New Music Reviews (12/15)

Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder share brief insights on new and upcoming releases for KEXP's rotation. These reviews help our DJs decide on what they want to play. See what we added this week below (and on our Charts page), including new releases from Ben Marc, Caitlin and Brent, HEALTH, and more.

Ben Marc - Who Cares Wins (Innovative Leisure)

The second full-length album from London-based musician and producer Neil Charles, aka Ben Marc, is a mesmerizing fusion of jazz, hip-hop, electronic, and soul filtered through a hazy, prismatic lens. With entrancing arrangements and guest appearances from Confucius MC, Arrested Development, Σtella and Wahid, among others, ‘Who Cares Wins,’ journeys through psychedelic explorations, chill meditations, and soulful grooves to offer a dynamic and transportive listen. –CS

Caitlin and Brent - Caitlin and Brent (RodeoCorp, Ltd.)

Caitlin is the simplified alias of Seattle-based singer, songwriter, musician, and composer Caitlin Sherman, formerly of the local bands Evening Bell and Slow Skate. Brent is the simplified alias of Seattle-based musician Brent Amaker, the singular baritone-voiced frontman of country-western group Brent Amaker and the Rodeo. Billed in a nod to ‘Nancy & Lee,’ the debut collaborative album from these two veteran local luminaries is a sweeping, cinematic, nostalgia-soaked collection of romantic songs enhanced with epic orchestral string arrangements that blends their respective noir-ish takes on country music through the lens of 60s French pop and the classic duos of that era. The material was largely written while the two were in a romantic relationship during the uncertain early lockdown days of the pandemic, and just months after Caitlin had unveiled her years-in-the-making debut album ‘Death to the Damsel’ in February 2020 with hopes of building momentum around its release, which all gives ‘Caitlin and Brent’ an undeniable intimate chemistry as the two explore “the tumult and joy of finding new love in a time of turmoil.” -AR

HEALTH - CONFLICT DLC (Loma Vista)

Incomparable trio HEALTH return with their incendiary sixth studio album. Their potent mix of industrial, noise rock, and metal is wholly gripping, with menacing synths, explosive drums, gauzy guitars, and affected vocals. Aptly described as “a slate of sad bangers for the end times,” ‘CONFLICT DLC’ invites listeners to move intensely and intentionally through the surrounding existential dread. –CS

Hercules & Love Affair - Someone Else EP (Stratasonic)

In collaboration with Elín Ey of Hips & Lips and Quinn Whalley of DECIUS, Andy Butler’s Hercules & Love Affair project returns with an infectious EP of dancefloor bangers. With scintillating synths, pulsing beats, and Ey’s magnetic vocals, ‘Someone Else’ is calling you, yes YOU, to join their vocal house revolution. –CS

Judeline - VERANO SAUDADE EP (Interscope)

The new EP from Spanish singer-songwriter Judeline delivers a transfixing blend of indie-pop with Latin rhythms, electronic undertones, and soulful grooves. Featuring collaborations with Pa Salieu, Amia, DELLAFUENTE, Sega Bodega, MC Morena, ‘VERANO SAUDADE’ showcases her breathtaking, airy vocals and undeniable star power. –CS

This Is Lorelei - Holo Boy (Double Double Whammy)

This Is Lorelei is the solo project of prolific Brooklyn-based musician Nate Amos, also known as one-half of steadily ascendent Water From Your Eyes (alongside Rachel Brown) and one-half of My Idea (alongside Lily Kongsberg). While he’s been crafting songs under this alias since 2014, his stellar 2024 album ‘Box for Buddy, Box for Star’ marked his “quasi-debut” and ‘Holo Boy’ continues his non-traditional rollout as a “sort-of-second sort-of-album” that features 10 re-recorded versions of songs from nine different Bandcamp-only self-released albums written between 2014 and 2021. The result is another sharp, catchy, nuanced collection of chameleonic idiosyncratic pop songs that leans heavily into Nate’s knack for buoyant power-pop tunes. -AR

Infinite Coles - SweetFace Killah (Don’t Sleep Music)

Infinite Coles is a queer NYC-based artist, dancer, and actor who has previously collaborated with Everything Is Recorded, Joy Orbison, Mella Dee, Coby Sey, and more. Titled in a nod to his father Dennis Coles’ legendary rap persona, Ghostface Killah, ‘SweetFace Killah’ explores an expressive, expansive, and defiant sound that embraces both hard-hitting, club-ready, ballroom-influenced rap and vulnerable, honest, deeply personal R&B songs. Infinite Coles’ versatile lyrical talents find an excellent match in Zach Witness, an exceptional producer whose dynamic top-shelf beats consistently shine bright. -AR

Juliana Hatfield - Lightning Might Strike (American Laundromat)

The latest solo album from Boston-raised singer-songwriter Juliana Hatfield is a charming set of ‘90s-infused indie rock with a distinct pop sensibility. While her vulnerable lyricism explores fate, trauma, depression, and discontentment, ‘Lightning Might Strike’ carries an air of optimism, with memorable guitar lines, compelling vocals, and bittersweet hooks. –CS

Pigeon Pit - Leash Aggression (Ernest Jenning Record Co)

On their second album of 2025, Olympia outfit Pigeon Pit come out of the gate swinging. These ten quick-hitting folk-punk anthems find frontwoman Lomes Oleander proposing “love for humanity, rather than fear of certain futures, as a political motivator” and “hope as an invitation to act in the face of bleakness, instead of something made impossible by it.” Armed with her guitar and quick wit, ‘Leash Aggression’ brings in fiddle, banjo, harmonica, drums, and piano to tell these stories of hope amid the darkness. –CS

True Blue - Star Witness (True Nature)

True Blue is the solo alias of Maya Laner, a Copenhagen/NYC-based artist who’s also the bassist in Porches and Caroline Polachek’s current touring bassist and backing vocalist. Her debut album is a promising set of sparkly synth-pop and ethereal dance-pop that sneaks in a cool trip-hop-tinted cover of Cocteau Twins’ classic song “Cherry-coloured Funk.” -AR

Twin Shadow - Cadet (Cheree Cheree)

The seventh studio album from LA-based artist Twin Shadow (aka George William Lewis Jr.) comes swiftly after the March 2025 release of ‘Georgie,’ which was an intimate and minimal-leaning album dedicated to his late father that explored themes of grief, memory, and introspection. ‘Cadet’ utilizes lyrics and many of the same vocal takes from ‘Georgie,’ yet George has fully rebuilt the songs from scratch, injecting the songs with more energy, more instrumentation, and a more vibrant sound. The result is one of his stronger outings in years, delivering a heartfelt but carefree, playful, and frequently anthemic blend of arty R&B, 80s-influenced New Wave, and shimmering synth-pop. -AR

Veronicavon - icecream (Born Losers)

The second album from this LA-based duo composed of Chris Hackman (aka Human Barbie) and Xuan Nguyen is a solid set of hazy, romantic, eclectic dream-pop with a cool, casual, low-key charm that recalls contemporaries like Night Tapes, Men I Trust, and strongboi. -AR