Don’t Miss New Albums From The War And Treaty, Marshall Allen, The Lumineers & More

The War and Treaty — the husband and wife duo of Michael and Tanya Trotter — released their fourth full-length album, Plus One, via Mercury Nashville. The 18-track album was primarily produced by Michael and recorded at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Plus One marks the duo’s follow-up to Lover’s Game, their 2023 LP which earned them a Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Song for “Blank Page” along with a Best New Artist nod. The pair collaborated with producers Jonathan Singleton, John Shanks and Jesse Frasure on the new album. Billy Strings is featured on the song, “Drink From Me.”

“We see this record as an open invitation to be a part of what we’re doing—it came from wanting to be the hope we believe people need right now, as well as the hope that we need for ourselves,” Tanya Trotter shared.

“One of our main intentions with this album is to inspire people to share themselves with others, and open themselves up to the possibility of being loved,” added Michael Trotter.

Jazz legend Marshall Allen began working on his debut album, New Dawn, two days after his 100th birthday. Marshall, who became a member of Sun Ra’s Arkestra in 1958 and bandleader in 1995 following Sun Ra’s transition in 1993, recorded New Dawn in May 2025 in the Arkestra’s longtime home base of Philadelphia. Fellow Arkestra member Arkestra Knoel Scott — who has resided at the Arkestral Institute of Sun Ra in Philadelphia with Allen since the 1980s — was integral, along with producer Jan Lankisch of Week-End Records, in the creation of Allen’s debut album. The seven-track collection features Arkestra veterans, including Michael Ray and Cecil Brooks (trumpet), Jamaaladeen Tacuma (bass), Bruce Edwards (guitar) and George Gray (drums), alongside several others. Vocalist Neneh Cherry appears on the album’s title track.

The Lumineers return with Automatic, the Americana outfit’s fifth studio album, out now via Dualtone. Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion, piano) took inspiration from Peter Jackson’s groundbreaking 2021 documentary about The Beatles, Get Back that chronicled the legendary band in the recording studio. Working with producers David Baron and Simone Felice, The Lumineers utilized the large tracking room at Utopia Studio in Woodstock, New York. The 11-song LP was recorded in less than one month.

“[There’s] a palpable sense of connection between Wes and me,” Fraites revealed. “There’s lots of love on this record.”

Singer-songwriter Bartees Strange released his new album, Horror, today through 4AD. Childhood introduction to fear through lesson-teaching scary stories and an early affinity for scary movies provided inspiration for the 12-track, Horror. The follow-up to Strange’s 2022 album, Farm To Table, sees him drawing on inspirations heard through his father, like Parliament Funkadelic, Fleetwood Mac, Teddy Pendergrass, and Neil Young, along with Strange’s own blend of hip-hop, country and rock.

“In a way I think I made this record to reach out to people who may feel afraid of things in their lives too,” said Strange. “For me it’s love, locations, cosmic bad luck, or that feeling of doom that I’ve struggled with for as long as I can remember. I think that it’s easier to navigate the horrors and strangeness of life once you realize that everyone around you feels the same. This album is just me trying to connect. I’m trying to shrink the size of the world. I’m trying to feel close – so I’m less afraid.”

End Of The Middle is singer-songwriter Richard Dawson’s new album, released today by Dominio. The English musician’s follow-up to 2022’s The Ruby Cord was inspired in part by an admiration for Japanese film director Yasujirō Ozu. Dawson centered End Of The Middle around the stories of a single family unit.

“[End Of The Middle] zooms in quite close-up to try and explore a typical middle class English family home,” Dawson shared. “We’re listening to the stories of people from three or four generations of perhaps the same family. But really, it’s about how we break certain cycles. I think the family is a useful metaphor to examine how things are passed on generationally.

“I wanted this album to be small-scale and very domestic. To be stripped back, reconnect with the basics and let everything speak for itself – to be really stark and naked by just putting the words and melodies out there.”

Horsegirl issued their highly-anticipated sophomore album, Phonetics On And On, through Matador Records. The trio made up of longtime friends Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein and Gigi Reece recorded the follow-up to their well-received 2022 debut LP, Versions of Modern Performance in Chicago at Wilco’s The Loft facility. Musician/producer Cate Le Bon joined the trio in an especially cold Chicago in January 2024 and were forced to turn off the heat at The Loft in order to preserve recording integrity. According to liner notes written by Eli Schmitt:

“Despite living in New York for the last three years, it was very important to the band to record their second album in Chicago. This is their home, both physically and sonically. Their music continues to blend with the adventurous Hallogallo music scene, which includes bands like Lifeguard (and their many side projects), TV Buddha, and Twin Coast. It’s a scene that prides itself on the pure collaboration of DIY culture, with its many house shows and zines. It’s an energy that is tangible in Phonetics On and On.”

More than five years since releasing her debut album, Mereba makes her long-awaited follow-up with The Breeze Grew A Fire. The singer-songwriter’s sophomore album is her first for Secretly Canadian. Working with producer Sam Hoffman, Mereba pulled from a wide-range of life experiences in a variety of locales for inspiration for the new record, including becoming a mother in 2021. Sharing insight into the project, Mereba stated:

“I learned guitar from a folk guitar teacher as a young teen in North Carolina and that really shaped how I write songs to this day, focusing on simple stories of everyday life. Coming up in the ripe underground music scene in Atlanta as an indie musician influenced my journey and sound so much. I was playing every kind of show, folk shows, reggae shows, rap shows, R&B shows. It was there where I honed my skills as a performer and also a rapper and R&B singer, branching out from the super folk-centric space. I formed relationships with Spillage Village, the rap collective I’m still a part of with other members JID, Earthgang, 6lack, and others. We all came up together in a really organic and beautiful way, going from playing shows for 30 people to playing shows for thousands together.”

Toronto-based singer/songwriter Alessia Cara released her fourth album, Love & Hyperbole, today through Def Jam. The follow-up to 2021’s In the Meantime was produced by Mike Elizondo, Greg Kurstin and Yakob. Mostly recorded live, Love & Hyperbole counts guitarist John Mayer and trombonist Roy Agee among its many musical contributors.

“More than anything I`ve ever done before, this album feels closest to what I actually listen to — it was like I was playing with a whole new canvas where the colors were made up of all the elements I love most in my favorite music,” Cara stated. “I was very meticulous about seeing everything through and tweaking every little detail. I think that`s the only way you can make your best possible work.”