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Paul Kelly: Seventy not out, with his 30th studio album
New album: The acclaimed, prolific Australian singer-songwriter (and perennial Song Bar playlist favourite) returns with his distinctive, Dylan-esque folk-rock-country with a landmark of age and his 30th studio album, with profound ballad, poetic detail and reflections on age, regrets, lust, love and death
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Midlake: A Bridge To Far
New album: The Denton, Texas band make a welcome return with their distinctively warm, rich, psychedelic folk-rock, marked by close vocal harmonies, acoustic and pedal steel, keyboards and flute, this sixth studio album themed around hope, humility and perseverance, all as a human necessity
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Sorry: COSPLAY
New album: Consistently excellent singles before and heralding this brilliantly odd, clever third album by the London indie band all cement their reputation for a truly original sound filled with a variety of styles, captured in the experimental title of their third LP following 2022’s Anywhere But Here
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Juana Molina: DOGA
New album: A wondrously mesmeric, clever and quirky eighth album of experimental pop by the Argentinian singer, musician and comedian composed largely of analogue synths, originally from improvisations and recorded over several years in her home studio surrounded by her pets
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ROSALÍA: LUX
New album: Grandiose, dramatic, passionate, with extraordinary soaring vocals, melodies and string arrangements, multi-lingual lyrics, the London Symphony Orchestra and with guests including Björk, the Catalan superstar’s fourth LP is a fabulous extravaganza, broadly themed around female saints through history, religion, sex and violence
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The Charlatans: We Are Love
New album: Returning with a first first studio LP since 2017's Different Days, and their 14th overall across 35 years, veterans Tim Burgess, Martin Blunt and co’s latest has that signature sound with Hammond organ, euphoric, engaging melodies, indie syncopations and co-production by Dev Hynes, Fred Macpherson and Stephen Street
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Twen: Fate Euphoric
New album: Vibrant, sparkling, cleverly conceived catchy indie-rock-psychedelia with glittering guitar playing in this third LP by the Nashville duo, timing today’s release for the astrological super moon and themed all around fate, in a release that thematically and philosophically spins through the overwhelming feeling of powerlessness in a techno-cratic world
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The Belair Lip Bombs: Again
New album: A strong, stylish sophomore album following their 2023 debut, Lush Life, by the Australian indie-rock four-piece from Frankston, Melbourne, with rich, dynamic, staccato, strumming and lead guitar riffs and wistful, thoughtful melodic love songs with echoes of Stephen Malkmus, Yawners, Julia Jacklin, and Waxahatchee
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Snocaps
New album: Catchy, fresh, crisp clever, reflective sharp indie with a country twang by Katie Crutchfield aka Waxahatchee, now forming a new group with her twin sister Allison, and supported by MJ Lenderman and Brad Cook
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Witch Fever: FEVEREATEN
New album: Halloween timing comes perfectly for the Manchester quartet in this second LP, following 2022’s Congregation, of scorching, explosive, dark, seething goth-grunge, post-punk, post-rock, metal and hardcore, capturing religious-themed trauma in a personal and allegorical context, fuelled by rage and defiance
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Florence + The Machine: Everybody Scream
New album: Another Halloween-ish well-timed release, in which Florence Welch juggles her thoughts on the addictive joys, but also horrors, of fame, experiencing traumatic emergency surgery, her passion for paganism, folk, witchcraft, and references to 14th-century mystic Julian of Norwich, all in a sixth album full of musical light and shade
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Anna von Hausswolff - Iconoclasts
New album: Perfectly timed for an autumnal Halloween, the Swedish experimental composer’s sixth LP is devilishly haunting, complex, dark and beautiful, featuring a range of dynamic, glittering and drone sounds with woodwind, strings, her soaring voice, as well as guest appearances by Ethel Cain and Iggy Pop
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Hannah Jadagu: Describe
New album: Following her 2023 debut Aperture, the Texas-born, New York artist returns with a lusher, more expanded sound on this second LP, with synth layers added to her guitar, a sense of yearning for her home and missing a partner she left behind during a summer move to write and record in California, delivering some delicious sonic textures and reflections
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Just Mustard: We Were Just Here
New album: Very expansive, dynamic, experimental noise rock and dreamy shoegaze abounds in this third LP by the Irish band from Dundalk with howling distorted guitars, clattering echoes and ethereal explosiveness helped by the skilled mixing hands and ears of David Wrench
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Meric Long: Kablooey
New album: Pulsating, highly percussive, catchy, thrumming DIY indie rock by one half of the San Francisco Bay Area duo The Dodos, in an album mostly created on his own along with some vocal contributions from Spacemoth’s Maryam Qudus, and saxophonist Forrest Day
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Lily Allen: West End Girl
New album: Depression, insecurity, distrust and infidelity are horribly exposed in this darkly candid, visceral first LP in seven years by the outspoken London artist, inspired by the painful evisceration of an open marriage in aftermath of her divorce from her second husband, US actor David Harbour
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Brògeal: Tuesday Paper Club
New album: Raw yet refined, raucous yet emotional, following two EPs, a stirring, boisterous melodic debut LP by the Falkirk band, who bring a strong, Scottish flavour to the folk-punk style and energy reminiscent of the Pogues, but also sounds reminiscent of the indie jangled guitars of Teenage Fanclub, Stone Roses and The Smiths
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Yazmin Lacey: Teal Dreams
New album: A classy, colourful, beautiful and emotionally intelligent second album by the London-born artist following the acclaimed 2023 debut Voice Notes, her rich vocal tones blending soul with jazz, ska, reggae, lover’s rock, R&B and and pop
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Home Counties: Humdrum
New album: The east London band fronted by dual vocalists Will Harrison and Lois Kelly return with a sophomore album of striking, catchy, witty, synth-heavy postpunk-indie-pop, themed about the messiness of communication other modern absurdities, produced by Al Doyle of Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem
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Mozart Estate: Tower Block in a Jam Jar
New album: The prolific and eccentric Birmingham-born Lawrence, known also for cult indie-pop bands Felt, Denim and this iteration (previously called Go-Kart Mozart) continues his small, later-career bloom with brilliantly catchy, quirky synth-pop with echoes of 70s glam and a touch of Sparks, and lyrics fun, clever, throwaway, droll, dark, trippy and melancholy.
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