Featured New Releases for
October 22, 2021

Album cover for What a Song Can Do by Lady A
Lady A

What a Song Can Do

Big Machine Records
Country
Lady A play to their soft, melodic strengths on this pleasant blend of country-pop and adult contemporary.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Album cover for Future Past by Duran Duran
Duran Duran

Future Past

BMG
Pop/Rock
A restless, kinetic album featuring collaborations with Blur's Graham Coxon, Giorgio Moroder, and Tove Lo.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Album cover for Blue Banisters by Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey

Blue Banisters

Interscope / Polydor
Pop/Rock
On her second full-length of 2021, this sad-hearted pop singer folds moments of unexpected experimentation into her melancholic torch song formula.

— Fred Thomas

Album cover for Sympathy for Life by Parquet CourtsEditors' Choice
Parquet Courts

Sympathy for Life

Rough Trade
Pop/Rock
On their seventh studio album, this mutable indie band twists the celebratory funk of their last album into strange, more cerebral forms.

— Fred Thomas

Album cover for Actually, You Can by DeerhoofEditors' Choice
Deerhoof

Actually, You Can

Joyful Noise
Pop/Rock
The band's 18th album challenges conformity and the issues of the 2020s with brashly hopeful, genre-mashing experimental pop.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Far In by Helado NegroEditors' Choice
Helado Negro

Far In

4AD
Pop/Rock
Roberto Carlos Lange follows the critically acclaimed This Is How You Smile with a gently ambitious album that puts joy first.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Shade by Grouper
Grouper

Shade

Kranky
Pop/Rock
Gathering 15 years' worth of unreleased songs, Shade reflects all the different nuances of Grouper's beauty.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Fun House by Hand Habits
Hand Habits

Fun House

Saddle Creek Records
Pop/Rock
The reflective indie outfit's SASAMI-produced third album experiments with broader palettes, including synths and guest vocals by Perfume Genius.

— Marcy Donelson

Album cover for -io by Circuit des Yeux
Circuit des Yeux

-io

Matador
Pop/Rock
Haley Fohr matches her profound expressions of loss and grief with expansive orchestral arrangements on her sixth album as Circuit des Yeux.

— Paul Simpson

Album cover for La Luz by La LuzEditors' Choice
La Luz

La Luz

Hardly Art
Pop/Rock
The band's fourth album is a psychedelic departure from their surf rock sound that relies on vocal harmonies, arrangements, and a strong batch of songs.

— Tim Sendra

Album cover for Dream Work by Dinner
Dinner

Dream Work

Captured Tracks
Pop/Rock
The project's first album in four years blends new age enlightenment with breezy indie and electro-pop.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for ANTH01 by Jacques Greene
Jacques Greene

ANTH01

LuckyMe
Electronic
Excellent collection of early singles from one of the standout producers of the post-dubstep era.

— Paul Simpson

Album cover for Here's to Shutting Up by Superchunk
Superchunk

Here's to Shutting Up

Merge
Pop/Rock
The long-running group add a layer of thoughtful sophistication to their jumpy punk- pop; mature but still zesty, this set was reissued with acoustic demos.

— Tim Sendra

Album cover for Tread by Ross from Friends
Ross from Friends

Tread

Brainfeeder
Electronic
The U.K. producer's second album is a wistful set of reflections created using a self-written Ableton plug-in called Thresho.

— Paul Simpson

Album cover for Mandatory Enjoyment by Dummy
Dummy

Mandatory Enjoyment

Trouble in Mind
Pop/Rock
Retro noise pop sounds played with dynamic intensity and melodic grace by a Stereolab-loving L.A. group.

— Tim Sendra

Album cover for Barnyard by Good Morning
Good Morning

Barnyard

Polyvinyl
Pop/Rock
A low-key but punchy indie rock record that tends to shed its more obvious influences with repeated listens.

— Timothy Monger

Album cover for 16 Rayos by Orquesta AkokánEditors' Choice
Orquesta Akokán

16 Rayos

Daptone
Latin
On their sophomore long-player for Daptone, the Cuban big band reaches deep into the spiritual heart of the mambo.

— Thom Jurek

Album cover for Fast Idol by Black Marble
Black Marble

Fast Idol

Sacred Bones
Pop/Rock
Chris Stewart's fourth full-length explores longing and uncertainty with impressionistic songwriting that harks back to his early days.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Mess Esque by Mess Esque
Mess Esque

Mess Esque

Drag City
Pop/Rock
The inspired pairing of multi-instrumentalist Mick Turner (Dirty Three) and Helen Franzmann (McKisko) delivers a set of emotionally powerful, musically inspired mini-epics.

— Tim Sendra

Album cover for Vi/Deo by Xeno & Oaklander
Xeno & Oaklander

Vi/Deo

Dais
Electronic, Pop/Rock
More immediate than some of the duo's previous work, Vi/deo pays graceful tribute to the memories, fantasies, and dreams that sustain us when times are hard.

— Heather Phares

Album cover for Pinky's Blues by Sue Foley
Sue Foley

Pinky's Blues

Stony Plain
Blues
The Austin-based guitar slinger celebrates the lineage of the Texas blues on this raw, wooly, joyous outing.

— Thom Jurek

Album cover for Accelerator by The Convenience
The Convenience

Accelerator

Winspear
Pop/Rock
Supporting members of Video Age step forward as songwriters on a duo debut that evokes the Prince-injected funk and Berlin-esque balladry of the '80s.

— Marcy Donelson

Album cover for Petunia by Tonstartssbandht
Tonstartssbandht

Petunia

Mexican Summer
Pop/Rock
The sumptuous follow-up to 2017's sprawling, lo-fi Sorcerer hews dangerously close to pop.

— James Christopher Monger

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