Smell that? That’s the dewy, chilly air of another fall Friday morning without new Kanye music. I can’t say I’m disappointed—I don’t really feel anything besides relief that maybe we can talk about something else for the next 36 hours. Speaking of which, there are a heap of new albums out today that may not have Jesus’ name in the title but should still inspire your souls: the sad and steamy new album by Cigarettes After Sex, the big-hearted rock ‘n’ roll of Grace Potter and Young Guv’s second record of shenanigans. Read on for all the best new music out today, Oct. 25.
1. Black Marble: Bigger Than Life
The new album from Chris Stewart’s synth-pop project Black Marble, Bigger Than Life, is out now via Sacred Bones Records, and its third single is “Private Show,” a hypnotic track with a naturalistic music video. Despite the exclusivity implied by its title, “Private Show” finds Stewart reaching out in all directions, examining the common links between people—the desires, fears and fantasies that make us who we are. “Everybody’s on their way to heaven / Everybody’s gotta die to get there / Everybody knows the only way to go / is to set up a private show,” muses Stewart over rapid-fire drum machines, the song’s steady stream of bass notes overlaid with flurries of synth and sparing guitars, a torrent of mesmerizing melody. Emily Edrosa lends additional guitar to the track, Stewart’s sole collaboration on Bigger Than Life. —Scott Russell
2. Cigarettes After Sex: Cry
Cigarettes After Sex made a hushed and sensual splash with their 2017 self-titled debut, and the Greg Gonzalez-led indie-pop project are returning with a second record, Cry, out now on Partisan Records. The band recorded Cry during nighttime sessions at a mansion on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, with Gonzalez self-producing and engineering the album, and Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) mixing it. “The sound of this record is completely tied to the location for me,” says Gonzalez. “Ultimately, I view this record as a film. It was shot in this stunning, exotic location, and it stitches all these different characters and scenes together, but in the end is really about romance, beauty & sexuality. It’s a very personal telling of what those things mean to me.”—Scott Russell
3. Gallant: Sweet Insomnia
Singer/songwriter Gallant has released another intoxicating slice of R&B in the form of Sweet Insomnia, which follows his 2016 debut Ology. Gallant said of the album in a statement: “I called the album ‘Sweet Insomnia’ because, lyrically, every song is bittersweet. Nothing is 100% positive and light-hearted. Nothing is 100% brooding and cynical. It’s very balanced and real – like an unretouched photo.” —Ellen Johnson
4. Grace Potter: Daylight
“Love Is Love,” the first single from her new album Daylight, is tried-and-true Grace Potter. Featuring a gospel choir and Potter’s dynamite vocals, the song is confessional yet comprehensive. With all its gusto and feeling, it’s the kind of song that’ll stop you dead in your tracks—that’s the power of Grace Potter. It was also the first song Potter wrote for Daylight, and she says the experience was so jarring she nearly stopped the process right then. Thank goodness she didn’t. Like Midnight and much of the Nocturnals’ catalog, this album is soul-stirring, hair-raising, floor-shakin’ Americana that very often slides into good ol’ fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. —Ellen Johnson
5. Iguana Death Cult: Nude Casino
Dutch rockers Iguana Death Cult have unveiled their new album Nude Casino via Innovative Leisure. Nude Casino follows their 2017 self-released debut album The First Stirrings of Hideous Insect Life. “Liquify” is an ode to morphing states of matter in pursuit of transcendence, appreciation of life and rejection of demoralizing monotony. With a carousel of outlandish and frisky guitar tones, Iguana Death Cult curate something absurd and sportive, yet illuminating.”To liquify is what you need to do whenever you feel stuck and tired of your own shape,” the band says. “Take some time to observe and just enjoy being. Get rid of your solid state and let the spirit take over.”—Lizzie Manno
6. King Princess: Cheap Queen
King Princess, aka Mikaela Straus, graces us with her debut album, Cheap Queen, today. Following “Useless Phrases,” “Cheap Queen” and “Prophet,” another new track, “Ain’t Together,” finds her caught in a relationship with a partner who says “I love you” easily, but can’t seem to commit. Another previous single, “Prophet,” was a sultry, even funky, ode to obsession. “Ain’t Together” deals with a similar desperation, but its breezy guitar, backing harmonies and vocal delivery are strikingly dispassionate. “Being chill with you, oh, it kills,” sings Straus, sounding overwhelmingly nonchalant: “I ain’t chill at all.” The song’s buttoned-up approach underscores how keeping a relationship light and unattached can be oppressive in its own right—but it’s so lukewarm, it comes close to falling flat. —Amanda Gersten
7. Lankum: The Livelong Day
Dublin band Lankum, comprised of brothers Ian and Daragh Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat, are back with their third album, the amusingly titled The Livelong Day. They mesh traditional Irish sounds with atmospheric folk and psychedelia to a beautiful result. —Ellen Johnson
8. Mikal Cronin: Seeker
California garage rocker Mikal Cronin recently shared “I’ve Got Reason” the final single ahead of the release of his fourth album, Seeker, out today. The song lets it rip with a fuzzed-out chaos that’s wonderfully sloppy—with a psychedelic music video adding to the madness.“I’ve Got Reason” is undoubtedly the heaviest of Cronin’s new releases. While “Shelter” works soaring strings into its beautiful arrangement, “I’ve Got Reason” strips away the frills. The single feels straight out of the garage, with a minimal guitar, bass and drum formula. —Hayden Goodridge
9. Rex Orange County: Pony
Alexander O’Connor, the creative mind behind the Rex Orange County moniker, is at his best when he’s at his most tender. The contemporary crooner’s latest single, “Pluto Projector,” brings up grand existential questions in the scope of an enduring relationship, making for a track that’s at once both monumental and intimate. It follows the release of “10/10” as the second single from Rex Orange County’s sophomore record, Pony, out today. —Hayden Goodridge
10. Young Guv: GUV II
Young Guv, aka Fucked Up’s Ben Cook, is back with his second LP of the year, GUV II, which follows GUV I. This sequel has lyrics that are just as funny, but the actual music is funkier, weirder and, at times, more psychedelic. —Ellen Johnson