10 new albums to listen to in July

It’s been 16 years since Clipse’s last album, 2009’s Til The Casket Drops. In the interim, the hip-hop duo, which consists of brothers Pusha T and Malice, pursued separate solo careers before reuniting on Ye’s “Use This Gospel” in 2019. After a few more features and one-off songs, Clipse announced their comeback album, Let God Sort Em Out. It’s executive produced by longtime collaborator Pharrell and features guest vocals from Tyler, the Creator, Kendrick Lamar, John Legend, Nas, and more.

Gina Birch, founding member of influential British post-punk band The Raincoats, returns this month with her second solo album, Trouble. “I unofficially subtitled the album ‘Trouble I’ve Caused and Trouble I’m In’, so the songs are based around that feeling—that dangerous place to be,” Birch said in a press release. The lead single, “Causing Trouble Again,” is a shout-along feminist anthem for the ages, made even more powerful by Birch’s lived experience as a trailblazing woman in the male-dominated rock world.

Wet Leg, the Isle Of Wight indie band founded by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, is officially a five-piece on their sophomore album, moisturizer, welcoming touring members Josh Mobaraki, Ellis Durand, and Henry Holmes into the fold. The band has been on a hot streak with a series of well-received singles (“catch these fists,” “CPR,” and “davina mccall”) and high-profile performances (their Glastonbury set was a highlight of the festival, and they played “catch these fists” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in April). With its addictive sound and impeccable vibes, moisturizer is well on the way to becoming one of the definitive albums of summer 2025.

It’s been a few years since singer-songwriter Alex G’s last album (2022’s acclaimed God Save The Animals), likely because he was busy scoring We’re All Going To The World’s Fair and I Saw The TV Glow. His upcoming tenth album, Headlights, is also his major-label debut, after he left longtime record label Domino for RCA. The first two singles, “Afterlife” and “June Guitar,” expand on God Save The Animals‘ Americana-influenced sound, which is a good mode for Alex G.

British singer-songwriter Jade Bird’s third album, Who Wants To Talk About Love?, is a breakup record. “I wrote this album while trying to make sense of the broken relationships in my family—my parents, both sets of grandparents—and the way they echoed into my own life when my engagement ended. It’s as much a question as an answer, wondering if I could break the cycle while finding my own path to forgiveness—not just from my dad, but for myself,” Bird said in a press release. Bird’s folk-Americana style shines on the bittersweet singles “Who Wants” and “Dreams.”

Laura Jane Grace has spun up a few different bands since her time in Against Me!—first was the Devouring Mothers, then the Mississippi Medicals, and now we’ve got the Trauma Tropes. This particular collection of musicians, which includes her wife and co-vocalist Paris Campbell Grace, bassist Jacopo Fokas, and drummer Orestis Lagadinos, formed in Greece while Grace was there on a songwriting fellowship. Now, they’re back stateside and causing gleeful chaos with their new music; when Grace performed the single “Your God (God’s Dick)” at a Bernie Sanders rally, she ignited a firestorm of furious conservative media coverage, which she responded to with her trademark humor. “They say I’m a demon. Is this true? Is it a chromosome thing?” she posted on Bluesky.

In 2024, Hurricane Helene severely damaged singer-songwriter Indigo De Souza’s Asheville, North Carolina, home, and it put her in a difficult spot. “I feel constantly on the precipice, of something horrible, or something beautiful—something that will change my life for better or for worse.” De Souza said in a press release about her new album, Precipice. It’s more pop-leaning than anything she’s done before, rife with infectious melodies. “I wanted to make music that could fill your heart with euphoria while you dance along,” De Souza explained.

For his upcoming EP, Classic Love, Kurt Vile teamed up with Nashville songwriter Luke Roberts. The titular song, which also serves as the lead single, was written by Roberts, and when Vile first heard it, he knew it needed a wider audience. “When I heard Luke and Kyle [Spence]’s recording of this (they even got Kyle’s old Harvey Milk bandmate, Creston Spiers, to play some on it) it just floored me: like, this could be old or new, just a timeless track… I figured the best way I could help it reach the masses was to just get myself up in that track as well and move ‘er through the KV / Verve machine. I believe in Luke so much, and, yeah, this song in general has been my and Kyle’s religion for some time. Luke is just a great songwriter, man,” Vile said in a press release. The EP also includes a new song written by Vile, a new version of “Slow Talkers” from Vile’s 2008 debut album Constant Hitmaker, and a cover of Beach House’s “Wildflower.”