Jack White, Bloc Party, and the return of Girl Talk (plus 21 more albums coming in April)

Given how much as well as the follow-up EP , it’s no surprise that The A.V. Club is eager to hear what Orville Peck is bringing for his sophomore album. Everyone’s favorite masked queer cowboy singer returns—not with a couple of singles leading up to its release, but with a series of chapters marking the sum total of the new music. Chapter 1 arrived last month, and Chapter 2 just dropped, both of which contained some superb tracks (and expanded his musical palette considerably). Here’s to the culmination of it all. [Alex McLevy]

While we’re certainly curious to see , the new oddball sci-fi action whatsit from writers-directors Daniels, we’re even more intrigued by the soundtrack. Son Lux, the brilliantly experimental electronic-soul trio responsible for , have assembled a massive 49-track collection of original music, nearly two hours’ worth of songs inspired by the film. Along with appearances by Mitski, David Byrne, Moses Sumney, and more, there are repeated guest spots from Outkast’s André Benjamin, playing… flutes. See? Told you we’re intrigued. [Alex McLevy]

The Linda Lindas enjoyed their big break in two parts last year, first with their viral anthem “Racist, Sexist Boy” and then on Netflix’s sparkling Moxie! soundtrack. Now, the four-part punk group is dropping its debut album, fittingly titled Growing Up. These Latina and Asian-American Gen-Z rockers, all between ages 11 and 17, bring an effervescent joy to their riot grrrl roots that’s even more infectious as a full album. Listening to this ten-track wonder feels like going to a sleepover at your best friend’s house. You’ll want to stay longer. [Alison Foreman]

The Regrettes explored a pop-inclined direction on 2019’s How Do You Love?, but the singles for upcoming record Further Joy show an even softer, poppier, and more danceable side. While the band’s debut album, Feel Your Feelings Fool, opened with “I Don’t Like You,” The Regrettes have changed their tune with new single “That’s What Makes Me Love You,” featuring a Gwen Stefani-reminiscent groove that has bandleader Lydia Night falling hard for her partner. But the edge from previous albums isn’t missing in the new singles: “Monday,” for example, keeps the band’s punk roots, with Night singing about an existential crisis. This gentler and joyful side to The Regrettes already feels as attention-grabbing as their previous, edgier material. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

Wet Leg became one of the U.K.’s buzziest new acts without having released a debut album. Viral hit “Chaise Lounge” quickly captivated listeners and turned them into fans in 2021, and every subsequent single has conveyed that perhaps Wet Leg is incapable of writing a song that isn’t instantly enthralling. After selling out many tour dates and making a late night debut on Late Night With Seth Meyers, anticipation for the duo’s debut has grown. It would make perfect sense if Wet Leg’s debut catapults the pair into stardom amongst the indie heavyweights. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

U.K. drill rapper Digga D might be the most successful British import in the genre at the moment. Made In The Pyrex from 2021 currently stands at around 150 million Spotify streams, his music is all over TikTok, and despite a seeming revolving door of prison stints, he has managed to keep releasing wildly successful singles at a steady clip. New mixtape Noughty By Nature looks to capitalize on that success, so get ready to hear the slow, thumping beats of tracks like “Pump 101” blasting from car speakers all summer. [Alex McLevy]

The words “experimental jazz collective” can be as much a warning as an enticement to some, but don’t be put off by it in this case. Seattle jazz group High Pulp blend old-school bebop with contemporary soul and electronica vibes, as though someone convinced the ghost of Duke Ellington to reinterpret a Chemical Brothers album. The results deliver fascinating compositions that keep the listener on their solo-happy toes. Check out the groovy breakdown two-thirds of the way through “All Roads Lead To Los Angeles”—you’ll know right away if this heady concoction is right for you. [Alex McLevy]

For someone who made his bones on the back of a signature easygoing charm, Kurt Vile certainly has a diligent work ethic. The parenthetically titled (watch my moves) marks the singer-guitarist’s ninth solo album, to say nothing of the plentiful EPs and recent work with Dinosaur Jr. If you’ve heard even a few of his tracks, you probably know whether the laconic drawl and knack for indie-Americana hooks is for you, but early singles are a good reminder of what makes his music so seemingly effortlessly affecting. [Alex McLevy]

Setting aside his other gig as guitarist for Downtown Boys, Joey La Neve DeFrancesco does something different with La Neve—specifically, an “equal parts drag show, mosh pit and rave.” The Rhode Island-based queer artist combines frenetic post-punk grooves and Atari Teenage Riot levels of blistering noise on this five-song EP, which combines thematic concerns over labor, sex, and resistance with exhortations to get up and dance while fighting the power. [Alex McLevy]

—a.k.a. Harriette Pilbeam—has consistently crafted superb dream pop songs, but the singles she’s released so far for Giving The World Away have stood out as some of her best. She introduced her new era with “Quicksand,” a track that, if it had been released by a big name pop star, would’ve been inescapable on the radio; it’s infectious in a way that leaves you wanting more. The rest of the singles are great as well: “This Enchanted” is as enchanting as its name, and “Giving The World Away” feels like a more contemporary spin on Duran Duran. If there’s ever been a time for Hatchie to blow up, Giving The World Away is the perfect opportunity. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

You can expect certain things from a Spiritualized album: dewy country-folk riffs, huge walls of harmonies, lyrical repetition wielded for emotional impact, and Jason Pierce’s somber vocals. Nevertheless, familiarity doesn’t mean the group’s latest album, Everything Was Beautiful—a de facto sequel to 2018’s —isn’t just as affecting and immersive as anything else in the band’s history. [Annie Zaleski]

What makes Tess Roby stand apart from the legions of synth-pop purveyors in the contemporary scene is the fact that, well, Roby has never sounded anything like the contemporary scene. Sounding more like the unholy love child of Peter Gabriel and Nico (albeit one who prefers simple, sweet vocal melodies and patterns), Roby’s music never settles for “ethereal” when “shooting all the damn way out into the cosmos” will do. Her music builds without bombast, and moves without unsettling, an enigmatic musical style wholly her own. [Alex McLevy]

With the return of “indie sleaze,” it’s a perfect coincidence that Bloc Party has an album coming this year. But the band doesn’t seem interested in revisiting the sound from its heyday, despite the return to a more frantic, kinetic feel. Instead, Bloc Party explores new ground, with a darker, new wave-inspired slant. It’s interesting territory, and feels more intriguing than material from the band’s recent albums. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

Miranda Lambert continually pushes country music’s boundaries, both musically and in subject matter. That’s why it’s perfectly logical that her new album, Palomino, features The B-52’s on “Music City Queen” (a song described in a press release as a “funky Deee-Lite meets Creedence Clearwater Revival in a trip down the Cumberland River”) and also includes “references” to Little Feat’s “Willin’,” Bruce Hornsby And The Range’s “Mandolin Rain,” and Emmylou Harris’ “Roses in the Snow.” No matter the influences, however, expect Palomino’s songwriting to rank among the best you’ll hear all year. [Annie Zaleski]

Sarah Beth Tomberlin is very, very good at making music that sounds like it was written just for you, the night before, in the hazy pre-dawn glow following an all-night conversation about your deepest fears and passions. All of which is to say her version of folky minimalist shoegaze is extremely potent, something which doesn’t seem to have changed on new album i don’t know who needs to hear this…. What has changed is the more ambitious instrumentation, at least compared to the sparseness of 2020’s excellent EP. But the richer arrangements haven’t diminished her powerfully affecting voice and lovely, simple strummed chords, still the heart and soul of her music. [Alex McLevy]

The offerings from Toro y Moi’s MAHAL have all gone down smooth, with grooving baselines and a chill atmosphere. Songs such as “Magazine Man” possess the psychedelic qualities of his work in Outer Peace, while the more organic sides of the instrumentals hearken to his earlier songs found on What For? With these new singles, Toro y Moi remains as dynamic and dynamite as ever. [Gabrielle Sanchez]