Best New Releases, Jan. 10: Franz Ferdinand, Ethel Cain, and more


It’s technically not the first new release Friday of the year, but for a variety of reasons, most artists decided against releasing an album two days after New Year’s Day. Which is just fine with us, we had a pretty big project we were working on. And now we can focus on the batch of new releases hitting shelves and DSPs today. It’s going to get a lot more crowded in the weeks to come, but this small but excellent batch features the return of some indie heroes, our brutal pick for Album of the Week, a haunting gothic folk epic, and more.
Note: When you buy something through our affiliate links, Treble receives a commission. All albums included are chosen by our editors and contributors.

Franz Ferdinand – The Human Fear
Franz Ferdinand make their return with The Human Fear, seven years after the release of their last album, Always Ascending, and their uncanny knack for tuneful, clever and danceable indie rock songs remains as strong as ever. The album finds them playing to their strengths, whether it’s through jangly indie rock (“Audacious”), electro-tinged dancefloor fodder (“Hooked”), or elaborately arranged, disco-friendly art-rock (“Night or Day”). Plus it’s just fun as hell. We’ll have more on this one soon.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Turntable Lab (vinyl)

Haunted Horses – Dweller
For more than a decade, Seattle’s Haunted Horses have been honing their punishing noise rock sound into one with a more prominent presence of harrowing industrial elements, all of which converge stunningly on Dweller. It’s our Album of the Week. In our review, we said, “Their fourth album, the Three One G-released Dweller, simultaneously presents some of their most immediately satisfying and relentlessly blood curdling material, wrapping their guitar shrieks and bass thrum in industrial armor.”
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp

Ethel Cain – Perverts
Singer/songwriter Ethel Cain returns three years after the release of her debut Preacher’s Daughter with the lengthy, more darkly unsettling Perverts. Comprising a sprawling 90 minutes, Perverts delves into gothic balladry that veers on industrial at times, calling to mind the likes of both Scott Walker and Grouper. It’s a dense but mesmerizing new chapter in her career, and we’ll have more to say about this one soon.
Listen: Spotify

Lambrini Girls – Who Let the Dogs Out
UK group Lambrini Girls earned critical attention on the strength of their debut EP You’re Welcome, which they’ve followed with a proper full-length debut in Who Let the Dogs Out. The album pairs sneering critiques of modern culture with relentless and energetic garage punk melodies, which on songs like “Love” achieve a kind of focused intensity. But more than anything, it’s just a hell of a lot of fun to shout along with. We’ll have more to say on this one soon.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)

Bridget Hayden and the Apparitions – Cold Blows the Rain
British artist Bridget Hayden merges drone music with folk in compelling and haunting ways, her latest album Cold Blows the Rain capturing the feeling of being enveloped in the gauzy blanket of mist as suggested in its title. Hayden’s voice is gorgeous and melancholy, juxtaposed against violin, banjo or simply a chilling ambience, each song feeling as if it’s channeling ghosts of eras past. These songs aren’t without melody, but they’re primarily provided by Hayden’s vocals rather than a guitar or a bassline, providing a kind of eerie minimalism that makes it stand as a unique, genre-blurring early highlight of the year. And one I’ll be sure to remember when it comes time to make my list of the best folk of 2025.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp

Jeff Terich is the founder and editor of Treble. He's been writing about music for 20 years and has been published at American Songwriter, Bandcamp Daily, Reverb, Spin, Stereogum, uDiscoverMusic, VinylMePlease and some others that he's forgetting right now. He's still not tired of it.