Don’t Miss New Albums From North Mississippi Allstars, Grateful Shred, Turnstile, Lil Wayne & Others

North Mississippi Allstars released their 12th studio album, Still Shakin’, through New West Records. Co-founding brothers, guitarist Luther Dickinson and drummer Cody Dickinson, produced the follow-up to NMA’s 2022 album, Set Sail. The pair recorded Still Shakin’ with current touring bandmates, guitarist Joey Williams of The Blind Boys of Alabama and multi-credited multi-instrumentalist Rayfield “Ray Ray” Holloman. Next generational guests appearing across the 11-track album include Robert Kimbrough (son of Junior Kimbrough), Duwayne Burnside (son of R.L. Burnside) and Grahame Lesh (son of Phil Lesh). Other contributors include Kashiah Hunter on steel guitar and keyboardist JoJo Hermann of Widespread Panic.

Inspired by the roots of their 2000 debut album Shake Hands With Shorty, the band’s approach to their newly released LP was explained by Luther Dickinson:

“Still Shakin’ is a celebration of our life-changing first album, which we released 25 years ago, and a love letter of appreciation to everyone who supported us and kept us in the game all these years. Touring this album cycle into 2026 will mark 30 years since we started North Mississippi Allstars, and we couldn’t resist commemorating those anniversaries with a new record.

“In the spirit of our debut, we recorded Mississippi classics that despite inspiring us to start the band in 1996, we have yet to record. We also wanted to feature our fantastic bandmates Joey Williams and Rayfield ‘Ray Ray’ Hollman who inspire us to no end. Their contributions elevate NMA to new heights …

“We are proud to represent the Memphis Music Underground, the Community of North Mississippi musicians and be a part of the modern-day touring culture. We always keep one eye on the road ahead, in the moment at hand, while anticipating the future.

“The other eye is on the rear-view mirror, reflecting the elders and their repertoire night after night. Our music evokes home, which is nice, since we travel so much. The locations change but music itself is our constant. We look forward to the next 25 years of North Mississippi World Boogie.”

Grateful Shred put their inventive spin on eight songs from the Grateful Dead orbit for their debut studio album, Might As Well, available now through their Liberty Hair Farm Records label. Each of the eight songs on Might As Well was never released by the Grateful Dead on a formal studio album. Grateful Shred — bassist/producer Dan Horne, guitarists Austin McCutchen and John Lee Shannon, keyboardist Adam MacDougall and drummers Alex Koford and Austin Beebe — assembled at UHF Studio in Glendale, California to record the album. The band enlisted longtime collaborator Mikaela Davis to add her vocals to Might As Well. Davis takes the lead on “Sweet Baby,” a song penned by Keith and Donna Godchaux. The pair recorded the cut with their Grateful Dead bandmate at the time, guitarist Jerry Garcia, for 1975’s Keith & Donna.

“Shred has tossed around the idea of recording a LP for a while now, and let’s face it, making records is fun! So we thought we Might as Well,” Horne exclaimed. “We wanted to highlight some of the tunes we’ve worked up into our own vibe that shows off the essence of Shred. We tried to unearth some deeper cuts and rare gems. The concept we ended up going with were songs that the Dead never recorded in the studio … We’re exploring the endlessly inspiring Grateful Dead songbook. We hope you love it!”

Never Enough is the fourth Turnstile album. Released today through Roadrunner Records, the 14-track LP follows the Baltimore-born band’s 2021 full-length, Glow On. Co-founding guitarist Brady Ebert’s exited the group in 2022. Never Enough marks the first album recorded with guitarist Meg Mills who became an official Turnstile member in 2023.

“If there is a song that’s just very simple and you’re like, ‘This doesn’t sound like anything we’ve ever done, and maybe people are going to hate this, but the intangible is really there for me right now,’” vocalist Brendan Yates told Zane Lowe. “So it’s like embracing that … When trust is your really big element that makes things function easily, that involves people’s happiness, too. And being able to just be happy to do what you’re doing and be happy looking forward to what you’re about to do, it requires a certain amount of willingness to throw yourself into the deep end.”

Lil Wayne’s long-awaited album, Tha Carter VI, was finally released through Young Money/Republic Records. The veteran rapper’s last solo album was 2020’s Funeral, which followed 2018’s Tha Carter V. Wayne teamed with 2 Chainz on the 2003 collaborative LP, Welcome 2 Collegrove. The release of the highly anticipated album will be celebrate with a special concert tonight at Madison Square Garden. Tha Carter VI features include 2 Chainz, Andrea Bocelli, Big Sean, BigXthaPlug, Bono, Jelly Roll, Kodak Black, Mannie Fresh, and Wyclef Jean, among others, including Lil Wayne’s son Kameron Carter.

Pulp shared a new album, More, through Rough Trade Records. The British rock band’s first album in nearly 24 years was recorded and mixed at Orbb Studio in East London. Pulp worked with producer James Ford on the follow-up to their 2001 album, We Love Life. One track includes backing vocals by the Eno family. String arrangements were written by Richard Jones and performed by the Elysian Collective. Richard Hawley and Jason Buckle each wrote music to a song on the album.

Pulp dedicated More to the band’s late former bassist Steve Mackey. Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker shared the below statement regarding More:

This is the first Pulp album since We Love Life in 2001. Yes: the first Pulp album for 24 years.

“How did that happen?”

Well: when we started touring again in 2023, we practiced a new song called “Hymn of the North” during soundchecks & eventually played it at the end of our second night at Sheffield Arena. This seemed to open the floodgates: we came up with the rest of the songs on this album during the first half of 2024. A couple are revivals of ideas from last century. The music for one song was written by Richard Hawley. The music for another was written by Jason Buckle. The Eno family sing backing vocals on a song. There are string arrangements written by Richard Jones and played by the Elysian Collective.

The album was recorded over three weeks by James Ford in Walthamstow, London, starting on November 18th, 2024. This is the shortest amount of time a Pulp album has ever taken to record. It was obviously ready to happen. These are the facts.

We hope you enjoy the music. It was written & performed by four human beings from the North of England, aided and abetted by five other human beings from various locations in the British Isles. No A.I. was involved during the process.

This album is dedicated to Steve Mackey. This is the best that we can do.

Thanks for listening.

Walk This Road, the new album from The Doobie Brothers, was released today through Rhino. The Rock & Roll Hall OF Famers’ 16th album sees the reunited lineup of Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston, John McFee and Michael McDonald recording together for the first time. McDonald’s participation marks his first contribution to new Doobies Brothers music since 1980. Legendary vocalist Mavis Staples sings on the album’s title track. The record’s final track, a tribute to the wildfire damaged Hawaiian city Lahaina, features Mick Fleetwood, Jake Shimabukuro and Henry Kapono.

Dispatch issued their first studio album in four years, Yellow Jacket, via Bomber Records/AWAL Recordings. The Boston-based band co-produced Yellow Jacket with Craig Welsch at Rear Window Studios in Boston. The new record follows the band’s 2021 studio album, Break Our Fall, as well as 2023’s Live From The Boston Woods. Singer-songwriters John Butler and Ani DiFranco appear on separate tracks. Dispatch’s Chadwick Stokes detailed Yellow Jacket:

“For us, this album is a way to acknowledge what our culture is facing and the effects of the abuse of power. In this album, you’ll find the effects war has on family in ‘Johnny Whoops,’ the complexity and brilliance of Emily Dickinson’s words in ‘Trinket (ft. John Butler)’, and we pay homage to the great activists of our time alongside Ani DiFranco on ‘In the Street,’ as a reminder of how crucial it is to not sit back idly. But mostly, our goal with this album is for listeners to enjoy the tunes in whatever way, hopefully at times collectively, and in community.”

Caamp’s fifth studio album, Copper Changes Color, was issued today through Mom+Pop. Caamp — Taylor Meier, Evan Westfall, Matt Vinson, Joseph Kavalec and Nicholas Falk — recorded the 11-track LP during sessions held in multiple locations. The group tracked close to 20 songs at El Paso’s Sonic Ranch Studio with co-producer Beatriz Artola and drummer/frequent collaborator Josh Block. Next came sessions with co-producer Tucker Martine at his Flora Recording facility in Portland. Caamp finished the record in New York City at Sear Sound.

“When we were putting the finishing touches on this record, I started noticing copper everywhere I went,” Meier revealed. “The older it was, the more imperfect the finish had become, but that patina was what gave it character. That’s the way I feel about our band ten years in.”

British rapper/actress Little Simz shared her sixth solo album, Lotus, through AWAL. Little Simz recruited several special guests for the follow-up to 2022’s No Thank You. Appearing across the new LP’s 13 tracks include Michael Kiwanuka, Moses Sumney, Sampha, Moonchild Sanelly, Yussef Dayes, Miraa May, Obongjayar, Cashh, Wretch 32 and others.

Chicago-based septet Sneezy released a new studio album entitled Feed The Funk. Sneezy — Brett O’Connor (lead vocals, harmonica), Jack Holland (vocals, acoustic guitar), Austin Lutter (electric guitar, backing vocals), Danny Bauer (keys, backing vocals), Austin Koziol (drums, backing vocals), Destiny Pivonka (saxophone, vocals) and Tom “Chops” Hannum (electric bass) — recorded Feed The Funk at Asheville’s famed Echo Mountain Studios last fall with Grammy-nominated producer Josh Blake. Echo Mountain is also where the ensemble tracked their last EP, 2023’s Flower Child.

“The 11 tracks on this album are the culmination of a new creative process we collectively developed throughout 2024,” explained Lutter. “Following initial songwriting sessions and rehearsals in February, we took a leap and debuted the entire new catalog live on our Colorado tour in March. Through spring and summer, we workshopped the songs live — fine-tuning the nuances and letting the music evolve naturally. By September, we hit the studio prepared to recreate that live energy on the floor at Echo Mountain.”

Rising pop star Addison Rae’s much anticipated debut album, Addison, was released today by Columbia Records. The album was previewed by “Diet Pepsi,” “High Fashion,” “Headphones On,” “Fame Is a Gun” and “Aquamarine.” The TikTok star worked with producers Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser on writing the 12-track full-length.

“I love the entirety of this project with all of me,” Rae wrote. “A mirror. A deep desperation and desire to understand myself better. A true collection of my proudest work yet. My dream cover. My dream collaborators.”