Amoeba Music

Nobody makes you dance quite like Machine Girl. It's hard to believe it has been ten years since the release of their neon-streaked, euphoria-inducing album WLFGRL . Fusing digital hardcore and footwork into an underground rave culture essential, the album will remind you of everything you love about warehouse parties and 5 am Ubers. The WLFGRL 10 YEAR+ ANNIVERSARY EDITION features four bonus tracks for even more dancefloor bliss. More

Miso Extra's Earcandy is sugar sweet. The British-Japanese artist creates bouncy dancefloor pop informed by UK garage, K-pop, R&B, and '80s synthpop. These songs exist in a hypercolor world, brighter, more dazzling than our own...Miso calls it the "Misoverse." Earcandy is a stunning, imaginative, and purely fun debut. More

On Hers , Matt Maltese writes wonderfully baroque indie chamber pop. Languid and romantic, the songs call to mind '60s lounge crooners with a fresh, contemporary twist. Swelling strings, gentle piano, and lilting woodwinds add to the dreamy atmospherics while Maltese's velveteen voice draws listeners into his singular world. A gorgeous record that feels like a cult favorite, Hers fits nicely among the works of The Walker Brothers and Burt Bacharach. More

Sleep Theory debut with one of the most assured debuts of the year. Afterglow is a fierce rallying cry, a heavy album with a bruised, battered, yet still proudly beating heart. The band pushes the metalcore genre forward, writing anthemic, addictive choruses, while striking out into moodier territory via synths and electronic elements. An exciting and electrifying collection of tracks that marks Sleep Theory as one of the most inventive bands in metalcore today. More

Flickering Resonance finds the band Pelican rejoined by founding guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec after his ten-year break. It's also their first new album in six years, and its a feast of instrumental post-rock and doom metal. Lead single "Cascading Crescendo" is dense and heavy with propulsive guitar dropping into a moody bridge and adding lighter layers afterward. "Pining For Ever" reveals the band's songwriting chops by being quite melodic while remaining heavy. More

Röyksopp's True Electric is the type of record that just makes you happy to be alive. Crafted to emulate the experience of the duo's live shows, the album consists of 19 studio tracks they performed on their 2023 True Electric tour, the previously unreleased track "The 'R'", and recently-reworked originals and remixes. Guest vocalists include Fever Ray, Robyn, Susanne Sundfør, Alison Goldfrapp — and that's just a sampling of the incredible talent included in the mix. True Electric is pure dancefloor euphoria. More

On their third studio album, Australian indie rockers Spacey Jane write affecting, addictive songs that always seem to get straight to the heart of the matter. They're also, at times, so catchy and so delightful, you'll get an adrenaline rush just from listening. Wryly named If That Makes Sense , the album's title evokes a need for reassurance even as Spacey Jane gets so vulnerable, insightful, and poignant, you'd swear you were listening to songs describing your own life. If you're not already acquainted with Spacey Jane, this urgent and exceptional record will make you wonder where the band has been all your life. More

The inimitable Jenny Hval returns with the piercing, lovely Iris Silver Mist . Named after a fragrance by the French perfume house Serge Lutens, the album is a reflection of Hval's pandemic experience: no live music, no scent of smoke and sweat, a longing for human intimacy manifesting itself through a newly rediscovered passion for perfume. The resulting album is both sensual and ethereal. The songs run the gamut from post-punk meets trip-hop ("The artist is absent") to melancholy chamber pop ("Lay down") to experimental folk ("To be a rose"). Iris Silver Mist is an extraordinary album, a record imbued with longing, wonder, and fragile beauty. More

On their first album in five years, Car Seat Headrest pays tribute to the legends of the western canon, from Shakespeare to Mozart to David Bowie. The Scholars is bold and experimental, while delivering head-boppin' rock anthems that are just pure fun. The songs will keep you on your toes; in the course of the opening track alone, genre flourishes swim seamlessly from piano rock to prog to krautrock to country rock. Each track is its own imaginative world because yes...it's not just a concept album, but also a rock opera. Innovative, jubilant, and filled with surprises, The Scholars is a delight. More

Time Indefinite is William Tyler's (Silver Jews, Lambchop) first solo record in five years. "Cabin Six" opens the album with a flutter of distorted noise, harsh sounds layering upon one another, a sort of voice crying above the tumult. Perhaps it's no surprise that this eerie track is a response to the anxiety, fear, and confusion of early 2020, when the world shut down. Partway through, however, a stillness emerges, laced with delicate beauty and quiet resilience. That understated loveliness carries the album forward, creating a rich atmosphere that highlights the joy amidst pain, the wonder amidst the terror. Time Indefinite is brilliant, thoughtful, and essential listening. More

Brothers Ross and Rocky Lynch have released their fourth studio album as The Driver Era, Obsession . It will unequivocally delight their avid fans of well-crafted pop/rock tunes with smooth vocals and catchy hooks. "The Weekend" is a frothy upbeat number suited to its title, while "Don't Walk Away" brightens romantic verses with a head-bopping chorus. Other highlights include "I'd Rather Die," a groovy, slightly funky gem, and "Don't Take The Night," which leans into electro-pop or disco-punk. More

HTRK's 2021 album  Rhinestones is getting reissued on what they call "Haunted Blue Vinyl." It's a dusky, enigmatic blue, fitting for an album the band has described as “eerie and gothic country music" with songs exploring the veneer of glamour, and how seemingly commonplace items and experiences can become precious things. And this album will haunt you. Stripped down, downtempo, and sometimes a bit jarring, these beautifully melancholic songs are bewitching and intoxicating. More

With an EP as good as Paradise on Planet Popstar , it's no wonder Wishy's star is on the rise. The Indianapolis indie rockers write blissfully fuzzed out tracks imbued with longing and driven by defiant riffs. The band deftly blends garage rock, shoegaze, and grunge, channeling frustration and desire into these gritty, cathartic songs. You won't be able to get enough of this short-but-sweet release. More

Originally released in 2002, Rilo Kiley's now classic indie rock album The Execution of All Things is being reissued as the Frozen Lake Edition . Recorded in Nebraska with Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, the album became a landmark early '00s Saddle Creek release...and it still sounds just as refreshing, romantic, and poignant as it did back then. The songs showcase Jenny Lewis' incredible ability to take tales of depression and trauma and turn them into heartfelt, wistful, hope-inducing gems. Rediscover an old favorite or get ready to have your life changed with this bittersweet, beautiful album. More

Irish musician Maria Somerville makes her 4AD label debut with new album, Luster . Somerville has contributed to Richard Russell's Everything Is Recorded project and the 4AD compilation Bills & Aches & Blues, and kept busy as the host of "Early Bird Show" on NTS Radio. On Luster , she invokes a lush new world of dream-pop with hints of shoegaze. "Garden" is especially lovely with its nostalgic, shimmering guitar and joyful melody. "Projections" casts a spell with its mesmerizing strumming and echoing vocals. More

Oakland metal stalwarts Machine Head return with their eleventh studio album, Unatoned , introducing drummer Matt Alston and lead guitarist Reece Scruggs. The single "Bonescraper" is a dramatic ode to love lost and it pummels fans with its growling verses before bursting into an anthemic chorus. "Unbound" is a solid thrash headbanger while "These Scars Won't Define Us" brings on the chant-along choruses with guest turns by Lacuna Coil, In Flames, and Unearth. More

Chicago's Luke Titus has released his second album, another appealing fusion of jazz, hip-hop, experimental, and indie rock. The multi-instrumentalist applies his drumming expertise and production skills to excellent effect on these innovative tracks. "Above Us" is a groovy, buoyant tune with a toe-tapping beat. "Sideline" is stirring alt-R&B while "All My Life" is an infectious indie rock track with a funky rhythm. More

The fourth studio album by Connecticut's Goose is their first with drummer Cotter Ellis and it represents a period of growth and evolution for the jam band/indie rockers. This theme is reflected in the feel-good single "Give It Time," but also in the band's decision to include live favorites alongside the new songs. "Your Direction" also offers positive vibes, in a gently groovy setting with characteristic elements of psych rock. More

'80s rock icon Billy Idol follows up his EP The Cage with his first new studio album since 2014, Dream Into It . Featuring guests Avril Lavigne, Joan Jett, and Alison Mosshart of the Kills, the album is a decidedly fun blast of timeless rock n' roll. "Still Dancing" is a euphoric, fist-pumping ode to surviving the past and embracing the future. It's the perfect anthem for the seemingly ageless rocker who keeps giving it his all. More

Ghost's sixth studio album, Skeletá , has arrived in all its '80s rock-loving glory. Despite lyrics that delve into darker themes and contemporary issues, the songs continue to deliver plenty of satisfyingly catchy hooks and epic guitar solos. Tobias Forge is a master of melody, and "Satanized" is an instant earworm with its strong chorus and lyrics about religion and temptation. "Lachryma" has edgier, hard-rock verses that fit the vampiric theme, but it still soars into an infectious chorus. You just can't beat Ghost for a gratifying chorus. More