New Music Reviews (9/22)

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 Nation of Language, Wednesday, bloom effect, and more. 

Nation of Language - Dance Called Memory (Sub Pop)
On their fourth studio album and Sub Pop debut, Brooklyn trio Nation of Language leans into melancholia. With a moody, intricate, and hazy expression of synthpop and post-punk, Dance Called Memory captures the universal feeling of being lost in the chaos while still desperately reaching for hope. Frontman Ian Richard Devaney shares, “Instead of hopelessness, I want to leave the listener with a feeling of us really seeing one another, that our individual struggles can actually unite us in empathy.” –CS

Wednesday - Bleeds (Dead Oceans)
Asheville, NC outfit Wednesday are at the top of their game with their sixth studio album, Bleeds. Despite navigating inner turmoil following the romantic split of Karly Hartzman and MJ Lenderman, the quintet sound as tight and self-assured as ever. Turning on a dime from heart-wrenching twang to cathartic rock explosion, layered guitars, drums, lap steel, and pedal steel propel Hartzman’s intense, impassioned vocals and vivid storytelling. ‘Bleeds’ is an approachable, undeniable, and untouchable body of work that further cements Wednesday as a force to be reckoned with. –CS

bloom effect - oscilón (Kingfisher Bluez)
The new EP from Vancouver’s bloom effect is a mesmerizing display of maximalist dreamgaze. With towering walls of sound, killer hooks, and emphatic multilingual vocals, oscilón is a powerful, visceral six-song collection that positions the trio to make some serious waves. –CS

Dancer - More or Less (Merotorio)
The second album from this Glasgow-based band is a sweet follow-up to their largely overlooked debut album 10 Songs I Hate About You – heralded by Pitchfork as the #6 Rock Album of 2024 right in-between MJ Lenderman and Kim Gordon – as they deliver another strong collection of infectious DIY pop with a witty post-punk swagger. Lead singer Gemma Fleet’s pointed, playful, boisterous vocal delivery and nuanced slice-of-life lyrics align wonderfully with the band’s punchy, angular backdrops to create a consistently charming record that’s smart, fun, and sassy with a wink. –AR

Jordan Patterson - The Hermit (self-released)
The debut album from LA-based singer, songwriter, and producer Jordan Patterson showcases an artist stepping out with a clear, confident vision. Her vulnerable lyrics draw listeners in, set against inviting, folk-tinged bedroom pop soundscapes. With distinctive vocals and compelling arrangements featuring tender piano, expressive guitar, and subtle sonic manipulations, The Hermit is an intimate and striking first outing.  –CS

Kadhja Bonet - Battlewear EP (self-released)
The new EP from Toronto-based singer, songwriter, and producer Kadhja Bonet is short, sweet, and infectious as hell. Battlewear showcases Bonet at her most playful and genre-blurring, as vibrant synths and pulsing beats propel her dynamic vocals. Dancing between pop, R&B, and psych, this Bandcamp exclusive is a must-listen.  –CS

NewDad - Altar (Fair Youth/Atlantic)
The sophomore album from London-based, Galway-formed outfit NewDad is an impressive collection of shoegaze-inflected, guitar-driven dream pop. With hazy, intoxicating vocals, memorable guitar lines, and hypnotic drum patterns, Altar is both moody and captivating. Through these twelve tracks, the trio crafts a bold, immersive sound that explores homesickness, rage, identity, and sacrifice. –CS

pôt-pot - Warsaw 480km (Felte)
The debut album from this Irish/Portuguese five-piece band is an impressive set of droning psychedelic rock that combines hypnotic guitar layers, blurry male/female vocal harmonies, heavy swirling textures, and an insistent Krautrock pulse to create an enveloping, moody, trippy journey. –AR

Suede - Antidepressants (BMG Rights Management)
The 10th studio album from Britpop mainstays Suede (aka The London Suede in the States) is a tight set of melodic, hook-laden post-punk, featuring potent guitars, dark synths, and expressive vocals. Forming nearly four decades ago, Antidepressants showcases their enduring staying power, seamlessly blending their signature sound with contemporary textures as they explore the complexities of the modern world. –CS

Acopia - Blush Response (Scenic Route)
The third album (and Scenic Route debut) from this Melbourne trio is a sweet set of nocturnal dream-pop infused with shoegaze, post-punk, trip-hop, and No Wave styles. With Kate Durman’s melancholic, low-key vocals blurring beautifully within the band’s fuzzy, groovy, electro-acoustic backdrops, Acopia capture a low-key, introspective magnetism that’s reminiscent at times of The xx, crushed, and HTRK. –AR

Charlie Vettuno - LUSH (Innovative Leisure)
The debut album from LA-based brothers tomee zero and JVMES JET, aka Charlie Vettuno, finds the duo expanding their dizzying fusion of club, hip-hop, R&B, and electropop. With infectious beats, grimey production, and hypnotic synths, LUSH is primed for the dancefloor.  –CS

GANS - GOOD FOR THE SOUL (Strap Originals)
The debut album from this Birmingham, UK duo composed of Thomas Rhodes and Euan Woodman is a solid set of gritty, heavy, rumbling alternative rock that fuses garage punk, post-punk, and garage rock with an intermittent synthy, New Wave-tinted streak.  –AR

Golden Apples - Shooting Star (Lame-O)
The fifth album from this Philadelphia band led by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Russell Edling is another sharp set of anthemic indie rock with a fuzzy power-pop spirit bolstered by the band’s propulsive, dense, guitar-driven attack. –AR

Greet Death - Die in Love (Deathwish, Inc.)
The third album from this Michigan band centered around childhood friends Logan Gaval and Harper Boyhtari is a strong set of heavy, fuzzy, dynamic rock with a melancholic core. Downcast lyrics are delivered with a delicate sincerity, and they’re often buried within the band’s gauzy blend of shoegaze, slowcore, and evocative indie rock that packs an emotional punch. Closing track “Love Me When You Leave” strips away the distortion for a beautiful, tender, and vulnerable acoustic-led ending. –AR

Halima - SWEET TOOTH (drink sum wtr)
The debut album from this Brooklyn-based UK/Nigerian musician who was raised between Lagos and London is a vibrant set of adventurous R&B with an expansive range and a cross-cultural undercurrent that finds her R&B jams infused at times with underground club and Amapiano/Afropop influences. Sounding equally at home over kinetic UKG-tinted dancefloor rhythms (“oops”) as crystalline pop backdrops (“eau de vie”), Halima emerges as another sharp addition to drink sum wtr’s growing roster of boundary-pushing R&B artists (Yaya Bey, Annahstasia, Say She She). –AR

Jamie Leeming - Sequent (Sekito)
The second solo album from this London-based guitarist who’s worked closely with Alfa Mist, Tom Misch, and Maria Chiara Argirò is a solid set of expansive, soulful, smoky jazz arrangements that roam between meditative spiritual jazz instrumentals to cerebral rhythmic workouts with a standout dive into simmering R&B/pop territory on early single “Shore Embrace” featuring vocals from Laura Misch. Alfa Mist, Sly5thAve, and Kaya Thomas-Dyke also make guest appearances. –AR

JÁNA - Orbit (self-released)
The debut album from Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist JÁNA is a smooth and sultry blend of alt-R&B and dreamy pop. Her beautifully airy vocals take center stage, while soulful grooves carry listeners through all ten entrancing tracks that explore love, longing, disconnection, and self-reclamation. –CS

People Mover - Cane Trash (self-released)
The debut album from Meanjin/Brisbane-based trio People Mover is a scrappy, infectious set of garage rock and jangle pop. With an effortlessly cool vocal delivery, undeniable melodies, and hooky guitar riffs, Cane Trash is an exceptional introduction to this promising new outfit. –CS

Peyton - Au (Stones Throw)
The second official full-length album from this Houston singer/songwriter is another solid set of smooth, slick, sultry R&B that pairs her warm vocals and lyrics that navigate self-doubt, betrayal, new love, and womanhood with lush, buttery beats cooked up by low-key legendary producer Shafiq Husayn. Named after the chemical symbol for gold, there is indeed a glow to Au that serves as Peyton’s “pledge to stay golden in a world that often tries to dull your shine.” –AR

Yasmine Hamdan - I Remember I Forget بنسى وبتذك (Crammed Discs)
The third solo album from Beirut-based singer, songwriter, and producer Yasmine Hamdan is a revelation. Blending electronic, Arabic, pop, and experimental textures, she continues to carve out a space in the contemporary music landscape that is entirely her own. I Remember I Forget بنسى وبتذك  moves fluidly from entrancing meditations to dense, cathartic expressions, resulting in a truly spellbinding listen. –CS

Yoni Mayraz - Dogs Bark Babies Cry (PPK)
The second album from this London-based keyboardist and producer dives into a nice intersection between heady rhythmic jazz and organic hip-hop for a sound reminiscent of contemporaries such as Alfa Mist, 44th Move, Makaya McCraven, Moses Yoofee, Yussef Dayes, and Ebi Soda. –AR