Every Friday, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf and Lilliput Records co-owner Tanner Musgrove tell you about the new albums you can’t miss on a new episode of On Vinyl. Check out their top picks and a list of this week’s other releases, and listen to their full conversation using the player on this page or on the 88Nine airwaves at 1 p.m. every Friday.
The common thread for this new batch of vinyl? Iconic-voiced front-persons.
Tim Darcy of Cola, the D’Addario brothers of The Lemon Twigs, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy and the solo goodness of Aldous Harding all stand out from neutral-toned, run-of-the-mill vocalists. Across the board of genres (bouncy post-punk, power pop, folk-rock and tech-geek indie pop), each release hits different yet provides a charming narrative to hold you from the first groove to the last.
Funnily enough, the releases are split down the middle between orange and blue colorways — and, of course, the classic black option always abides. Pick up one (or all) today and pull out the liner notes so you can sing along and find your own unique voice.
Happy New Music Friday!
Best new albums out May 8
Cola, Cost of Living Adjustment
Look closely, and you’ll see this is a sort-of-self-titled album from the Montreal trio of Darcy (vocals/guitar), Ben Stidworthy (bass) and Evan Cartwright (percussion).
Acronyms aside, this is the band’s third studio effort, and they’ve filled out their typically minimalist sound with some pop bounce. Listening to the lead single got us really pumped, as Cola bring together a little ’80s synth-pop and ’90s shoegaze guitar waver. It all sounds great with Darcy’s vocals.
You can scoop up a couple limited versions of Cola’s new record: a signed copy and also an unsigned version, both on orange wax from Fire Talk Records. Also, if you’re up for a quick road trip, find the band at the Empty Bottle in Chicago on July 10.
The Lemon Twigs, Look For Your Mind!
The third Lemon Twigs album for Captured Tracks finds the duo fresh off working with Thundercat for his latest album, Distracted. The D’Addario brothers give us another example of why their classic sound is so appealing to a cross-section of generations; those classic guitar pop vibes never really go out of style. For anyone who loves bands like The Raspberries, The Beach Boys, Cheap Trick and The Zombies, you’ll instantly fall in love with the built-in brotherly harmonies.
Look For Your Mind! is out on classic black or orange vinyl, and there’s also a transparent version floating out there. Scoop it up at the record shop of your choice.
Grandaddy, The Sophtware Slump
Grandaddy, the project of Jason Lytle, has been a bit of a fixation for both of us for a while, but especially for Tanner this year; Grandaddy was featured in the Lilliput Recommended zine that the store’s staff made in collaboration with Moody The Zine for Record Store Day in April.
Formed in the early ’90s in Modesto, Calif., indie legends Grandaddy released four studio albums before breaking up in 2006 and eventually reforming in 2012. Whereas 1997 debut Under The Western Freeway feels more space rock-y, 2000’s The Sophtware Slump saw them exploring a lot of themes about technology while blending old synthesizer and lo-fi electronic sounds.
That second record gets a fresh reissue to “Dial-A View-Blue” vinyl that’ll be available from Dangerbird Records at a local record shop near you!
Aldous Harding, Train on the Island
We couldn’t be more excited about the New Zealand indie-folk singer-songwriter’s fifth studio album, since it feels like forever since Harding’s last release, 2022’s Warm Chris.
We’ve been massive fans of hers for a long time and were lucky to see her live during her 2019 tour for Designer. On stage, Harding is one of the most captivating and magnetic performers we’ve seen, and we recommend catching her if you ever get the chance (it just so happens she’s playing nearby Thalia Hall in Chicago on Sept. 18).
Regardless of whether you can travel to the show, take the audio journey by finding Train on the Island on indie-exclusive blue or standard black vinyl at a local record shop near you via 4AD.
More of our picks
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