Welcome to the middle of next week — musically speaking, of course. The A (to J) listers are one post up; the bottom (of the alphabet, anyway) feeders are in the next post after this. Here are the folks at the center of the action — including Adrianne Lenker, Machine Head, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson and many more. Feel free to shop around:
Femi Kuti
Journey Through Life
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Femi Kuti’s Journey Through Life marks a deeply personal chapter in the Afrobeat legend’s career. Known for his sharp critiques of political corruption and social injustice, Femi balances his signature “sweet music with a bitter message” with introspective reflections on family, life, and personal growth. Revisiting old tracks with fresh perspectives and producing entirely on his own for the first time, the album captures his journey as an artist, activist, and father. Rooted in his Afrobeat legacy yet boldly charting new territory, Journey Through Life is a testament to Femi’s enduring creativity and resilience. He elaborates: “Journey Through Life is basically a summary of my life from my childhood to adulthood. All through my life family has been a solid foundation, from my parents, grandparents, to my siblings, cousins and now my children, my nieces and nephews, soon my grandchildren, and true to my song at the end of the day for me family is all that matters. I believe many events happen in our lives that draw us away from each other like an undercurrent, but the essence is to manage such events and let love prevail.”
Adrianne Lenker
Live At Revolution Hall
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Adrianne Lenker follows her astonishing Grammy– and BRIT-nominated solo album Bright Future with a 120-minute immersive album entitled Live at Revolution Hall. This sonic documentary combines audio from three days of the 2024 Bright Future tour and features live performances of fan favourites, deep cuts and unreleased gems. A collection of performances and moments captured from Lenker’s 2024 headline tour, the 43 tracks have a delicate fidelity that laces warble with clarity. Engineer Andrew Sarlo’s recordings lift the listener’s feet to float cinematically, at times onstage with Lenker, Nick Hakim (piano) and Josefin Runsteen (violin), then over the crowd, through walls, and even out the door.”
Machine Head
Unatoned
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Very few bands make it to their 11th album. Even fewer do so with the same fire and fury that defined their early years. But Machine Head aren’t just any band. For over three decades, the personification of determination, founding singer-guitarist Robb Flynn has led Machine Head on an uncompromising path — one fueled by defiance, reinvention, and a relentless pursuit of evolution. Now, with Unatøned, they’ve once again sharpened their sound into its most direct and impactful form to date. Determined to challenge himself, Flynn set strict songwriting parameters for Unatøned, shorter, more focused songs with a decidedly American feel, unconventional key changes, and shifting structures that break expectations. That self-imposed restraint resulted in a lean, unrelenting album that captures Machine Head at their most potent. Written in motion — on the road, in hotel rooms, and across continents — it reflects the raw energy of their return to the global festival circuit after an 11-year hiatus.”
Jensen McRae
I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Jensen McRae could’ve been down for the count. “The most profound choices of my life,” she says, “have often felt like things I did before I was ready to do, and I had to grow into them.” McRae’s songs have a way of giving shape to these leaps, cliff jumps and trust falls, and on her new album, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!, McRae goes further than ever, evolving from a promising young artist to a fully grown songwriter and star. “It’s about realizing what you can’t outrun, and what follows when you have withstood what you thought might crush you,” she explains. “There are things that can happen to us — unthinkable, untenable things — that threaten our safety in our own bodies. They happen, and you feel like the only option is escape. In truth, the only way out is in — back into the place you have always lived.” The home — with Jensen front and center, possibly leaving, possibly arriving — adorns the artwork for I Don’t Know How But They Found Me! “You can leave the city, you can leave the lover,” McRae continues, “but you can never leave yourself.”
The Moonlandingz
No Rocket Required
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Moonlandingz are back with their second album No Rocket Required. The Moonlandingz have finally returned — not when we wanted them but now that we need them — galloping in on their four horses, bareback and howling, with their eagerly awaited forthcoming album No Rocket Required. No Rocket Required delivers brassy squawks, motorik convulsions and sinister soothing vocals from a righteous lineup of guest singers and ranters: Nadine Shah, Iggy Pop, Jessica Winter and Ewen Bremner. Plus, of course, there’s The Moonlandingz’ own front man, Johnny Rocket aka Lias Saoudi, who has the wobbly-horny voice of R Whites’ secret lemonade drinker on Give Me More and then becomes basically Kris Kristofferson of the Pennines in the middle of epic Krack Drought Suite, imparting gnomic sawdust saloon wisdom from a barstool in Huddersfield. Mostly though he’s the man we know from Fat White Family with gravelly crooning (to especially great effect in Roustabout, his duet with Shah) and camp Working Men’s Club lead singer, Syd Minsky-Sargeant.”
Willie Nelson
Oh What A Beautiful World
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Oh What A Beautiful World (Willie Nelson’s 154th album, according to Texas Monthly’s interactive All Willie Nelson Albums Ranked list, and 77th solo studio album) premieres Willie’s new interpretations of 12 classic songs written or cowritten by Rodney Crowell, the latest in Nelson’s storied history of focusing entire albums on a single songwriter’s work. The two Texas singer-songwriters’ careers have often intersected, beginning with Crowell first hearing Nelson’s earliest songs on the radio and seeing his shows in Houston in the mid-1960s. Willie first recorded a Crowell song in 1983 and last did so 40 years later for 2024’s The Border. Twelve of Crowell’s compositions from the last 50 years were handpicked for the album. Nelson’s new performances include early tracks like 1976’s Banks Of The Old Bandera (recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker) and 1981’s Shame On The Moon (a hit for Bob Seger), ’90s tracks like What Kind Of Love, (co-written by Will Jennings and based on a Roy Orbison melody) and Stuff That Works (co-written with Guy Clark), early 2000s cuts written for hit albums by Keith Urban and Tim McGraw, four cuts from Crowell’s beloved 2010s albums and a cut released as recently as 2021.”
Smokey Robinson
What The World Needs Now
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Four-time Grammy winner Smokey Robinson delivers What The World Needs Now, a soulful, musical journey blending timeless classics with original songs that offer inspiration and encouragement. Featuring his smooth, iconic voice and warm, heartfelt renditions of Lean on Me, What A Wonderful World, Be Thankful For What You’ve Got and more, this recording reminds us of the countless beauties of everyday life and the joys of love, unity and gratitude. Robinson has been called inspiring and iconic, and he was called “America’s greatest living poet” by Bob Dylan. He has over 4,000 songs to his credit, and he’s sold out shows all over the world for many decades. And he shows no sign of slowing down. This year finds Robinson celebrating the 50th anniversary of his 1975 breakthrough solo album, Quiet Storm.”
Rodeo Boys
Junior
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Rodeo Boys new album Junior captures the quiet rebellion of a queer, blue-collar heart. Fronted by singer-guitarist Tiff Hannay, guitarist Caleb Shook, bassist Taylor “Doty” and drummer Christian Urabazzo, the Lansing, Michigan band blends a dirt-under-the-nails grit with campy, sardonic humor in a way that only a group of small-town misfits could pull off. Across its 12 tracks, Junior reimagines queer masculinity with rugged softness, resulting in an album that’s both deeply introspective and defiantly outspoken. Produced by Tom May of The Menzingers and mixed by Marc Jacob Hudson (Against Me, Saves The Day), Junior is a collision of fiery punk rage, salt-of-the-earth passion, and melodic emo. The record chisels through tales of grief, poverty, heartbreak, messy friendships, and the exploration of gender identity with a sound that’s both abrasive and anthemic. Rodeo Boys have honed their electrifying live presence on tour alongside bands like Cloud Nothings, Screaming Females, Microwave and Catbite, further cementing their place in the underground punk and indie scenes.”
Samia
Bloodless
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Bovine excision, a mysterious phenomenon involving the bloodless surgical removal of cattle organs, serves as the eerie inspiration for the opening track of Samia’s third album, aptly titled Bloodless. Her voice flows through the evocative lyrics with ease, weaving through the gentle strum of a lone acoustic guitar. The quiet intimacy builds into a storm of sound, culminating in Samia’s layered, ethereal harmonies that pierce with a haunting, macabre refrain: “And drained, drained bloodless.” These emptied cattle evoke a grotesque vessel she unwittingly nurtured in an attempt to embody something both untouchable and on display, overflowing with infinite projections and capable of driving an unrelenting pursuit of the unattainable. Through sharp images — Diet Dr. Pepper and Raymond Carver as parallel pursuits of minimalism, white underwear and leeches, a Degas dancer poised at the bannister — Samia examines a paradoxical existence where merit transforms into a calculated act of extraction (“I felt the pea, can I eat it?”). This is just one strand Samia weaves into the intricate tapestry of Bloodless. Rich with layers that shift seamlessly from sparse folk to sweeping indie-pop epics, Bloodless explores Samia‘s relationship with a fragmented, symbolic version of men — a patchwork of expectations and imagined standards she tried to meet, which ultimately shaped her sense of self. “I’ve spent the past two decades unintentionally conflating men with my understanding of God,” Samia explains. “The person I became in order to impress this imagined figure is inseparable from who I am today. With this album, I’ve tried to confront that head-on.”
Self Esteem
A Complicated Woman
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “British singer-songwriter Rebecca Lucy Taylor, aka Self Esteem returns with her third studio album, A Complicated Woman. It’s a big, bold and poptastic statement. A Complicated Woman is her first album since the Brit and Mercury-nominated Prioritise Pleasure — crowned Album of the Year by multiple outlets. The album comprises 12 songs, featuring guest appearances from Sue Tompkins, Moonchild Sanelly and Nadine Shah. The collection focuses on themes of taking back control of your own life and exposing the social inequities imposed upon women.”
Slamdinistas
Wild Restless
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “With a classic rock ’n’ roll sound as powerful as their band name, Slamdinistas are ready to take a step onto the world stage. The band’s five members have spent their lives wriIng and performing, and those musical chops are blazingly apparent in their contemporary take on New York glimmer trash, Detroit street punk, and Britsh Invasion raveups. The formation of the Slamdinistas would finally begin to take shape in 2015, and their debut album Shoot For The Stars was released in 2022. Slamdinistas reconvened in 2024 to Wild & Restless with producer Paul Roessler (Screamers, 45 Grave) at Kitten Robot Studios in Los Angeles.”
