Music
Preview
14 unmissable new album releases for September
Including new records from Olivia Rodrigo, Courtney Barnett, Mitski, Wilco and more
Summer who? It’s back to school and back to a month with (even more) changeable weather, but that doesn’t mean we have to sit there in silence and moan about it. New music is bursting out all over September, with some of the year’s biggest hitters waiting until now to release their albums. This month brings pop punk, angry punk, sad pop, sad post-rock and all the colours in between.
These are the records we’re listening out for over the next few weeks.
8 September
Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS
“You’d be hard pressed to find a debut album that launched its creator quite as firmly into the ‘main pop girl’ club as Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour. Expectations consequently couldn’t be higher for Guts, but so far Rodrigo has done the near impossible job of meeting them. With lead single ‘vampire’ topping the charts in multiple territories and pop punk-y ‘bad idea right?’ taking over social media, the reception has already been warm. All signs point to Guts going down a treat.” Caitlin
Courtney Barnett – End Of The Day
“Is it a film score? An original album? Courtney Barnett’s new record is both and more – working with Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa to rework the soundtrack for the 2021 documentary about her own life, Anonymous Club (a film which never actually uses Barnett’s song, ‘Anonymous Club’…). We’ve heard bits and pieces in the film already but the few tracks released early feel like the score to something else entirely – nostalgic, sad, transportive.” Paul
Laufey – Bewitched
“The Icelandic-Chinese singer leapt from TikTok’s ‘For You Page’ into everyone’s modern jazz playlists in 2020. She has since continued to be the face (and voice) of the genre and is hurtling full-speed ahead with her sophomore record. If the singles are any indicator, Laufey will jump headfirst into love in the follow-up to 2022’s Everything I Know About Love. It’s orchestral, joyful and will have you feeling like you stepped into a time machine on September 8.” Savannah
15 September
Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We
“You never can predict what the next Mitski song is going to sound like. Americana is as unexpected a direction for the singer-songwriter as any other, but not an illogical one, given that Mitski can spin a yarn with the best of them. The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We promises to be a celebration of love in many forms, with its influences including Igor Stravinsky and spaghetti western soundtracks, naturally.” Caitlin
C.O.F.F.I.N. – Australia Stops
“Listening to C.O.F.F.I.N. at home just isn’t the same. If you want the real experience, turn your speakers up full, sellotape them to your ears, and start smashing up your own kitchen. Maybe pick a fight with the cat. “How you gonna sleep when the singing never stops through the night!” screams lead singer and (somehow) drummer Ben Portnoy on first new single ‘Give Me A Bite’. Exactly Ben. Exactly.” Paul
Explosions In The Sky – End
“It’s been 20 years now since The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place but it’s still the perfect soundtrack for most moods. Everything the band have done since has been phenomenal, but we haven’t had a proper LP since 2016’s The Wilderness, making End more than overdue. The first new single, ‘Ten Billion People’, is already out – but it almost feels like cheating to listen to it without the rest of the album. Like watching the start of a really beautiful, really expensive film, and then stopping.” Paul
The Beaches – Blame My Ex
“Toronto-hailing band The Beaches have been releasing EPs since 2013 but thanks to TikTok triumph ‘Blame Brett’, all eyes are on the rock quartet’s sophomore album. Riff-driven tracks ‘Me & Me’ and ‘What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid’ point towards anger, and ‘Blame My Ex’ brings tongue-in-cheek commentary as the women move further into their element.” Savannah
22 September
Slaughter Beach, Dog – Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling
“Jake Ewald started Slaughter Beach, Dog as a side project but it’s now evolved into his main gig while Modern Baseball remain on indefinite hiatus. The 2021 single ‘Just Like Me’ signified a turn from folk-inflected indie towards swaying country rock, a mood that’s embraced wholeheartedly on SBD’s wonderful new record, which recalls greats such as Townes Van Zandt and John Prine.” Mark
Will Butler + Sister Squares – Will Butler + Sister Squares
“Who knows what the future holds now for Arcade Fire. One thing they’re definitely going to miss is Will Butler – now swapping one real sibling for a new band of imagined ‘Sister’ Squares. There’s a big evolution here already from Butler’s earlier solo work, the new album already full of big sweep ambition and arty synth-rock that almost sounds quite a bit like Reflektor…” Paul
Devendra Banhart – Flying Wig
“For his first solo album in four years, Devendra Banhart partnered with the mysteriously talented Cate Le Bon. We’ve had a listen and the result is intoxicatingly wispy, warm and wobbly. Lead single ‘Twin’ has a new wave coolness, but wait until you hear feel the hallucinatory flickers of ‘Fireflies’.” John
Teenage Fanclub – Nothing Lasts Forever
“By the turn of the millennium, Teenage Fanclub had slowed to a five or six-year gap, so a new album so soon after 2021’s excellent Eternal Arcade is a rare treat. Norman Blake and Raymond McGinley have slowed the tempos and dialled back the fuzz, but their hooks and harmonies are as heavenly as ever. The perfect record to ease into autumn.” Mark
29 September
Wilco – Cousin
“With Country Country, folk rock’s most prolific modern outfit Wilco dropped one of the albums of 2022 with hardly any fanfare. You can expect a similar standard on its follow up, Cousin, another album produced by Cate Le Bon, which boasts a beautiful lead single in the form of ‘Evicted’.” John
Slow Pulp – Yard
“The Chicago indie rock quartet return after debuting in style with 2020’s Moveys. Blown out guitars and sugary hooks are the order of the day, but there’s also a nod towards an expanding palate. The Americana-tinged ‘Broadview’ is unlike anything else the band have done to date, but it’s a perfect fit” Mark
Animal Collective – Isn’t It Now?
“Baltimore psych-rock are back with the counterpart to last year’s Time Skiffs, and if there was any hint it’d be their longest album yet, let’s just say the lead single ‘Defeat’ is 22 minutes. Run yourself a bath and immerse yourself in their world, it’s likely to be them and their most free.” John
