The big music news this week is that Coachella surprised us with an earlier lineup announcement than usual. And it might be the first festival to ask its attendees to choose between the Misfits and Charli XCX. Have you seen the lineup? What do you think of it?

UPDATE: Turns out the other big news this week (revealed after Notable Releases went live) is that Kendrick Lamar surprise-released a new album! Read my first-impression review.

As for new music, this week’s two big indie albums are Kim Deal (of The Breeders and formerly of the Pixies) and Father John Misty, both of which Bill reviews in Indie Basement, alongside Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom‘s holiday album and New Order‘s Brotherhood box. I review seven other records below, ranging from prog metal to neck-snapping hip hop to exploratory jazz.

Before we get to my picks, this week’s honorable mentions include Ice Cube, Ice-T’s Body Count, Defeated Sanity, The Coward Brothers (Elvis Costello & T Bone Burnett), Heavy Moss (mem King Gizzard), Common Sage, Kenny Mason, Lifted, Gutless, Golgothan Remains, Squanderers (Wendy Eisenberg, Gastr del Sol, Kramer), Colt Wave (mem Knapsack), Tashi Dorij, Rogê, Soap&Skin, Girlhood, Cistern, LEYA, Warhaus, Finesse2Tymes, Skilla Baby, YTB Fatt, Sheff G, G Perico, Bfb Da Packman, Fake Eyes, the Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Joe Goddard EP, the Will Johnson (Centro-matic) EP, the Eyas EP, the Kitty EP, the Eva Ras EP, the Djrum EP, the Count Your Lucky Stars 4-way split, the Body Void/Sunrot split, the Nilüfer Yanya remix EP, the Hovvdy live EP, the Bill Callahan/Smog 2001 Peel Session EP, Bibio’s drone album, the expanded edition of Friko’s new album, the latest volume of My Morning Jacket’s live album series, the Sentridoh comp, The Beatles’ 1964 U.S. albums box, U2’s How To Re-Assemble An Atomic Bomb, Wicked: The Soundtrack (with Ariana Grande and more), and last but not least (well, maybe least), Jason Kelce & the Philadelphia Eagles’ A Philly Special Christmas Party (ft. Stevie Nicks, Boyz II Men, Travis Kelce & more).

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

Opeth – The Last Will and Testament (Reigning Phoenix)
Opeth are back and so are their death growls

Sorry in advance to Mikael Åkerfeldt for opening with this, but yes, the new Opeth album brings death growls back for the first time since 2008’s Watershed, and yes, that is a very exciting thing for fans of this band’s heavier material. But it never sounds like a retread or comes off like fan service. The ’70s prog elements that they’ve explored in more recent years are in full force here too, down to guest flute and narration from Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson. It’s also a full-blown concept album broken up into eight chapters that’s as much of a saga thematically as it is instrumentally. It goes all in on both death metal and prog, and it takes you on an immersive journey that’s fleshed out by string arrangements, harp, mellotron, and more. The return to death growls is just one ingredient in this elaborately strange brew.

Michael Kiwanuka – Small Changes (Geffen)
The modern-day soul great explores his softer side on his latest LP

Michael Kiwanuka has been one of the greatest modern purveyors of psychedelic soul, thanks to his back-to-back triumphs Love & Hate and Kiwanuka, and for his next act, he tones down his usual ambition for something more intimate. Produced once again alongside Danger Mouse and Inflo, Small Changes is a quieter, more stripped-back album for Kiwanuka’s standards. It jumps out at you less than its two most recent predecessors, but it’s also a lovely setting for Kiwanuka’s molasses-smooth voice. And some songs–like the title track in particular–feel up there with Kiwanuka’s best, with that warm, timeless aura that you feel like you’ve known all your life.

Boldy James & Harry Fraud – The Bricktionary (self-released)
The Detroit rapper does what he does best on his fourth LP of 2024

Boldy James is one of those most prolific and consistently-reliable rappers around and this year has been no exception for the Detroit native. He’s released three projects since January, each with a different producer (Penalty of Leadership with Nicholas Craven, 1LB with Your Boy Posca, and Across The Tracks with Conductor Williams), and now he releases a fourth, The Bricktionary, produced entirely by Harry Fraud. If you’ve listened to any of the several great Boldy James projects, you probably know what to expect–calm, cool, and quietly devastating bars over chill, smoky, post-boom bap production–and Boldy always knows how to suck you in, even at his most predictable. Helping him out on this one are guest verses by Benny the Butcher (who also has at least 4 releases out this year), Tee Grizzley, and Babyface Ray.

Kruelty – Profane Usurpation EP (Closed Casket Activities)
A lineup shift has done nothing to tone down the Tokyo death metal/hardcore band’s brutal assault

After the release of their killer 2023 LP Untopia, Kruelty parted ways with vocalist Tatami. It’s the kind of lineup shakeup that some bands never recover from, but Kruelty pretty quickly hit the road with guitarist Zuma taking over on lead vocals, and now they’ve already got a new EP that finds the Tokyo band sounding just as brutal as they did with Tatami. Like Untopia, Profane Usurpation is a self-described mix of death metal, grindcore, hardcore, and punk, and it delivers exactly what the band promises. It ranges from caveman stomps to D-beating circle pit fuel, all expertly produced and engineered by Taylor Young, and Zuma is already a commanding frontperson. His lyrics are primarily in Japanese, and whether or not you understand the language, the guttural impact of his delivery hits hard.

Papa M – Ballads of Harry Houdini (Drag City)
Slint member David Pajo gets jammy on his first Papa M album in six years

David Pajo (of Slint, the soon-to-end Gang of Four lineup, and more) is back with his first Papa M album in six years, and it’s a delightfully weird one. More often than not, it finds him in psychedelic jam territory, with some breaks for a crooned indie rock waltz (“Ode to Mark White”) and some primitive drum machine work (“Devil Tongue”). It’s a vibes-first kind of album, and the vibes are immaculate.

Jeff Parker ETA IVtet – The Way Out of Easy (International Anthem)
The latest album from the Tortoise member and jazz bandleader is an improvisational journey

Speaking of immaculate vibes, Jeff Parker delivers exactly that across four lengthy compositions with the new album by his ETA IVtet. It was recorded and mixed live, and it finds Parker and his band in full improvisational force, stirring together freeform jazz, groovy hip hop beats, post-rocky guitar patterns, hypnotic dub, and more. In true improv fashion, you can hear the band bringing these pieces to life in real time. It’s all about the journey.

Various Artists – TRA​И​Ƨ​A (Red Hot Organization)
Red Hot raises awareness and money for trans rights with a massive comp featuring 46 unique collaborations, covers, and more from an unbelievable cast of artists

Red Hot, the long-running organization that raises money for good causes and released beloved compilation albums like 2009’s Dark Was the Night and 2016’s indie Grateful Dead tribute album Day of the Dead, has just put out TRA​И​Ƨ​A, a 46-song comp with unique collaborations, covers, original songs, and more that highlights trans and non-binary artists and raises money and awareness for trans rights and the LGBTQ+ community. The many, many, many cool songs on the comp include: Devendra Banhart, Blake Mills, and Beverly Glenn-Copeland covering Caetano Veloso; Jeff Tweedy & claire rousay covering The Fugs; an original Benét & Faye Webster song; Julien Baker, Calvin Lauber, SOAK, and Quinn Christopherson covering Belle & Sebastian; Hand Habits & Bill Callahan covering Kate Bush; an original Grouper & Lucy Liyou song; Moses Sumney and ANOHNI covering a song by the late SOPHIE (whose death was one of the catalysts for this comp’s creation); a 26-minute piece from André 3000 in flute-fueled ambient jazz mode; Rachika Nayar, Julianna Barwick, and Cassandra Croft covering Tim Buckley; producer Arthur Baker with the late jazz legend Pharoah Sanders; L’Rain covering ANOHNI; a Jlin and Moor Mother collab; a Kara Jackson, Ahya Simone, Dirty Projectors collab; Low’s Alan Sparhawk doing a gorgeous rendition of Low’s “Point of Disgust” with Perfume Genius; Lomelda & More Eaze covering Sandro Perri; Sharon Van Etten & Ezra Furman covering Sinéad O’Connor; a new Adrianne Lenker song; Asher White, Eli Winter, and Caroline Rose covering Judee Sill; Fleet Foxes covering Charles Lloyd’s 1972 jazz/folk fusion “TM” with Cole Pulice and Lynn Avery; Cassandra Jenkins, Bloomsday, and Babehoven covering Palehound; a new Sade Adu song dedicated to her trans son; a CLARITY & Clairo collab; Anjimile, Kara Jackson, and Bartees Strange covering TV On the Radio; Laura Jane Grace covering trans punk legend Jayne County’s “Surrender Your Gender” with help from Jayne herself, as well as Lee Ranaldo, Kathi Wilcox, Jay Dee Daugherty, and Am Taylor; and more. Like so many other Red Hot comps, it’s an ambitious undertaking with next-level curation and so many genuine gems in the mix, all made specifically for this project. To paraphrase something TRA​И​Ƨ​A Moses Sumney recently said, Red Hot comps like Dark Was the Night have helped define entire eras of music, and I could see TRA​И​Ƨ​A doing the same. Especially being released the same week that U.S. congresspeople are waging an anti-trans war at the Capitol, this compilation meets the moment in more ways than one.

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As mentioned above, Bill reviews this week’s two big indie albums, Kim Deal and Father John Misty, in Indie Basement, alongside Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom‘s holiday album and New Order‘s Brotherhood box.

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

Looking for a podcast to listen to? Check out our new episode with The Offspring.

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