8 New Albums Out Now From Pond, Swamp Dogg, Spafford & Others

Pond shared a new album, Terrestrials, through their new imprint Mangovision. The Australian outfit —- Nick Allbrook, Jay Watson, Joe Ryan, Jamie Terry and James Ireland — heralded Terrestrials with the title track in March. As “Terrestrials” hinted at, the new album saw Pond setting out to switch up their sonic aesthetic.

For the first time, Pond laid out some ground rules when creating their 11th studio album: “No fuzz pedal. No ballads. No ‘Pink Floyd shit.’”

Veteran soul, R&B and Americana artist Swamp Dogg released his 27th studio album, Swamp Dogg Contemplates The Afterlife, via S-Curve Records. Produced by Swamp Dogg (Jerry Williams Jr.) alongside S-Curve founder Steve Greenberg, Mike Mangini and Sam Hollander, the album is largely composed of originals, with covers of Jenny Lewis’ “Acid Tongue,” Lewis previously collaborated with Swamp Dogg on 2024’s Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St., and John Prine’s “Please Don’t Bury Me” rounding out the 10-track set. Gary U.S. Bonds appears on “Waka Waka Waka.”

“This record didn’t start out as a concept album but, apparently, it is,” Swamp Dogg said.

Spafford return with a new studio album, Cat Shop, the band’s first studio album since 2022’s Simple Mysteries. Featuring 11 tracks, Cat Shop is Spafford’s first studio album with keyboardist Cory Schechtman and bassist Shon Gordon who joined guitarist Brian Moss and drummer Nick Tkachyk over the past few years. Longtime collaborator Isaac Civitello handled mixing and mastering on the new studio LP. Press materials further detailed Cat Shop:

Cat Shop delivers a polished yet dynamic listening experience, capturing the essence of Spafford’s improvisational roots while embracing a more focused studio identity. The album’s visual aesthetic is brought to life through original art, layout, and design by Kelley Wills, complementing the record’s creative vision.

Husband-and-wife Americana, soul and country duo The War And Treaty — Michael Trotter and Tanya Trotter — released their fifth studio album, The Story Of Michael And Tanya, via Atlantic Outpost, marking their debut on the label. The follow-up to 2025’s Plus One features guest appearances from Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Whoopi Goldberg, Valerie June and Wynonna.

“For The War And Treaty, feeling every aspect of what we’re writing and singing has grown from representing routine emotions to now demanding that people connect with our spirit,” Michael Trotter said.

“Evoking hard, honest emotions first required me to find those parts in myself,” Tanya Trotter added. “Once you find them, there’s a strength to the urgency that feels like you’ll be at your wits’ end if you don’t express that emotion.”

Philadelphia rapper Tierra Whack released her mixtape Whack’s Museum via Interscope Records. The follow-up to 2024’s World Wide Whack features production in part by Conductor Williams across 12 tracks, with no features.

Grammy-winning producer, songwriter and musician Daniel Lanois released Belladonna Nocturne via Warner Music Group. Produced by Lanois and Wayne Lorenz, the 14-track instrumental album serves as a thematic sequel to his Grammy-nominated 2005 album Belladonna, with Lanois performing pedal steel, piano and guitar throughout. Guest appearances come from singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris, drummer Brian Blade and others.

Folk songwriter and polymath Tucker Zimmerman posthumously released his final studio album, Dream Me A Dream, through Big Potato. Zimmerman and his wife Marie-Claire Zimmerman tragically lost their lives earlier this year when a fire broke out in their home. The album was completed in 2025 and recorded across two sessions at his garden studio in rural Liège, Belgium and at Oaki Room in England. Produced by Nicholas Holton, the album features Jackie Oates on vocals, violin, organ and piano, with Marie-Claire Zimmerman contributing additional vocals throughout. The sole cover is Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief’s “Stay (I Want You To Stay),” included as a tribute to Marie-Claire.

“Tucker is one of the greatest songwriters of all time,” Lenker said.

New Orleans bounce icon Big Freedia and the late British producer SOPHIE issued Released At Last, a three-song EP recorded in a single afternoon at SOPHIE’s Los Angeles home studio in 2016 and shelved for a decade. Freedia wrote the lyrics while SOPHIE handled all production. MUNA is featured on the song, “Let Me See Ya.”

“Recording with SOPHIE is something I hold even closer to my heart now, especially after her passing,” said Big Freedia. “She was an artist who showed the world that living boldly is your greatest power. With this EP, I want to show the world how loved she was and still is!”