FLOOD

The London art-rock trio’s Robert Eggers–like debut clings to the lattice of maritime folklore while examining the often-felt pendulum between craving isolation and intimacy.

Leaning into his shoulder-devil, Shane Lavers’ second album trades the uncanny artifice of its predecessor for a tactile, physical confrontation of what it looks like to face inner darkness.

Neatly charting the band’s evolution from noise militants to pop eccentrics, the first-ever vinyl release of this collection reminds us that Pixies’ trash was often purer than their peers’ gold.

The slacker-folk songwriter’s latest is an uncharacteristically fuzzy ode to his hometown that feels like a late-night hang surrounded by the ghosts of his various musical heroes.

The amorphous Canadian supergroup returns after nearly a decade to unearth a brand new yet wholly familiar artful rock sound with a surprising amount of momentum behind it.

With their second album, the Chicago band sheds their tough noise-pop exterior to reveal a more delicate sound—and emotional truisms to match—as they grow more confident.

The debut solo album from Dehd’s Jason Balla is a somber yet resilient heliograph that postulates how cool to the touch a silver lining can be.

Spotlighting the diversity of Chicago’s underground scene, this comp is as much a symposium for genre-defying trailblazers as it is a no-skips playlists capturing the city’s budding youth-beat movement.

The London quintet’s fourth LP takes their previous psychedelic wanderings into more abstract territory as it paints a painfully honest portrait of modern fracture and isolation.

The Torrance punks’ seventh album sees the trio firing on all cylinders with their signature punchy hooks and catchy choruses culminating in 19 minutes of sheer pop-punk glory.

Reworking tracks from 2024’s News of the Universe LP, Shana Cleveland emphasizes themes of change, non-determinism, and acceptance on an EP that aptly feels a little lonely.

The Irish noise-rockers throw stones at their shoegaze glass castle on their third LP, a heavy-padded experiment in hypnosis that manages to channel a sense of euphoric mania.

The South African indie-folk songwriter’s sixth album presents her at her most intimate and creative—yet still unknowable—as she traces the lines of isolation and transition.

With their Will Yip–produced debut, the Austin punk quartet has something to say about postmodern society in 11 metal-fusion tracks ripe with political turmoil and skatepark angst.

A ’70s-inspired yet undeniably timeless pop-rock record, the London quartet’s major-label debut marks a refreshing return to serenely emotional balladry.

The Chicago duo pull the strings taut on their emo-pop debut, adding piano passages, guitar theatrics, and other flourishes to their established college-radio-rock sound.

Reuniting with original member Joe Keery, the Chicago-based psych-rock band finds a new direction in the woods of Indiana with their rustic fourth album.

Both brighter-eyed and harder-hearted, the LA quartet return with a third LP of full-bodied psych-shoegaze which settles deeply into Kenny Becker’s cataclysmic transitional life period.

The songwriter’s debut is carefree, sleazy, fundamentally arresting dance music—a multi-sensory circus serving to wallpaper the halls of dance-pop history with neon, acid-tinged nonsense.

Clashing with expectations, the rowdy Australian duo dive into an older, deeper, more refined sound with this EP that positions them as stronger musicians and storytellers.