10 New Albums We’re Listening To This Month
I think most Australians would agree that October is just a good month.
Winter is over, festivals are starting back up, the jacarandas are coming into bloom and cicadas are slowly but surely becoming life’s backing track again. As it happens, it’s also a really good month for album releases. So if your shitty ex was born in this month or you have some other entirely justified reason to not feel all that fondly about it, at least there is some really good new music to be happy about. Plus it’s also just in time for that set you’ve been asked to play at your mate’s Halloween party. You’re welcome.
Nature’s Pill, Wishy
Out October 2 via Winspear
Sophomore albums notoriously carry more weight than a debut, especially when following up on one so beloved. With a slightly more cohesive sound, additional jangly pop choruses, and even more yearning, I think it’s safe to say that Wishy have exceeded. Proving once again that this Indianapolis band stands out in a world oversaturated with indie bands trying to write the ultimate love song.
Doing Good, Stimpies
Out October 9 via Sound Merch
Frankston has a proud tradition of bands that refuse to behave, and with their second album Doing Good just out, Stimpies are keeping it up. These guys play so fast and gleefully unruly that the only well-behaved thing about them is the title of their record.
- Campbell Milligan.
No Bad Memories, The Avalanches
Out October 16 via Modular
No Bad Memories explores an era defined by the transition from physical records to the dawn of the digital age. Delving into overlooked sounds and everyday acoustic fragments, the album reimagines forgotten jingles, start-up tones, obsolete hardware, and audio logos as the building blocks for a fresh yet intensely nostalgic Avalanches universe.
- Jamie Brewer.
the greatest album of all time, Sophia Stel
October 16 via A24 Music.
Naming your debut album 'the greatest album of all time' may seem slightly obnoxious, but if you know anything about Sophia Stel, it’s nothing of the sort. After spending years searching for the confidence to release her own music, this confessional electropop album is clearly for herself as much as it is for anyone else, and oh boy, is it good.
Love Is A Dog, Margo Mann
October 16 via [PIAS] Australia
A debut album I quite frankly will not shut the fuck up about. Written as a personal exploration of love in all its forms, Margo Mann describes this body of work as her secondary coming-of-age. Existing somewhere in the realm of cinematic chamber pop, she balances theatrical grandiosity with a blunt emotional honesty that keeps you hooked from start to finish.
Autosmile, @
October 16 via 4AD.
A record that sort of feels like sitting around a campfire listening to your friends try to tell stories while on mushrooms, it’s beautiful, yet ever so slightly nonsensical. Thoughtful vocal pairings and intricate acoustic tracking build a lush atmosphere you don’t ever really want to leave. "Autosmile" could be one of my favourite songs of the year because goddamn, Victoria Rose’s voice is like a sweet, sweet lullaby.
No Key Sharp Enough, Kate Moth
October 16 via Scenic Drive Records
Not technically an album, but a debut EP that I have been waiting for since I first stumbled across their live show. Kate Moth, like Kate Moss but with a lisp, is a band that I would be willing to bet money on. Post-punk meets indie-rock meets a good hook and just a fucking incredible live show. I love this band.
Dopamine Chamber, Fontaines
October 16 via XL RECORDINGS / Remote Control Records
I heard someone say that no band has moved so seamlessly through genres since Radiohead, and I might even agree. For their fifth LP, Fontaines slipped deeper into electronica while existentially questioning the technology that made the genre possible in the first place. Ditching their usual heavy presence of guitars for colder synthesisers and bleak, dismembered autotune, the lyrical invitation to join them on this dark expedition may just be the smartest use of irony I’ve seen in a while.
Jazz Dreams, Fine
October 23 via Escho.
This whole album feels like one big ol’ deep breath on the nervous system. If that’s not enough to convince you then I don’t know what is.
ZIRP!, DIIV
October 30 via Fantasy Recording
Zero Interest Rates Policy!
Produced by A. G. Cook.
Lay that anticapitalist-pop wisdom on me boys.