Fries lays heavily into his sense of melody here, letting his lyrical riffs and creamy chording lead the way.

Brighton, UK-based Paul Thomas Saunders has come back from an extended break after his first album, “Beautiful Desolation” (Atlantic, 2014). His new LP, “Figure in a Landscape”, is out October 21st (sevenfoursevensix). The dramatic single, “Bloodlust”, was released September 1st.

Brooklyn -based artist Ronan Conroy presents his new single “Double Helix”, an atmospheric track featuring captivating vocals by Julie Dicterow of Oh Halo. Lush with dark reverie, this is the first taster of his forthcoming album The Slow Death of the LoveMyth, beautifully complemented by a captivating video created by NYC*-based artist *Hypnodoll.

Squint would be a difficult record for anyone to follow up, but Lage does it with style on View With a Room.

New York -based garage rocker Dmitry Wild presents a rock anthem with meaning – “Liberation feat. Tryst” is the first taster of his forthcoming Electric Souls album. The accompanying video features imagery, symbolizing both protest and hope, with film footage captured in Ukraine, Spain, Czech Republic and various US locales, including Florida, Massachusetts, Tennessee and San Francisco.

Mercyland had smarts, tunes and a cool sound.

Qrauer is a German electronica duo featuring Christian Grochau, percussionist, producer and remix artist and Ludwig Bauer, pianist, multi-instrumentalist and composer. Their debut album, Odd Fazes, is out now via German label Nonostar.

For her latest album Unánime , however, Amed makes a concerted effort to explore the world of Latin music – not just the music she grew up with in Argentina, but also that from Brazil, Peru, Cuba and flamenco.

Saxophonist Jon Irabagon’s latest album Rising Sun is an American journey, taking the experience of some of the States’ most beautiful country and reconfiguring it into jazz.

Singer/guitarist Dave W. and bassist/singer Ego Sensation return to their breakthrough for The Revenge of Heads On Fire, a reboot that gives the record new life.

Hersch has made duo recordings a significant part of his career, with his latest endeavor The Song is You featuring Rava as his partner in a series of standards and originals.

Legendary Dead Can Dance vocalist and highly acclaimed film composer Lisa Gerrard has released her latest collaboration with Los Angeles -based composer/ record producer Marcello De Francisci. Their stunning new album Exaudia presents a vivid collection of epic and empowering compositions.

The new NØISE track “Automatic (Ree-Vo Remix)” appears on Ree-Vo’s new limited edition 10” vinyl, which also features collaborations with Object Object, Dälek and iconic industrial dancehall artist The Bug. Limited to 500 copies, the cover artwork is a tribute to Lee Perry.

Joined by drummer Nasheet Waits and bassist Eric Revis, improvised music vets both, Jeff Parker lets his hair down stylistically on Eastside Romp, and indulges in a good old-fashioned blowing session.

Iconic shoegaze / postpunk outfit A Shoreline Dream present the single “Loveblind” the title track from their forthcoming album, their first dose of new music since the Covid pandemic began.

Charles Stepney is one of those artists whose name may not be common currency, but whose music is at the bedrock of sounds everyone’s heard.

The newest single from Australia’s long-running psych-rock outfit comes out in advance of their 26th album and touring. The slow-building and mesmerizing single is a standout in recent memory. Enjoy the ride.

Glasgow -based Starry Skies have released their fourth studio album Small Wonders via Fox Star Records, following their long-player Do It With Love (2020). With a brilliant mix of classic rock, power pop and folk pop, the band’s new crowdfunded album presents an array of shimmering delights.

Veterans like trumpeter Sean Jones and singer Kurt Elling join up-and-comers like trombonist Kalia Vandever and saxophonist Roxy Coss to perform a variety of compositions in the lush big band style.

NYC -based song-savvy storyteller Jessie Kilguss presents her new single “Sleepwalking Heart”, a balanced uplifting dose of folk-pop with a video directed and produced by Alex Dar. On the tail of her “Great White Shark” single, both songs beautifully foreshadow what’s coming on her new album What Do Whales Dream About at Night?, released four years after her album The Fastness.

It’s the Hollywood rule that every success gets a sequel, and sure enough, we have Music in Film: The Sequel.

Before he found semi-fame with Salad Boys, New Zealand singer/guitarist Joe Sampson fronted grungy trio T54.

Seattle -based psychedelic rock outfit Black Nite Crash has announced they will release their new album Washed in the Sound with Black Nite Crash in mid-October. To quench your sonic thirst, for now, they present the lead track “The Take’”, a storyteller-led pulsating noir singalong with a trippy silhouette-laden video directed by Jim Biggs with assistance from James Stone.

Roxy Music caps their fiftieth anniversary year with a reissue of The Best of Roxy Music, a 2001 single compilation that has never been on vinyl before.

Post-punk new romantics Candy Coffins have announced they will release a new album in October. Entitled Once Do It With Feeling, this 10-track offering comes two years after the band’s latest Somehow Misplaced EP. Ahead of this, the band presents “Every Day A Fresh Atrocity”, the first taster of this stunning album. Candy Coffins provides current fans a needed fix while also presenting much to pique the interest of new listeners.

Though she’s a first call violinist and composer and leads a typical string quartet lineup on VEER Quartet, don’t assume Sarah Bernstein is a classical musician.

Young saxophonist Adam Larson is still in the phase of his career where he’s paying tribute to his idols and mentors, so he makes it obvious with his album titles.

Midwestern power pop / indie rock outfit The Persian Leaps have announced plans to release their new Machines for Living EP in early October via Land Ski Records. The enthralling lead track “Maybe Time Will Let Me Forget” previews this latest collection.

Art pop band Elk City shares “That Someone”, a song exploring the dual nature of self and other, excitement and dismay. The sound is vibrant, raw-edged, guitar-driven and maybe even a little scary. The shadow-laden accompanying video was filmed in New York City and Montclair, New Jersey, as well as edited, by Ray Ketchem.

An outgrowth of musicianly friendships and idle time during the pandemic best spent writing and recording music, Night Crickets brings together singer/songwriters/multi-instrumentalists David J (from Love & Rockets and Bauhaus) and Darwin Meiners (who records solo as Darwin) with drummer Victor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes) for a sort of alternative rock supergroup.

Ahead of their long-awaited TAINTED 2022 tour, iconic darkwave-postpunk pioneers Pink Turns Blue present the single “Not Gonna Take It’” the first taste of their TAINTED Tour-2022 EP, which will be released on September 2 when the tour kicks off in Seattle.

Cowherd’s no speed demon, preferring to play rippling lines that let the songs unfold, rather than charge forward, which clearly suits Blade and Patitucci perfectly.

While Jamaica, Florida and Cali lay claim to many of the reggae and dancehall greats, a new quartet from West Tennessee is ready to change the frame, up the game, create some waves and alter brains with their infectious wordplay. Armed with a Samurai’s integrity, a free-flowing style and a heavy dose of sunshine, it’s time to Bonzai!

Though there’s little here that would rattle the windows, that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty going on, with complex tunes, intricate arrangements and strong ensemble playing.

UK alt-rockers, Kicking Edgar seem to be going from strength to strength at the moment, and following on from their last single “In My Head”, comes “Fever Dream” which will be available on 5th September.

Saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenón has long been at the forefront of modern jazz – synthesizing post bop and Latin jazz in ways his peers and predecessors have hinted at, but never fully realized as well as he has.

Mining a rich vein somewhere between avant-garde jazz and minimalist classical music, Battle Trance creates pieces full of vivid textures and hidden details.

Suffice it to say that if you have any passing interest in indie or alternative rock or if you are a R.E.M. fan who’s somehow missed it all these years, you need to hear this.

Inspired by the way the social commentary in Mingus’ music reflects ongoing societal aches and pains, Philion directs a mini-big band, frontloaded with saxophones, trumpets and trombones, on a set of eight Mingus classics and deep cuts.

Oddly never quite as celebrated as his inspirations and peers, drummer Al Foster nonetheless became a key rhythmic collaborator for a dream list of bandleaders.

Austin to Houston, Marina Rock’s fourth album, is, partially, a reflection on her journey from her native Austin to her adopted home of Houston. In addition to engineering the recording, she sang all the parts and played almost all the instruments, including on the closing number “Sleepy Hollow (Revisited),” a spiritually-infused instrumental.

This fortieth anniversary edition is the first time Chronic Town has appeared en toto on shiny compact disk. Go figure.

Face à Face unites Phillips with Hungarian electronicist György Kurtág jr., son of the eponymous composer, for a series of improvised duets.

In the sweepstakes for longest time between albums, bassist Neil Swainson finally follows up his 1987 debut 49th Parallel with this year’s Fire in the West.

Soulful art-rock outfit Seal Party presents their rich and captivating debut album MMXXII, a meaningful and timeless place that is filled with improvisation, fury, and lyrical beauty, Evoking ‘70s soul, rock and R&B while maintaining a raw and exploratory approach, this eclectic work meshes unusual songwriting and musicianship with a style that is at once playful and rebellious.

Sweden’s Mammoth Volume made a trio of quirky, prog-infused stoner rock records in the late nineties and early ‘aughts, earning itself critic’s darling status in a field not normally known for that label.

Ree-Vo is Andy Spaceland (AKA Andy Jenks) and T. Relly. Recorded, produced and mixed by Andy at Bristol’s Christchurch Studios, known as the home of _Mezzanine_-era Massive Attack, this album was tweaked and fine-tuned during the summer of 2020.

Casting a wide net, Keezer brings a swath of influences – hard bop, fusion, postbop, third stream – to his music.

LA-based singer-songwriter and Grammy-winning producer Rich Jacques has released his debut EP Everything Must Change, a 6-track collection that takes the listener through his soothing sonic world and a single of the same name. Wonderfully beguiling, this music is uplifting amidst dark times as politics, environmental concerns and Covid-related concerned have significantly weighed on everyone’s minds.

Ultimately what this session comes down to is pure fun – these guys clearly enjoy their musical interaction, playing everything with a relaxed intensity.