The half-way mark of September brings us another week of great new releases with some big artists dropping some highly anticipated new works. It wasn’t long ago that Mitski announced an indefinite hiatus, but following last year’s great album Laurel Hell, she’s back today with the highly reserved and introspective new record The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We.
Post-rock luminaries Explosions in the Sky have perfected the quiet-loud-quiet dynamic of their sound over the years and when you’ve spent a career detailing your sound down to the finest touches, it’s not worth straying from what works well. Explosions continue to churn out their now classic sound and when something has worked with such high reward, there’s no bother in changing it especially when the results are this special.
Metal stalwarts Baroness’ last album was 2019’s Gold & Grey, but today they return to their old tricks of high velocity black metal with the righteous new record Stone. It’s the first to depart from their classic color-coded album names, but the singles prove they’re up to the same old killer tricks.
Folk-rock institution Woods have a new one out today as well and it continues to follow their pastoral sound that includes rich instrumentals and their idyllic harmonies and falsettos. Vagabon drops her newest record today too and once again finds herself looking inward for pristine results, her bold and confident singer-songwriter style once again feeling comforting while mixing exciting beats into her soulful sound.
Alan Palomo used to record under the moniker Neon Indian and was a leading figure in the 2010’s chillwave scene. Today he releases his first record under his own name and continues to expand his sound beyond his formerly confined artistic sphere. Nas just dropped his new album Magic 2 earlier this year and this week he announced the surprise follow-up Magic 3 would be out today.
Animal Collective will release the follow-up to last year’s excellent comeback album Time Skiffs in just a few weeks, but this week they shared the Panda Bear led track “Gem & I” which includes calypso rhythms and the usual psyched-out grooves. Dream-pop act Yumi Zouma also released a really good album last year and this week came back with the bright and bubbly “KPR” that adds some twisted guitar flair to their shimmering synths.
The unstoppable Big Thief released a studio version of their recent live staple “Vampire Empire” earlier in the year and this week they shared the b-side, another live favorite, “Born for Loving You.” It’s a blistered alt-country rocker that fits the mold that band has been carefully crafting over the last several years and highlights their unrivaled ability to write killer tunes at what seems like the drop of a hat.
For nearly three decades, Wilco have been releasing good to life-changing albums, one of which is an undisputed classic that has become a defining record for a generation, and soon they’ll release another gem in the collection. While they insist Cousin isn’t a reference to the smash TV sensation The Bear, I’m less than convinced, but either way the band shared the album’s title-track this week which Tweedy has described as a post-punk take on folk-rock.
Also coming this fall, is the new record from indie folk hero Sufjan Stevens. The new album, Javelin, follows 2020’s expansive The Ascension and is a return to form of his highly emotional and forever engaging singer-songwriter mode that made him a staple of the scene in the mid-aughts. This week he dropped the album’s second single, the intimate “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?”
Afro-futurist jazz ensemble Sons of Kemet broke up last year when Shabaka Hutchings decided to move away from his primary instrument, the saxophone, but this week they reissued their album Burn and included a previously unreleased track, “The Junglist.”
Lindsey Jordan is best known as Snail Mail and as a follow-up to her last album, Valentine, she’s announced a new EP of demos and unreleased tracks, including the stark and skeletal “Easy Thing.” Next week, Patio will release their sophomore record, Collections, and yesterday they shared the final single ahead of the album drop. “Inheritance” is another post-punk gem that features their trademark, dry and angular guitars and barebones rhythms.
Albums:
Mitski | The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We
Baroness | Stone
Explosions In The Sky | End
Nation Of Language | Strange Disciple
Woods | Perennial
Vagabon | Sorry I Haven’t Called
Alan Palomo | World Of Hassle
Willie Nelson | Bluegrass
Nas | Magic 3
Vic Mensa | VICTOR
Sextile | Push
Songs:
Animal Collective | “Gem & I”
Big Thief | “Born for Loving You”
Yumi Zouma | “KPR”
Sufjan Stevens | “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?”
Wilco | “Cousin”
Jamila Woods | “Good News”
Sons of Kemet | “The Junglist”
Snail Mail | “Easy Thing”
Patio | “Inheritance”
Myrkur | “Mothlike”
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2023) here!