New Music Reviews (7/20)

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 Nia Archives, Steve Lacy, Yard Act, and more. 

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Nia Archives - Emotional Junglist (HIJINXX/Island Records)
The sophomore album from London-based singer, songwriter, and producer Nia Archives is outright exhilarating. Across fifteen transfixing tracks, she proves she’s far more than a jungle revivalist. With jungle still at the core of her sound, she seamlessly incorporates elements of indie pop, new wave, alt-R&B, and post-punk. Featuring adventurous production, intimate lyricism, infectious breakbeats, and guest appearances from Jorja Smith and Sampha, Emotional Junglist is a vibrant, genre-blurring triumph. –CS

Steve Lacy - Oh yeah? (RCA)
The third studio album from LA-based singer, songwriter, and producer Steve Lacy is a total knockout. Moving fluidly with relaxed confidence, Lacy blends alt-R&B, rock, and pop soundscapes to drive his raw lyricism centered on the complexities of relationships, from breakups and infidelity to shared and unrequited love. Written and produced by Lacy himself, and featuring marquee guest appearances from SZA, Erykah Badu and Cecile Believe, Oh yeah? is another standout statement from one of today’s most distinctive voices. –CS

Yard Act - You’re Gonna Need A Little Music (Republic)
The third studio album from Leeds-based quartet Yard Act finds them venturing into more sinister, theatrical territory with their brand of art-rock and post-punk. It’s big, bold, and loud, with a cacophony of guitars, dynamic percussion, and flourishes of horns and keys, as James Smith’s emphatic vocals cut through the chaos, delivering his pointed lyricism with surgical precision. He shares: “I think the album is about multiple realities and how individualism has led us, in the modern world, to question if there even is a shared reality anymore because everyone just believes what they want now.” After eleven gripping tracks, one thing is certain: when the world’s got ya down, You’re Gonna Need A Little Music. –CS

Catherine Moan - CM Ultra (Born Losers)
The sophomore album from LA-based singer-songwriter Catherine Moan is an infectious set of synth-pop magic (don’t let album standout “No Magic” fool you). With an intoxicating blend of dream pop, new wave, and electronic soundscapes, her sparkling synths, spacey drum machines, and playful lyrics flirt with nostalgia while maintaining a distinctly contemporary flair, taking listeners on an adventurous electro-pop ride worth revisiting again and again. –CS

Eartheater - Heavenly Body: If I’m The Bottle You’re The Message (Mad Decent)
The seventh album from NYC-based avant-garde multi-hyphenate Eartheater, aka Alexandra Drewchin, is a modern masterpiece. The singer, songwriter, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist crafts an otherworldly examination of pregnancy through a breathtaking avant-pop lens. Whether hushed or howling, her commanding, nearly operatic vocals soar above dense, dynamic arrangements built from shimmering keys, lush strings, and magnetic beats. It’s all about transformation, and this shapeshifter captures every high and low with striking clarity throughout Heavenly Body: If I’m The Bottle You’re The Message.  –CS

Lido Pimienta - Caribenya (ANTI-) 
The fourth studio album from Colombia-born, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Lido Pimienta is a mesmerizing exploration of experimental art pop. With theatrical peaks and valleys, Pimienta weaves an engrossing sonic tapestry built from neoclassical, Latin, pop, Caribbean, and ambient ribbons, all anchored by her arresting vocals and meditative rhythms. Speaking about the new collection, she shares: “Someone told me that making a classical album was gonna be impossible for me and I did it, an ‘impossible-only-Europeans-could-ever-do-this album’; Caribenya is the counterpart where I got to be less cerebral and have more fun.”  –CS

Oxis - Oxis 9 (Boom)
The ninth eponymous release (and second of 2026) from this mysterious and enigmatic LA-based artist continues to boldly showcase her thrilling bedroom pop sound that filters alt-pop, art-pop, electro-pop, trip-hop, and folk-pop through a colorful, creative, homespun prism. Oxis’ hyper-prolific streak “represents a brave endeavour to capture coming-of-age feelings at their most heightened, like lightning in a bottle” and it’s reflected brilliantly here through these expressive, evocative, emotional, leftfield pop songs. –AR

Adrian Younge - Afro‐Disco Makossa (Linear Labs)
Named after the Cameroonian makossa rhythm and global disco of the late 1970s and billed as the first Linear Labs album built for the dance floor, Afro-Disco Makossa finds chameleonic LA-based composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and Linear Labs founder Adrian Younge tackling a mesmerizing blend of highlife, Afrobeat, funk, and kinetic soul music. Packed with deep grooves, mantra-esque lyrics, and his accomplished, reverential, analog-heavy production chops, Younge delivers another gem of an homage on this lively, vibrant, and celebratory EP.  –AR

Brian Ennals & Blockhead - Boatshoes (Phantom Limb)
Baltimore-based rapper Brian Ennals teams up with veteran NYC producer Blockhead for a sharp set of adventurous hip-hop that pairs Blockhead’s smartly-crafted, psych-tinted, sample-rich beats with Ennals’ commanding flow and bold, memorable, unpredictable storytelling. Blockhead’s moody, mesmerizing  beats helped elevate Aesop Rock into underground royalty a quarter-century ago, and he’s found a formidable partner in Ennals, who taps into an exciting new lane following a run of critically-adored albums with fellow Baltimore-based artist Infinity Knives. –AR

Bruno Berle - Sem Fronteiras (Far Out Recordings)
The third album from this Brazilian vocalist, poet, composer and multi-instrumentalist continues to showcase his intimate, dreamy, homespun sound that’s steeped in the rich traditions of Brazilian soulful folk music. Once again co-produced alongside his longstanding musical partner Batata Boy, Sem Fronteiras further cements Bruno Berle’s status as one of the bright young voices in the Brazilian independent music scene. –AR

Helado Tropical - Helado Tropical (Psychic Hotline) 
The debut collaborative album from Helado Negro and Reyna Tropical is a stunning meeting of the minds. Their atmospheric indie pop, crafted with synths, drum machines, and guitars, lulls listeners into a hypnotic state through hazy vocals, bewitching rhythms, and transportive textures. Across nine tracks, the two artists invite us to bear witness to the expansive world they’ve created together. Helado Negro shares: “It’s not about us speaking to each other. It’s about us existing in the same feeling.” –CS

Holy Wave - i’m DADA (Suicide Squeeze)
The new album from Austin four-piece Holy Wave is a deliciously hazy set of atmospheric psych pop. With fuzzy guitars, driving drum patterns, and meditative reflections that explore themes of fatherhood, relationships, and isolation, i’m DADA is an exercise in focused restraint, allowing arrangements and phrases to swirl and repeat as these infectious tracks find power in both message and movement.  –CS

Hurry - Zoned Out (Lame-O)
The sixth album from Philly outfit Hurry, led by singer-songwriter Matt Scottoline, is a shimmering set of nostalgic indie rock and power pop. Tugging at heartstrings from the outset, Zoned Out finds the quartet locked in with tasty guitar licks, memorable melodies, and poetic lyricism exploring themes of anxiety, starting a family, and uncertainty, making for a relatable, hook-laden collection. –CS

Maria Minerva - Contact High (viis)
Estonian-born, LA-based electronic musician, producer, DJ, and label runner Maria Juur (aka Maria Minerva) unveils her first new solo transmission in six years and it’s a sweet set of glistening vocal-laced house grooves that filters her sharp dancefloor sensibilities through a spectral pop prism. –AR

Nirosta Steel - MY SKYSCRAPER (ULYSSA)
Nirosta Steel is the alias of Scottish-born, US-raised queer experimental musician and longtime Arthur Russell collaborator Steven Hall. Representing “40 years or so of works, re-works and works-forever-in-progress,” MY SKYSCRAPER is fascinating, towering, often confounding collection of oddball art-pop from an artist with a downright bold, beguiling, and often brilliant vision. There’s an undeniable vibrational connection to the leftfield works of his friend Arthur Russell here, but it’s very much its own thing at the same time. Dive in and explore the wacky, wild, warped world of Nirostal Steel and one of the most unique offerings of 2026. –AR

Parts & Labor - Set of All Sets (Ernest Jenning Record Co.)  
Brooklyn-based noise ensemble Parts & Labor return with their sixth full-length, marking their first release in 15 years. Despite the span of time between albums, their frenetic sound is just as dizzying and intoxicating as ever. Clocking in at 79 minutes with 17 tracks, this is a Set of All Sets indeed, showcasing their distinct blend of experimental rock, noise, punk, and psych pop with enough force to jolt anyone out of a funk and transport them right back to the now-defunct legendary DIY venue Death By Audio. –CS

Show Me The Body - Alone Together (Loma Vista) 
Brooklyn-based hardcore trio Show Me The Body return with their expansive new album, Alone Together. Co-produced by Klas Åhlund and Kenneth Blume, the album opens with a symphony of horns and a spoken-word passage asking “Are you alone? It’s easy to feel alone,” quickly demonstrating how the simple act of sharing feelings of solitude can be a uniting force. From there, they traverse through post-hardcore rippers and banjo plucked meditations as they explore themes of community, radical love, and remaining steadfast in one’s beliefs and values.  –CS

sundayclub - SUNDAYCLUB (Paper Bag)
The debut album from this Winnipeg, Manitoba duo composed of Courtney Carmichael and Nikki St. Pierre is a promising set of melancholic, driving, shimmery indie pop with a dreamy, cinematic, coming-of-age touch. –AR

Tricky - Different When It's Silent (False Idols)
For his 15th studio album and first proper Tricky album in six years, the influential Berlin-based British artist Adrian Thaws continues to paint a dark, gripping, intoxicating experimental pop landscape. His gritty beats, ominous tones, snarling guitars, and raspy spoken-word vocals are all present, and Different When It’s Silent also serves as a showcase for young Bristolian singer-songwriter Mitch Sanders, his polished pop vocals gracing all but two album tracks and injecting the album with a youthful, hopeful, unique sheen. –AR

Trophy Wife - Pathetic (AWAL)
The sophomore album from Brooklyn-based outfit Trophy Wife is a moody, grunge-inflected set of infectious indie rock. Spearheaded by singer, songwriter, and guitarist McKenzie Iazzetta, the trio craft a dense, textured soundscape to propel their raw, vulnerable lyricism.  –CS

White Flowers - Dreams for Somebody Else (The state51 Conspiracy)
The second album from this Preston, UK duo composed of Joey Cobb and Katie Drew is a solid set of synthy dream-pop with a moody, cinematic, noir-ish touch and a scintillating dancefloor pulse, the latter undoubtedly assisted by album producer Al Doyle (of Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem). –AR