Here are the 17 albums you should listen to in August

Following up on Music on Vinyl’s recent colored-vinyl reissues of Elvis Costello’s Warner Brothers catalog, starting with 1989’s Spike (green vinyl and first time on double LP) in March and 1991’s Mighty Like A Rose (gold vinyl) in July, August will bring a vinyl reissue of 1993’s The Juliet Letters, a song-cycle collaboration with the world-renowned Brodzky Quartet. These 18 songs feature more pop-oriented material like “I Almost Had A Weakness” and the single “Jacksons, Monk, And Rowe” as well as more classical-inspired material like the beautiful closer “The Birds Will Still Be Singing.” Controversial at the time among both Costello fans and classical aficionados, this is a rare pop/classical crossover combination that works seamlessly. It’s also only the second time the album has been available on vinyl since its original 1993 release (MoV reissued it in 2014). [Matthew Berlyant]

Originally released back in 2006 when Lewis was still in Rilo Kiley, this incredible album kicked off her solo career and proved that Lewis didn’t need Rilo Kiley to make a great record. Loosely described as a “sort of soul record,” the album was inspired by Laura Nyro’s 1971 album Gonna Take A Miracle. Backed by The Watson Twins on harmony vocals and featuring a range of indie stars and contemporaries like labelmate Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) and Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie/The Postal Service) on The Traveling Wilburys cover “Handle With Care,” the album also features brilliant original material like the title track, “Rise Up With Fists!!” and “You Are What You Love.” [Matthew Berlyant]

Osees, the John Dwyer-led California garage-rock institution alternately known as Thee Oh Sees, OCS, Oh Sees, and a billion other similar permutations, are perhaps the only band capable of rivaling Bob Pollard and Guided By Voices in sheer lunatic prolificacy. After taking an eternal (by their standards) two-year break between albums for Dwyer to focus on his improvisational psych-jazz side projects, Osees are finally back in August with A Foul Form. With tracks like the rip-roaringly scuzzy “Funeral Solution” and the frenzied anti-cop anthem “Perm Act,” A Foul Form is an urgent 22-minute blast of glorious scum-punk paying homage to Bad Brains, Black Flag, and all the other iconic punk bands that Dwyer and company grew up on. [Peter Helman]

Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour tour (and the feminist indie-rock multiverse of madness it featured) may be coming to an end, but angsty pop-punk lives on. Pale Waves, the British quartet that counts Avril Lavigne as one of their main inspirations, returns with their third studio album, Unwanted. The project’s lead single “Lies” dropped on May 9th; they’ve also shared two additional tracks since then, “Jealousy” and “The Hard Way.” As an album-promo opening statement, “Lies” is all middle fingers and crunchy guitars, with singer Heather Baron-Gracie coming to collect responsibility from the former paramour who ripped out her heart. “Fortunately for me that person is no longer in my life,” singer Heather Baron-Gracie of the biting track’s inspiration. “Once you do me wrong you’re gone!” Nothing spawns creativity like clean-cut betrayal. [Hattie Lindert]

When the Bad Brains regained the rights and started reissuing most of their ’80s back catalog a few years ago, one quirk was that graphics maestro John Yates designed alternate versions of each album cover that looked like old Blue Note jazz albums from the ’50s and ’60s. Rock For Light is the first studio album Bad Brains released, coming a year after the legendary ROIR cassette cemented their place in American hardcore punk history as one of its greatest and most influential and inspiring bands. Produced by Ric Ocasek at his studio in Boston, the album is slightly slicker than the raw-as-dirt ROIR tape and contains re-recordings of some earlier material plus then new songs like the Discharge-inspired “Riot Squad,” the reggae jam “The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth” and opening track and future live staple “Coptic Times.” [Matthew Berlyant]

There are already two albums by the experimental Japanese stoner metal band Boris called Heavy Rocks. The first Heavy Rocks came out in 2002, the second Heavy Rocks came out in 2011, and the third Heavy Rocks is arriving another decade later in 2022. “This is the heavy rock of Boris now,” the band explains in a statement. On the latest installment in the series, Boris continue to mine the sounds of classic 1970s hard rock and heavy metal and filter them through their own weirdo aesthetic. If the driving “She Is Burning” and the gargantuan “Question 1” prove anything, it’s that the heavy rock of Boris now sounds just as vital as ever. [Peter Helman]

One of the most anticipated hip-hop albums from a duo since Black Star’s reunion No Fear Of Time, the Roots’ Black Thought and veteran producer Danger Mouse team up for Cheat Codes. The album reportedly builds on a shelved 2005 collaboration between the pair, and features an all-star list of talent including Run the Jewels, A$AP Rocky, Raekwon, Michael Kiwanuka, Joey Bada$$, and Conway the Machine. There’s even an appearance from the late Madvillain himself MF Doom, who Danger Mouse collaborated with on his last hip-hop influenced work, 2005’s The Mouse And The Mask. The album’s first single, “No Gold Teeth,” previews a nostalgic, layered, and bluesy sound. The beat is a perfect match for Black Thought’s introspective and lived-in verse, an ode to Philadelphia wrapped up in a testament to the artist’s skill, grind, and vision. “Please, you ain’t fucking with no amateurs homie/Philly ain’t known for cheesesteak sandwiches only,” he scoffs. The proof is in the pudding; no amateur rapper could so skillfully match the syncopation of a stand-up bass. [Hattie Lindert]