Spring has sprung, footy finals have wrecked our nerves, and Christmas decorations are already creeping in: must be September.
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decorations → spring → nerves
Here are 10 great albums released this month.
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albums → release → ?
Julia Jacklin — The Gem
Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
Julia Jacklin etches herself deeper into the Australian songwriter wall of honour with her fourth album, The Gem.
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Jacklin → etch → album
Recorded in a studio above its small Collingwood pub namesake, Jacklin broke her habit of turning albums around in a fortnight, spending 11 months on this one.
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Jacklin → record → one
The desire to be loved but also free permeates as Jacklin perfects her sound while experimenting with looped vocals and percussion.
It's stripped back to allow every instrument to shine under Melbourne's springtime sun, a time when the sweetness and warmth of nature embrace us as we emerge from hibernation, searching for our own slice of fresh-aired freedom.
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we → love → freedom
For fans of: Angel Olson, Sharon Van Etten, Aldous Harding
- Courtney Fry
Beck — Ride Lonesome
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Beck's 15th album sounds nothing like its stylish synth-pop predecessor, Hyperspace.
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album → sound → predecessor
No surprise; his discography is defined by restless creativity.
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discography → define → creativity
What is unusual about Ride Lonesome is that he saddles up and returns to familiar territory.
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he → saddle → territory
Made with the same collaborators as those records, these unhurried tunes reckon with loss and failure in sublime melodies and production, orbiting wounded vocals, twangy guitars and plaintive, reverb-drenched orchestral arrangements.
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tunes → make → vocals
Melancholy is one of the many suits hanging in the shapeshifter's musical closet.
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Melancholy → hang → closet
He just hasn't worn it in some time.
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He → wear → time
It still fits, splendidly.
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It → fit → ?
Bea Laus wasn't alive for much of it, but she channels its sound and spirit with heart and precision on Pylon.
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she → channel → Pylon
She sounds at home in noisier sonic terrain.
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She → sound → terrain
It makes sense for a song like Sun Has Set: its guitar squalls and booming drums are a better fit for this jilted anthem than the sleeker pop of her recent records.
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squalls → make → records
Pylon won't surprise fans, who already knew Bea could shapeshift.
uncertain
Bea → surprise → fans
But Pylon should get her excellent songs to a whole new audience.
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Pylon → get → audience
For fans of: Phoebe Bridgers, Hayley Williams, Olivia Rodrigo
- Dan Condon
Orville Peck — Mule
Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
Orville Peck's fourth equine-focused album is Mule, his most overtly personal project so far.
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album → focus → Music
Across 13 career-defining tracks, the masked musician paints the picture of the last three years of his life: a major break-up, a suicide attempt, identity crises, rehab visits and his ride to sobriety.
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musician → define → sobriety
It's heavy material, delivered with the colourful camp that we've come to adore from Orville Peck.
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we → deliver → Peck
From staying out all night, kissing NFL players, and starting bar fights to the unflinching lights and rigid routines of rehab, the album views life through the eyes of a man who sees himself as a mule; overworked, unloved and unsure of himself.
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who → stay → himself
For fans of: Trixie Mattel, Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds, Charley Crockett
- Courtney Fry
Tinashe — Popstar
Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
Following a career lull, then a run of viral independent singles, Tinashe has, through pure will and grit, firmly placed herself back in the conversation around pop's "It Girls".
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Tinashe → follow → Girls
Now comes Popstar, her first major label release in eight years.
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Popstar → come → years
From the 808-heavy R&B of Crashout to the Detroit techno-inspired Melatonin and early-2000s throwback Pillow Fight, it's a disparate yet addictive release from the 2 On hitmaker.
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it → inspire → hitmaker
Popstar moves freely between styles while maintaining cohesion.
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Popstar → move → cohesion
It shines most when showcasing Tinashe's versatility, proving she's more creatively assured than ever.
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she → shin → versatility
For fans of: FKA Twigs, Kaytranada, Charli XCX
- James Brennan
Ezra Collective — Here Because of Hope
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
The first jazz act to sell out Wembley Arena, this Mercury Prize-winning London quintet capitalises on their popularity with their conceptual fourth album.
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quintet → sell → album
Split into three movements outlining the migration of Black music across continents and eras, Here Because of Hope journeys from West Africa and the Caribbean to the UK streets, taking in Afrobeat, reggae, salsa, and more in a procession of contagious grooves.
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Here → Split → grooves
It's a wide-ranging showcase for Ezra Collective's unbeatable synergy that hits less like a clinical music history lesson and more like a lovingly crafted celebration of culture.
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that → range → culture
A cosmopolitan block party where everyone's invited.
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everyone → invite → ?
In a world awash with twangy storytellers, Nate Amos's point of view sets him apart.
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point → set → him
On The Singer In My Band, he frames characters — karaoke king Billy, the sagely Sarah, the frustratingly stubborn Joey — so vividly they stop feeling fictional.
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they → frame → characters
His usual shades of American twang and British folk are here, but the synth-pop of 2024's breakout Box for Buddy, Box for Star is excised.
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breakout → excise → Star
Charming as that somewhat jumbled album was, the clarity of The Singer In My Band makes it the more compelling proposition, and his finest work yet.
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it → make → Band
For fans of: MJ Lenderman, Wilco, Richard Thompson
- Dan Condon
C.O.F.F.I.N. — Out In Oslo
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Charging out of the gate with the title track's burly riffs, pub-punks C.O.F.F.I.N. nail the balance between accessible ferocity and explosive racket on their sixth album.
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C.O.F.F.I.N. → charge → album
Commanding drummer-singer Ben Portnoy sounds like he's gargling razors while Abijah Rado's explosive solos are a consistent treat.
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solos → command → razors
They've spent almost 20 years together refining their tinnie-crushing sound, as recent doco 10,000 Miles From Oslo chronicles.
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doco → spend → Oslo
But enlisting members of Frenzal Rhomb and Amyl & The Sniffers to produce should tell you how revered C.O.F.F.I.N. has become.
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C.O.F.F.I.N. → enlist → you
Don't worry, this will wake you up and then some.
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this → worry → you
He's swapped hip-hop production for heavy, nu-metal-inspired guitars and harsh vocals on a jam-packed record produced with Nick DiDia (Rage Against The Machine, Bruce Springsteen).
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He → swap → Machine
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia