New Music Reviews (10/19)

Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder share brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation. These reviews help our DJs decide on what they want to play. See what we added this week below (and on our Charts page), including new releases from Dummy, Fontaines D.C., The Avalanches, and more. 

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Dummy - do you love the color of the sky? (Polyvinyl)
These LA-based sonic masterminds know how to craft a VIBE. On their third studio album, and Polyvinyl debut, Dummy offers a hazy, mesmerizing blend of psych pop, trip-hop, and post-punk. ‘do you love the color of the sky?’ finds the quartet looking at the world through a wide lens, asking big, challenging questions through dreamy, textured arrangements that combine experimental flourishes and ample hooks. Across ten incandescent tracks, the band artfully walks the line between staying present and allowing room for growth and evolution. –CS

Fontaines D.C. - Dopamine Chamber (XL Recordings) 
The fifth studio album from Irish post-punk heroes Fontaines D.C. does not disappoint. With Grian Chatten’s poetry and distinct vocals leading the way, ‘Dopamine Chamber’ features moody, menacing soundscapes built from their signature guitar lines, sinister synths, ornate strings, ethereal harmonies, and dynamic percussion. The inimitable ROSALÍA duets with Chatten on the epic ballad “Where Is Gone?,” marking the first time the band has featured a guest vocalist on an album. Oscillating between nuance and anthemic grandeur, it’s safe to say the boys have done it again.  –CS

The Avalanches - No Bad Memories (Modular)
Australian electronic music wizards The Avalanches return with their exuberant fourth studio album. Driven by inventive production, scintillating hooks, and kaleidoscopic layers of samples, rhythms, and textures, ‘No Bad Memories’ glides with adventurous, prismatic energy. An abundance of marquee guests, including Karen O, Jamie XX, Loaded Honey, Portraits Of Tracy, Khadija Al Hanafi, Panda Bear, Barry Can’t Swim, Erick the Architect, and John Glacier add their own distinct colors to the mix, resulting in a thrilling, dance-floor-ready collection. –CS

@ - Autosmile (4AD) 
The sophomore album, and 4AD debut, from Philadelphia-based duo @ is a gripping set of pop-inflected experimental folk. With intricate guitars, layered vocals, and flourishes of strings, keys, flute, samples, and drums, ‘Autosmile’ is opulent and cinematic, enveloping listeners in their rich, melancholic arrangements. –CS

Badvril - Lethal (Share It Music) 
The sophomore album from San Francisco duo Badvril, composed of PNW-raised singer, songwriter, and guitarist Becket Schroeder and drummer (and Yo-Yo champion!) Tessa Piccillo, is a delectable fusion of noise pop, shoegaze, and grunge, a sound they’ve coined “backwoods rock.” Schroeder’s airy, affected vocals float atop layered, atmospheric arrangements that shift from dreamy to urgent on a dime. With memorable guitar lines and hard-hitting percussion, ‘Lethal’ is a potent, captivating listen. –CS

Bobbyy - TACKYY (Dynamite Hill)
The second full-length album from Bobbyy – the solo alias of LA-via-Seattle drummer/producer/DJ Bobby Granfelt, also a member of adventurous Seattle-based jazz bands sunking and High Pulp – is a brilliant display of his amorphous talents as he blurs a deep love of hip-hop, jazz, house, leftfield pop, and cerebral electronic/club music into an intoxicating brew of transfixing beats, wavy hip-hop, hypnotic jazz, and psychedelic R&B. A stacked constellation of kindred spirits like Pink Siifu, Demae, Mndsgn, Salami Rose Joe Louis, Sam Gendel, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Tony Bontana, and AKAI SOLO all fold beautifully into Bobbyy’s creations as he serves as the connective tissue guiding the listener into different zones through his woozy, loopy, adventurous, sample-heavy beats. –AR

Ella Thompson - Triumph & Sadness (Mr Bongo)
The third album from Melbourne-based singer/songwriter Ella Thompson is another consistently sweet set of classic R&B/soul songs steeped in a smoky 60s/70s romanticism and enhanced by her gorgeous honeyed vocals and her band’s lush, exquisite, analog-rich backdrops. –AR

fish narc - Uncle (K)
The fifth album from this project of versatile musician Ben Funkhouser finds him leaning even further into the classic guitar-forward alternative rock sound that he tapped into on his pivotal 2025 album ‘frog song’ and he delivers another stellar record with help from acclaimed producer/engineer Alex Farrar (Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, Archers of Loaf) who gives these catchy, punchy, smartly-crafted songs a big, full-bodied character . Ben has recently relocated from his longtime homebase of Olympia to Los Angeles, but there’s still an undeniable PNW-rooted streak running through ‘Uncle’ carried by his sharp songwriting, big hooks, and emotional, authentic delivery. –AR

Gollylagging - Real Life (Disposable America)
The debut album from this Boston-based band is a strong set of 90s-influenced alternative rock that blends crunchy indie rock and catchy power-pop with a touch of twangy grunge. With their deft combination of big guitars, soaring hooks, a keen melodic sensibility, and a dense wall-of-sound aesthetic, Gollylagging bring a refreshing spin to a classic left-of-the-dial sound indebted to 1990s’ torchbearers like Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., Sugar, and Weezer. –AR

Roshâni - Planet R (Stone Pixels)
The debut full-length album from this Geneva-based duo composed of Roxane Dumont and Inès Mouzoune is a fantastic set of colorful, worldly, sophisticated dance-pop combining hypnotic rhythms, rich instrumentation, masterful electronic touches, and their exuberant vocals in thrilling, charismatic fashion. ‘Planet R’ follows a pair of magnificent EPs, as well as a mesmerizing Live on KEXP performance during Trans Musicales 2024, and it confidently displays Roshâni’s bold, transportive, lively global-pop sound that’s further enhanced by their lyrics sung in Farsi, Spanish, French and English. –AR

Tinashe - Popstar (A Nice Life/Atlantic) 
LA-based singer-songwriter Tinashe returns with her dynamic and expansive eighth studio album. Executive produced by Ricky Reed with additional production from Zack Sekoff, Machinedrum, Andrew Wells, and Arca, among others, ‘Popstar’ showcases Tinashe’s distinct pop-R&B vision, inflected with electronic, ambient, dance, and hyperpop influences. Her pristine, commanding vocals shine through intricate arrangements layered with twinkling keys, textured synths, propulsive beats, hypnotic drum programming, and samples as these sixteen tracks explore the complexities of fame, relationships, and identity. Clear in its vision and riddled with infectious hooks while still maintaining a fluid and free edge, ‘Popstar’ might just be Tinashe’s crown jewel. –CS

Flora Hibberd - Mammoth (22Twenty)
The sophomore album from London-born, Paris-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Flora Hibberd is a dynamic set of ornate chamber pop. Moving into more grandiose, maximalist soundscapes, ‘Mammoth’ boasts lush, inviting compositions that highlight Hibberd’s stunning, rich vocals. What a charming, tenderhearted set of pop gems exploring the past, present, and liminal spaces in between.  –CS

Gilla Band - Pugnello (Rough Trade) 
The fourth album from Dublin quartet Gilla Band is an explosive set of chaotic noise rock and angular post-punk, featuring seething guitars, emphatic vocals, potent percussion, and inventive sonic manipulations. Abrasive, alarming, and completely arresting, ‘Pugnello’ is an experimental expression of the modern age. –CS

Gotts Street Park - Somewhere Between (Play It Again Sam)
Leeds-based collective Gotts Street Park return with their breathtaking sophomore studio album. Primarily composed of Josh Crocker, Tom Henry, and Joe Harris, the trio enlist knockout vocalists Olive Jones, Pip Millett, Matt Maltese, Sofia and the Antoinettes, Rosie Lowe, and anaiiis to bring emotional depth to their transcendent, cinematic blend of soul, jazz, and R&B. Featuring raw, gut-wrenching lyricism and transportive arrangements full of tantalizing movement, ‘Somewhere Between’ is a true triumph. –CS

green star - silver + dust EP (Cold Summer)
The second EP from London-based quartet green star is a delicious set of moody shoegaze, post-punk, and indie rock. With alternating lead vocalists, densely layered guitars, and compelling arrangements, ‘silver + dust’ is a gripping listen that captures the beauty “in what is fleeting, fragile and unresolved.” –CS

Isabeau Waia'u Walker - Cloudhunter EP (Better Company)
The new EP from Portland-based singer-songwriter Isabeau Waia'u Walker is a beautiful set of evocative indie folk. Guided by her captivating vocals, arrangements of guitar, keys, glockenspiel, and percussion swirl through intimate reflections to breathtaking effect. –CS

Jacques Greene - jg (LUCKYME®)
The third full-length album from Montreal producer Jacques Greene (aka Phillippe Aubin-Dionne) comes 15 years since the release of his iconic breakout single “Another Girl” and it’s a consistently solid set of fresh dancefloor cuts that marks the first time he’s created a record “built unapologetically for the club.” Propulsive from the jump, ‘jg’ captures the magnetism of Jacques Green’s live performances and DJ sets, his sleek, crisp, glistening production talents shine bright throughout, and he gets standout vocal assists along the way from Ouri, Jonah Yano, Sølv, and crushed. –AR

June McDoom - Follow The Light (Jagjaguwar)
The debut album from South Florida-raised, NYC-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer June McDoom feels weightless. Delicate compositions of harp, guitars, synths, strings, piano, flute, and percussion invite listeners to levitate through spellbinding, dub-tinged chamber folk meditations, as her expressive, otherworldly vocals explore heritage, memory, dreams, and identity. Co-written and produced with her longtime partner Evan Wright, ‘Follow The Light’ is a tender, transportive debut that is so worth the wait.  –CS

Kallsup - Alldeles för nära (VÅRØ)
The second album from this Örebro, Sweden-based band is another consistently strong set of dreamy, heavy, classic shoegaze jams infused with a touch of psych and noise-rock. Eline Gustafsson’s soaring, ethereal, all-Swedish vocals weave within the band’s enveloping waves of guitars, drums, and distortion, while guitarist Carl Libert handles lead vocals on epic closer “Malmavägen.”  –AR

Marla Kether - Luso EP (Strut)
The second EP from this rising London-based electronic producer, bassist, and DJ of Congolese descent is a vibrant  “celebration of community, movement and musical freedom” as she weaves together a brilliant 5-song set of kinetic worldly genre-blurring grooves. The EP kicks off with a fresh instrumental offering before diving into four vocal-laced tracks that each feature a different guest artist who twist Marla’s amorphous style into their own lanes. –AR

Quadeca - Life 1 (X8 Music)
The sixth studio album from LA-based multidisciplinary artist Quadeca is a genre-bending tour de force. Effortlessly gliding through art pop, hip-hop, electronic, soul, experimental, and folk soundscapes, ‘Life 1’ pairs catchy hooks and playful vocal manipulations with sudden sensory shifts, embodying the disordered uncertainty of existence. Across fourteen engrossing tracks, Quadeca offers a glimpse into his brilliant, multi-faceted mind. –CS

Remi Wolf - MUD (Island)
On her third studio album, Remi Wolf trades her high-energy bangers for a more introspective, organic pop sound driven by acoustic guitar. Exploring themes of sobriety, break ups, and burnout, ‘MUD’ pulls back the veil a bit through her intimate lyricism. While more subdued sonically, these eleven tracks still deliver her towering vocals, knack for a killer hook, and considerable skills as a lyricist, songwriter, and producer.  –CS

Sophia Stel - the greatest album of all time (A24 Music)
The debut full-length album from this Vancouver, BC-based singer, songwriter, and producer is a sleek set of arty synth-pop and euphoric club-pop that pairs her airy melodies, confessional lyrics, and vocoder-accented delivery with dynamic, sweeping, glistening beats. While it’s a cheekily bold claim, ‘the greatest album of all time’ is a cool, confident, and distinctive statement from an ascendent PNW artist that’s primed to soundtrack both an epic night out and the inevitable comedown. –AR

Sunstoney - EVERYTHING IS FLEETING (Crafted Sound)
Sunstoney is the alias of Eman El Saied, a Virginia-bred, Denver-based Ethiopian-American singer, songwriter, and producer. Described as her attempt to “capture the tension of being in motion: the sadness, the rage, the confidence, the release, and the strange realization that none of it stays forever,” her third album is an impressive set of DIY dance/R&B/pop jams that blends her dreamy, soulful pop sensibilities with kinetic house rhythms. –AR

TOMORA - CELEBRATION (Capitol)
This collaborative project from Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers and enigmatic Norwegian artist AURORA follow-up their debut album ‘COME CLOSER’ with a complimentary 5-song EP that further showcases their creative chemistry and ability to unleash euphoric, enveloping, epic dance-pop anthems. The transcendent title track, offered here in two different yet equally awesome versions, and “What Do We Got?” are both stellar jams, and they’ve also included a10-minute live version of their album’s closing track “IN A MINUTE” that aptly captures the infectious all-consuming energy of their live show. –AR

World News - In Purgatory (Pie & Mash)
The debut album from London-based quartet World News is a potent set of post-punk and alt-rock. Drawing on ‘90s and early aughts influences, their compelling song structures boast jangly guitars, bouncy bass, and weighty lyricism that explores “death, depression, break ups, and how life can sometimes feel like you’re swimming in a pool of vinegar,” says singer and songwriter Alex Evans. Melodic in its melancholy, ‘In Purgatory’ is a solid first full-length with delightfully nostalgic undertones.  –CS