Lorde, Liars, and the other must-hear albums of August 2021

The ennui of early adulthood permeates the five tracks of Jackie Hayes’ latest EP, though her sound is anything but directionless. A rising star of Chicago’s DIY scene, Hayes confidently toes the pop-rock line, pairing earworm melodies with raucous lo-fi production to irresistible effect. There’s a bit of The Strokes in the way her plaintive voice coos alongside the looping guitars of “have fun,” and “omg” recalls genre-bender Santigold as she gets sing-songy over hi-hats and a thudding bass. Few young artists feel as effortlessly assured as this. [Cameron Scheetz]

Meet Me @ The Altar is one of the most exciting contemporary pop-punk acts, certifying its status as a band to look out for with the 2020 viral single, “Garden.” The group—which made history as Fueled By Ramen’s first signee solely made up of women of color—conjures up nostalgia with its early-Paramore-influenced, MySpace-emo sound, but puts its own spin on it. With the backing of a major label and a large newfound fanbase, we’re looking forward to seeing what Meet Me @ The Altar’s new EP, Model Citizen, can deliver. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

It’s unusual for a rock band to slip into a tropicalia groove for the first verse of its lead single, but Pet Symmetry has never exactly had a preference for keeping things generic. Yes, there are shimmering hooks, big emo-fist-in-the-air choruses, and loud-ass drums and guitars guiding it all, but the group—made up of Chicago scene stalwarts from Into It. Over It, Ratboys, and Dowsing—delivers more, with a smile and a theme of overarching commitment to keeping fun alive despite the drudgery of the workaday grind. [Alex McLevy]

You could time travel back to 1994 and slot Wednesday’s recent single, “Handsome Man,” in between any two acts on a given episode of Alternative Nation, and no one would be any wiser. The band perfectly nails that alt-rock sound of fuzzed-out guitars and killer hooks à la Catherine, with elements of shoegaze and Weezer-esque pop. But the band’s knack for taking already-great material and then adding one more layer—another melody, a clever structural shift, a blisteringly unexpected coda—are what make Wednesday superlative. Good luck Googling just the name, though. [Alex McLevy]

With a smoky alto and languid delivery, Bnny’s Jess Viscius uses her cloud-vapor voice to bely the harrowing emotional content of her lyrics. Matching them with her band Bnny’s spare, country-tinged Americana makes for a compelling combination, as the group incorporates late-night haze and True Detective levels of noir cool into its arsenal, as though The Velvet Underground went folk, or a Kelly Reichardt film transformed into a band. Per its title, the new album may not deliver Everything, but what it does provide is more than enough. [Alex McLevy]

When is a metal band no longer a metal band? Blackgaze outfit Deafheaven has been slowly incorporating more shoegaze and pop elements into its music over the past half-decade, moving away from wall-of-sound intensity—and away from singer George Clarke’s signature black-metal howls—to arrive at Infinite Granite, a work that showcases the group’s evolution into something dreamier and more expansive in scope. It will be fascinating to see if the album can deliver on the promise of such a distinctive transformation. [Alex McLevy]

Dublin singer-songwriter Orla Gartland is ready for her close-up. The musician’s forthcoming debut LP has been preceded by some fantastic pop singles, tracks that nail sharp-eyed lyrical insight on the human condition wedded to truly rousing anthems that blend organic instrumentation and entrancing electronic grooves in equal measure. A heady stew of Swift-ian songcraft and Katy Perry-esque rabble-rousing—combined with healthy doses of quirky indie pop—make for a superb end result. Here’s hoping the rest of the record follows apace. [Alex McLevy]

If you have yet to experience the strange, compelling power of Kero Kero Bonito’s version of pop, this new “mini-album” release—which combines the twin EPs, 2019’s Civilisation I and 2021’s Civilisation II—serves as an excellent introduction. Ranging from dark, introspective thrum to the greet-disaster-with-a-smile vibe of this year’s “21/04/20,” the band can make apocalypticism sound downright appealing, even as the tone can sometimes belie the sharp, complicated arrangements and philosophically dark subject matter from singer Sarah Midori Perry. [Alex McLevy]

The first few singles from Lorde’s highly anticipated upcoming third album Solar Power reveal a dreamier, more ethereal songstress than we’re used to: The unstoppable momentum of a song like “Green Light” has been replaced by the low-key squeaky acoustic strings and “prettier Jesus” of the groovy title track, aided by collaborator Jack Antonoff. Lest you fear Lorde is too sunny now, though, she thankfully has also released the moody ballad “Stoned In The Nail Salon,” rightfully putting the spotlight on her better-than-ever vocals and wise-beyond-her-years lyrics: “’Cause all the music you loved at 16 you’ll grow out of / And all the times they will change, it’ll all come around.” [Gwen Ihnat]

Singer-songwriter Angel Olsen ventures into a new arena of musical expression, one that prioritizes spontaneity over emotional catharsis. Inspired by “’80s songs overheard walking the aisles at the grocery store,” her forthcoming cover EP Gloria seeks to evoke synth-heavy, new-wave inspired fun, rather than tears. The five-track EP will include her cover of Laura Branigan’s “Gloria,” as well as “Eyes Without A Face” (Billy Idol), “Safety Dance” (Men Without Hats), “If You Leave” (OMD), and “Forever Young” (Alphaville). It’s exciting to see Angel Olsen let loose from her deeply emotional musical process for a moment. [Gabrielle Sanchez]

This might be Rick Maguire’s most personal album as Pile yet—which is really saying something. The musician used the past year to break down and completely reconfigure 15 songs from throughout the entirety of the band’s existence, from the earliest days of his solo work under the moniker to music pulled out of the recent records by the full-band lineup. If early tracks “I Don’t Want To Do This Anymore” and “Build A Fire” are any indication, the tone will be spare, ethereal, thoughtful, and 100% in the spirit of Maguire’s ongoing commitment to moving forward musically, even when reckoning with the past. [Alex McLevy]

Someone spiked the punch and things are getting weird on “Midnight Wine,” the lead single off of Shannon & The Clams’ latest, Year Of The Spider. This long-running quartet has experimented with numerous variations on garage punk, and Year Of The Spider brings bad vibes in the best way possible, through a psychedelic blues sound that’s served raw by producer Dan Auerbach. Recorded in 2019, the album was shelved throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but emerges into a world that’s still laden with doom. [Katie Rife]

Releasing what many consider to be a classic record as your first full-length can be an albatross around the neck of any band who pulls it off. But with 2018’s , The Joy Formidable seemed like it finally felt comfortable in its own skin again, burning itself clean by delivering an album that incorporated a bevy of new styles and influences into its wall-of-sound rock and roll anthems. A victory-lap tour in late 2019 confirmed the band’s rejuvenated spirit, and Into The Blue looks to usher the group into a new decade with what might be Ritzy Bryan and company’s most joyfully (sorry) distilled essences of ’90s-style alt-rock magic yet put to tape. [Alex McLevy]

What’s that sound rising from the primeval forests of the Pacific Northwest? Is it the low chanting of a pagan cult? A wraith screaming amid the pines? Both, sort of: It’s Washington black metal-ers Wolves In The Throne Room, emerging from the mists with a new record called Primordial Arcana. All things ritualistic and atmospheric once again serve as the inspiration for Wolves’ sixth full-length, which for the first time was recorded, produced, and mixed entirely by members of the group. [Katie Rife]

Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner are revisiting their project Big Red Machine after releasing the self-titled debut album back in 2018, and this time, they’ve invited some notable friends to sing on the upcoming record, including Taylor Swift, Fleet Foxes, Anaïs Mitchell, Sharon Van Etten, and more. The singles off of How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? sound very different from each other, but each is excellent, piquing our interest. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

With addictive synth hooks and Lauren Mayberry’s sweetly soaring vocals, Chvrches’ strength has always been sugar-coated songs that nonetheless pack a bite. And fourth album Screen Violence might be the electro-pop outfit’s feistiest yet, with a palpable passion fueling anti-gaslighting anthem “He Said She Said” and “How Not To Drown,” a collaboration with goth-pop icon Robert Smith. Though produced remotely across different continents, the trio’s clearly on the same wavelength here, rediscovering the energy that made their debut a breakthrough hit. [Cameron Scheetz]

“Kill Me,” Indigo De Souza’s lead single for Any Shape You Take, is . It’s the kind of song that sticks with you long after that first listen and makes you crave more, with the sweetness of De Souza’s voice contrasting the darkness of the lyrics. The second single, “Hold U,” is just as satisfying. With such a promising glimpse at her sophomore record, we can’t wait to hear the rest of what De Souza has to offer. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

If there’s a consistent through line to the musical output of Filipino-born musician Idris Vicuña, a.k.a. Eyedress, it’s a refusal to be consistent. That’s already been proven in the singles leading up to new album Mulholland Drive, which range from lo-fi R&B (“Prada”) to aggressive and distorted post-punk (“Brain Dead”), on through to the unabashed ’70s slow-jam camp of “Something About You,” complete with a whispered “so sexy”—delivered totally straight-faced. With a host of guest artists appearing (including Dent May, King Krule, and more), it’s impossible to say what Mulholland Drive will sound like—and that’s half of the appeal. [Alex McLevy]

You don’t hire Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to produce your new album unless you’re ready to get serious. After a 2020 that saw previous album Manic hit number two on the Billboard charts and go platinum (along with the artist herself making Time’s “100 Most Influential People” list), Halsey is back with a provocatively titled album presumably full of of the eclectic array of pop for which she’s become known. Though, again, with those producers at the helm, it will be interesting to see if she delivers a -style left turn, creatively speaking. [Alex McLevy]

The music on Madi Diaz’s History Of A Feeling has been a long time coming. Culled from dozens of songs written over the course of several years, the songs that make up Diaz’s new album directly confront the morass of emotions drawn from dealing with heartbreak, coinciding with the former partner’s transitioning, leading to a strange admixture of support and loss. This takes form in the earnest yet tumultuous lyrics—which then get paired with compositions of folk, country, indie rock, and more, usually blended together to create something as lush as Kate Bush and as pure as Wild Pink, often in the same space. [Alex McLevy]

The song “Be A Rebel” was New Order’s first new release in five years when it came out in 2020, so it’s not too surprising that the band’s latest release consists of 11 versions and remixes of that same track, now available in one club-ready package. The song itself is an inspiring call to arms (“You’re just different, and that’s okay… Be a rebel, not a devil”) and it’s fun to hear it reinterpreted via a variety of different thematic prisms, from the radio-ready single release, to the dreamy, percussion-led eight-minute “Arthur Baker Remix.” It’s the perfect sonic sendoff to make your end-of-summer party a rousing success. [Gwen Ihnat]