Don’t Miss New Albums From Lucinda Williams, Julian Lage, Tom Hamilton & Others

Lucinda Williams released a new studio album entitled World’s Gone Wrong through Highway 20 Records. The follow-up to Williams’ 2023 album Stories From A Rock n Roll Heart was co-produced by her husband Tom Overby and her frequent collaborator Ray Kennedy. Williams recorded the 10-song LP at Kennedy’s Room & Board Studio in Nashville with bassist David Sutton, drummer Brady Blade and guitarists Doug Pettibone and Marc Ford. Guests include Brittney Spencer and Norah Jones as well as Mavis Staples on a cover of Bob Marleys’ “So Much Trouble In The World.”

“Music is a powerful weapon,” Williams stated. “I want this record to make people aware, wake them up. I like to push people’s buttons.”

Acclaimed guitarist Julian Lage and his longtime rhythm section, bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Kenny Wollesen, teamed with keyboardist John Medeski for the album, Scenes From Above, arriving today through the seminal Blue Note Records. The new nine-track effort follows Lage’s Grammy-nominated 2024 album, Speak To Me.

“I came in with a desire to present this as an egalitarian thing, rather than ‘I’m the leader — let’s build something around me,’” Lage stated. “This is music that’s connected to our own growth and development individually and within our relationships with one another, with no sense that anybody’s expecting anything. My dream with composing, really, is to have something to talk about once we’re together. It’s not the end-all, be-all.”

“Julian really thinks about things, has a lot of intention,” noted Medeski. “But it’s a beautiful combination of caring about the concept and direction and of being free and in the moment.”

Tom Hamilton shared his debut solo album, I’m Your Vampire, through AWAL/Relix. The Joe Russo’s Almost Dead guitarist, whose other credits include stints with Brothers Past, American Babies and Ghost Light, recorded I’m Your Vampire with co-producer Alex Farrar. “A series of personal and societal crises” motivated Hamilton to craft the 10-song collection.

“When you’re in a van on the road for 20 years, you live in your bubble, you think that your world is one way — and it’s not,” the Philadelphia-based Hamilton stated. “The pandemic break gave me the time to see that. Then my band broke up and my dad got sick. The only respite I had was the studio.”

Cat Power (Chan Marshall) celebrates the 20th anniversary of her album The Greatest with today’s release of Redux, a new three-song EP arriving via Domino Recording Company. Marshall reassembled Dirty Delta Blues — the talented backing group who joined her on the tour supporting The Greatest made up of guitarist Judah Bauer, keyboardist Gregg Foreman, bassist Erik Paparozzi and drummer Jim White — to record Redux. Sessions were held at Church House Studios in Austin, Texas with producer Stuart Sikes. The EP presents a re-recording of James Brown’s “Try Me” (stream below), Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and a re-imagined version of “Could We” from The Greatest.

Metal veterans Megadeth self-titled final studio album arrived today. Guitarist/frontman Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth in 1983 after he was fired from Metallica. Mustaine has been the sole consistent member of a group that has underwent several lineup changes over the past 42 years. He’s joined in the current iteration by bassist James LoMenzo, guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari and drummer Dirk Verbeuren. Mustaine issued a statement regarding his decision to put Megadeth on ice after a +40-year career, noting:

“There’s so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional. Most of them don’t get to go out on their own terms on top, and that’s where I’m at in my life right now. I have traveled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them.

“We can’t wait for you to hear this album and see us on tour. If there was ever a perfect time for us to put out a new album, it’s now. If there was ever a perfect time to tour the world, it’s now. This is also a perfect time for us to tell you that it’s our last studio album. We’ve made a lot of friends over the years and I hope to see all of you on our global farewell tour.

“Don’t be mad, don’t be sad, be happy for us all, come celebrate with me these next few years. We have done something together that’s truly wonderful and will probably never happen again. We started a musical style, we started a revolution, we changed the guitar world and how it’s played, and we changed the world. The bands I played in have influenced the world. I love you all for it. Thank you for everything.”

Empty Hands is the new Poppy album, available today through Sumerian Records. The 13-track records serves as the follow-up to the Boston-native musician’s 2024 album Negative Spaces. Poppy’s seventh studio album, “draws from eclectic influences, with industrial elements, pop sensibilities, and moments that call back to Poppy’s surrealist roots with her signature uncanny, machine-like voice.”