Metal
Short, sweet, fast, loud and fully furious, Rescue Cat’s metalcore debut, Flesh & Weapon, announces their arrival vociferously. Phrenelith continue their steady path as gloomy death metal savants on Ashen Womb. Pissgrave’s destructive grindcore on Malignant Worthlessness is ceaselessly entertaining, as always, and filled to the brim with unexpected, wild moments. Led by enigmatic Spaniard D.B., Délirant’s Thoughteater pushes black metal boundaries while still retaining the head-banging riffage fans crave. False Body’s powerful punk- and hardcore-tinged EP, Leaving to Mourn, leaves the lingering question, can these folks actually keep this pace up for a whole record?
Alternative & Indie
Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory finds the singer in full collaboration mode with her band, filling out the veteran rock sound she has strived to perfect for well over a decade. As Heartworms, Jojo Orme has crafted an impressive debut of darkwave post-punk in the tense-yet-assured Glutton For Punishment. Shout-along choruses, earworm melodies and thee crunchiest riffs abound on Norwegian garage rockers Death by Unga Bunga’s energetic and irrepressible second album, Raw Muscular Power. And two of Australasia’s finest purveyors of jangle land in this month’s highlights: Richard Davies continues his idiosyncratic but beguiling songwriting traditions on The Moles' Composition Book and early, unfinished songs from the late Martin Phillipps of The Chills are lovingly reconstructed, reimagined and honored by friends and family on Spring Board: The Early Unrecorded Songs.
Hip-Hop/Rap
2 Chainz teams with Larry June and The Alchemist for Life is Beautiful, his first release as an independent rapper in over a decade, and a surefire classic. Naya Ali’s first long-player, We Did the Damn Thing, is a fun—yet still dangerous—hybrid of rap and R&B. AJ Suede’s short but wildly impactful The Duke of Downtempo furthers his case for being one of the best underground rappers alive. Fat Ray meshes beautifully with veteran Black Milk’s supreme production on one of the biggest surprises of 2025 so far. Blockhead has long moved beyond simple rap beats as evidenced by It’s Only a Midlife Crisis If Your Life Is Mid, a sprawling-yet-perfect-length set of jazz-laden songs. Queen Herawin combines hard beats and rhymes with a stellar guest list on a crucial new record, Awaken the Sleeping Giant.
Soul/Funk/R&B
Alternating love songs in Spanish and English, The Altons' sweet retro soul provides a slew of slow jams on Heartache in Room 14. DJ Notoya Presents Tokyo Bliss - Japanese Funk, Boogie and City Pop From King Records 1974-88 is the expertly curated selection of newly remastered groovy, sun-splashed funk-pop bops, mined from the nearly 95-year-old label by the Tokyo-based digger. Questlove’s 2025 documentary Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) dives into the rollercoaster life and legacy of Sly Stone. The accompanying soundtrack features alternate mixes and rare versions that might provide additional clues to understanding Stone’s singular brilliance. Michi delivers simmering and stylish throwback R&B like a seasoned pro on her debut album, Dirty Talk.
Folk/Americana
Califone continues a five-year run of incredible releases with The Villagers Companion, a soulful volume of experimental folk rock. With an incredible cast of collaborators including Valerie June, Steve Ignorant (Crass), and John Doe, Sunny War’s folky punk poetry shines brighter than ever before on Armageddon In a Summer Dress. Luminescent Creatures from Japanese singer/songwriter Ichiko Aoba is a quiet, immersive and contemplative dreamworld that absolutely commands and deserves your entire consciousness. Edith Frost’s return—after a long absence that she addresses right away on In Space—is as spacious and far out as expected.
Classical
On John Field: Complete Nocturnes from Deutsche Grammophon, pianist Alice Sara Ott brings a fresh perspective to and beautifully highlights the English composer who has long been overshadowed by comparisons to Chopin. Soprano Fatma Said shares an intimate recital in Lieder, featuring works by Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms. Berlin-based Italian composer Federico Albanese fuses ambient piano with elements of pop, folk, and classical music on Blackbirds and the Sun of October. Rising violin stars María Dueñas and Christian Li showcase impeccable musicality and technique on Paganini: 24 Caprices and Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto, respectively.
Electronic
Vacillating between noisy versions of electro and rock, Klein’s latest, thirteen sense, proves that she is capable of mastering any genre she chooses. John Glacier’s effortlessly cool flow hovers alongside, atop and through misty layers of synths and guitar on her debut album, Like a Ribbon. Guest vocals from a diverse crew including Sampha, Bill Callahan and actor Samantha Morton are wrapped in sonic weighted blankets and serve as the focal point of Everything is Recorded‘s Richard Russell is Temporary, the latest volume of the collaborative project helmed by the titular producer and XL Recordings head. Central Africa-born, Bronx-raised Masma Dream World lives up to her name on her debut, PLEASE COME TO ME, which is all at once hallucinatory, haunting, and meditative.
Reissues, Archival Releases, and Compilations
Long desired by collectors and folkies, Ted Lucas' self-titled volume of sweet folk numbers and blues ragas has seen a full reissue with bonus tracks. The unearthed Standard School Broadcast Recordings marks a transitional time for John Lee Hooker and his band but the result is gorgeous and uncompromising anyway. The aptly-titled and essential The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery pairs the guitarist with a stellar and complimentary lineup that highlights just how important and informative he was to jazz guitar. From the late Chick Corea, Trilogy 3 captures a captivating, uptempo trio set with a legendary rhythm section of Christian McBride and Brian Blade. Veteran indie rockers Yo La Tengo, whose composing credits include Adventureland, Game 6 and Junebug, get a reissue of another one of their scores courtesy of Mississippi Records. Along with guest guitarist Smokey Hormel, the trio improvised unostentatious yet alluring backdrops that add further depth to Kelly Reichardt’s acclaimed 2006 film, Old Joy. So Rebellious A Lover, which revived Gene Clark’s flagging career and announced Carla Olson’s, is finally reissued, armed with bonus tracks.
Jazz
Damon Locks provokes political fervor on List of Demands with myriad techniques—hip-hop beats, jazzy instrumental meanderings, samples from noted thinkers, spoken word poems, funky bass licks and dazzling backing vocals. New Orleans pianist (and frequent Cécile McLorin Salvant collaborator) Sullivan Fortner evokes the spirit of his hometown to lead his trio through the spry and jaunty Southern Nights. Sun Ra Arkestra’s 100-year-old leader Marshall Allen finally steps out from behind that identity to release his debut solo album, the Qobuzissime-bestowed New Dawn, where he’s joined by an incredible lineup of collaborators. La BOA were more than up to the daunting task of conceiving an entire album based on a 2011 Tony Allen drumming session on the beautiful Afrobeat record, La Boa Meets Tony Allen. With its attentive arrangements of R&B, soul and hip-hop, Moses Yoofee Trio’s Qobuzissime-awarded MYT is more than just a debut “jazz” record. Following his acclaimed 2024 collaboration with the Messthetics, James Brandon Lewis plays homage to his jazz forebears while still pushing his unique vision forward on Apple Cores. Jairus Sharif’s haunting compositions are as inspiring as they are layered with ambient noise on Basis of Unity.
Written by Jeff Laughlin, Sujan Hong, Nitha Vee/Qobuz USA