10 new albums to listen to in March

It’s been too long since we’ve gotten new music from alt-rock legend Bob Mould, and we were starting to get a little restless. Luckily, Mould recently announced that he’ll bless us with a new album this month. Here We Go Crazy is his first record in five years, following 2020’s Blue Hearts. Mould has clarified that he won’t be breaking new musical ground with this album, instead focusing on refining his classic guitar-forward sound, and the titular first single from the album bears that out.

Teaming up with one of the biggest rising stars in the music industry is a good way to get your debut album noticed—not that JENNIE would have had any trouble with that on her own, anyway. She’s been a member of K-pop group BLACKPINK since their debut in 2016 and is now stepping out as a solo artist for the first time. JENNIE tapped some heavy hitters for Ruby, including Dua Lipa and Childish Gambino, but her collaboration with Doechii on “ExtraL” is easily the most exciting pairing.

Foxes In The Snow is country star Jason Isbell’s first solo acoustic record. In keeping with the album’s sound, this is a quieter release for Isbell; we haven’t even seen a music video for either of the album’s two singles yet. It’s an interesting approach that allows the music to speak for itself. Isbell has always been lauded for his thoughtful lyrics, and his songwriting prowess is on full display here.

Despite For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) being their fourth album, Japanese Breakfast is touting the record as their first proper studio release. That’s because their first three albums were recorded in nontraditional spaces, often without producers. This time around, the band entered Sound City Studios with the help of producer Blake Mills and emerged with a collection of songs that meditate on contradictions and desire. It’s a contrast to their previous album, 2021’s Jubilee, which was a more straightforward celebration of joy. The complex themes play out beautifully in the album’s first two singles, “Orlando In Love” and “Mega Circuit.”

Ten albums and 25 years in, My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James is finally learning to let go. Their upcoming album, is, was produced by Brendan O’Brien, who’s also worked with Bruce Springsteen and Pear Jam, and it’s the first time in the band’s history that James hasn’t produced (or at least co-produced) one of their albums. “Up until now I’ve never been able to let go and allow someone else to steer the ship,” James said in a press release. “It almost felt like an out-of-body experience to step back and give control over to someone who’s far more accomplished and made so many more records than us, but in the end I was able to enjoy the process maybe more than I ever have before.” He also explained that curious album title, saying, “I like how the word is indicates a sense of presence in the now – there’s no logic or rationale behind this record; it just is.”

After taking a few years off from her solo work to collaborate with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers in their supergroup boygenius, Lucy Dacus returns with a new solo album this month. The album title, coupled with the Renaissance aesthetic of the cover art and the music video for “Ankles,” point toward a record that explores the concept of timelessness. The lyrics embrace Dacus’ signature yearning wistfulness, with “you are my best guess at the future” from “Best Guess” being one of her career-best romantic lines, which is quite a feat, given her body of work.

After nearly breaking up following their second album, 2019’s Four Of Arrows, the Seattle-based grunge-pop band Great Grandpa took a break for a few years. The time apart gave them some much-needed perspective. Guitarist Dylan Hanwright produced the new album, which came together after the band members reconnected in 2023. “We’re all like individual swinging pendulums and every now and then we come into sync for a few rotations,” Hanwright explained in an album note.

Mike Hadreas, a.k.a. Perfume Genius, embraced collaboration with his new record, Glory. “I’m more engaged with the band and the audience. I’m still on some wild tear, but there’s more access and it’s more collaborative, in a way that makes it better, but also scary—because it feels more vulnerable,” Hadreas said in an album note on Bandcamp. He welcomed suggestions from his backing band—guitarists Meg Duffy and Greg Uhlmann,  bassist Pat Kelly, and drummers Jim Keltner and Tim Carr—and ended up with a collection of songs that he describes as “muscular,” which is a tantalizing prospect for a Perfume Genius album. And that wild tear Hadreas mentioned is extremely evident in the video for “No Front Teeth,” an unhinged collaboration with New Zealand musician Aldous Harding.