No musician wants to join The 27 Club — but they should be happy to be in this gang of 27. Here, they (and you) get to rub shoulders with the likes of Jim James and My Morning Jacket, the late Kinky Friedman, Foxy Shazam, Patti Smith and the rest of the artists releasing new music next week. Introduce yourself (but try not to make it weird, OK?):
Annie & The Caldwells
Can’t Lose My (Soul)
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Annie Caldwell says, “My family is my band.” She’s not kidding. Annie & The Caldwells are a family that plays a powerful brand of disco soul. They hail from West Point, Mississippi, and are led by Annie (who sings) and her husband of the last 50 years Willie Joe Caldwell Sr. (who plays guitar). They are backed by their daughters Deborah Caldwell Moore and Anjessica Caldwell and goddaughter Toni Rivers; their eldest son Willie Jr. Caldwell is on the bass and youngest son Abel Aquirius Caldwell is on the drums. They generally play on weekends, because they all have day jobs. Can’t Lose My (Soul) is an album 20 years in the making. They recorded it in West Point down the street from Annie and Joe’s house — at a church where Joe plays guitar every other Sunday, and where his father used to be a deacon. It was produced by Ahmed Gallab, the artist Sinkane, who together with the engineer Albert DiFiore drove a mobile rig down from Nashville and turned the back room of the church into a control room. “Hearing Annie’s voice for the first time was like witnessing something rare,” Gallab said of the recording session, “Like you’re in the presence of a force of nature that’s been here long before you. It’s visceral, almost like it’s coming from her soul. You can feel every part of her life, every little piece of her journey, in each note she hits. It’s pure talent: no effort, no pretense, just real and raw.”
Bloodywood
Nu Delhi
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Bloodywood are the torchbearers and barrier-breakers of metal from India, their hard-hitting yet modern metal sound is making the world sit up, take notice and show up to sing along. “We’re trying to push the limits of the impact that music can have on the world,” rapper Raoul Kerr says. “Whether it’s the battles within or the fight for a better world, our sound is meant to bring everyone together and win. Joined on tour by drummer Vishesh Singh (a fixture since their early days), bassist Roshan Roy (a seasoned figure in New Delhi’s indie music scene) and dhol player Sarthak Pahwa, Bloodywood take their music out of the studio and to concerts across Europe, U.K., North America and elsewhere. “We couldn’t believe how much the band means to the fans. They bring flags to the show, get our lyrics tattooed, give us personalized gifts and most importantly share the hell out of our music,” states vocalist Jayant Bhadula. “We are blessed to have such great supporters that not only do they connect with the music, but they also become one with it. They may not understand all the languages we sing in, but we feel their passion as they sing those words along with us.”
Clikatat Ikatowi
The Trials and Tribulations Of…
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Unhinged, damaged art-punk from San Diego’s mid-’90s Gravity scene. Gathered here are Clikatat Ikatowi’s three albums — Orchestrated And Conducted By…, River Of Souls, and a first-time vinyl pressing for their 1993 demo, all remixed and remastered from the original analog tapes. The accompanying 24-page book pairs a colorful essay with dozens of period photos and flyers, an in-depth history of a city and scene that defined the shape of noise to come.”
Brian D’Addario
Till The Morning
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Brian D’Addario, the eldest of the two songwriting brothers of The Lemon Twigs, is issuing his debut solo album Till The Morning as the first release from their own label Headstack Records. Following the group’s critically acclaimed Everything Harmony in 2023 and last year’s followup A Dream Is All We Know, Till The Morning is the latest studio production from the brothers and, unlike most solo records, wasn’t born out of any desire to break away from the group. Most of the songs were recorded alongside Brian’s brother Michael, who co-produced the record, sang harmony, and even shared lead vocals on two songs. Till The Morning also features two collaborations with L.A. poet Stephen Kalinich, famous for his longstanding relationship with The Beach Boys. The album was written and recorded in multiple studios and states, united by themes of spiritual longing, isolation, social responsibility, karma and loss. Says Brian: “When I started putting this album together, it really hung together musically and thematically. It’s country baroque.”
Dead Bars
All Dead Bars Go To Heaven
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “For over a decade, Seattle’s Dead Bars — founded and led by John Maiello — have been delivering life-affirming hard rock, drawing comparisons to acts like Japandroids, White Reaper and Fucked Up. Throughout this time, they’ve earned national acclaim while remaining a beloved institution. They’re the band most likely to be seen sweating it out on stage any given night. Their third LP, All Dead Bars Go to Heaven, contains 10 hook-laden heavy hitters — from the rousing opener I Wanna Be A Ghost to the anthemic closer Be Me. The album marks a new chapter: An introduction for the next generation ready to escape the grind, and a reminder to the previous one of their enduring power. The theme is heaven: a place of eternal reward for a life lived virtuously, regardless of the love or loss that once defined it. When the band cries ‘Dead Bars forever,’ they mean it.”
Dutch Interior
Moneyball
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “While Moneyball is punctuated by uncertainty, at its core it is still tethered to the inherently spiritual relationship Dutch Interior’s bandmates have not only with each other, but with the world that surrounds them. Recorded over a six month period in their Long Beach studio, the 10 songs that make up the record find cohesion “not just in the art but the physical space”: the band’s self-made studio as well as their longstanding friendships. Produced by Connor Reeves and mixed by Phil Ek (Modest Mouse, Fleet Foxes), you can begin to pick up the separate stylings and personalities of the band members by the songs they independently write (five out of the six band members have vocal and lyrical credits on the record) before bringing to the band at large, where the songs often grow into new forms all together. Despite this individual approach to songwriting, they describe each other as “branches of the same core life” whose colliding influences and experience all bleed into the songs.”
Foxy Shazam
Animality Opera
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “EEEOOOAH presents Foxy Shazam’s Animality Opera. This wild and bombastic record is the Cincinnati band’s ninth full-length record release. As frontman Eric Nally puts it: “The beast is berserk, roaring in the midwest heat, possessed with passion and uncontrollable feet.”
Kinky Friedman
Poet Of Motel 6
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The storied Echo Hill Ranch, where Kinky Friedman lived for over 40 years, is now the birthplace of his final masterpiece, Poet Of Motel 6. This posthumous album showcases the wit, heart, and unflinching humanity that defined Friedman as one of America’s most iconic storytellers. Surrounded by the tranquility of Texas Hill Country, the ranch served as both inspiration and sanctuary. This album is not merely a collection of songs; it is Kinky’s heartfelt goodbye, a reflection of his singular life and enduring legacy. Produced by David Mansfield, a longtime collaborator dating back to Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue, the album captures Kinky at his most intimate. Written in the spring of 2023, the recording process was an emotional journey. Mansfield recalls the sessions as deeply personal, with Kinky’s voice embodying both vulnerability and resilience. The album features 10 original tracks, penned and performed by Friedman. The title track stands out as a poignant elegy, inspired by the passing of his friend Billy Joe Shaver. Featuring notable contributions from musical luminaries like Rodney Crowell, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Rick Trevino and Amy Nelson, the record resonates as a heartfelt tribute to Kinky’s unique perspective on life, loss, and love.”
Brock Geiger
Some Nights
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Over the past decade, Brock Geiger has established himself as a sought-after collaborator, contributing to nearly 50 records and touring internationally with a range of artists. His debut album Some Nights is a culmination of his musical journey — melding deeply personal storytelling with innovative production. Co-produced with longtime collaborator and Grammy winner Will Maclellan (Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift), the album seamlessly moves between groove-driven energy and ambient intimacy, featuring contributions from Matt Chamberlain, Sam Gendel, Gabe Noel and longtime friends Clea Anaïs and Kaelen Ohm. Produced at the legendary Sound City Studios in Los Angeles by Geiger and Maclellan, Some Nights is a bold and immersive debut, merging alt-pop, indie-rock, and electronic textures into a singular, forward-thinking vision. The album’s 10 meticulously crafted tracks range from swaggering, synth-drenched anthems to hypnotic, jazz-tinged explorations and lush, cinematic ballads. Geiger’s meticulous approach to production shines through — from the live drum textures and manipulated vocals to the experimental recording techniques that give each track a distinct sonic identity.”
Greentea Peng
Tell Dem It’s Sunny
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Tell Dem It’s Sunny is an introspective album that explores elements of London artist Greentea Peng’s personality and lived experiences in a record that seamlessly weaves together an array of genres from hip-hop to jazz, neo-soul, trip-hop, ragga, rock, dub and drum & bass — all anchored by her signature sage vocals.”
Lonnie Holley
Tonky
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The work of Lonnie Holley is a work of this kind of accumulation and close attention. The delight of finding a sound and pressing it up against another found sound and another until, before a listener knows it, they are awash in a symphony of sound that feels like it stitches together as it is washing over you. Tonky is an album that takes its name from a childhood nickname that was affixed to Holley when he lived a portion of his childhood life in a honky-tonk. Holley’s life of survival and endurance is one that required — and no doubt still requires — a kind of invention. An invention that is also rich and present in Holley’s songs, which are full and immersive on Tonky, an album that begins with its longest song, a nine-minute, exhaustive marathon of a tune called Seeds, which begins with a single sparse sound and then expands. Chants, faint keys, strings, and atop it all, Holley’s voice, not singing, but speaking plainly about working the earth when he was young, the violence he endured in the process of it all, going to bed bloodied and in pain from beatings. The song expands into a metaphor about place, about the failures of home, or anywhere meant to protect you not living up to what it sells itself to be, even if you tirelessly work at it, work on it, work to make something worthwhile of it. Tonky is an album as expansive in sound as it is in making a place for a wide range of featured artists to come through the door of the record and feel at home, no matter how they spend the time they get on a song.”
The Horrors
Night Life
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Nearly 20 years since they first began, there are few bands who’ve created a canon as determinedly innovative and consistently critically acclaimed as The Horrors. Emerging as zeitgeist-shaking garage-goths on their 2007 debut Strange House, before taking a shoegaze-nodding sharp left on their Mercury-nominated followup Primary Colours, since the beginning they’ve roamed between genres and atmospheres freely. 2011’s Skying won the NME Award for Best Album; V was heralded as a triumph; 2021’s pair of EPs — Lout and Against The Blade — marked a visceral new chapter with their most industrial, uncompromising output yet. The end results have changed, but at their core has always been the same unbending commitment and bloody-minded allegiance to the cause. The Horrors are not and will never be a band that approach the job lightly. They’re musicians who’ll funnel everything they are into the process, at the expense of health, wealth and sometimes sanity. And so, whilst sixth album Night Life sees the band once more shapeshift into a new form, with a new sonic outlook and — this time — a new lineup, in some ways The Horrors are still as they ever were.”
Imperial Triumphant
Goldstar
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With their upcoming release Goldstar, the masked triumvirate Imperial Triumphant continue their exploration of the urban and arcane. The band has found inspiration in the sound of metal pushed to its darkest extremes, gilded, art deco temples, and looming cityscapes. Recorded in early 2024 with longtime collaborator and producer Colin Marston (Gorguts, Krallice), as the final project recorded at Marston’s Menegroth Studios in Queens, the album was done in a breakneck five days. “As we recorded the final tracks, the experience felt like the universe was aligning,” the band observe. “Colin, who is basically a fourth member of the band to us, held space for this transformative moment, offering his incredible artistry and expertise, which only deepened the connection we had to the music. The sound that we captured in that sacred space was the crystallization of everything we’ve worked for, and the memories of those sessions will resonate within us for years to come. Music exists as a force beyond the infinite.”
