My Morning Jacket, Meek Mill, and 26 more albums we can't wait to hear in October

It’s always exciting to hear a new artist that sounds like they’re squarely carrying on the baton for well-established styles of pop, yet somehow making it wholly their own at the same time. In the tradition of Chvches or Sylvan Esso—two groups that know from successfully reinventing the wheel—Magdelena Bay uses the conventions of retro electronic sounds to create their own distinctive spin, be it or . In a year already rich with excellent pop albums, Mercurial World could well join their ranks. [Alex McLevy]

With Songs For You, Ben Barnes isn’t staking out another corner of stardom. The EP from the Westworld and Shadow And Bone actor is heartfelt yet polished, with songs that have, in some cases, been years in the making. The ’70s-inspired single “11:11" was accompanied by a swoony video with Evan Rachel Wood, but there’s the overriding sense that Barnes is just excited to fully indulge in a skill he’s offered only glimpses of in the past. [Danette Chavez]

Okay, so . But you know what hasn’t had an unkind word said about it? The soundtrack, and that’s because John Carpenter—director of —is back to score it. Following four fantastic records of instrumental music with partners Daniel Davies and his son Cody Carpenter, the horror maestro delivers another actual film score, and if history is anything to go on (the Carpenters and Davies created the soundtrack for David Gordon Green’s first Halloween sequel, too), it’ll be killer. [Alex McLevy]

The British band returns with their ninth album, Music Of The Spheres, scheduled for release on October 15. Coldplay has dropped hints about the space-themed album since the launch of 2019’s Everyday Life. The two singles, “Higher Power’’ and “Coloratura,” transport the band into exciting uncharted musical territory. One of the songs, “My Universe,” features a BTS collaboration. [Saloni Gajjar]

Chastity Belt, Childbirth, and Who Is She? leader Julia Shapiro releases her second album under her own name. While her other projects have plenty of punk rippers, Zorked! takes on a far different sound: It’s a shoegaze record. Singles “Come With Me” and “Death (XIII)” are stunning, with Shapiro showing that her music is just as engaging when she’s creating gentle melodies as it is when she’s singing catchy, tongue-in-cheek hooks for her other bands. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

Playful, vibrant, and wickedly talented, singer-rapper Remi Wolf presents herself as an outsider, but creates sounds suitable for any get-down. With echoes of artists like M.I.A., Santigold, and MGMT, the singles from Juno are high energy, and melt like rainbow chalk on a hot sidewalk. Her EP I’m Allergic To Dogs! received the , bringing on electro-pop titans such as Little Dragon, Hot Chip, Panda Bear, Tune-Yards, Beck, Sylvan Esso, and more. Remi Wolf’s been one to watch for a while, and Juno feels like a joyride waiting to happen. [Gabrielle Sanchez]

It’s been a long time since Xenia Rubinos last dazzled us with an album—2016’s Black Terry Cat, to be precise—but the lengthy interim seems like it was put to good use, as the jazz-funk and R&B singer and multi-instrumentalist has crafted a double-edged evolution of her sound. Featuring a first half (the “RED” side) focused on aggressive, uptempo numbers, and a “BLUE” counterpoint that showcases the more downbeat and thoughtful tracks, Una Rosa should serve as a stirring reminder of why Rubinos is one of the more joyfully magnetic singers out there. (If you haven’t seen yet, you should.) [Alex McLevy]

He may have settled more into a signature style on his first “official” album, 2019’s So Much Fun, but a decade into his career, Young Thug is still surprising: Some of the couplets on recent single “Tick Tock” are as unusually delivered as any in his lengthy resume of idiosyncratic flows and inspired reworkings of the English language. At this point, the Lil Wayne disciple has inspired his own coterie of artists influenced by his signature strangeness and eclectic sounds—and Punk could well serve as a reminder of why that is. [Alex McLevy]

Unless your friends are all herky-jerky scarecrows, Clinic might not be the first band that comes to mind when you’re making a playlist for a backyard luau. But the Liverpool foursome is trying something new on its latest release, Fantasy Island, which the band describes as “a tin of fruit cocktail” in musical form. This 12-song set combines breezy melodies (the fruit cocktail) with electronic soundscapes (the tin), for a record that you could see yourself spinning on a tropical holiday—on Mars. [Katie Rife]

CL first debuted back in 2007 with girl group 2NE1—but even though she’s a K-pop OG and has released one-off singles and mini EPs over the years, Alpha will be her first full-length album. Back in August she dropped “Spicy,” a fiery track with catchy, boastful lyrics all about how proud she is to be South Korean (“She got the sauce and it’s spicy / You’re rocking with the most fly Asians”). After a storied history in the industry (which includes the 2NE1 disbandment in 2016 and a U.S. debut that in 2014), it will be interesting to see how CL kicks off this next chapter. [Shanicka Anderson]

The 2021 version of Duran Duran features four out of five of the band’s original members (Andy Taylor, we hardly knew ye), about to unleash their 15th album on the world. While new tracks like “Invisible” aren’t about to make anyone forget about “Rio,” Simon Le Bon’s vocals are as strong as ever—especially on “Anniversary,” a nod to the band’s tenacity. Nick Rhodes continues his inspired experimentation on keyboards as John Taylor’s groovy ’80s-era bass fights for prominence—and wins. [Gwen Ihnat]

With his massive farewell tour, Sir Elton John got right back into the studio, bringing some of his famous friends and favorite up-and-coming artists along with him. A collection of songs produced throughout the pandemic—including a, a contribution to Lil Nas X’s, a, and a better-than-it-has-any-right-to-be nü-disco mashup from PNAU with Dua Lipa—The Lockdown Sessions is an eclectic mix for old and new fans alike that solidifies Elton’s position as the godfather of modern pop. [Cameron Scheetz]

For its last studio album, 2018’s , La Luz played up the heavier, fuzzier side of its “surf noir” sound by pairing with Dan Auerbach of Black Keys fame. This time, however, the LA trio is creating a warmer, more organic mood with the help of producer Adrian Younge. Younge’s soul background makes La Luz just as dreamy as the band’s previous work, but with a sunny, laid-back Laurel Canyon type of vibe. La Luz’s fondness for puppets remains, however, in the charming video for piano-driven single “Watching Cartoons.” [Katie Rife]

Okay, so wasn’t the follow-up to that we might’ve hoped for. That doesn’t mean the forthcoming Blue Banisters can’t still be the to Chemtrails’ : a record that quickly follows the other and, while carving out its own distinct identity, nevertheless succeeds by continuing the path of its predecessor. And early singles are promising, especially the languid and lovely “Arcadia.” [Alex McLevy]

After more than 20 years and eight studio albums, My Morning Jacket finally decided a new release is fitting of the self-titled treatment. The record sounds like it’s very much in keeping with the group’s signature sound—searching, soulful rock leavened with plenty of psychedelic swirls and country-inflected grooves. It’s only been a year since the band released The Waterfall II, but this already comes across like My Morning Jacket rediscovering the beating heart of its music. [Alex McLevy]

Each new Parquet Courts album has a way of playing telephone with its immediate predecessor—what’s passed is transformed from one to the next. The fast-paced freakouts of 2012’s Light Up Gold, e.g., showed up two years later on Sunbathing Animal, albeit often in drawn-out forms. Likewise, the dancey grooves and all-hands-on-deck vocals laced throughout the upcoming Sympathy For Life will be no surprise to anyone who got down to 2018’s Wide Awake! Here the rollicking opener “Walking At A Downtown Pace” is the missing link. [Laura Adamczyk]

Lead single “Easy Bake Easy Wake” is like a warm blanket of pop—featuring terrific lyrics like, “She fucked me like the government,” delivered in a honeyed singsong—from India’s The F16s, a four-piece group that specializes in the easy pleasures of throwback bops. While there’s a step up in the complexity of arrangements from 2019’s WKND FRNDS EP, the new album (bearing the excellent title Is It Time To Eat The Rich Yet?) promises an album’s worth of catchy, soulful grooves, riding on hummable bass lines and lighter-than-air melodies. [Alex McLevy]

To forge a new direction forward, Wet goes back to the beginning on Letter Blue. The dreamy alt-pop outfit has reunited with founding member Marty Sulkow and once again gone DIY, self-releasing their third album with (previously, Wet was signed with Columbia Records). The result is a more experimental approach to their brand of R&B-inflected songs of love and longing, as in the chirps and clicks of the standout single “Clementine,” or the way “” distorts singer Kelly Zutrau’s typically emotive vocals to exhilarating effect. [Cameron Scheetz]

Discussions of The War On Drugs’ brand of stirring, bombastic rock usually revolve around frontman/Svengali Adam Granduciel’s studio wizardry. But in the wake of the band’s Best Rock Album Grammy for 2017’s , Granduciel again embraced the process of collaboration with his bandmates, spending the next three years honing what would become I Don’t Live Here Anymore. The results, as evidenced by early singles like “Living Proof” and the title track, are a testament to the band’s commitment to maintaining its signature quality. [Alex McLevy]