New Music Friday: 14 new releases to start the month of May (01 May 2026)

Here we go. The next half-dozen New Music Fridays should be filled with interesting and exciting summer releases, both in terms of singles and albums.

Singles

1. The Beaches, Should’ve Known Better (AWAL)

Canada’s biggest all-female band returns after winning a couple of JUNOs (including Group of the Year) with a new single taken from an upcoming deluxe edition of their No Hard Feelings album. It will be here June 5.

2. Bleachers, I’m Not Joking (RCA)

When Jack Antonoff isn’t producing other people’s music. he’s got this band. Bleachers’ fifth album, Everyone for Ten Minutes, will arrive on May 22. You’ll notice the expansion of the band’s sound right away.

3. Bush, Swallowed (30th Anniversary Tour Version) (BMG)

Has it been 30 years since Bush released Razorblade Suitcase? It has. Gavin Rossdale and crew decided that this was a good time to “reinterpret” one of the singles from that album in a more intimate way. It’s much, much less fuzzy. Note the choir effects.

4. Death Cab for Cutie, Punching the Flowers (Anti-)

In another month, Death Cab for Cutie will release, I Built You a Tower, their eleventh album, and one that they banged out in about three week. Leader Ben Gibbard was going through a rough time, too, processing his recent divorce. The “tower” in the album title is a metaphor for grief and trauma.

5. Editors, Call It In (PIAS)

If you’re looking for something reflective and filled with existential dread, this weekend, this song is a good place to start. The Birmingham band spent last summer in the middle of Gloucestershire, playing in the same room together throughout the songwriting process. This track is a good one for people who have a hard time asking for help.

6. Foo Fighters, Spit Shine (Roswell/RCA)

Foo Fighters. Zombie apocalypse. Lemmy. That’s all you need to know. Oh, and Dave’s daughter, Hannah, cast the video. She’s in there somewhere, too.

7. Violet Grohl, Cool Buzz (Republic Records/Universal Music)

Well, this is awkward. Releasing a single the same day as your dad? Which song rocks more? You might be surprised when you listen to this.

8. Korn, Reward the Scars (Loma Vista)

This was a surprise release. After all, we hadn’t heard anything new from Korn in about four years. This track is a companion to the Lord of Hatred extension of the video game Diablo IV. Singer Jonathan Davis is a huge Diablo fan, so when he was asked to come up with something appropriately dark, he didn’t have a problem. The band also let it slip that this recording came out of sessions for what should be a new album.

9. The Revivalists, Heart Stop (Concord)

Once you’re done with the heaviness of the Foos, Violet Grohl, and Korn, bring it down with something a little melodic and mellow. Their sixth album, Get It Honest, will be here on July 24.

10. TALK, Time Machine (RCA)

You’ll remember TALK (Nicholas Durocher from Stittsville, Ontario) from his glorious 2021 hit, Run Away to Mars. Well, he’s back with a new single that his record company cryptically calls “Chapter One.” This one is a lot less mellow as TALK thinks about what he’d do differently if he could go back in time.

Albums

1. Tori Amos, In Times of Dragons (Fontana/Universal)

I’ve talked about this concept album for weeks as various advance singles were released. To review: Her 18th album is a concept album about the death of democracy at the bands of the
“Dictator believing Lizard Demons’ in their usurpation of America.” Whoever could she be talking about?

2. The Black Keys, Peaches! (Easy Eye Sound/Warner)

The Black Keys keep plugging away. Their 14th album features material that’s instantly familiar even though everything on the record is a cover. They mine material from Ike Turner, Arthur Cruduo, Wilko Johnson, R.L. Burnside, and other bluesy types. The record has a “no-budget, mid-fi” sound reminiscent of when Dan and Patrick first started out. Fifteen songs were recorded over four afternoons.

3. The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy (ATO)

This is the third time Les Claypool (Primus) and Sean Ono Lennon (son of you-know-who) have collaborated on an album. This time, it’s a concept record that “reflects on morality, the warnings of A.I., and the slippery slope of optimization without empathy, told across 14 songs.” A special edition of the album comes with a 24-page comic book.

4. Kneecap, Fenian (Heavenly Recordings)

Kneecap is the most outspoken band we’ve seen in a long time. Coming out of Belfast, they have a definite point of view (cf. Palestine and Israel) and aren’t afraid to express it anytime, anywhere, even if it gets them in trouble with TV networks, festivals, and even entire countries. This is their third album.