3 new songs and 3 new albums to check out this weekend

Erika de Casier surprise-dropped a whole new album.

By A.V. Club Staff  |  May 9, 2025 | 4:00pm
By Jen Lennon and Drew Gillis. Images from left: Lord Huron (Christian Waite); Nourished By Time, "Max Potential" (Screenshot: YouTube); Erika de Casier (Amy Peskett).
Music Features 3 new songs and 3 new albums
3 new songs and 3 new albums to check out this weekend

Welcome to our weekly music post, where we spotlight our favorite new songs and albums. Hop in the comments and tell us: What new music are you listening to?

Lord Huron, “Looking Back”

After teasing us with mysterious songs for the past few months, Lord Huron has finally announced a new album, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, out July 18. “Looking Back” is the opening track on the upcoming record, and it continues the vaguely ominous vibes of the first two singles, “Who Laughs Last” and “Nothing I Need.” In a press release, frontman Ben Schneider explained the idea behind “Looking Back”: “The weight of your past can distort your present and future, the way massive celestial objects warp the fabric of the universe. Like a bowling ball on a trampoline. This song wonders if it’s possible to let go, or if looking back is a fundamental law of existence.” [Jen Lennon]

Nourished By Time, “Max Potential”

On Nourished By Time’s “Max Potential,” Marcus Brown’s layered vocals mix with mid-tempo guitar to create a dreamlike soundscape. A note on Bandcamp describes NBT’s newly announced sophomore album, The Passionate Ones (out August 22), as “a sermon, a twelve-track catharsis,” which bears out on the first single. Brown’s debut album under his Nourished By Time moniker, Erotic Probiotic 2, landed on our best albums of the year list in 2023. [JL]

 

Moses Sumney & Hayley Williams, “I Like It I Like It”

After taking a break from his music career to show off his acting chops in 2023’s The Idol and 2024’s MaXXXine, Moses Sumney seems to be pivoting back to music again. “I Like It I Like It” is an R&B track with immaculately cool, sexy vibes. The lyric video for the song is just Sumney and Hayley Williams posing together, which somehow works perfectly: They sound great together, and they look great together, too. [JL]

Erika de Casier, Lifetime

On Thursday, Danish singer-songwriter Erika de Casier shared a surprise album, Lifetime. Long fascinated with Y2K R&B by way of Darkchild-type plucked production and smooth Aaliyah-lite vocals, the new project takes de Casier deeper into quiet storm, trip hop territory. We find the songwriter taking on a darker, slower, though no less dramatic palette. “Seasons” seems to take up more space than almost anything de Casier has crafted in the past in a barely two-minute runtime, burying her vocals in atmospheric synths and an almost new jack swing beat. Less chorus-driven than 2024’s Still, Lifetimes is for a later night, and perhaps one best spent at home. This is decidedly mood music, best listened to in one big chunk. [Drew Gillis]

Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke, Tall Tales

Tall Tales might be Thom Yorke’s most ambitious non-Radiohead project to date. Yorke teamed up with electronic musician and producer Mark Pritchard for this album, which is accompanied by a feature film animated by Jonathan Zawada. The film had a one-day-only engagement in select movie theaters yesterday Tall Tales in movie theaters in select cities today, but even if you missed it, there are clips available in the form of music videos for the songs “Gangsters,” “This Song Is Missing Your Voice,” “Back In The Game,” and “The Spirit.” The album stands on its own without the visuals, too: Yorke’s vocals and lyrics pair beautifully with Pritchard’s synths, creating an expansive and lived-in musical space. [JL]

mclusky, the world is still here and so are we

The first three tracks on mclusky’s first new album in 21 years, the world is still here and so are we, are titled “unpopular parts of a pig,” “cops and coppers,” and “way of the exploding dickhead,” which should give you a pretty good idea of what you’re getting into with these guys. The British post-hardcore band was always known for their laugh-out-loud funny lyrics, and they clearly haven’t missed a step in their time off. The deeper you dig (or “the digger you deep” in mclusky parlance), though, the more you’ll find incisive social commentary threaded throughout mclusky’s triumphant return. [JL]

 
Join the discussion...