Notable Releases of the Week (8/29)

Blood Orange by Vinca Petersen

Labor Day Weekend is here which means summer is unofficially over, and at least here in New York, these chilly mornings have already started to signal that the predicted colder, drier fall is on the way. It also means that maybe you have a long weekend so hopefully you’re doing something fun. And if you’d like some new music to spin at your BBQ or your beach day, you’ve come to the right place.

I highlight eight new albums below, and Bill tackles six others in Indie Basement, including The Beths, The Hives, CMAT, Modern Nature, Ganser, and IDLES’ Caught Stealing soundtrack. On top of those, this week’s honorable mentions include Joey Bada$$, Westside Gunn, Eiko Ishibashi & Jim O’Rourke, Saul Williams Meets Carlos Niño & Friends, Pinkshift, Slow Crush, Runnner, Anna Tivel, Google Earth (James Riotto & John Vanderslice), Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin, The Beaches, Guck, Gulp, Foot Ox, OMB Peezy, Key Glock, D Smoke, Pearly Drops, The Berries, No Apologies, Have Mercy, Prolapse, Lathe of Heaven, Duke Deuce, Helloween, Sour, Christian McBride, Rodney Crowell, Marshall Crenshaw, Tei Shi, Zach Top, Sowulo, Flyte, Nova Twins, Ron Sexsmith, Colbie Caillat, Belinda Carlisle, Bryan Adams, John Oates, Brad Mehldau’s Elliott Smith covers album, the Skepta & Fred again.. EP, the Retirement Party EP, the Kacy Hill EP, and Eminem’s Stans soundtrack.

Today was also supposed to be the release date of one of the albums I’ve been most anticipating this year, Erykah Badu & The Alchemist’s Abi & Alan, but Erykah took to Instagram last night to say the release was pushed back (“it’s Alchemist’s fault,” she joked). Hopefully it’ll come out soon!

Read on for my picks. What’s your favorite release of the week?

Blood Orange – Essex Honey (RCA)
Dev Hynes delivers one of his most vibey, ethereal albums to date, with help from Turnstile vocalist Brendan Yates, Caroline Polachek, Lorde, and more.

Essex Honey is Dev Hynes’ first Blood Orange full-length in six years (and major label debut), and in that time, Dev has been very busy doing film scores and working with other artists like Turnstile and Lorde. Now, Lorde and Turnstile vocalist Brendan Yates return the favor with contributions to Essex Honey, which also features tons of other famous friends like Caroline Polachek, Daniel Caesar, Mustafa, Liam Benzvi, Mabi Fratti, Tirzah, and more. Past Blood Orange albums have seen Dev’s guests sharing lead vocal duties with him, but tune out for a second during Essex Honey and you might miss how many iconic voices are on this thing. Essex Honey is one of Blood Orange’s most ethereal albums, and he and all his guests just sort of get lost in the haze, as we as listeners should too. The moment that pops out the most is actually not a guest but an interpolation: the dreamy rework of The Replacements ode to Big Star’s Alex Chilton on a song that Blood Orange wrote as an ode to The Replacements Paul Westerberg. Even with this being a major label debut, it doesn’t seem like anyone stepped in and asked him to write a song as poppy as “You’re Not Good Enough,” and that makes even more sense when you consider that his vibey 2011 song “Champagne Coast” was one of last year’s biggest songs thanks to TikTok. On Essex Honey, it’s all about vibes, and the vibes are immaculate.

End It – Wrong Side of Heaven (Flatspot)
The beloved Baltimore hardcore band finally deliver their first full-length, with 14 original songs (and a ’90s melodic hardcore cover) that find them sticking to their guns.

Baltimore hardcore band End It have been around since 2017 and so far they’ve only been an EP band. And for a band that specializes in one-to-two-minute hardcore songs, that’s nothing out of the ordinary. Even if they never made a full-length, they’d probably go down as one of the most beloved hardcore bands of their era thanks to the strength of their EPs and the explosiveness of their live show alone. But End It have now decided to give a full-length album a go, and the result is Wrong Side of Heaven. Some “EP bands” opt to change things up when it’s finally full-length time, but End It have decided to stick to their usual formula, just with more songs. Of the album’s 15 songs, the only one that reaches the three-minute mark is the cover of Maximum Penalty’s 1996 melodic hardcore classic “Could You Love Me?”. Some songs are under a minute and one is only 20 seconds. Like the EPs, Wrong Side of Heaven keeps things fast and simple with only the tiniest flashes of something you might be able to consider “genre-defying.” Unlike the Maximum Penalty cover, End It’s original material isn’t capital-M Melodic Hardcore but it’s definitely melodic in the sense that Akil Godsey just has a sense of tunefulness even when he’s barking his head off. Since the band’s early days, Akil’s had a delivery that stands out from a mile away amidst the sea of indistinguishable hardcore vocalists, and his flair is a big part of what makes this band so addictive. On Wrong Side of Heaven, that flair is on full display.

Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend (Island)
The playful, featherlight, innuendo-fueled pop of the ‘Short n’ Sweet’ era continues on this quickly-released followup.

Sabrina Carpenter has basically been everywhere since releasing 2024 Song of the Summer contender “Espresso,” followed by more omnipresent, undeniable songs on her 2024 album Short n’ Sweet, followed by this year’s deluxe edition that gave us another hit with “Busy Woman.” Other pop stars of her stature would probably still be milking the Short n’ Sweet era but Sabrina is already back with another full new album, Man’s Best Friend. It was made with a team of co-writers/producers who all worked on Short n’ Sweet (Jack Antonoff, Amy Allen, and John Ryan), and it largely feels cut from the same cloth. (In that sense, Man’s Best Friend feels like it is the same era as Short n’ Sweet.) It treks through disco (“Tears”), ’80s pop pastiche (“House Tour”), kinda-reggae pop (“Nobody’s Son”), late ’90s post-trip-hop pop (“When Did You Get Hot?”), country (“Go Go Juice”), guitar heroics-laden folk rock (“Sugar Talking”), and other styles of music with ease, and Sabrina’s strong vocal performances are well-suited for all of those environments. It doesn’t have a standout like “Espresso,” but as a whole Man’s Best Friend feels a little more cohesive than Short n’ Sweet does. And for those following along with the discourse: yes, the album is full of Sabrina Carpenter’s not-so-subtle innuendos.

Rakim & Big Ghost Ltd – The Re‑Up
The pioneering MC continues his comeback with a new album entirely produced by one of the most beloved and prolific producers of the boom bap resurgence.

The God MC should need no introduction, but just in case: Rakim paved the way for hip hop as we’ve known it for the past 30+ years. He’s a direct influence on multiple generations of rappers who frequently populate top 5s, from Nas to Eminem to Kendrick Lamar, the last of whom just reminded the world of his importance on last month’s Clipse album: “Let’s be clear, hip hop died again/Half of my profits may go to Rakim.” It doesn’t hurt that the timing of Kendrick’s verse coincides with Rakim’s return to rap; last year saw the release of his first album in 15 years, G.O.D.’s Network (Reb7rth), and now he’s already back with another one, The Re-Up. Last year’s album was produced by Rakim himself, while The Re-Up was entirely produced by Big Ghost Ltd, who’s become one of the most beloved and prolific producers of the boom bap resurgence. Their collaboration also marks Rakim’s first album with a sole producer since his classic run with Eric B. It’s a treat to hear Rakim over a sturdy selection of beats from a producer who understands both where Rakim comes from and where boom bap is at today, and the album comes with a handful of quality guest verses from both modern torch-carriers and fellow vets, all of whom are well-suited for a Rakim album. That includes the late Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Method Man, Kool G Rap, Joell Ortiz, 38 Spesh, Skyzoo, Eddie Kaine, Hus Kingpin, Planet Asia, Ras Kass, KXNG Crooked, La the Darkman, Canibus, Chino XL, Big Twins, and more.

Che Noir & The Other Guys – No Validation (HiPNOTT)
More great boom bap this week comes from Buffalo rapper Che Noir’s third project of 2025.

If you care about the world of boom bap that Rakim helped invent, then you should also check out the latest from Buffalo rapper Che Noir. Produced entirely by The Other Guys (the duo of DC producers and cousins Mighty Joe and Isaiah), it’s Che’s third project of 2025 and it’s a great one. With eight songs and features from 38 Spesh, Ransom, Skyzoo, Jae Skeese, Von Pea, Smoke DZA, and more, it’s a short-but-sweet showcase of modern boom bap and it’s pretty damn undeniable.

ShrapKnel & Ohbliv – Armature (Fused Arrow)
The underground rap duo of Curly Castro & PremRock conclude their 2025 album trilogy by teaming up with Virginia producer Ohbliv.

One more rap record that’s not to miss this week is Armature, the third and final installment of the album trilogy that ShrapKnel (aka Curly Castro & PremRock) began with July’s Lincoln Continental Breakfast and continued earlier this month with Saisir Le Feu. Each album was produced by a different producer from a different region that ShrapKnel met on their recent tour, and this last one was produced by Virginia’s Ohbliv, who’s also worked with Armand Hammer, MIKE, Fly Anakin, Pink Siifu, Cavalier, Your Old Droog, Yungmorpheus, and countless others. ShrapKnel and Ohbliv make for a disorientingly dynamic underground rap duo, and these 10 songs also include three well-picked guests: AJ Suede, frequent Open Mike Eagle collaborator Still Rift, and El-P’s onetime Company Flow groupmate Bigg Jus.

Margo Price – Hard Headed Woman (Loma Vista)
The country trailblazer returns to her roots on an album that ranges from honky tonk rhythms to hushed folk balladry to a standout duet with Tyler Childers.

After departing from traditional country on 2020’s That’s How Rumors Get Started and even more so on 2023’s Strays, Margo Price goes back to her roots on the twangy, rustic, almost-no-frills Hard Headed Woman. It’s an album that ranges from rollicking honky tonk and rockabilly to hushed folk balladry to the soulful, horn-fueled Southern rock of “I Just Don’t Give A Damn.” Margo’s songwriting is as impactful as ever, though one of the album’s finest moments is actually a song she didn’t write, “Love Me Like You Used To Do,” a swaying country ballad written by Steven Knudson (“an unsung Nashville writer on whom [Margo] hopes to shine a spotlight”) which finds Margo duetting with Tyler Childers. As much of a thrill as it’s been to watch Margo Price expand her sound over the years, it’s also a thrill to see her circle back to the vibes of her instant-classic debut nearly a decade removed from its release.

The Casket Lottery – Feel the Teeth (Iodine)
One of the 21st century’s finest post-hardcore bands return with an introspective followup to the apocalyptic, pandemic-era album they last released.

In case the title didn’t make it clear, The Casket Lottery’s 2020 album Short Songs For End Times was an urgent response to one of the darkest times in recent American history, and now five years later they follow it with Feel the Teeth, which they’re calling “a quieter, more introspective reckoning with what it means to still be here, still searching for meaning, still hoping for something better even when we’re not sure what it looks like anymore.” If that sentiment hits close to home, this album probably will too. As for the word “quieter” though, it’s all relative. Feel the Teeth is a little slower and more atmospheric for The Casket Lottery’s standards, but it’s still one of the 21st century’s finest post-hardcore bands sounding as intense as you’d hope.

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Read Indie Basement for more new album reviews, including The Beths, The Hives, CMAT, Modern Nature, Ganser, and IDLES‘ Caught Stealing soundtrack

Looking for more recent releases? Browse the Notable Releases archive.

Looking for a podcast to listen to? Check out the latest episodes of our weekly music news podcast BV Weekly and our interview podcast The BrooklynVegan Show.

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