The industry enjoyed a brief pause in its regularly scheduled program in observance of Labor Day. Now, with all those backed-up creative works unleashed, tons more have been added to the calendar. AIM’s first matter of business was to share the remaining 2025 Independent Music Awards nominees and featured performers.
That’s not the only event set to take place in the UK. Brian Eno announced Together For Palestine, a benefit concert for Gaza, which is set to feature performances by Damon Albarn, Jamie xx, King Krule, Leigh-Anne, Obongjayar, Rina Sawayama, Sampha, and more.
Eve is another UK-based entertainer on a mission to preserve her cultural history. Although the “Gangsta Lovin'” rapper is often spotted in looks fresh off the Paris runways, Eve’s fashion roots are in streetwear. So, Eve starring in the Ice Studios x Timberland collaboration campaign touched a soft spot for supporters. Jeezy and Noel Gallagher also unveiled new fashion ventures.
On the other end of business, Bun B launched his podcast network, Merrick Studios, alongside Tom Frank and Jeffrey Sledge. While Omarion teased his new studio album after inking a solo deal with Create Music Group.
Mariah Carey shared the tracklist for her upcoming album, Here For It All. For Destin Conrad, his latest studio release scored the No. 1 spot on Apple Music’s Jazz album chart.
As far as new music is concerned, our top independent release recommendations include Avery Lynch’s Glad We Met EP, Big Thief’s Double Infinity, Brian Dunne’s Clams Casino, David Byrne’s Who Is the Sky?, El Michels Affair’s 24 Hr Sports, Hot Chip’s Joy In Repetition, Ivy’s Traces Of You, James K’s Friend, JayWood’s Leo Negro, La Dispute’s No One Was Driving The Car, Lucrecia Dalt’s A Danger To Ourselves, Pickle Darling’s Bots, Saint Etienne’s International, and Shame’s Cutthroat.
Some of the album synopses featured below were provided by their respective record label.
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Avery Lynch - ‘Glad We Met EP’
The pop music label tends to carry a stereotypical sonic signature. While Avery Lynch’s music is commanding, it does not rely on bold, danceable arrangements. Instead, Lynch’s storytelling does all the heavy lifting, and that remains true on her new EP Glad We Met EP.
“The ‘Glad We Met’ EP is my favorite project I’ve ever made,” says Avery of the project. “Each song follows the beginning of the love story I’ve been living for over five years now. Some songs are about heartbreak and moving on, and others are about falling in love again.
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Records Label
Big Thief – ‘Double Infinity’
The band is back together…well, Big Thief never truly split. Still, the members' brief hiatus to focus on solo ventures left fans of Big Thief eager for a new body of work following their 2022 Grammy-nominated project, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You. Double Infinity was Big Thief’s valiant reply.
Back with previous collaborator Dom Monks, on Double Infinity demonstrates that even in their nearly three-year gap, Big Thief tucked away time to create magic. Third time’s a charm, but a three-year break breeds a communal gumbo of rock goodness.
Source: 4AD
Brian Dunne – ‘Clams Casino’
Written, produced, and largely recorded in Brian Dunne’s Red Hook, Brooklyn home, Clams Casino on first listen appears to be a ten-track display of chronic oversharing.
Everything from tales of Dunne’s travels to milestone emotional moments is churned into musical fodder. But as Dunne declared, “the road less traveled is one we all take,” as for him, it results in romantic tunes for all to enjoy.
Clams Casino is Brian Dunne gleefully skipping down that carefully paved lane, eager to let it all hang out.
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Missing Piece
David Byrne – ‘Who Is the Sky?’
All good things come to an end, including David Byrne’s American Utopia era. What started as a creative dump of groove, chord, and melodies morphed into Byrne’s latest studio album, Who Is the Sky?
In an attempt to answer several lingering questions about life, Byrne found himself working through those heavy concepts in musical form. As an added bonus, Byrne brought Grammy-winning producer Kid Harpoon, New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, St. Vincent, and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner alongside for the ride.
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Matador
El Michels Affair – ‘24 Hr Sports’
As Leon Michels, he helps to produce the sonic visions of other musicians. But under the moniker El Michels Affair, the multi-instrumentalist steers the reins completely. On his latest album 24 Hr Sports, Michels blends together two distinct worlds in another way.
The music industry and world of professional athletics have long since drawn comparisons to one another. Now, thanks to El Michels Affair’s new body of work, this convergence has an energetic soundtrack.
“‘24 Hr Sports’ was inspired by the fashion and graphic design of ‘80s & ‘90s,” says El Michels Affair. “Sports Illustrated magazines, MF DOOM’s Special Herbs albums, the sample sources used on them, and gospel music a la Pastor T.L. Barrett.”
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Big Crown
Hot Chip – ‘Joy In Repetition’
Joy In Repetition is the first-ever anthology of some of the best of Hot Chip. It covers the band’s work, from their landmark EMI/DFA debut, The Warning, and traces their artistic evolution up to the present day.
Across the project, day one fans and new supporters alike can enjoy blasts from Hot Chip’s past with tracks “Ready For The Floor,” “I Feel Better,” and “Flutes,” as well as new songs such as “Devotion.”
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Domino
Ivy – ‘Traces Of You’
If you don’t believe in miracles, Ivy’s reunion just might change your mind. After 14 years, the indie-pop band has reconnected to deliver new works for fans and, in the process, honor their late original member, Adam Schlesinger.
On Traces Of You, Ivy carefully builds upon original sessions with Schlesinger to craft 10 new songs wrapped in their timeless pop magic.
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Bar None
James K – ‘Friend’
Preceded by a catalogue over a decade wide and marbled by collaborations with myriad notables (Yves Tumor, Parris, Drew McDowell, Fergus Jones, Moin +++), James K comes into her own on Friend; her 4th solo album, registering a bind of prevailing ‘90s indie dream-pop and shoegaze wist with crunchier electronica somewhere between the brackets of Laura Groves and Caroline Polachek, Seefeel and Hysterical Love Project.
To stream or order, click here.
Source: AD 93
JayWood – ‘Leo Negro’
JayWood is embracing new pastures, having moved his music-making from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Montreal. So, on his new album Leo Negro chimes with a different tone as it looks to reconnect the self and grapple with one’s identity.
“It’s me at my most honest,” says JayWood. “But to approach the album like this, I needed to write from different versions of myself. I’ve intentionally split the brain through each song, which has made it more cohesive than my scatterbrain music mentality of just writing everything I’m into and expecting it to make sense.”
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Captured Tracks
La Dispute – ‘No One Was Driving The Car’
For six years, La Dispute has not released an album. Today, that has changed thanks to No One Was Driving The Car. Self produced and heavily inspired by the 2017 psychological thriller First Reformed, No One Was Driving The Car grapples with malaise in the shadow of the looming apocalypse, which has noticeably been worsened by the advancement of tech.
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Epitaph
Lucrecia Dalt – ‘A Danger To Ourselves’
Lucrecia Dalt’s A Danger to Ourselves is a fearless reflection on the unfiltered complexities of human connection.
Following up her breakthrough 2022 album ¡Ay!, A Danger to Ourselves unravels like a deeply personal conversation; Dalt’s voice is foregrounded and formidable, supported by a lush array of acoustic orchestration and processing, collaged percussive patterns, and an esteemed cast of collaborators including David Sylvian, who co-produced the album with Dalt, Juana Molina, Alex Lazaro, and Camille Mandoki.
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Rvng Intl.
Pickle Darling – ‘Bots’
Pickle Darling (Lukas Mayo) has always existed just outside of the periphery. Their latest and fourth album, Bots by contrast, is unruly and full of static: a collection of songs that feel like they could only ever exist on scratched CD-Rs passed between friends.
Self-recorded in their home studio in Christchurch, New Zealand, Bots finds Mayo taking a scalpel to their own songwriting. Instead of simply playing guitar, they recorded each note individually, then arranged them one by one. Songs were stretched, chopped, reversed. Some ideas started as "unlistenable garbage" before morphing into something unexpectedly beautiful.
“After ‘Laundromat,’ I was tired of ‘the song,’” says Mayo. “I wanted to avoid capturing a performance as much as possible, everything had to be fragments, and I wanted to show as much of the recording and editing process as possible, leaving all the seams exposed.”
The result is an album that feels like a glitch in the system, pushing against past constraints while embracing the weird, beautiful mess of making something new.
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Father/Daughter
Saint Etienne – ‘International’
Co-produced with Tim Powell, International marks Saint Etienne’s final LP.
Although their days in the studio are coming to an end, the group aren’t splitting up as such. They still remain the best of friends after 35 years recording together. Given this decision to part, on International, Saint Etienne simply feels it is now time to draw a line under new recordings.
For International, the trio decided to ask friends, heroes and contemporaries to collaborate with them ending things with a bang.
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Heavenly Recordings
Shame – ‘Cutthroat’
“‘Cutthroat’ is a joyride,” says Shame about their latest studio album. “It’s for the inexperienced driver. The one who wants to go fast for no reason other than it’s fun. It’s primal. It’s raw. It’s unapologetic. It’s the person who turns up to the party uninvited.”
Recorded alongside Grammy Award-winning producer John Congleton, members Charlie Steen, guitarists Sean Coyle-Smith and Eddie Green, bassist Josh Finerty, and drummer Charlie Forbes, channels their feelings of shame into 12 ambitious sonic ideas and the technical chops to execute them.
The result is an album that revels in the idiosyncrasies of life, raising an eyebrow and asking the ugly questions that so often get tactfully brushed over.
To stream or order, click here.
Source: Dead Oceans