Best New Releases, July 26: Wand, Nightshift, and more

Festival season and the doldrums of summer haven’t stopped the flow of new releases hitting digital providers and record store shelves this week. And there’s some great ones out today, including the return of some contemporary psych-rock favorites, a great new post-punk record, a pair of (very different) screamo albums, sound collage, jazz and more. Here are this week’s best new releases.

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Wand – Vertigo

Five years after the release of their epic 2019 album Laughing Matter, the Los Angeles psych-rock group returns with an outstanding follow-up. More concise and cohesive than their previous effort, Vertigo finds the group stretching their limits with more atmospheric art-rock anthems and experimental arrangements alike, such as the bright pulsation of horns on “Mistletoe,” or the hypnotic feedback screech of “High Time.” But then again, when they get back to rock ‘n’ roll mode on a standout such as “Smile,” they remind us that they’re one of the best psych-rock bands around today. We’ll have more to say on this one soon.

Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)

Nightshift – Homosapien

Glasgow post-punk group Nightshift released one of the best art-punk records of 2021 with Zöe, pairing a playful sense of melody with creative arrangements and mesmerizing sense of repetition. Homosapien is their follow-up to that record, an album that retains their wonderfully weird approach while shaking up the dynamic a bit, whether on the minimalist dancepunk of “Side Effects,” the scratchy fuzz rock of “Your Good Self” or the sweetly sentimental balladry of our recent Essential Track pick, “Phone.” We’ll have more on this one soon. Also, read Nightshift’s track by track breakdown of Homosapien.

Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)

Respire – Hiraeth

Respire are longtime favorites of ours, pairing screamo and black metal with post-rock in an emotionally powerful package. Their latest pushes deeper into bigger arrangements laden with strings, and as such it’s perhaps appropriate to call Hiraeth “chamber screamo,” as unlikely a combination as that might be. On tracks like “The Match, Consumed,” the group still delivers the ferocious roar they’re known for, while “Distant Light of Belonging” is something more like recent envy backed by an orchestra. It’s a fascinating juxtaposition that works remarkably well, bringing an added sense of grace and beauty to a fiery and powerful sound.

Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Amazon (vinyl)

State Faults – Children of the Moon

Another entry for Screamo Summer! The fourth album from the Bay Area post-hardcore group is a proper rush of energy and abrasion, maintaining a searing intensity even as the group aim for even more anthemic heights. Children of the Moon is more polished in its production, with soaring choruses and the addition of elements like synths, and some of its greatest moments find the group aiming for stadium-sized hooks while still delivering a white-knuckle ride. And at over an hour in length, it’s positively epic.

Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)

Klein – Marked

London sound collagist Klein has released eight albums since 2016, each one a fascinating and mysterious blend of sonic elements and jagged pieces. Her latest, Marked, leans heavier on elements of industrial and noise, blanketed with heavy sheets of static and booming with thunderous beats, while at times lurching with a kind of noise rock menace. Its myriad details reveal themselves through headphone listening, but it’s also a sensory overload experience, one that’s just as appropriate to crank all the way up.

Listen/Buy: Bandcamp

Pat Metheny – MoonDial

Prolific jazz guitarist Pat Metheny returns with his 45th album (not counting soundtrack work), and his latest is a more low-key affair, mostly focused on stark arrangements of gentle guitar work. He’s done some wild experimental and fusion work in the past, but here he settles into a series of solo ballads that are consistently gorgeous throughout. A stunning new entry from a jazz master, and we’ll have more to say about this one soon.

Listen/Buy: Spotify | Rough Trade (vinyl)

Dave Harrington – Skull Dream

Dave Harrington is probably best known for his work in the progressive electronic group Darkside, but he’s built up a prolific body of work of his own, and Skull Dream is a mesmerizing new addition to the catalog. Blending elements of ambient Americana, jazz, folk and rock, Harrington crafts a series of cinematic soundscapes that showcase him as a uniquely eclectic figure who moves between genres with agility and ease, but somehow makes it all work together beautifully.

Listen/Buy: Bandcamp