New Music Reviews (10/6)

Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder share brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation. These reviews help our DJs decide on what they want to play. See what we added this week below (and on our Charts page), including new releases from Rocket, Say She She, Afternoon Bike Ride, and more. 

Rocket - R is for Rocket (Transgressive/Canvasback)
The highly anticipated debut album from LA-based Rocket is a riveting dose of fuzzy, ‘90s-influenced indie rock. Powered by ripping guitars, dynamic drums, and subtle flourishes of keys, vocalist Alithea Tuttle delivers lyrics that explore the complexities of relationships with a delicate punch, adding warmth and tenderness to the band’s potent sound. R is for Rocket is a tight, confident collection that introduces an essential outfit just hitting its stride. –CS

Say She She - Cut & Rewind (drink sum wtr)
The third studio album from scintillating trio Say She She is bursting at the seams with undeniable grooves and delectable harmonies. Blending disco, soul, funk, R&B, and pop, Cut & Rewind walks a fine line between past and present, weaving suave melodies with irresistible hooks. Never ones to shy away from weighty themes, the group offers a perfect soundtrack made for dancing through socio-political unrest. –CS

Afternoon Bike Ride - Running With Scissors (Friends of Friends)
The third studio album from Montreal trio Afternoon Bike Ride is an enchanting collection of immersive indie pop. Featuring crystalline vocals, electronic flourishes, and delicate acoustic guitar, Running With Scissors weaves a dreamy web of organic and synthesized sounds, inviting listeners to float through its sweet yet melancholic soundscapes. –CS

Lady Wray - Cover Girl (Big Crown)
The fourth album from Atlanta-based artist Nicole Wray (aka Lady Wray) is another strong set of evocative R&B/soul songs that pairs her powerhouse vocals with warm, expansive, nostalgia-soaked backdrops from Big Crown Records founder and in-demand multi-instrumentalist/producer Leon Michels. With its focus on love and self-care and inspiration rooted in her consistently evolving identity both musically and personally following her recent motherhood, Cover Girl finds Lady Wray blossoming “into this more self-aware and beautiful flower” and delivering a wondrous, triumphant statement. –AR

Prewn - System (Exploding In Sound)
The sophomore album from LA-based musician Izzy Hagerup, aka Prewn, is a commanding, artful exploration of discomfort and depression. Her expressive vocals, at times stretching into a yodel, sit front and center as she layers sinister strings, guitars, and percussion to craft moody, captivating sonic expressions with dynamic builds. Described as a “private journal made public,” System is a raw and intimate listen that lingers long after the last note. –CS

Pynch - Beautiful Noise (Chillburn Recordings)
The second album from this London band fronted by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Spencer Enock is a knockout set of addictive guitar-pop that blends jangle-pop, New Wave, slacker-rock, and post-punk in smart, charming fashion. Accented by Enock’s nuanced, memorable, poetic lyrics that capture the profound idiosyncrasies of young adulthood, as well as the intermittent glitchy electronics of new member Myles Gammon on synths, Pynch deliver a super sharp record that’s an “exploration of love, death, and the pursuit of meaning through art” and it’s packed with infectious moments start-to-finish. –AR

Real Bad Man & Genevieve Artadi - Everything Is Under Control (Real Bad Man Records)
The funky collaboration from LA’s Real Bad Man and Genevieve Artadi is a smart, vibrant fusion of electropop and R&B. Driven by infectious polyrhythms, layered synths, hypnotic drum work, and Artadi’s compelling vocals, Everything Is Under Control finds the duo exploring new sonic territory with thrilling results. –CS

Ribbon Skirt - PENSACOLA EP (Mint Records)
Serving as a companion to their breakout debut album, the new EP from Montreal-based, Anishinaabe-led outfit Ribbon Skirt is an enthralling blend of melodic post-punk, shoegaze, and grunge. With hazy guitars, textured vocal manipulations, and propulsive percussion, these four tracks pack a serious punch. –CS

Rochelle Jordan - Through the Wall (Empire)
The latest album from Toronto-based artist Rochelle Jordan is a stellar showcase of her adventurous R&B sound that marries her cool, commanding vocals with sleek club-ready beats from a stacked roster of top-shelf producers including KAYTRANADA, Byron the Aquarius, Machinedrum, and a handful of breakout contributions from her longtime producer/collaborator KLSH. While it largely exists within a sweet house-heavy lane, ‘Through the Wall’ serves up some peak pre-funk and afterhours fare too, delivering a richly-layered R&B record that nods heavily to Janet Jackson’s seminal 1990s output while resting comfortably alongside R&B/club contemporaries such as Kelela and George Riley. –AR

The Diasonics - Ornithology (Record Kicks)
The second album from this Moscow-based outfit is a sweet set of instrumental-heavy grooves that brews together cinematic funk, instrumental hip-hop, analog soul, and laidback psych in colorful fashion. While the group’s instrumental prowess is on strong display throughout, there’s a few songs (#1, #4, #9) that feature wordless vocals that further accentuate their dusty, locked-in, on-point vibes. –AR

Afrodream - Guiss Guiss (Rubik Media)
The second album from this Turin, Italy-based ensemble led by Senegalese vocalist/percussionist Abou Samb and Italian guitarist/vocalist/percussionist Luca Vergano is a vibrant set of colorful Afrobeat grooves featuring lively, hypnotic, funky rhythms and warm, optimistic, communal vocals. –AR

Al Nicol - Only Hoping (self-released)
The debut album from Nashville-based Al Nicol is a timeless collection of psych-inflected Americana. Produced by Hiss Golden Messenger, Only Hoping features lush instrumentation, rich vocals, and vivid storytelling that transport listeners in a delightful haze. –CS

Daffo - Where the Earth Bends (Concord)
The debut album from LA-based Gabi Gamberg, aka Daffo, is a compelling collection of emotive, folk-tinged indie rock. Featuring gripping guitar work and poetic lyricism, Where the Earth Bends resonates deeply and stands as a strong introduction to a promising new voice. –CS

George Riley - More is More (confessions)
London-based vocalist George Riley follows up her 2023 Ninja Tune debut Un/limited Love EP and recent collaborations with HiTech, SHERELLE, and Verses GT with another sweet set of expansive, sultry, evocative R&B that combines her magnetic voice with stellar club-tinted beats and a sleek pop sensibility. –AR

Jr. Thomas & Eraserhood Sound - Jr. Thomas in the Eraserhood (DeepMatter)
This debut collaborative album between Jr. Thomas (aka Minneapolis-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Thomas McDowall) and Philadelphia-based production duo Eraserhood Sound (Maxwell Perla and Vincent John) is a sharp set of classic analog-rich soul songs with a strong reverence for the iconic, genre-defining sounds of the 1960s and 1970s. –AR

MADMADMAD - Run EP (Def Pressé)
The latest EP from this London trio is a rad set of dizzying, propulsive, squelchy electronic grooves. With inspiration steeped in mutant disco, Big Beat, No Wave, and 90s-era electronica, Run is a filler-free dance party with an insistent pulse. –AR

Micah E. Wood - You, Me, the Reign (Crafted Sounds)
The third album from this Baltimore musician and photographer is a nice mix of colorful psych-pop, soulful synth-pop, and groovy art-pop that “embodies the feeling of being in love in a backdrop of anti-capitalist protest, confusion, and unrest.” While it’s largely carried by Micah’s heartfelt vocals and eclectic productions, You, Me, the Reign is also a celebration of his city’s underground music community with appearances from Baltimore artists Eyas, N A E , notcharles, Modern Nomad, Eze Jackson, Glorian, and more. –AR

Pain Magazine - Violent God (Humus Records)
The debut album from Pain Magazine — a new collaborative project uniting French trio Birds in Row and Franco-American duo Maelstrom & Louisahhh — is a menacing match for the ages. Featuring a haunting blend of industrial, post-hardcore, electronic, and punk, Violent God twists and turns through eleven gripping cuts. With fervent vocals, melodic guitars, dark synths, and pulsing drum machines, Pain Magazine channels a raw intensity that captures the chaos of the present moment. –CS

Peel Dream Magazine - Taurus (Topshelf)
This LA-based trio led by Joseph Stevens follow-up their 2024 album Rose Main Reading Room with a delightful mini-album featuring songs culled from the same sessions that yielded that stellar record. These eight pieces continue to explore the band’s dreamy, blissful, cinematic sonic universe that blends warm psych-pop, spacey lounge-pop, lush indie-pop, and orchestral folk-pop in sophisticated fashion. –AR

SCALER - endlessly (Black Acre)
The sophomore album from Bristol-based five-piece SCALER is a dark, entrancing fusion of noise rock, trip-hop, and drum’n’base. Across ten hypnotic industrial tracks, endlessly reveals a sophisticated, innovative outfit that shapeshifts with ease while maintaining a cohesive vision. –CS

Snooper - Worldwide (Third Man)
The sophomore full-length from Nashville-based punk outfit Snooper is fun, chaotic, and unrelenting. Initially formed as a DIY duo by Blair Tramel and Connor Cummins, the band has since expanded and teamed up with producer John Congleton to deliver an infectious, focused, and fast-paced set of rippers, complete with an inventive, slightly unhinged, cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together.” Still scrappy and rough around the edges, Worldwide is a bold step forward in their exciting evolution. –CS

The Cords - The Cords (Slumberland/Skep Wax)
The debut album from this Scottish duo composed of sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi is a sweet set of spiky, jangly, C86-inspired pop with a bubblegum indie pop and charming DIY post-punk streak. Full of big hooks, joyful vocals, shimmering guitars, and lively rhythms, The Cords’ pop nuggets feel right at home on Oakland’s Slumberland Records. –AR