Country raspers, doomy tones, spidery guitar magic, lurching krautrock and Latin air amongst other things…

North Carolina rock band Wednesday have been busily developing what they do for quite a while now - this brand-new Bleeds LP is their sixth album - but there are some real lightning in a bottle moments here. Firstly, frontwoman Karly Hartzman sounds amazing, a modern country voice with smart and wry lyrics and so much charm. Secondly, the way the band moves between alt-country tones and straight-up, pedal-stomped noise is just wild, a perfect pairing of grief, humour and something all together more vengeful. We have loved this one for a different reason each time we play it, a belter.

+ Available on a limited Eco Mix Vinyl pressing with a signed print.

Sametou Sawtan is the new LP from Lebanese collective SANAM and it really is a stunner. Largely unclassifiable, they combine traditional Arabic influences with fairly brutal rock, but it’s never that simple. It plays very much as an album, flowing between doomy post-punk, free improvisations, desert guitar tones and some electronic timbres as the moods ebb and flow. Sandy Chamoun’s vocals are also especially affecting, a very human focal point in an emotionally overwhelming album. Really powerful stuff.

42 Longfield Street Late ‘80s is the collaborative debut album from Kieran Hebden and William Tyler, and it is about as spectacular as you would expect the collaborative debut album from Kieran Hebden and William Tyler to be! The pair bonded over music that had made a formative impact on them - specifically ‘80s American country and folk music - recontextualizing those tones and recording guitars in the studio before Hebden would take those recordings somewhere cosmic. It’s ever so pretty, full of nostalgia as the songs morph, build and subside. The way the pastoral Americana hues sit alongside the odd doof really is impressive. Been absolutely blasting this one, it is a trip.

Warsaw 480km is the debut LP from Irish/Portuguese quintet pôt-pot. It is such propulsive stuff, krautrock grooves that chug with psychedelic harmonics and half-sung and half-chanted lyrics. You can well imagine it fully coming to life live on stage, but there are plenty of oddities and surprises to make this quite the enthralling one on the stereo.

+ Pressed on Cherry Red vinyl.

Soul singer Kendra Morris returns on Colemine Records this week with the smokin’ and super fun, Next. It all has a raw and unfussy sound, leaving her voice to do the work, but the LP also doubles as a high concept vintage board game. Yep!

+ Available on exclusive Blue & Yellow Galaxy Swirl Vinyl.
+ The album is housed in a gatefold tip-on jacket. Inner gatefold features playable board game. Each record includes die-cut insert with playing pieces and game cards to punch out.

Brooklyn indie pop band Nation Of Language return with Dance Called Memory, their debut LP for the Sub Pop label. It’s another of the week's gloriously produced albums, with synth melancholia and sweetly-spidery guitar lines clashing with hypnotic effect.

+ Pressed on Red and White Swirl vinyl.

Ze Ibarra - One of Brazil’s most exciting new talents - returns on Mr Bongo with AFIM and it really is a swooner. Latin jazz and beautifully plucked strings with little orchestrations, plus his voice is pretty sublime. This one really is a lush holiday to somewhere nice.

Joan Shelley follows her critically-acclaimed 2022 album The Spur with her seventh studio album, Real Warmth. It was recorded in Toronto with producer Ben Whiteley (The Weather Station) and her voice sounds absolutely sublime. A great drive to this one.

Georgia rock band Black Lips return to Fire this week with the all new Season Of The Peach. Rock and roll hues, but also gestures towards Country twangs and more pop based shimmers. Really good stuff.

+ Available on a limited Solar Bleached Peach colour vinyl pressing.

To accompany the album, the band have also released Bebop Armageddon (Detours & Offcuts From Season Of The Peach), a companion piece that collects demos and alt versions to show how the album morphed and blurred in the studio. Very limited.

Saul Williams meets Carlos Niño & Friends at TreePeople is a new collaborative album from poet/vocalist Saul Williams and percussionist/producer Carlos Niño. It was recorded in LA’s Coldwater Canyon Park on the grounds of longstanding conservationist organisation TreePeople and features a seven-piece group of LA-based musical Friends, including Mercereau and saxophonist Kamasi Washington. Williams’ poetry is so urgent and is a startling juxtaposition to the tranquility of the ambient suites. Highly recommended, well worth spending some time with.

+ Available on double Green Splatter colour vinyl.

Also this week; The Divine Comedy return in orchestral pop mood with Rainy Sunday Afternoon. Rapper Kojey Radical releases his second studio LP, Don’t Look Down. If you are quick, we have just a couple of copies of Youth Sector’s Pop Couture Dinked Edition left. Altar is the second studio album from the Irish alt-rock band NewDad.