13 New Albums to Hear This Week

With new music arriving every week, deciding what to listen to first can be difficult. This week’s releases offer an especially broad selection, moving between experimental hardcore, alternative rock, hip-hop, bluegrass, minimalist composition, and more.

Among the highlights are new albums from Turnstile, Erykah Badu and the Alchemist, Interpol, Alabama Shakes, Dinosaur Jr., Mastodon, and several other artists. Together, the records demonstrate the range of contemporary music, with established acts revisiting familiar sounds, veteran musicians entering new creative phases, and younger artists pushing their genres in unexpected directions.

Interpol — This Mirror Weighs a Ton

Interpol’s latest album finds Paul Banks, Daniel Kessler, and Sam Fogarino sounding more elegant, polished, and reflective than ever. The New York band has always carried itself with a certain sharpness, presenting an image more tailored and controlled than that of many of its downtown peers.

On This Mirror Weighs a Ton, that aesthetic extends into the music. The album sometimes recalls the grand, melancholy scale of the National, with carefully arranged songs that suggest a more mature and comparatively affluent version of New York life. Its cover features artwork from the Whitney Museum, while producer Andrew Wyatt brings a résumé that includes work on Charli XCX’s Crash and Rosalía’s Lux.

Still, this is unmistakably an Interpol album. Beneath the refined surfaces, paranoia and dissatisfaction remain close at hand. On the title track, Banks sings, “The radios in your head still speak the arcane,” followed by the image of “the maniac in your head” sleeping in archways. The band may have moved further into adulthood, but the shadows of the city have followed them.

Turnstile — Never Enough: Versions

Never Enough: Versions is not a traditional remix album or a collection of covers. Turnstile has described it as a “reimagined album” built from songs on their Grammy-winning full-length Never Enough.

The project’s scale becomes clear through its long list of collaborators. The contributors include Elton John, Alex G, Slayyyter, Panda Bear, Hayley Williams, Dying Fetus, Oklou, Julien Baker, Blood Orange, Faye Webster, Dan Deacon, Four Tet, A.G. Cook, Mustafa, Chanel Beads, Floating Points, Rod Lee, Porches, Angel Du$t, Kettama, Brandon Woody, Shabaka, and Nourished by Time.

The diversity of those names reflects the openness of the project. Turnstile has chosen collaborators from hardcore, pop, indie rock, experimental electronic music, jazz, and beyond. Instead of explaining how each artist transforms the songs, the band kept quiet until the album arrived, leaving listeners to discover the results for themselves.

Erykah Badu and the Alchemist — Before the World Blows

Before the World Blows marks Erykah Badu’s first full-length project since her 2015 mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone. Produced in collaboration with the Alchemist, the 16-track album feels like a hallucinatory house party that never completely loses control.

The record includes appearances from Earl Sweatshirt, Westside Gunn, Steve Lacy, and Kamasi Washington, among others. Their contributions deepen the album’s dreamlike atmosphere without distracting from Badu’s singular presence.

The Alchemist’s production provides a foundation of vibe-heavy hip-hop beats and percussive excursions, allowing Badu to explore her familiar themes from unusual angles. Her voice remains timeless, but the album is deeply engaged with contemporary life and its anxieties.

Kamasi Washington appears on the closing track, “Black Box,” where Badu reflects on the overwhelming influence of phones. Speaking to The Guardian, she described the device as a “pseudo-husband and wife,” noting that the first source of dopamine people reach for in the morning may determine what they seek throughout the day.

Alabama Shakes — I Must Be Dreaming

Alabama Shakes return with their first album in 11 years. Their previous record, Sound & Color, was released in 2015, and the distance between the two albums makes I Must Be Dreaming feel like both a comeback and a reflection on everything that has changed since.

Frontperson Brittany Howard looks directly at the contradictions of the present, describing the world as “so fucking crazy right now” while also recognizing that it remains “so incredibly beautiful.” That tension explains the album’s title, which carries both wonder and disbelief.

Howard’s soulful screams remain central to the band’s sound. In “Another Life,” she reaches for emotional intensity, while “American Dream” examines the country’s worsening quality of life through the language of protest. Alabama Shakes return with many of the qualities that made them distinctive, but the world surrounding their music has changed significantly.

Mike D — Thank You

Mike D’s Thank You revives the restless spirit of the early Beastie Boys. It is the first album from a member of the group since the Beastie Boys’ 2011 record Hot Sauce Committee Part Two.

The rapper and producer works with musicians including SZA collaborator Carter Lang and his two sons. The album combines stentorian vocals with whirligig beats and sharp analog synthesizers, drawing from post-punk, no wave, noise, experimental hip-hop, and adventurous electronic music.

Rather than presenting itself as a conventional comeback, Thank You feels more like a burst of retro-futuristic energy. It is rough around the edges, rhythmically strange, and full of ideas. Mike D sounds less interested in recreating the past than in reconnecting with the sense of experimentation that defined the Beastie Boys at their most inventive.

Jim James — Wowed Out

For Wowed Out, Jim James retrieved a collection of songs he recorded in the early 2010s with composer and producer Brian Reitzell. The tracks were originally intended for possible future films, but they remained unreleased until now.

As the frontman of My Morning Jacket, James is known for expansive arrangements that combine folk, soul, and psychedelia. Those elements remain present here, but the songs are more restrained than some of his main band’s later work.

The album also takes spiritual inspiration from recordings of meditative organ performances by Alice Coltrane. That influence gives Wowed Out a sense of stillness and reflection. Rather than relying on sheer scale, James creates moments of wonder through space, repetition, and subtle atmosphere.

Asher White — Love Aggregates

Asher White’s Love Aggregates moves freely between mercurial pop, literary art rock, and rough-edged folk. The Providence musician performs as an all-singing, all-dancing one-person band, building songs that sound both intimate and expansive.

The album follows White’s recent full-length cover of Jessica Pratt’s self-titled record and continues a prolific run of genre-crossing releases. Initially released in stages through Bandcamp, the record now arrives through Joyful Noise.

White describes Love Aggregates as a breakup record of sorts, but its perspective is broader than simple separation. The title refers to the idea that new love does not replace or erase old love; instead, experiences accumulate. The album gathers snapshots from different stages of relationships, ranging from emotional wounds to youthful desire.

Dinosaur Jr. — There Near

Dinosaur Jr.’s There Near is the band’s sixth album since their 2006 reunion. According to J Mascis, the record was shaped by an old Rick Rubin principle: return to the sound of the first album and recover what made it powerful.

The result combines scrappy, thrashing riffs with the mournful, folk-informed songwriting that has increasingly characterized Mascis’ work. The guitars retain their jagged force, but the album is also marked by reflection and emotional restraint.

Lou Barlow contributes “Blowin’ Up” and “No One’s Ready,” two songs that appear to address the political establishment. Elsewhere, There Near seeks escape and self-salvation through a soft layer of distortion. The band reaches backward without simply repeating its past.

Liim — A Sunflower Garden in Harlem Is Hard to Find

Liim’s second album travels through several stages of New York life, moving from the projects in Harlem to the Lower East Side and eventually to Brooklyn. The songs capture young love, dirt bikes, summer streets, and the small details of neighborhood life.

Musically, Liim blends sharp-witted rap with soulful singing. His influences include Eric B. & Rakim, Dev Hynes, and Tyler, the Creator, and the album moves between 1980s hip-hop, 1990s neo-soul, and oversized N.E.R.D.-style beats.

The record is nostalgic without being stuck in the past. Liim looks back toward a more certain version of life while trying to understand his own transition into adulthood. Beneath the confidence, there is a hunger for clarity and an emerging sense that he may be close to finding it.

The Linda Lindas — Gotta Get Out

After establishing their melodic pop-punk abilities on their first two albums, the Linda Lindas use Gotta Get Out to explore a wider range of sounds. The Los Angeles quartet remain committed to catchy songwriting, but they are also more willing to embrace musical change.

That development reflects the band’s personal growth. The members are entering their teenage years, while guitarist Bela Salazar has become the first member to turn 21. The album includes a full-force hardcore song, “Blood on Our Hands,” as well as “Closer,” a collaboration featuring Paramore singer Hayley Williams.

Following 2024’s No Obligation, Gotta Get Out presents a band determined not to repeat itself. Even the album’s title suggests a desire to avoid stagnation and burnout. The Linda Lindas are using the record to replenish their creative energy.

Billy Strings — So Much for Goodbyes

Billy Strings’ So Much for Goodbyes is an elegiac album written in memory of his mother, Debra, who died in 2025 from a drug overdose. Her collage artwork appears on the album cover, giving the project an intimate visual connection to its subject.

The 16-track record does not simply remain in grief. Instead, Strings fills the songs with the energy and personality of the woman who raised him. The music retains the speed and technical brilliance associated with his bluegrass playing, but the performances carry an additional emotional weight.

Strings described his goal as turning heartbreak into songs while using the guitar as a coping mechanism. That idea runs throughout the album. The instrument becomes a means of processing loss, transforming private pain into movement, rhythm, and sound.

Sarah Davachi — The Will of Tongues

Sarah Davachi’s The Will of Tongues continues her exploration of music that feels both minimalist and immense. Her compositions draw on medieval pipe-organ works, chorales, and orchestral suites, combining ancient sources with the techniques of contemporary experimental composition.

The album is magnetic but difficult to fully define. Acoustic and electric instruments meet, chamber sounds blend into tape loops, and individual textures gradually disappear into a meditative drone.

Davachi’s music creates a sense of time that seems to move beyond ordinary human scale. The pieces can feel centuries old and completely new at once. Her reverence for historical instruments is balanced by an interest in downtown minimalism, electronic processing, and the physical resonance of sound.

Mastodon — Marrow Deep

Mastodon’s first album in five years is also their first since the sudden death of former frontman Brent Hinds. Marrow Deep therefore functions as both a musical return and a meditation on grief.

The record was originally conceived in response to the death of drummer Brann Dailor’s mother. Its emotional scope expanded after the band began recording only two weeks after Hinds’ death.

New keyboardist João Nogueira contributes lively keys to the arrangements, adding another layer to Mastodon’s heavy sound. The album does not reproduce Hinds’ “mad-scientist songwriting and uninhibited guitar work,” but it moves forward rather than attempting to conceal the changes within the group.

Marrow Deep examines loss, perseverance, and the process of continuing after sudden upheaval. The band’s future may sound different, but the album suggests that its creative foundation remains strong.

A Week of Wide-Ranging New Music

This week’s releases offer no single dominant sound. Instead, they reveal a musical landscape defined by reinvention. Turnstile reinterpret their own work through an extraordinary network of collaborators. Erykah Badu and the Alchemist create a surreal world of beats and social commentary. Alabama Shakes confront a changed America, while Dinosaur Jr. revisit the force of their early years.

Elsewhere, Mike D reconnects with experimental energy, Jim James opens a vault of atmospheric recordings, and Sarah Davachi turns ancient musical ideas into immersive modern compositions. The Linda Lindas and Liim explore growth from different generational perspectives, while Billy Strings transforms grief into movement and Mastodon confronts loss through heavy, mythic sound.

Taken together, these albums make a strong case for listening widely. Whether you are looking for abrasive guitars, adventurous rap, emotional bluegrass, ambient minimalism, or pop-punk immediacy, this week’s new releases offer plenty of places to begin.