - Slippers 08 LP (Perennial/K Records)  
Slippers mastermind Madeline BB’s new record is a masterpiece. Like if you painted the Beatles with a rattle can and wax pencil. Slippers last record was entitled Do You Like Slippers? More aptly it should have been “Do You Like Pop Music?” Because if the answer is no to either then what are we even doing here? In addition to being a longtime drummer who also performs in Le Pain and has previously played in Yucky Duster, BB’s other passion is animation, and the start of Slippers coincides with her time studying that trade in grad school at California Institute of the Arts. The band began in earnest in BB’s current home of Los Angeles but her love of animation and music go back to her childhood in Atlanta, Georgia.

COMING NEXT WEEK
ANGINE DE POITRINE - Vol 1 & 2 CD/LP
BEBE REXHA - Dirty Blonde CD/LP
FRUIT BATS - Landfill CD/LP
OLIVIA RODRIGO - You Seem Pretty Sad.. CD/LP
JESSIE REYES - Little Vengence CD/LP
MIDLAND - Stages CD/LP
MONO - Snowdrop LP
GOOSE - Big Modern - LP
KALIA VANDEVER - Mana LP