Each week, Consequence rings in New Music Friday by highlighting new albums to stream. We’re now in October, and we’ve got lots of new music to ring in the new month.
This week’s highlights feature a personal recording from Leon Bridges, an emotional album from Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and fresh music from rising artists like Drug Church and Geordie Greep. Plus, FINNEAS releases his sophomore album, while The Smile returns with their second album of 2024.
Here are 12 new albums to stream today.
A Place to Bury Strangers – Synthesizer
APTBS have always been shrouded in noise and giant walls of fuzzy, affected guitars, and for their seventh record, Synthesizer, they’re once again upping the ante. The veteran noise rock/shoegaze act built a custom synthesizer specifically for the new album, resulting in a whole new world of disorientating sounds.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
Caribou – Honey
Dan Snaith returns for his first new album as Caribou since 2020’s excellent Suddenly, which arrived days before lockdown began. Now, as he had recently with his alter ego Daphni, the electronic polymath has another chance to reclaim some of that dancefloor spotlight with Honey.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
Drug Church – PRUDE
The New York punks return today with PRUDE, their boisterous, emotional new album. There’s a lot to glean about Drug Church’s modus operandi from the album’s artwork: lips mashing, almost biting each other, the purple hue evoking an aching bruise, an image of intimacy that feels genuinely abrasive. In other words, it’s Drug Church firing on all cylinders.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
FINNEAS – For Cryin’ Out Loud!
FINNEAS is stepping back into the solo spotlight for his sophomore studio album, For Cryin’ Out Loud!. Preceded by the release of two singles, the album’s title track and an easygoing song called “Cleats,” the project marks his next chapter. It’s been almost exactly three years since FINNEAS released his first solo LP, Optimist, and the Grammy and Oscar-winning writer and producer continues to expand his artistry with this latest effort.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
Geordie Greep – The New Sound
The black midi frontman does not have “too much” in his vocabulary. Fittingly, Greep’s debut album The New Sound is filled to the brim with haywire musical phrases, grandiose arrangements, and a truly exorbitant amount of lyrics. But as its title suggests — and considering Greep is no longer restricted by the task of “being black midi” — it’s all in service of covering new musical ground.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD
The Canadian post-rock heroes are back with NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD, the follow-up to 2021’s G_D’S PEE AT STATE’S END! Named after the reported death toll in Gaza as of February of this year, the new album features six compositions of crescendoing, abstract, and political art rock.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
The Hard Quartet – The Hard Quartet
The Hard Quartet is the indie supergroup comprised of Stephen Malkmus, Emmett Kelly, Matt Sweeney, and Jim White, and they’ve just offered their self-titled debut album. All four members are no strangers to collaborative work and intriguing side projects, so their grand entrance as The Hard Quartet arrives with a bright attitude and some indie rock fervor.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
Maya Hawke – Clipped Wings EP
The four-track project serves as a companion to Hawke’s album from earlier this year, Chaos Angel, with the new songs expanding on the themes of “friendship, self actualization, self hatred, and finding balance” that formed the core of the LP. Hawke shared that while she wanted the album to be tight and cohesive, still believed in the songs that didn’t make the cut — they’ve now arrived in the world, too.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
Buy: Vinyl
Leon Bridges – LEON
The fourth album from Bridges is the latest showcase for his signature blend of country and soul elements. It also feels like an especially personal collection from the singer-songwriter, who leans even further into his Texas roots lyrically on LEON. Listeners who found their way to Bridges through his romantic tunes will still find plenty to love in this LP with songs like “Never Satisfied,” while moments like “Never Satisfied” peel back the layers to allow him to lay his heart bare in a different way.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
Sixpence None the Richer – Rosemary Hill EP
The group known for the iconic ‘90s song “Kiss Me” is back for their first release in over a decade, and their first recording from the band’s original lineup since 2004. With optimistic lyrics and a style that combines multiple genres, Rosemary Hill retains the joyous mood from the band’s 1997 self-titled album while keeping their sound rooted in the present.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
The Smile – Cutouts
Thom York, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner continue to be prolific workhorses, as just nine months after the excellent Wall of Eyes, The Smile are back with their second new album of 2024, Cutouts. In comparison to the post-rock and jazz-influenced Wall of Eyes, Cutouts boasts an icier, more electronically-bent collection of songs, showcasing the other side of The Smile’s coin.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify
Wild Pink – Dulling the Horns
Wild Pink continues to be one of the most consistently engaging, emotionally intelligent acts in indie rock. Their latest effort, Dulling the Horns, follows the highly acclaimed ILYSM and showcases a livelier, even more anthemic side of John Ross’ songwriting. The band sounds as great as ever, clearing the already high bar they’ve set for themselves.
Stream: Apple Music | Spotify