Welcome to our weekly music post, where we spotlight our favorite new songs and albums. Hop in the comments and tell us: What new music are you listening to?
The Beaches have already been having a big summer, with their “Last Girls At The Party” landing as at least one A.V. Club writer’s song of the summer and covering “Ultimate” for the Freakier Friday soundtrack. But the band has a longer timeline in mind with “Lesbian Of The Year,” a soaring power ballad dipped in amber. Band member Leandra Earl wrote the song about coming into her sexuality “later in life” and the attendant complex emotions. Vulnerable yet resolute, “Lesbian Of The Year” draws to mind a late night alone in a wood-paneled bar, where everything looks maroon: the color of the dark blood inside an unbroken, still-beating heart. The Beaches’ album No Hard Feelings arrives on August 29.
Guerilla Toss have been releasing some of the most exciting, genre-busting music of 2025 so far, with singles like “Psychosis Is Just A Number” landing at the intersection of metal, J-rock, and hyperpop. “CEO Of Personal & Pleasure” is a little less frantic and a little more melodic, but no less interesting, tapping into a punk-cum-disco synthesizer palette that begs the question: what if the B-52s were on MySpace? It might sound a little something like this, as Guerilla Toss wears their influences proudly on their sleeves before chopping the sleeves off and throwing them in a blender. Their upcoming album, You’re Weird Now,arrives on September 12.
Robert Plant and Saving Grace, “Gospel Plough”
You certainly know who Robert Plant is, but you may be less familiar with Saving Grace, the band the erstwhile Led Zeppelin frontman formed in 2019. They’re finally gearing up to release their self-titled debut album, and shared the latest taste of it this week with “Gospel Plough,” a Black spiritual that has been previously covered by the likes of Duke Ellington, Peggy Lee, Bob Dylan, and Old Crow Medicine Show. Plant’s reimagining focuses on plucked strings with a hint of Celtic air. Saving Grace, described by the band as “a song book for the lost and found” and an exploration of roots music, will arrive in full on September 26.
Rise Against, Ricochet
If there was ever a time to rage and rise, this is it. Rise Against returns with Ricochet, their first album in four years and one that they have been teasing for basically all of President Trump’s second term. (Seriously; the first single, “Nod,” arrived three days after the inauguration.) The band isn’t shy about the political connections, either, with the title track exploring themes of interconnectivity in a period of increased isolation. As tempting as it might be to try to turn a blind eye to everything going on worldwide, Rise Against make the strong point that apathy cannot be an option.
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Cassandra Jenkins, My Light, My Massage Parlor
Cassandra Jenkins’ music sounds like you’re the first person to ever discover it. Full of analog noise and plaintive instrumentation, the musician debuted two striking albums in 2021 and 2024. Her latest, My Light, My Massage Parlor, is both a follow-up and companion to those releases. Jenkins describes her songwriting as world-building, and all of the possible wormholes that process entails is what the artist seeks to explore on My Light, My Massage Parlor, a piano-forward instrumental album. The result is an almost impossibly tender rendering of ideas Jenkins decided needed a second look. Everything we’ve heard so far has been stunning.
Chance The Rapper, Star Line
It’s been six years since Chance The Rapper released his last full-length album, and while he never stopped releasing music in that period, Star Line arrives today with a lot to prove. 2019’s The Big Day was all about his wedding, but, newly divorced, the rapper returns to the mic to share whatever new insights he’s gleaned. At his best, Chance can be heartfelt, puckish, and musically omnivorous; at the same time, he can be unbelievably corny. The lead single, the shuffling marijuana paean “Tree,” managed to be all of the above, and brought in Lil Wayne and fellow Chicago wonder Smino. Wherever Chance stands now, he certainly has no shortage of people willing to make music with him again. The album also features guest appearances from long-time musical collaborators like Jamila Woods, BJ The Chicago Kid, and Vic Mensa.
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