Poarch's proper full-length finds her moving past viral novelty and into something personal and intentional. Picnic at the Cemetery is dark pop with genuine texture, creative production, and a vocal identity that has developed on its own terms.
Capturing the rambling spirit of country's wandering tradition without sounding secondhand or studied, Gossett has the kind of unforced, conversational voice that makes a good song feel inevitable. Ramblin is warm, direct, and genuinely promising.
The Irish quartet's sixth album leans into the anthemic piano-rock and searching emotional openness that built them a devoted international following. Kodaline have never pretended to be anything other than earnest, and We Were Only Young rewards that commitment with songs ready for the big rooms they've earned.
A compilation curated around horror film music and horror-adjacent sound, released on Label 51 with the vinyl love the aesthetic demands. Vol.1 holds together as an actual listening experience rather than a grab-bag. Well-programmed and worth having on a shelf.
A newly surfaced archival live recording from one of rock's most tragically underappreciated bands. Live At Cambridge reminds listeners why Pete Ham's songwriting earned the Beatles' stamp of approval and a place in the power pop canon, while Renaissance handles these archival releases with genuine care.
Jae Matthews and Augustus Muller's first major label album keeps their dark wave palette intact, now in a slightly larger frame. Matthews' vocal presence is the band's most potent weapon and Get Mean gives it room. Sounds exactly like what 3am feels like when you are trying not to feel anything.
A Chrysalis Records debut that feels like a genuine artistic vision fully realized: immersive, emotionally layered, and carefully sequenced. All Inside Aquarium rewards patient listening with a world that doesn't fully reveal itself on first pass. One of the year's more quietly fascinating arrivals.
Thirty years on, De La Soul's 1996 masterwork sounds more prescient than ever: an album that challenged hip-hop to check itself at the height of gangsta excess. Its wit, intelligence, and groove have lost nothing. This reissue finally puts a long out-of-print record properly back in print.
Dave Lombardo of Slayer teams with dark ambient legend Lustmord for a record living in the space between industrial percussion and deep atmospheric pressure. Patient, heavy without riffs, and genuinely unsettling in the way the best Ipecac releases tend to be.
TJ and John Osborne's fifth studio album marks a new chapter at MCA Nashville. Watertown finds the duo continuing to push country into rock territory while keeping the emotional directness that has driven their Grammy career. A strong entry from two artists who have long since earned the trust of their audience.
MOJO calls it 'a late career classic.' The second Chrome Hearts studio album features the 11-minute title track and 'Soon I Might Be Going,' which Mojo describes as 'a masterpiece of how the personal and political become entangled.' Young's commitment to spontaneity only deepens with age. The band follows wherever he goes.
Tinashe's eighth album completes her journey from major-label near-miss to fully realized independent voice. NME praises 'bold, unpigeonholeable' material where 'black womanhood, pop stardom, and personal mythology collide.' FADER notes her gifts as experimentalist and technician in full sync. 'Crash Out' is one of the year's stickiest singles.
The British progressive rock act's sixth album continues the synth-heavy approach of their 2020 comeback Eupnea. Terrifying Angels blends art rock, electronica, and classic prog with the intensity that has defined their return. Another strong entry from a band whose comeback has exceeded all reasonable expectations.
Recorded in five days at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, fought over by a former label before Atlantic finally returned it. Saving Country Music rates it 8.4/10, calling it 'a turning point.' 'Hallelujah Trail' opens with one of the year's best guitar riffs. A career-defining record from one of country's most prolific and iconoclastic artists.
Atlantic's Knox arrives with a Midwestern sensibility and an indie-pop sound shaped by the longing of landlocked American cities. My Midwest Best is warm, melodic, and built around hooks that reveal themselves slowly. An artist with a genuine perspective on where he's from and what that's worth.
A Soundly Music debut that announces a genuine and unhurried songwriting voice. Medley writes with literary restraint that separates her from more commercially oriented peers. Fawn's Enemy is exactly the kind of record that builds a devoted and patient following over time.
A companion to the Unshatter film, this live recording from Sao Paulo captures the band's 2025 return to touring in full arena mode. The set covers catalog and new material with equal confidence. For fans who waited years for this moment, an essential document of the reunion.
George and Louis Johnson at the height of their powers in April 1980, 'Strawberry Letter 23,' 'I'll Be Good to You,' and 'Get the Funk Out Ma Face' all present and sounding built for a room exactly this size.
Barrett's pop-rock evolution continues with a more confident record. Tough Love leans into confessional songwriting and emotional whiplash, with a vocal performance that has grown to match the material. She is still figuring out what kind of artist she wants to be, and the album is honest about that.
Miley delivers a groove-forward album that demonstrates how much genre flexibility exists in pop when you stop trying to fit expectations. Bass Persuades is exactly what the title implies: physically persuasive and aimed squarely at the dancefloor. More interesting than you might expect.
A personal and reflective entry released on Bowen's own imprint. He has spent two decades building one of Texas music's most loyal followings through consistency and emotional honesty, and The Version of Me You Get delivers both. Fans will feel right at home.
Written to find her light again after burning out, featuring Adekunle Gold on 'Sage.' No Depression calls it 'Oladokun's triumphant statement of what she can accomplish.' 12 songs of warmth, depth, and genuine recalibration from one of folk-soul's most emotionally intelligent artists.
The Australian deathcore act return with an album that lives up to the uncompromising nature of their catalog. Liberation Front is heavy, technically precise, and delivered with the conviction of a band that has refined its approach without softening an edge. Exactly what the genre demands when done well.
Japanese rockers Coldrain have spent fifteen years building an international fanbase through relentless touring and hook-driven post-hardcore. This is another strong entry: anthemic, polished, and delivered with the conviction of a band that has worked too hard to phone it in.
A love letter to the Andes, inspired by a photograph of the brothers' father at Machu Picchu in 1987. Estevan plays every note on the nylon-string guitar his father gave him at age eight. Trading cosmic desert sounds for Andean folk and surf, Glide calls it 'an elegant journey through cinematic soundscapes.' Quiet, deliberate magic.
Peck's fourth album is his most soul-baring: a reckoning with addiction, loss, and survival, produced by Jay Joyce in bluegrass and alt-country. Paste calls it a record following 'one of the most harrowing years of his life.' The man behind the fringe finally drops the myth and hands you the man. Devastating and extraordinary.
Gavin Adcock is in the middle of his biggest headline run yet, supporting his new album of the same name. The record, out October 2, is a fast-paced country-rock statement built for outlaws and risk-takers, packed with massive hits like "Wannabe," "Cheap Thrills," and the unapologetic title track. As Adcock himself put it, he plans on "doing this shit 'til the day I die," and the tour backs that up, stretching from the Southeast to the Pacific Northwest, New England, and everywhere in between.
The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) is a national level organization comprised of the best independent record stores in America. CIMS was founded in 1995 with the goal of uniting like minded independent store owners, giving them a more powerful voice in the music industry. The stores that make up CIMS are all very different, but we share the same desires – to be the heart of our communities, to super-serve our customers, to support and develop artists, and to share our love of music.
For more information about CIMS and the stores in our organization, please visit cimsmusic.com or find us through social media with the #cimsmusic hashtag. And please remember to always shop local by supporting your neighborhood record store.
