Best New Releases, Oct. 18: Japandroids, High Vis, and more
We’re inching closer to the time of year that we start taking stock of all our favorite music from the year. And this year, there was a lot. We’re already in the process of trying to get organized just before we even put anything like a list together, and yet October isn’t close to being done with us yet. This week there’s another ample batch of essential listens, including a handful of great rock bands (one of whom is calling it quits), electronic producers, returning indie legends and more. Hear and read about the best new albums of the week.
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Japandroids – Fate & Alcohol
It’s bittersweet. Vancouver duo Japandroids have made some of the greatest indie rock of the 21st century, including their debut Post-Nothing and stellar 2012 album Celebration Rock. And now they’re calling it quits with one last album. Early singles such as the excellent “Chicago” have shown that they’re going out on a heroic note, and as much as we’re sad to see them go, it’s good to have one final set of music from them before their final bow. We’ll have more on this one soon.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
High Vis – Guided Tour
High Vis released one of our favorite albums of 2022, the outstanding Blending, which re-introduced the UK group as an anthemic but muscular post-punk band that wore their hardcore background on their tattoo sleeves but aimed for more melodic heights. With new album Guided Tour, the group draw from an even more diverse palette, exploring house and electronic textures on “Mind’s a Lie,” surrounding themselves in Manchester jangle on the title track, and turning up the energy on ripper “Mob DLA.” It rocks. We’ll have more on this one soon.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
Cold Cave – Passion Depression
Technically they released it a few days early, but nonetheless, synth-pop duo Cold Cave returns with another goth dancefloor-worthy set of pulsing beats and captivating gloom. Passion Depression is a relatively concise set of songs at just a little over a half-hour, but it’s a consistently satisfying set of leather-and-fishnet jams that remind us of why we were so enchanted by Wes Eisold’s group in the first place. We’ll have more on this one soon.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp
Kelly Lee Owens – Dreamstate
Kelly Lee Owens took a turn toward darker, more abstract sounds with her last album, LP.8, but her follow-up to that 2022 record is a swing back toward more beat-driven material. Preceded by dancefloor bangers like “Love You Got,” “Higher,” and “Sunshine,” Dreamstate is steeped in club-oriented sounds and BPMs, a purely pleasurable dance album that offers yet another piece of evidence that this has been a phenomenal year for blockbuster dance and electronic records.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Turntable Lab (vinyl)
Christopher Owens – I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair
The former frontman of Girls releases his fourth album a long nine years after his 2015 record Chrissybaby Forever, and he makes a strong return with his latest, coming strong out of the gates with the driving “No Good,” transitioning into the gorgeous “Beautiful Horses” and the folky “I Think About Heaven.” As the primary songwriter in Girls, Owens showcased his knack for writing incredible songs early on, but since we last heard from him, he’s homed in on some truly stunning melodies here, delivering one of the best releases of his career thus far. We’ll have more on this one soon.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
Karate – Make It Fit
Boston indie rock outfit Karate called it a day two decades ago, but recently reunited for a series of live performances. They’ve channeled that momentum into their first new album in 20 years, Make It Fit, which feels like a natural and graceful addition to their catalog. While the end of their first run saw them easing into more atmospheric jazz-influenced compositions, here they recapture some of the rock energy of their earlier records through songs like “Cannibals” and “Defendants,” while incorporating the understated jazz guitar licks that set them apart from other underground rock acts back in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
Nap Eyes – The Neon Gate
Halifax group Nap Eyes return four years after their last full-length LP with The Neon Gate, an outstanding new set of subtle, beautiful and graceful indie rock that incorporates elements of folk, slowcore and dream pop. The group previewed the album earlier this year with the incredible single “Demons,” and they showcase a versatility on The Neon Gate that makes it one of their most fun records to listen to, from the wild guitar leads on “Tangent Dissolve” to the garagey textures of “Ice Grass Underpass” and the synth-driven layers of “I See Phantoms of Hatred and the Heart’s Fullness and the Coming Emptiness.” They cover a lot of ground in 50 minutes, showcasing a maturity and sophistication in their songwriting while carving out a little time to rock out as well.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Rough Trade (vinyl)
Immortal Bird – Sin Querencia
Five years after the outstanding Thrive on Neglect, Chicago metal outfit Immortal Bird return with another intense and ripping set of death metal and black metal. Sin Querencia gets off to an ominous start with the doom tinged “Bioluminescent Toxins” and then ramps up the fury from there, surging into blast-beat mayhem on “Plastered Sainthood,” a riff-driven sprint on “Propagandized,” and an austere menace on “Ocean Endless.” It’s a beast of an album—as if we’d expect anything less.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Amazon (vinyl)
The Armed – Everlasting Gaze
The Armed, who are never not engaged in some kind of marketing sleight of hand, included a link to a handful of extra songs on the packaging of their last album, 2023’s Perfect Saviors, “hidden in plain sight.” But for those who didn’t find it, they’re releasing those songs on a new EP, including the outstanding first single “NEW! Christianity,” as well as a handful of remixes from the likes of Idles, Water from Your Eyes, and more. More from The Armed? What’s not to like!
Listen/Buy:
American Football – American Football (25th Anniversary Edition)
American Football’s debut album (which they released after breaking up), is rightly considered an emo classic for a reason, as well as one of the best albums of the 1990s. It’s a beautifully written and wistful set of phenomenal songs defined by stunning guitar work—haven’t we all tried to figure out how to play the riff to “Never Meant” at some point or other? It’s been reissued in a 25th anniversary edition in deluxe packaging with a 24-page booklet. It’s also accompanied by a separate covers album, featuring versions by the likes of Iron & Wine, Manchester Orchestra, and more.
Listen/Buy: Bandcamp | Turntable Lab (vinyl)
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.