New Music Reviews (2/2)

Each week, Music Director Chris Sanley and Associate Music Director Alex Ruder (joined this week by Albina Cabrera, Latin Partnerships and Editorial Manager and co-host of El Sonido) 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 Neon Ion, PVA, Annabelle Chairlegs, and more. 

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Neon Ion - Laugh Now, Cry Later (Jazzland Recordings)
The third full-length album from this solo project of Norwegian artist Natalie Sandtorv is a stunning blend of R&B, jazz, psych, and pop. Inspired by a transformative period that included major personal setbacks, including the loss of hearing in one ear, and a life-altering creative burst upon recently forming the trio Orbits with Jaga Jazzist's Lars Horntveth and producer Erlend Mokkelbost, Laugh Now, Cry Later is a thrilling journey though Neon Ion’s exploratory, adventurous, and prismatic zone. –AR

PVA - No More Like This (It’s All For Fun)
The sophomore album from London trio PVA is all about balance; light and dark, blurry and sharp, urgent and tranquil. Featuring synths both bright and sinister, angular guitars, driving percussion, and Ella Harris’s entrancing, deadpan vocals, No More Like This is an engrossing, essential listen that brilliantly fuses electropunk, trip-hop, and experimental soundscapes to reveal their ever-evolving vision. –CS

Annabelle Chairlegs - Waking Up (TODO)
The third album from this Austin, TX outfit led by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Lindsey Mackin is an infectious set of fuzz-induced indie rock. Waking Up exudes a charming swagger, with compelling arrangements, psych undertones, killer riffs, and Mackin’s endearing vocals. Striking a perfect balance between raw and refined, Annabelle Chairlegs takes a big step forward with this new Ty Segall-produced collection. –CS

Blackwater Holylight - Not Here Not Gone (Suicide Squeeze)
Portland’s Blackwater Holylight return with a scorching fourth studio album following their relocation to LA. Their brand of doom and deathgaze leans heavier here, with incendiary, distorted guitars, expressive vocals, grounding bass lines, and explosive drums driving their maximalist sound. Laced with flourishes of synths and violin, Not Here Not Gone finds the outfit embracing new beginnings and uncertainty, channeling unease into irresistible, melodic, and grit-soaked rock goodness. –CS

Blind Yeo - Today / Tomorrow EP (Lost Map)
Fresh off their awesome Live on KEXP session at Trans Musicales 2025, Falmouth, UK-based collective Blind Yeo share a five-song EP that showcases their sweet spectral blend of Krautrock, psychedelic rock, and psych-folk accented by a pulsating, kaleidoscope groove. The opening trio mesmerizes before zagging into the squiggly, trippy, Laurie Anderson-referencing techno-folk of “Otherside (Oh Mr James version)” and the appropriately cosmic and relatively dreamy “Atomic Asteroid.” –AR

GUV - Warmer Than Gold (Run For Cover)
The latest from Ben Cook’s GUV project, formerly known as Young Guv (“I'm not so young anymore, three letter band names are cool, and I'm tired of being mistaken for a rapper”), is a warm set of shoegaze-washed power pop and indie rock, with a dash of UK club thrown in for good measure. With keen nods to ‘90s Britpop, Warmer Than Gold showcases his vivid songwriting through bright guitar lines, propulsive beats, hook-laden choruses, and the perfect amount of haze. –CS

Searows - Death In The Business of Whaling (Last Recordings on Earth)
The sophomore album from Portland-based singer-songwriter Alec Duckart, aka Searows, is a revelation. From the outset, each gut-wrenching track is wholly gripping, the hushed moments as impactful as the howling ones. With warm, gauzy guitars, ethereal vocals, and deeply emotional arcs shaped through epic builds, Death In The Business of Whaling is a masterclass in contemporary indie folk. –CS

Softcult - When A Flower Doesn’t Grow (Easy Life)
The debut album from Ontario-based sibling duo Softcult is a sensational collection of glittering dreamgaze. With densely layered guitars, ethereal vocals, and fierce drums, they craft big, bold walls of sound that are steeped in melancholy and nostalgia. When A Flower Doesn’t Grow delivers a fresh take on shoegaze, dreampop, and indie rock, pairing gripping hooks with compelling cadences. –CS

Tessa Rose Jackson - The Lighthouse (Tiny Tiger)
The third album from this Dutch-Britist artist and film composer is a gorgeous blend of spacious, spectral, atmospheric folk and sweeping, cinematic folk-pop. Marking her first album in years to come out under her own name after a run of albums as Someone, Tessa steps out with a delicate, ornate, and impressively expansive sound that shines bright throughout. –AR

Triples - Every Good Story EP (Bleak Enterprise)
The latest offering from Toronto’s Triples finds a wonderful intersection of catchy rock and smart pop with a youthful power-pop streak. Formerly a duo composed of Toronto-based sisters Madeline Link (of PACKS) and songwriter/actor Eva Link, Triples is now the solo project of Eva and she delivers a compact, concise, classic-sounding collection that “channels a patchwork of influences that includes Liz Phair, Guided by Voices, Avril Lavigne, and Sebadoh, to make music that communicates the irresistible, high gloss energy of the end credits song in a late ‘90s teen movie in an endearingly homespun package.” –AR

Yumi Zouma - No Love Lost to Kindness (Nettwerk)
The fifth studio album from New Zealand-bred quartet Yumi Zouma is an infectious set of dream pop-inflected indie rock. Now split between Melbourne, London, New York, and Wellington, the group convened in Mexico City to write and record their most assertive record to date. Shifting away from pop gleam to embrace a more potent rock sound, No Love Lost to Kindness still boasts the gripping hooks fans expect, now carrying a sharper edge, marking an exciting new chapter for Yumi Zouma. –CS

Da Cruz - Som Sistema (Boom Jah Records/Believe)
EN: The new album by Afro-Brazilian singer Mariana Da Cruz, based in Bern, moves fluidly between South African Amapiano, Brazilian Baile Funk, Caribbean Shatta, Gqom, Angolan Kuduro, Brazilian trap, and emerging currents in contemporary African club music, articulating a distinct sonic language that marks a clear departure from her previous work. Som Sistema seeks a modern sonic identity rooted in the broader landscape of global Black music. Tracks like “Rolex,” “Chata,” and “10 noites,” among others, distill the album’s political message: reprogramming sound from the diaspora. –AC

ES: El nuevo álbum de la cantante afro-brasileña radicada en Berna, Mariana Da Cruz, se mueve entre Amapiano sudafricano, Baile Funk brasileño, Shatta caribeño, Gqom, Kuduro angoleño, trap brasileño y nuevas corrientes de club africano, articulando un lenguaje propio distinto al de trabajos anteriores. Som Sistema busca una identidad sonora moderna y dentro del aspecto de la música negra global. Canciones como “Rolex”, “Chata” y “10 noites” entre otros, condensan el mensaje político de este álbum: reprogramar el sonido desde la diáspora. –AC

David Walters - Ti Love (Heavenly Sweetness)
The fourth album from this Marseilles-based singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer of West Indies ancestry is a colorful set of global, funky, soulful songs steeped in his Afro-Caribbean roots. With a guest appearance from Malian artist Fatoumata Diawara on the excellent opening title track and production throughout from Captain Planet, GUTS, Bluestaeb, Art of Tones, iZem, and more, Ti Love is a vibrant, delightful, and frequently groovy trip that is named after a French-Creole abbreviation for the type of “little love” that evokes “that sweet fondness found in small gestures and little –AR

Gondhawa - Täkomā (Le Cèpe Records/Stolen Body Records)
The sophomore album from French trio Gondhawa is an exhilarating exploration of psych rock. With ripping guitars, the Mongolian sanxian, vibrant rhythms, and Eastern influences, Täkomā is a thunderous, spellbinding listen. –CS

IDK - e.t.d.s. A Mixtape by .idk. (.idk.)
The latest mixtape from this London-born, Maryland-raised rapper (real name Jason Mills) is a cinematic set of hard-hitting hip-hop that taps into the blockbuster energy of 1990s and 2000s mixtape culture. Short for “even the devil smiles,” e.t.d.s. features the first posthumous DMX appearance to be officially co-signed by the late rapper’s estate (the KAYTRANADA-produced “START TO FiNISH - S.T.F”) and the mixtape finds IDK lyrically grappling with his time incarcerated when he was served a 15-year sentence at the age of 17. Ultimately only serving three of the 15 years, 2025 would have marked the end of his full sentence, so “every day is a coming to terms with what was so close to being lost to the treacherous US penal system” and serves as "proof that creation could breathe in captivity." In addition to DMX and KAYTRANDA, Black Thought, MF DOOM, Pusha T, RZA, Conductor Williams, No ID, Joey Valence & Brae, and Ogi make guest appearances. –AR

Silver Liz - III (Extremely Pure)
The third album from this NYC husband/wife duo composed of Carrie and Matt Wagner is a solid set of fuzzy shoegaze, celestial alt-pop, and psych-tinted dream-pop fueled by blown-out guitars, sweet beats, a romantic balance of male/female vocals, and an experimental DIY vibe. –AR

Various Artists - Naive Melodies (BBE)
BBE Music and curator Drew McFadden connect once again for this supremely eclectic tribute compilation to the visionary music of Talking Heads. With a focus on recontextualizing Talking Heads’ music through the lens of Black musical innovation and to shine a light on the Black music traditions that underpinned their artistry, Naive Melodies features some of today’s finest genre-blurring, forward-thinking, idiosyncratic artists who each boldly tap into Talking Heads’ playful, groovy, sophisticated, and adventurous spirit for their own distinctive interpretations. In similar fashion to Modern Love, BBE and McFadden’s prior team-up in 2021 celebrating the music of David Bowie, it’s a mixed affair that yields some fantastic highs — including an amazing organ cover of “Take Me to the River” by gospel artist Dominique Johnson —  and a bunch of downright interesting takes. –AR

WAAN - We Want Waan (Sonar Kollektiv)
The second album from this Dutch duo formed by saxophonist Bart Wirtz and keyboard wiz Emiel van Rijthoven is a cool set of electronic jazz explorations that includes a pair of thrilling kinetic dancefloor grooves (“Lodge Texas,” “Mirrors”), a pulsating vocal-laced post-punk-tinted jam (“Why Didn’t You Get Me”), a sharp collaboration with Philadelphia-based rapper Ivy Sole (“Been Blue”), and a diverse array of moody, genre-blurring, instrumental beats. –AR