Don’t Miss New Albums From Alex G, Lord Huron, Raekwon & Others

Alex G released his 10th studio album, Headlights, via RCA Records. The singer-songwriter recorded his major label debut with co-producer and longtime collaborator Jacob Portrait at various locations in Philadelphia and New York. The 12-track set follows Alex’s 2022 LP, God Save The Animals, and his 2024 score for the film I Saw The TV Glow. A description accompanying the album stated:

“A gorgeous collection of surreal storytelling over 12 new songs, Headlights sees Giannascoli delve further into the reality-bending terrain that has made him one of the twenty-first century’s most celebrated and influential musical architects.”

Lord Huron issued a new album, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, through Mercury Records. The project led by Ben Schneider recruited actress Kristen Stewart for the song “Who Laughs Last.” Schneider co-produced the new album alongside contributions from band members Tom Renaud, Mark Barry and Miguel Briseño. Additional guests on Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 include Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino on “Fire Eternal.” Lord Huron’s fifth album and follow up to 2021’s Long Lost sees Schneider continuing to muse upon the mystery of the universe. He shared some of the questions the new album examines.

“What if you could choose your fate like choosing a song on a jukebox? What if your finger slipped and you got the B-side instead? What if you misunderstood the meaning of the dang song to begin with?”

Rapper Raekwon released a new solo album, The Emperor’s New Clothes, today through Mass Appeal Records. Raekwon’s Wu-Tang Clan bandmates Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Inspectah Deck, are among the guests appearing across the record’s 17 tracks. Additional featured performers include Nas, Marsha Ambrosius, Carlton Fisk, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Benny The Butcher, and Tommy Nova.

“This heat right here is gonna apply pressure on rap’s generation!” Raekwon wrote. “You won’t have to fast forward this one at all. We paint art then display ‘Valuable imagery’ with Aggressive wordplay. No album compares I’m sorry. Shout out to all the great winners involved in this classic …

“There’s a meaning behind this ALBUM being called [The Emperor’s New Clothes]. TRUTH OVER TRENDS – Don’t let STATUS QUO control authenticity. In life we believe too much of anything. Cut it out.”

Minneapolis-based Americana/folk group The Last Revel issued a new studio album, Gone for Good, through Thirty Tigers. Fellow Minnesotan The Last Revel of Trampled by Turtles produced the 10-track LP. The Last Revel consists of co-founding guitarist Lee Henke and banjoist Ryan Acker, along with fiddler Vinnie Donatelle.

“Honestly, I don’t know if we would’ve been able to do this career for as long as we have without persistence,” said Henke. “By living in a challenging place, it’s definitely conditioned us to have a high tolerance for discomfort, a certain toughness to push ahead.”

“This is a step in our careers that feels like there’s no going back,” Acker said. “There’s a level of commitment now that, just a couple of years ago, we didn’t fathom we could take on. The boat is off the shore and you can’t see land anymore — we’re in it now.”

Operator is Zac Farro’s debut album under his own name. The Paramore drummer previously issued original music under the moniker Halfnoise. Released by Farro’s Nashville-based Congrats Records, the nine-song effort sees Farro accompanied by longtime friends, guitarist/pedal steel guitarist Josh Gilligan and bassist Chancey Pierce. Keyboardist Daniel Kadawatha also participated in the recording sessions.

“This record is an entire inner dialogue with myself, within myself,” Farro revealed. “So it felt right to cut out the middleman and go ‘This is Zac Farro.’ It’s exciting – and it feels a lot more pointed.

“We said, ‘let’s show up at the studio and see what happens.’ I’ve always had such a vision, even sometimes the name of an album, before I go in. This one was like, if we’re together, the magic will reveal itself. And it did.”

Los Angeles-based, British singer-songwriter Jade Bird shared her third studio album, Who Wants To Talk About Love?, today via Glassnote. The new album was produced by Andrew Wells and follows Bird’s 2024 EP, Burn the Hard Drive, which was recorded before calling off her engagement to a longtime member of her band. Bird explained some of the inspiration behind the new release, stating:

“I wrote this album while trying to make sense of the broken relationships in my family- my parents, both sets of grandparents – and the way they echoed into my own life when my engagement ended. It’s as much a question as an answer, wondering if I could break the cycle while finding my own path to forgiveness- not just from my dad, but for myself.”

Composer John Nolan (Folk Physics) and renowned cellist Mike Block have released Parallels, a deeply collaborative ambient album five years in the making. The project began at the start of lockdown, with each track crafted and recorded independently by Nolan, Block and producer Dan Cardinal — a testament to the trust and creative synergy between the artists. Drawing inspiration from the atmospheric worlds of Ólafur Arnalds, Brian Eno and Nils Frahm, the album weaves ambient textures with emotive strings and nuanced production across 12 tracks.

Parallels serves as a collection of wordless songs exploring themes of solitude, distance and connection between parallel paths. The album opens with “Drones,” featuring glitchy synths over processed cello and guitar, setting an ambient tone that carries throughout. Other standout tracks include “Quarantine Spirit,” which layers a beautiful cello melody over synths, loops and mellotron flutes and lead single “Mire,” a piano and guitar-driven piece anchored by a simple, mournful cello melody. The album concludes with “A Final Snowfall,” described as capturing “the silent, hopeful anticipation during a long train ride home.”