October is often a very busy month for releases, and this year seems to be no exception. Today marks the second release day of the month, and there are lots of goodies out there for your ears.

We highlighted just a handful below, so go check these out!

Breakup Shoes – Standing Still [Self-Released]

In the mid-2000s, there was a bit of an indie-dance revival. It wasn’t like its predecessor, which leaned heavier on rock acts like LCD Soundsystem. No, this time around it was smoother, more experimental, and just all-around vibey. Think Tanlines, Bear Mountain, even Panda Bear’s Person Pitch had shades of it. Hard to say if bands stopped making this kind of sound or if it just slipped out of focus in our content-burning society, but now we’ve got Breakup Shoes. The Phoenix indie outfit are back with their latest album Standing Still, which captures all the flavor of that era’s easy-grooving, shimmering sound. The record was produced by fellow indie-head Charlie Brand of Miniature Tigers, and if you’re a fan of his work, you’ll hear his fingerprints all over the lyricism and storytelling. For those craving that crisp, boppy, pitter-patter indie groove from a simpler time, Standing Still feels like coming home. – Ricky Adams

Eydís Evensen – Oceanic Mirror [XXIM/Sony]

It’s not a coincidence that Icelandic pianist and post-classical composer Eydís Evensen has chosen World Mental Health Day for the release of her third album, Oceanic Mirror. Partly inspired by her spiritual practice of transcendental meditation, the record is described in the press materials as “an intimate reflection about the waves of life,” and is as much about healing as it is about living through turbulent times. Adding depth to the music is Evensen’s use of rippling electronic textures that gently push her piano work into less familiar territory. With Oceanic Mirror, she says she is inviting listeners to “go on a self-reflective journey throughout the album,” no matter where they are at this moment in their lives. “Becoming the water is a state of flowing, a part of progressing and becoming better versions of ourselves,” she adds. “And water always finds a way to move forward.” Collaborators on the record include Janus Rasmussen of Kiasmos, Ásgeir, Norwegian choir Schola Cantorum, and trumpeter Ari Bragi who co-produced and plays on two tracks (“Eternal” and “Vault”), and can also be heard on “Dimmuborgir”. – Alan Pedder

Jerskin Fendrix – Once Upon A Time...In Shropshire [untitled (records)]

Five years after his studio debut with the experimental electronic record Winterreise, Jerskin Fendrix strips back his sound almost completely with Once Upon A Time...In Shropshire. Written both as an homage to his English hometown and a study on grief, the album features mostly long, dramatic piano- and violin-led tracks that lighten the otherwise heavy lyrics about grief, loss of innocence, fear, and healing. I wouldn't call this harsh pivot towards folk "new territory" for this artist; in fact, his other gig as the Oscar-nominated film composer for Yorgos Lanthimos has become a prominent part of Shropshire's DNA, as the plucky introductory song "Beth's Farm" boasts a music video collaboration with the director, and "King Lear" gets a revamping after first appearing on the Kinds of Kindness soundtrack in 2024. Plus, there are plenty of moments in the record that highlight Fendrix's penchant for weirdness. Without spoiling much — aside from flagging the wonderfully obnoxious "Jerskin Fendrix Freestyle"— I'll say that the electronic flourishes come back in unexpected moments, and everything he does with his vocals from the low moans to the piercing falsettos is something you probably won't hear anywhere else. Shropshire is theatrical, gutting, funny, strange, heartwarming, and beautiful — an apt summary of life itself. –Victoria Borlando

Gonemage – Coldest Keep in Bitter Heavens [Fiadh Productions]

Imagine a pixelated dream realm where disgraced wizards cast spells of telepathic visions across varying dimensions to lure beings for arcane experiments. That's exactly where Galimgim — aka Texas musician Garry Brents of Cara Neir, Sallow Moth, etc. — takes us on Gonemage's whopping seventh album Coldest Keep in Bitter Heavens, out now on Fiadh Productions. Frigid, spellbinding, black metal meets 16-bit chiptune and dungeon synth in a 37-minute runtime of complete awesomeness. Influences listed on the project's Bandcamp page include Emperor, Dødheimsgard, Covenant, and Abigor's Fractal Possession, among others. Coldest Keep In Bitter Heavens serves as a companion album for Sallow Moth’s Mossbane Lantern album that dropped earlier this year. Turn on your favorite RPG, and you’ll have the perfect soundtrack. — Nic Huber

Madi Diaz – Fatal Optimist [ANTI-]

Having made an impact with 2021’s painterly History of a Feeling, Madi Diaz continues her imperial phase with her seventh album Fatal Optimist, which she says can be viewed as the final part of the “heartache trilogy” that includes last year’s double Grammy-nominated Weird Faith. Written in a drastic isolation and almost purely acoustic guitar based, Diaz’s seventh album is her starkest offering yet. Only the title track, which rounds out the album, brings back the full band sound of Weird Faith, signaling the breaking of a spell. “Making the record felt like walking through fire alone,” she explains. “The reward was getting my friends back and the color back into my world and getting to have this communal sound.” – Alan Pedder

Nightbus – Passenger [Melodic]

The Manchester-based duo Nightbus is new-ish to the electronic scene, yet their debut album Passenger already establishes them as sleek, cool, and promising. Alongside dreamy guitars and shimmering beats, the lyrics fade into the air, the lyrics fantasize about another life, one that exists in the air just out of reach. The music — a fun cross between The xx, Massive Attack, and Beach House, without learning too much into either — is melancholic yet light, putting snappy yet subdued beats with a somber, goth guitar. "Ascension" warbles to a NYC-style dance beat as vocalist Olive Rees hums through the rapture before breaking into a contained yell. Likewise, "Angles Mortz" aptly captures the tone of modern youth: a bit bored with the stillness of day time, hypnotized by the glitter of the city at night, and guided by a sick guitar riff. – Victoria Borlando

PinkPanthress – Fancy Some More? [Warner]

Fancy Some More? sees British producer/pop girl PinkPanthress unveil two remixes for each song on Fancy That, her mixtape from earlier this year. Disc One adds features from the likes of Oklou, Bladee, and Ravyn Lenae to each Fancy That track, with Disc Two being a showcase of proper DJ remixes from producers like Kaytranada, Sega Bodega, and Nia Archives. – Leah Weinstein

Sanguisugabogg – Hideous Aftermath [Century Media]

Ohio death metal iconoclasts Sanguisugabogg bring an endless supply of guttural barbarity on their third full-length album, Hideous Aftermath, out now via Century Media Records. Produced by Kurt Ballou, the guest-heavy effort features vocal contributions from Dylan Walker (Full of Hell), Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation), Damonteal Harris (PeelingFlesh), Josh Welshman (Defeated Sanity), and Todd Jones (Nails). "It's definitely our most death metal record, our most personal record, our most focused and brutal record to date," says vocalist Devin Swank. On Hideous Aftermath, the Bogg Boys are no longer just caveman riffs as they ascend to the gory upper echelons of American death metal. And we are here for it. – Nic Huber

Wax Jaw – It Takes Guts [Born Losers]

Wax Jaw are an explosive new punk outfit out of Philly, and their debut It Takes Guts! lives up to the name. The songs are fast, catchy, and dripping with snark; music made for dancing while flipping the bird and shouting “fuck off” with a grin. Lyrically, they hit hard too, tackling addiction, queer sexual freedom, eating disorders, and self-worth. If we once had indie sleaze, this might just be the dawn of punk-rock sleaze. There’s that same sweaty, reckless spirit, like the kind you’d find in some grimy NYC basement show circa early 2000s, but spun through a new generation's lens with more bite. The video for "Looking Back" even features guitar played alongside a urinal (a cheeky Meet Me in the Bathroom nod, perhaps?). Fans of Amyl & The Sniffers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and even The B-52s will find plenty to love here. It Takes Guts! is loud, raw, and completely unapologetic...exactly what punk should be.