The first quarterly-ish/season report of 2025: psych prog, post-punk, heavy metal, jangle pop, sludge pop, doomgaze, dream pop, darkwave and more.
Every year the sheer massive load of new music gets ever more difficult to parse, especially when I try to cram hundreds of albums through my brain in December. I end up needing longer and longer breaks to recover from the new music binge, at least listening to it analytically. I still dutifully plug in the new release playlists every week and listen, while also recharging my batteries by revisiting the anniversary albums of 50, 40 and 30 years ago. So like last year, despite the fact that thousands of albums have already been released, it feels like a slow start. That’s fine by me, gives me time to adjust!
Motorpsycho – Motorpsycho (NFGS)
Despite scaling down to the two core members of Hans Magnus Ryan and Bent Sæther, with a couple drummers lending their sticks and longtime colleague Reine Fiske contributing guitar on two tracks, Motorpsycho are back to their old tricks with another grandiose, epic double album. After two relatively low key albums that the band qualify as “pandemic reaction” they mark this as a new era, their first release on their own label. Typically, their longest tracks are the most satisfying, including “Lucifer, Bringer og Light” (10:48), “Balthazaar” (11:29) and “Neotzar (The Second Coming)” (21:07). The first, kick-off track is a space truckin’ jammy jam that hearkens roughly back to the Heavy Metal Fruit (2010) era. What is Lucifer doing in space? Up to no good, no doubt — best to ask the owner of Space X. “Balthazaar” is a full on kosmische jam with circular guitar shapes and solos winding about a relentlessly chuggaluggin’ motorik groove. The duo + guests are sounding relaxed, something like a band who has 30-ish albums under their belts. The quality of the shorter songs also remain sky high, making this album a potential contender for their top, five, or uh, fifteeen, depending on what you like. “Stanley (Tonight’s the Night)” and “Core Memory Corrupt” are indie rockers anchored on vocal hooks as catchy as any of their best 90s tunes. That’s right, this band has been around last century, and they seem to be the kind of lifers who will rock until they’re dead, Lemmy style. Now, for the epic prog centerpiece, complete with mellotrons and a King Crimson style break, and theatrical guest vocals from Thea Grant (of jazz pop band Juno, and an experimental ambient pop solo album last year called Water and Dreams), has the band continuing to experiment while still sounding being Psychonaut-worthy. This unwieldy beast is unlikely to convince skeptics or those not open to this kind of ambitious psych prog music, and that’s okay. Motorpsycho has made it this far without their approval, and they are still celebrated throughout Europe. Long may they fly.
Bambara – Birthmarks (Wharf Cat)
Formed in Athens, GA in 2007, Bambara has been set to slow burn for a long while. Possibly too slow for too long. While their post-punk/garage noir intensity drew admiration from tourmates IDLES, who admitted Bambara were the better band, any forward momentum dissipated in the five years since fifth album Stray (2020). While the Love on My Mind EP (2022) gave a teaser as to the creative direction they were leaning toward — expanding their sound to more accessible art pop, bands like Fontaines D.C. went ahead and release several albums within that time frame and rose to commercial heights unheard of in a post-punk band. Whether they missed the bubble or not, their sixth full-length appears to successfully fulfill their creative path that went from David Lynchian surreal dive bar narratives and Nick Cave Southern gothic to a more glossy sounding mix that brings in 90s UK underground sounds of trip hop with the co-production assistance from Graham Sutton of post-rock pioneers Bark Psychosis. Without abandoning their noise rock and post-punk building blocks, they enhance the smoldering atmospherics and emotional drama of the songwriting, and Reid Bateh’s intense delivery. This album leads a pack of stellar garage punk/goth/noir releases in recent years by Protomartyr, The Buttertones, The Blinders, Thus Love and yes, Fontaines. D.C. Here’s hoping fickle fashion hasn’t completely left great music like this to wither on the vine.
TOWER – Let There Be Dark (Cruz Del Sur)
NYC’s Tower formed in 2015 and quickly released a promising self-titled debut ne next year. After five years of gigs and practice, however, they blew the doors off the heavy metal world with their second album, Shock to the System (2021). Not that they had much commercial success, but those who know, recognized their greatness, and Sarabeth Linden’s impressively powerful vocals. Their third just about keeps up the killer riffage per minute ratio, but Linden is the MVP here, expanding her range to include some sultry/menacing croons along with her air raid siren, proving her star quality. Ann Wilson is almost too obvious a comparison — imagine a young Cher belting it out with Satan or Angel Witch in the early 80s. This spring has seen a run of great releases by metal bands with kickass frontwomen, and Tower leads the pack.
Mean Mistreater – Do or Die (Dying Victims)
This Austin band blew me away with their debut. While there’s no shortage of heavy metal bands drawing from NWOBHM and early speed metal, it’s pretty hard to find one with a truly great vocalist who can just friggin nail a tune to the wall. Janiece Gonzalez is one of the special few. The band keeps up with high quality riffs and plenty of solos, making for a nonstop adrenaline rush. Their secret is they don’t overextend themselves and pad the albums with filler, keeping them both at around 27 minutes.
The Tubs – Cotton Crown (Trouble In Mind)
The Tubs’ debut album Dead Meat (2023) was so damn good it was almost too good to be true. Meaning there are a lot of jangle pop bands, but few can sustain exceptional runs. The Tubs may be an exception, and that’s including their Names EP (2021). Owen ‘O’ Williams, also in Joanna Gruesome and Ex-Vöid, started a novel based on his mother’s suicide a decade ago, hoping to benefit from the grief porn industry. Indeed, properly packaged, people are all too willing to drink your tears like emotional vampires. No one would publish it, however, so he repurposed it for lyrics on the second Tubs album. That’s her on the cover, breastfeeding baby O in a graveyard. The cognitive dissonance of tragedy mixed with uptempo grin-inducing jangle pop is a time-honored tradition going back past The Smiths to Big Star and The Velvet Underground. Add Bob Mould’s explosive miserabalism from Hüsker Dü, post-Fairport Convention folk rock of Richard Thompson, and references to Sonic Youth, you’ve got uplifting music with just as much depth as the lyrics.
Amplifier – Gargantuan (Rocksomos)
Time and again music fans focus their attention so much on a high profile release like Steven Wilson’s latest that they let much better albums slip by unnoticed. Wilson’s solo albums, based on his history with the influential and popular prog band Porcupine Tree, are understandably events within the prog community. And as interesting as The Overview is, Amplifier offers what everyone seems to be missing from his work lately — exploratory psych prog that’s also packs a punch. Stripped down to the duo founding members of drummer Matt Brobin and Sel Belamir handling vocals, guitar and bass, they sound more immense on their eighth album than anything they’ve done since the epic double album The Octopus (2011). Gargantuan was originally planned to be released in two parts back in 2023, so it’s been a long wait for this. Technically only the special edition is double length at 75:18, but it’s what I’ve got, so I’m counting it. One of the few bands one could compare them with is one that also loves to make double albums, Norway’s Motorpsycho when they’re at their heaviest, though none of their rotating cast of drummers ever punished the traps as savagely as Brobin. Their single “Invader” ventures into heavy space rock that’s as darkly unsettling as the darkest bits of Radiohead’s OK Computer. At some point, the similar tempos and dynamics between tracks begin to bleed into each other. That can be a negative thing if you are distracted, or positive for a cohesive experience where the subtly varied textures and instrumentation, from mellotron to sparkling electronic sounds on “Long Road” reveal themselves. This cosmic trip might be too heavy for some, but many more will be kicking themselves for not jumping on the timeship sooner.
Gaytheist – The Mustache Stays (Hex)
I came across Gaytheist around the time of their second full-length, Stealth Beats (2012) and have followed them ever since. I tagged them in a sub-category sludge pop due to their rumbling, overdriven low end, an aural space which is nearly exclusively made up of Floor and Torche albums. Over time, I’ve grown to appreciate them more and more, especially as the aforementioned bands stopped activity. They have developed their own unique flavor that includes post-hardcore, noise rock, alt metal and even power pop in the mix. Their lyrics a packed full of wickedly clever humor, Trojan horsin’ ferocity and fury, often in less than two minutes in hardcore punk tradition. One exception is a massive 7:45 cover of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Silverfuck.” It’s faithful to the original’s saturated power, while also sporting a live-in-the-studio looseness. I can just hear Billy Corgan sigh, as he probably spent weeks and a lot of his sanity achieving that sound decades ago, and now bands have inexpensive pedals and gear that can easily approximate it. Not that just anyone can pull that off — it goes to show that Gaytheist are a seasoned band, fourteen years in and at the peak of their gay, non-religious super powers.
SOM – Let the Light In (Pelagic)
SOM’s second album The Shape of Everything (2022) didn’t immediately jump to the front of the shoegaze pack, but I found myself returning to it more often than others because they nail that combination of heaviness (via their post-metal and doomgaze elements) and their dream pop infused ethereal melodicism. After releasing an EP of Depeche Mode covers, I feared they were going to go synthpop on us, as every other post-punk band tends to do. Fortunately that wasn’t the case, as they simply turned the heat up on both the hooks and the heavy, with lyrics that, per the title, are slightly less dark, and more introspective. Time will tell how things shake out by the end of the year, but right now their songs shake the room when they come up on the playlist pretty much every day.
Cloakroom – Last Leg of the Human Table (Closed Casket Activities)
There’s so much shoegaze these days that sounds great, but is so homogenous it’s hard to tell songs apart. What drew me to Cloakroom on their third album, Dissolution Wave (2022), was they weren’t afraid to make a mess and mix colors that shouldn’t go together — post-hardcore and slowcore, jangle pop and doomgaze. The albums may be imperfect, but they’re getting better all the time. On their fourth album they acknowledge the influence of the late Jason Molina (Songs: Ohia, Magnolia Electric Co.) which can be heard in standout track “Bad Larry,” which has had surf/space ballad, Roy Orbison and Velvet Underground attributed to it, but at it’s core beats a country heart. “Unbelonging” sounds like a collaboration between Teenage Fanclub and Swervedriver, while “Ester Wind” starts out a bouncy power pop/punk tune, then dissolves into gaseous space debris. While they don’t really dole out doomgaze this time around, there’s still a couple bottom heavy shoegaze pounders, as well as some lovely ethereal dream pop. Focus is overrated, it’s the variety, and deftness at how well they master each style that keeps this album worth repeat listens.
Circuit Des Yeux – Halo on the Inside (Matador)
Haley Fohr may have dropped out of a nuclear engineering program, but she has shown heroic commitment to her music. It was here sixth album that she broke through with pretty universal acclaim with Reaching for Indigo (2017). Her vocal range gradually became greater and deeper, evoking Desert Shore era Nico and Scott Walker at his most provocatively avant-garde. One might think she digitally alters her pitch like Laurie Anderson’s alter-ego Fenway Bergamot, but her live performances prove it’s all her. Her eight album is her most accomplished yet, a refinement of her trendsetting work within the framework of post-industrial darkwave and art pop. No matter how many artists she’s influenced, you’ll never mistake Circuit Des Yeux for anyone else.
SKLOSS – The Pattern Speaks (Fuzz Club)
Here’s a prime example why Gen X rules and should never be mistaken for Boomers. Here’s a married duo, empty nesters who, rather than use the kid’s room for arts & crafts, shook the house with massive amplifiers making spine-crushingly loud post-metal/doomgaze. The fuzz is strong with this duo, tossing in chonky stoner and sludge metal riffs into the freeform soundscapes and wordless vocalizations. Primal stuff, but clearly not the work of total amateurs, as the former pro skater, photographer and filmmaker have played music in the past, and already had a formidable sound when I saw them at Austin’s Levitation fest in 2022. Long may they doom.
Christian Mistress – Children of the Earth (Cruz Del Sur)
Between 2010-15, Christian Mistress put out just two albums and an EP, but they were some of the best heavy metal in the 21st century. I was gutted when they suddenly broke up with no explanation. Ten years later I still don’t know what happened, but when they showed up at Hell’s Heroes last year, I was excited, hoping there would be new material. And here we have it. The band pretty much picked up where they left off, with one exception in that Christine Davis’ voice has changed. It’s recognizably her, but lacks the grit and underlying power she once had. If I would guess, I’d say whiskey and cigarettes are probably a thing of the past, but a decade of not singing and performing can make it difficult to come back. Even so, she attacks the material like a trouper, and maybe with more regular rocking she can summon more power for album number four, fingers crossed. In the weeks I’ve been listening to the succinct 33 minute album on repeat, there are several standout songs, especially on the second half like “Mythmaker,” “Death Blade” and “Lake of Memory.” Definitely good enough to measure up to the best their peers have to offer this year, if not quite at the level of their original run of classics.
NITE – Cult of the Serpent Sun (Season Of Mist)
The last spot of the lucky 13 belongs to the Nite. I’ve dug this San Francisco band’s first two albums of heavy metal and black ‘n’ roll, but their third really stands out for their progression in musicianship, production, and even Van Labrakis’ vocals, that offer more nuance than your typical black metal style tortured demon shrieks. And most importantly, the riffs! Damn, they’re just unrelenting. The secret weapon is guitarist Scott Hoffman, who had time well served with Chris Black’s Dawnbringer and High Spirits projects, responsible for some of the best heavy metal and hard rock riffs this century. Together with Labrakis we gets some dual guitar greatness that’s always welcome.
Bubbling Under
Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar (Century Media)
Imperial Triumphant has served as a fascinating palate cleanser for a while now, each of their six albums forging into adventurous avant-garde metal territory. The dissonant death and black metal elements make this just a sometimes metal snack, but in between I certainly admire them from afar. This literally just came out, so time will tell, this could grow on me into more permanent replays.
Rose City Band – Sol y sombra (Thrill Jockey)
Now on his fifth album with this project, it’s clear that it’s Ripley Johnson’s primary outlet, with no releases from Moon Duo or Wooden Shjips this decade. That’s alright by me, although the balance within his cosmic Americana formula has begun to lean more toward country rock than psych this time around, and hence is my least favorite of the batch. But I’m all for Johnson keepin’ on chooglin’ into the sunset.
Dax Riggs – 7 Songs for Spiders (Fat Possum)
On his fourth solo album, the Acid Bath frontman sounds more confident than ever, boiling down his flavor of swamp rock and garage noir down to it’s black, sticky essence.
The Laughing Chimes – Whispers in the Speech Machine (Slumberland)
Second album from Ohio jangle poppers sound like they could be from Dunedin, New Zealand. Yes, please.
Exploding Flowers – Watermelon / Peacock (Meritorio)
It’s been fourteen years since this California trio’s self-titled debut, a wonderful mix of jangle pop, power pop, Paisley Underground, power pop and noise pop, On just their third album, their sound remains largely the same, slightly spindly and twee, but plenty of sticky licks and melodies.
Futuropaco – Fortezza di Vetro Vol. 2 (El Paraiso)
It takes supreme talent for a Californian to be signed to the legendary Danish label and Justin Pinkerton is that indeed. But as gorgeous as his jazz-tinged psych/space rock is, it’s hard for me to not think of it as broken shards of unfulfilled promise left behind from the mighty Golden Void (2011-15). Check them out then grieve with me for our loss.
Lambrini Girls – Who Let the Dogs Out (City Slang)
“Party music for gay angry sluts,” announces their Bandcamp page. Well alright! Anyone horrified by all the mountains of shit sandwiches being dealt out to the LGBTQ community right now has got to be sympathetic to their ferocious garage punk tracks like “Big Dick Energy” and “Filthy Rich Nepo Baby.”
Century – Sign of the Storm (Electric Assault)
I thought this Swedish heavy metal band had been around for ages, but this is just their second album. Goes to show that they tap in to a long running tradition, with an extra dose of speed metal, but done right, as it’s done here, it never gets old.
Avatarium – Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead (AFM)
On their sixth album and twelve albums into their career, this Stockholm based band hasn’t changed their approach to heavy psych noir too much, but Jennie-Ann Smith continues to be the alluring catalyst for their solid run.
Local Store – Whatever Time Will Bring (BJK)
Third album from this Norwegian indie pop band that features an intriguing mix of Canterbury prog pop, math rock and jazz-pop with roots that can trace back to XTC via Field Music. It’s lead by Bjørn Klakegg of prog band Needlepoint.
The Men – Buyer Beware (Fuzz Club)
This Brooklyn noise rock band had dabbled in all kinds of variations of their core sound, from country rock to post-hardcore and garage noir. Their tenth album is one of their most satisfyingly raucous, focusing primarily on extremly grimy garage punk.
The Cruel Sea – Straight Into the Sun (Columbia)
I just randomly learned this Sydney band had their first new album in 24 years on March 7 when I was revisiting Three Legged Dog (1995) for the 30 year feature. Formed back in 1987 by the legendary Tex Perkins, they specialized in a sensuous mix of punk blues and roots rock with a thick low end reminding me of Morphine. They had a bit of success in Australia, though they’re virtually unknown in the U.S. The won’t likely change but it would help if they put this on Bandcamp.
Ye Olde Hevy Metal Almanac
Time Rift – In Flight (Dying Victims)
Beaverton, OR | Formed 2014 | Album #2 | Hard Rock, Heavy Metal | Themes: Life, Love, Society
RIYL Scorpions, Thin Lizzy, Heart, Christian Mistress, Lucifer, The Riven
Sanhedrin – Heat Lightning (Metal Blade)
Brooklyn, NY | Formed 2015 | Album #4 | Heavy Metal | Themes: Fantasy, Adventure, Violence
RIYL AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Danzig, Satan’s Hallow, Blood Star, Warlord
Morax – The Amulet (High Roller)
Bergen, Norway | Formed | Debut Album | Heavy Metal, Doom Metal, Speed Metal | Themes: Death, Evil, Religion
RIYL Angel Witch, Black Sabbath/DIO, Mercyful Fate, In Solitude
Kryptograf – Kryptonomicon (Apollon)
Bergen, Norway | Formed 2019 | Album #3 | Heavy Psych, Stoner Rock, Hard Rock, Doom Metal | Themes: Adventure, Occult, War
RIYL Black Sabbath, Witchcraft, Graveyard, Kadavar, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats
Spiders – Sharp Objects (Wild Kingdom)
Göteborg, Sweden | Formed 2010 | Album #4 | Hard Rock, Garage, Power Pop, Glam, New Wave, Pop Rock
RIYL Graveyard, Blues Pills
Warbringer – Wrath and Ruin (Napalm)
Newbury Park, CA | Formed 2004 | Album #7 | Thrash Metal | Themes: War, Violence, Death
RIYL Overkill, Demolition Hammer, Vektor, Death Angel
Rwake – The Return of Magik (Relapse)
Fourteen years after their fifth and best album, Rwake returns with another step in evolution of the sludge metal sound, veering from doom into explorations of more progressive, space rock and post-metal frontiers. A magikal return for sure.
Vultures Vengeance – Dust Age (High Roller)
Rome, Italy | Formed 2009 | Album #2 | Heavy Metal, Power Metal | Themes: Fantasy, Freedom, Life, Rage, War
RIYL Cirith Ungol, Manilla Road, Brocas Helm, Warlord, Manowar, Blind Guardian
Sacred – Fire to Ice (Stormspell)
Gothenberg, Sweden | Formed 2019 | Album #1 | Heavy Metal, Power Metal
RIYL: Dissection, Bathory, Candlemass
Pentagram – Lightning in a Bottle (Heavy Psych)
Arlington, VA | Formed 1971 | Album #12 | Doom Metal, Heavy Psych, Heavy Metal, Stoner | Themes: Occultism, Death, Love, Society, Crack
RIYL: Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Trouble, Horisont, Count Crackula
Streaming Playlists
Video Playlist
Winter Rundown
- Bambara – Birthmarks (Wharf Cat) | Mar 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- Motorpsycho – Motorpsycho (NFGS) | Feb 21 | Norway | Bandcamp
- The Tubs – Cotton Crown (Trouble In Mind) | Mar 07 | UK | Bandcamp
- Scimitar – Scimitarium I (Crypt of the Wizard) | Feb 28 | Denmark | Bandcamp
- Gaytheist – The Mustache Stays (Hex) | Feb 21 | USA | Bandcamp
- Horsegirl – Phonetics On and On (Matador) | Feb 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- SOM – Let the Light In (Pelagic) | Mar 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- Floodlights – Underneath (PIAS) | Mar 21 | Australia | Bandcamp
- Amplifier – Gargantuan (Rockosmos) | Mar 07 | UK | Bandcamp
- Cloakroom – Last Leg of the Human Table (Closed Casket Activities) | Feb 28 | USA | Bandcamp
- Mean Mistreater – Do or Die (Dying Victims) | Feb 21 | USA | Bandcamp
- TOWER – Let There Be Dark (Cruz del Sur) | Mar 21 | USA | Bandcamp
- Heartworms – Glutton for Punishment (Speedy Wunderground) | Feb 07 | UK | Buy
- The Residents – Doctor Dark (Cryptic) | Feb 28 | USA | Buy
- Circuit Des Yeux – Halo on the Inside (Matador) | Mar 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- Brown Spirits – Cosmic Seeds (Soul Jazz) | Jan 10 | Australia | Buy
- SKLOSS – The Pattern Speaks (Fuzz Club) | Mar 07 | USA | Bandcamp
- Christian Mistress – Children of the Earth (Cruz del Sur) | Mar 07 | USA | Bandcamp
- Adwaith – Solas (Libertino) | Feb 07 | UK | Bandcamp
- Hangman’s Chair – Saddiction (Nuclear Blast) | Feb 14 | France | Bandcamp
- Derya Yildrim & Grup Simsek – Yann Yoksa (Big Crown) | Mar 14 | Germany | Bandcamp
- Lambrini Girls – Who Let the Dogs Out (City Slang) | Jan 10 | UK | Bandcamp
- Year of the Cobra – Year of the Cobra (Prophecy) | Feb 28 | USA | Bandcamp
- Futuropaco – Fortezza di Vetro Vol. 2 (El Paraiso) | Mar 07 | USA | Buy
- Kryptograf – Kryptonomicon (Apollon) | Mar 07 | Norway | Bandcamp
- Shapes Like People – Ticking Haze (Jangleshop) | Mar 07 | UK | Bandcamp
- Klark Sound – This Is Music (Public Access Group) | Jan 03 | USA | Bandcamp
- Rose City Band – Sol y sombra (Thrill Jockey) | Jan 24 | USA | Bandcamp
- Yazz Ahmed – A Paradise in the Hold (Night Time Stories) | Feb 28 | UK | Bandcamp
- NITE – Cult of the Serpent Sun (Season Of Mist) | Mar 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- Melin Melyn – Mill on the Hill (Blomonj Ltd) | Mar 07 | UK | Bandcamp
- The Hellacopters – Overdriver (Nuclear Blast) | Jan 31 | Sweden | Bandcamp
- Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar (Century Media) | Mar 21 | USA | Bandcamp
- Supersister – Nancy Never Knew (Soss) | Mar 21 | Netherlands
- The Vapors – Wasp in a Jar (Red Chuck) | Feb 28 | UK | Bandcamp
- Dax Riggs – 7 Songs for Spiders (Fat Possum) | Jan 24 | USA | Bandcamp
- The Laughing Chimes – Whispers in the Speech Machine (Slumberland) | Jan 31 | USA | Bandcamp
- Exploding Flowers – Watermelon / Peacock (Meritorio) | Mar 21 | USA | Bandcamp
- Courting – Lust for Life, Or: ‘How to Thread the Needle and Come Out the Other Side to Tell the Story’ (Lower Third) | Mar 14 | UK | Bandcamp
- Naxatras – V (Naxatras) | Feb 28 | Greece | Bandcamp
- Godzillionaire – Diminishing Returns (Ripple) | Jan 17 | USA | Bandcamp
- Mogwai – The Bad Fire (Temporary Residence) | Jan 24 | UK | Bandcamp
- Brian D’Addario – Til the Morning (Headstack) | Mar 20 | USA | Bandcamp
- Doves – Constellations for the Lonely (EMI North) | Feb 28 | UK
- Guided By Voices – Universe Room (GVB) | Feb 07 | USA | Bandcamp
- Franz Ferdinand – The Human Fear (Domino) | Jan 10 | UK | Bandcamp
- Warbringer – Wrath and Ruin (Napalm) | Mar 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- White Magic For Loers – The Book of Lies (Chord Orchard) | Feb 14 | UK | Bandcamp
- Avatarium – Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead (AFM) | Jan 24 | Sweden | Bandcamp
- Vultures Vengeance – Dust Age (High Roller) | Feb 21 | Italy | Bandcamp
- Encephalon – Automation All Along (Artoffact) | Feb 21 | Canada | Bandcamp
- Consumables – Infinite Games (We Are Time) | Mar 07 | USA | Bandcamp
- Jaco Jaco – Gremlin (Gremlin) | Mar 21 | USA | Bandcamp
- Good Flying Birds – Talulah’s Tape (Carpark) | Jan 02 | USA | Bandcamp
- (slab) – Taut (Slab) | Mar 14 | UK | Bandcamp
- The Rumjacks – Dead Anthems (Orchard) | Feb 07 | Australian | Bandcamp
- The Murder Capital – Blindness (Human Season) | Feb 21 | UK | Bandcamp
- Delivery – Force Majeure (Heavenly) | Jan 17 | Australia | Bandcamp
- Throwing Muses – Moonlight Concessions (Fire) | Mar 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- YHWH Nailgun – 45 Pounds (AD 93) | Mar 21 | USA | Bandcamp
- Wardruna – Birna (Music for Nations) | Jan 24 | Norway
- Monde UFO – Flamingo Tower (Fire) | Mar 07 | USA | Bandcamp
- Pink Turns Blue – Black Swan (Orden) | Feb 28 | Germany | Bandcamp
- Dominic Sanderson – Blazing Revelations (Sanderson) | Feb 28 | UK | Bandcamp
- Richard Dawson – End of the Middle (Weird World) | Feb 14 | UK | Bandcamp
- Steven Wilson – The Overview (Fiction) | Mar 14 | UK
- Coheed and Cambria – Vaxis: Act III: The Father of Make Believe (Virgin) | Mar 14 | USA
- Soft Vein – Through Blinds (Soft Vein) | Jan 17 | USA | Bandcamp
- Century – Sign of the Storm (Electric Assault) | Jan 24 | Canada | Bandcamp
- Panda Bear – Sinister Grift (Domino) | Feb 28 | USA | Bandcamp
- Havukruunu – Tavastland (Svart) | Feb 28 | Finland | Bandcamp
- Aux Meadows – Draw Near (Eiderdown) | Mar 07 | USA | Bandcamp
- Ex-Vöid – In Love Again (Tapete) | Jan 17 | UK | Bandcamp
- Oksana Linde – Travesias (Bún) | Feb 21 | Venezuela | Bandcamp
- FACS – Wish Defense (Trouble In Mind) | Feb 07 | USA | Bandcamp
- Dunes – Land of the Blind (Ripple) | Jan 17 | UK | Bandcamp
- Shedfromthebody – Whisper and Wane (Shedfromthebody) | Jan 17 | Finland | Bandcamp
- Kaiser – 2nd Sound (Majestic Mountain) | Mar 05 | Finland | Bandcamp
- Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory – Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory (Jagjaguwar) | Feb 07 | USA | Bandcamp
- Mdou Moctar – Tears of Injustice (Matador) | Feb 28 | Niger | Bandcamp
- Jim Ghedi – Wasteland (Basin Rock) | Feb 21 | UK | Bandcamp
- Local Store – Whatever Time Will Bring (BJK) | Feb 21 | Norway | Bandcamp
- Split Dogs – Here to Destroy (Venn) | Feb 28 | UK | Bandcamp
- Phrenelith – Ashen Womb (Me Saco un Ojo) | Feb 07 | Denmark | Bandcamp
- The Men – Buyer Beware (Fuzz Club) | Feb 28 | USA | Bandcamp
- The Cruel Sea – Straight Into the Sun (Universal) | Mar 07 | Australia
- France – Destino Scifosi (Standard In-Fi) | Jan 31 | France | Bandcamp
- Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate – The Uncertainty Principle (Glass) | Mar 04 | UK | Bandcamp
- Crazy Lixx – Thrill of the Bite (Frontiers) | Feb 14 | Sweden
- The Gentle Spring – Looking Back at the World (Skep Wax) | Jan 17 | France | Bandcamp
- Freckle – Freckle (God?) | Jan 31 | USA | Bandcamp
- Time Rift – In Flight (Dying Victims) | Jan 17 | Germany | Bandcamp
- Ed Kuepper & Jim White – After the Flood (12XU) | Mar 21 | Australia | Bandcamp
- Clove – Clove (Fun Music) | Feb 26 | Australia
- Sanhedrin – Heat Lightning (Metal Blade) | Mar 14 | USA | Bandcamp
- Morax – The Amulet (High Roller) | Feb 21 | Norway | Bandcamp
- Buster Shuffle – Together (Buster Shuffle) | Mar 21 | UK
- Pictoria Vark – Nothing Sticks (Get Better) | Mar 21 | USA | Bandcamp
- Darkside – Nothing (Matador) | Feb 28 | USA | Bandcamp
- Silver Synthetic – Rosalie (Curation) | Mar 07 | USA | Bandcamp
Coming Soon
- Lady Beast – The Inner Alchemist (Dying Victims) Mar 28 | Bandcamp
- Glass Hammer – Rogue (Glass Hammer) Apr 11 | Bandcamp
- The Lord Weird Slough Feg – Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades EP () Apr 11 | Bandcamp
- Messa – The Spin (Metal Blade) Apr 11 | Bandcamp
- Blackwater Holylight – If You Only Knew (Suicide Squeeze) Apr 18 | Bandcamp
- Tunde Adebimpe – Thee Black Boltz (Sub Pop) Apr 18 | Bandcamp
- Black Sword Thunder Attack – Black Sword Thunder Attack (No Remorse) Apr 25
- Conan – Viiolence Dimension (Heavy Psych) Apr 25 | Bandcamp
- Ghost – Skeletá (Loma Vista) Apr 25 | Bandcamp
- Femi Kuti – Journey Through Life (Partisan) Apr 25 | Bandcamp
- Pagan Altar – Never Quite Dead (Dying Victims) Apr 25 | Bandcamp
- Kadavar – I Just Want to Be A Sound (Clouds Hill) May 16
- Pelican – Flickering Resonance (Run For Cover) May 16
- Turtle Skull – Being Here (Art as Catharsis) May 23 | Bandcamp
- Witchcraft – Idag (Heavy Psych) May 23 | Bandcamp
- Swans – Birthing (Young God) May 30
- Tropical Fuck Storm – Fairyland Codex (Fire) Jun 20 | Bandcamp
