Halloween may be officially behind us, but it still feels like Spooky season here in the U.S. as the election looms (please vote, but not for a Nazi) so it couldn’t be more fitting that for the first time in sixteen years, we have a new album from legendary goth act The Cure. Songs Of A Lost World has been getting a lot of early praise as a most welcomed return from the Robert Smith fronted icons and the idea of a great new album from such a prolific band is a much needed thing right now and based on the lead singles, I have a feeling this one will indeed be a worthy entry in their catalogue.
After only giving us a few weeks notice, Tyler, the Creator dropped his brand new album on Monday (so technically it’s an October release) and it’s another tour-de-force that finds Tyler expertly flexing his skills over tricked-out beats and rapid-fire flows that continue to showcase his forward-thinking approach to the genre and why he has risen to one of the biggest names in the game.
No matter the moniker he uses, Phil Elverum makes lo-fi wonders with his thought-evoking folk music that can bring out some intense and moving feelings and his latest endeavor as Mount Eerie continues this journey. Over diverse melodies and flashes of pure amazement, this seems to be his most comprehensive output yet with a career-spanning display of talent.
The last record from Autre Ne Veut was 2015’s Age of Transparency and now Arthur Ashin is back with a brand new album and he picks up right where he left off with lofty pop ambitions and slinky R&B vibes that recall the blog-era styles of the late aughts and early 2010’s.
Originally from Sydney, but now residing in Vancouver, Jack J does a stupendous job of blending techno and ambient with the shuffle of jazz to create a world of sound that’s full of lounge-ready vibes that beg you to stretch out and still keep the party going with its easy rhythms and inviting grooves.
The jazz and afro-beat collective KOKOROKO has a new EP out today that gives us more of their poly-rhythmic flair along with increased influences of funk and smooth, sultry synths into their lushly arranged sound. There are nods to nostalgia throughout as the band recalled their familial past from 1960s Nigeria and have brought those memories and collective feelings into their jubilant sound.
Last month, Mogwai shared an electronic infused new tune that conjured up wide-screen cinematic emotions with a vibrant pulse. This week they announced that song would be included on their eleventh studio album (due next year) and shared another new one, a classic sounding guitar-forward anthemic tune that stretches out to towering heights and flexes their surging sound with primal force.
LCD Soundsystem have been back on the scene for a while now. Since reforming back in 2015, James Murphy and company have released the still excellent American Dream and have played annual residencies in New York City for the past three holiday seasons in addition to other appearances around the globe. In 2022, they were featured on the soundtrack to Noah Baumbach’s film White Noise and now they’re rumored to have a new album coming in 2025. Adding fuel to the rumor fire, the band has shared “x-ray eyes,” a rather slow and atypical single that isn’t the banger you’d expect, but could be a hint as to what the group has in store for us.
Despite the news that TV on the Radio are playing shows again for the first time in five years, frontman Tunde Adebimpe has announced a new solo album and the lead single is the fervent “Magnetic” which finds the singer matching the energy level of his group’s breakout hit “Wolf Like Me” and suggests that this time away may have allowed the creative juices to start flowing like it’s the mid-aughts again.
One of the year’s most underrated albums comes from Fabiana Palladino who has been working alongside Jai Paul for quite some time, but fully broke into her own form on her debut record. She’s returned with a slinky new, one-off single that features her legendary father Pino Palladino on bass.
Jason Dungan records music under the alias Blue Lake and in 2025 he’ll return with a new mini album that continues to capture his fusion of folk, jazz, ambient, and other experimental sonic elements that he’s able to create through his plethora of stringed instruments, some of which are also his own creations.
Math-rocking party punks Fang Island haven’t released an album since their 2012 sophomore record Major and while they never broke up officially, they haven’t been active in quite some time. Before the year ends, they’ll release a career-spanning box set and it includes an instrumental track called “Starquake” which they’ve dubbed a farewell song. It’s the surging, uplifting track you’d expect and still sounds like a bunch of people jamming in a room, high-fiving, and having the times of their lives.
Albums:
THE CURE | Songs Of A Lost World
TYLER, THE CREATOR | CHROMAKOPIA
MOUNT EERIE | Night Palace
FREDDIE GIBBS | You Only Die 1nce
JACK J | Blue Desert
WILLIE NELSON | Last Leaf On The Tree
LIL UZI VERT | Eternal Atake 2
AUTRE NE VEUT | Love, Guess Who???
KOKOROKO | Get The Message EP
Songs:
MOGWAI | “Lion Rumpus”
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM | “x-ray eyes”
TUNDE ADEBIMPE | “Magnetic”
FABIANA PALLADINO | “Drunk”
ETHEL CAIN | “Punish”
MARY TIMONY | “Curious Tides”
BLUE LAKE | “Oceans”
CLOAKROOM | “Unbelonging”
BARTEES STRANGE | “Too Much”
FANG ISLAND | “Starquake”
KAMAIYAH | “Out the Way”
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2024) here!