Welcome to another installment of Today's Release Highlights, where the TND writers room gathers up some brand new projects they want to draw your eyes and ears to.

This week, we have 13 new releases we'd like to key you into as you head into the weekend. Check them all out below.

Ba bam!

2nd Grade - Girls & Boys [Lame-O]

Love when a band springs for an unclaimed title no one else seems interested in fighting for. L.O.T.I.O.N. Multinational Corporation carrying the torch for the best DIY industrial of the Wax Trax! era for instance. Peter Gill of droning twangers Friendship couldn’t be neater or more formalist about his 2nd Grade, project and crowns himself King of Power-Pop (the square kind, not modern adapters like Weezer) by taking Big Star’s classic “September Gurls” and so many other genre cliches to the logical endpoint with “Cellophane Girls,” “Said and Done Boys,” “White Album Girls,” and so forth on 17 more titles that show up gender constructs for the nonsensical silliness they are in under 40 rapid-fire minutes.

And just when you’re getting the hang of all the tunes-in-a-blender, lyrics that are a masterclass in both syllabic origami and just plain cleverness assert themselves thusly: “It was Negroni Week / and World War IV was in full flower,” “I follow your circular logic wherever it goes,” “the truth can’t be told / With just three little chords.” Etc. etc. etc. So if Gill’s “fielding dirty looks / for stealing a couple hooks” – hate the game, not the player? — Daniel Aaron

All Human - Horror Porn, and the Eviscerating Climax [Self-Released]

After a decade away, Adam Rupert Fisher has returned with a new All Human record. Horror Porn, and the Eviscerating Climax marks the first album from Fisher’s project in ten years, following 2016’s Teenagers. The solo project of the former Fear Before the March of Flames vocalist, All Human also features support from brothers Brian and John Ferrara of Trophy Scars and Max Winnie of The Maykit. While the title might suggest something pulled from the bargain bin of a seedy adult shop, the album takes a more personal approach.

Fisher explores childhood trauma, self-destruction, and the uncomfortable process of coming to terms with the person you’ve become. It’s less about things jumping out of the closet and more about the monsters we carry around with us. Sonically, the record brings together elements of Fisher’s musical history, blending experimental post-hardcore, progressive tendencies, ominous electronics, and atmospheric textures. The album also features Tommy Giles Rogers of Between the Buried and Me on “Reasons to Leave (Disembowel Me Already).” Fans of Fear Before will find plenty to latch onto, though this is very much its own beast. What better time to release a record about personal demons than the day before Halloween? – Ricky Adams

BigXthaPlug - Better Over Time [UnitedMasters]

BigXthaPlug boasts on the Ava Max-featuring single “Burn”: “Who from my state, front page Rolling Stone, and proudly rep their city?” The 28-year-old rapper’s fourth studio album, Better Over Time, taps the same emotional well as his previous projects, nurturing the seeds of his success and what he’s had to go through to get here.

After conquering both the rap and country charts with I Hope You're Happy, Better Over Time is 18 tracks of straight rap from the soul. He returns to hip-hop like he never left it, sharing the spotlight with the new generation of stars like Lil Yachty (“BELIEVE”), Loe Shimmy (“I LIKE IT”), GloRilla (“FAF”), and Fridayy (“HEAL ME”). BigX’s family is important to him. His mom opens the album with some words of wisdom, proud of her son’s accomplishments. Whether he’s locking in with his cousin Ro$ama on “DA FUCC” or shouting out his partners like Twade on “FREE MY MEMBERS,” success means providing for his family and letting them know they’re taken care of for life. Better Over Time packs classic samples, southern trap drums, and storytelling about the pressure, sacrifice, and unexpected consequences of being at the top. After going through his worst days, BigX is finally enjoying the fruits of his labor. — Eric Diep

Daisy Grenade - So Much to Say [DCD2]

NYC's Daisy Grenade proves they truly do have So Much 2 Say with a completely reimagined version of their May 2026 EP, So Much to Say. This second edition takes each of the five songs and adds a new but familiar voice for extra depth. Their friendship-breakup anthem "Emily" has new layers with Cassadee Pope's voice resonating throughout. Fans may feel they have heard So Much 2 Say before, but they have only scratched the surface until now.

The re-released EP gives the girls a chance to cover the full range of emotion and human experiences they envisioned with the EP's first drop. The duo has been under Pete Wentz's boutique label DCD2 since June 2023, and his mentorship has proven useful to them — and not just because of his vast network. Daisy Grenade is significantly more confident now than on their debut release, Cult Classic. Though fans are still impatiently waiting for a full-length LP, they can at least marvel at the masterfully crafted collaborative efforts in So Much 2 Say. — Kayla Moreno

DIIV - Zirp! [Fantasy]

It's not dismissive to say DIIV and their cousins Beach Fossils were always pretty good at what they did navigating the jangle/dream-pop zone as the guitar arm of the chillwave era. Or that the fact we’re still talking about them is allowed to be a surprise, as was making their best album yet with 2024’s Frog in Boiling Water, which met the shoegaze moment with a sculpted and ear-catching array of sonics and rock dynamics as reluctant elder statesmen. Now that shoegaze is part of the pop firmament, who says they can’t trade fours with Charli XCX, whom visionary producer A.G. Cook dressed up in processed guitar chunks and David Cronenberg meditating on mortality, while Zachary Cole Smith and his cohort make a pop album whose title (Zero Interest-Rate Policy, as well as their synthy new sound effects), costuming (those National-inspired middle management suits), and amazing album cover are all about money. So are the hooks, something that surprisingly few My Bloody Valentine derivatives remember to bring. And suddenly Frog in Boiling Water is no longer their best album yet. — Daniel Aaron

Dominic Fike- How to Quit Smoking [Columbia Records]

Do you want to quit smoking? Ask Dominic Fike, as his 3rd studio LP How to Quit Smoking explores maturity. Fike is great at reminiscing on his past. This is exemplified on "WHITE KEYS" where Fike dives into his teen years in Florida and how a promising relationship fizzled out. "PANGEA" has Fike discussing his relationship with alcohol and sobriety. He also mentions how he loves somebody so much, he'll tolerate a dingy apartment, which is sort of oddly romantic? The real highlight of How to Quit Smoking is on the very last track "SPOTLIGHT/INNER CHILD." Fike has a phone call with incarcerated rapper Tay-K about connecting with the inner child, bringing the themes of the record full circle. – Ian Ward

ionnalee – ionnalee's Mouth of a River, pt. 3 [to whom it may concern]

Here we have the third and final part of ionnalee’s Mouth of a River, an album project originally sidelined by the Swedish art-pop artist’s early 2010s success alongside producer Claes Björklund under the banner of iamamiwhoami. Slowly retooled and added to over the past 15 years, in between her own ionnalee albums and 2022’s imamaiwhoami return Be Here Soon, Mouth of a River grew quite organically into a trilogy of ten-track albums. There’s so much lore behind its genesis, but, equally, ionnalee has seemed quite content in letting the Mouth speak for itself. Having written, produced, and mixed everything herself, she’s made her statement, and the rest is up to us. 

Pt. 3 leads with the soaring “word of mouth,” a brand new track written this past summer “as kind of an anthem” for the whole endeavor, but longtime followers will no doubt be tickled to hear long-awaited tracks like “white palms” and the original MOAR version of “open sea,” which, like several other songs here, first appeared officially on 2019’s REMEMBER THE FUTURE. The original version of “kites,” which became “chasing kites” from 2014’s BLUE (the iamamiwhoami project that shelved Mouth of a River in the first place), is another one that fans will no doubt pore over. The shadowy drama of the instrumental “16s167e” keeps the intrigue going, while the significance of the El Perro Del Mar-like finale “heart of gold” can’t be overstated, even if its meaning is kept just out of reach. – Alan Pedder

Kali Malone – Burning Song [Ideologic Organ]

Since breaking into wider circles of acclaim with her third album, 2019’s The Sacrificial Code, Stockholm-based musician/composer Kali Malone has maintained her status as one of the experimental music world’s most fascinating figures. New album Burning Song – recorded in the German church where Johann Sebastian Bach is buried – is a relatively accessible entry in her series of serious organ works, though it still requires some patience to fully absorb.

Working once again with her husband Stephen O’Malley, of Sunn O))) fame, and cellist Lucy Railton, with bowed guitar and strings adding their own intriguing layers to the reverential atmosphere, Malone's motivation this time around, at least in part, was to express the physicality of what it takes to be in command of an organ, working with different tunings and temperaments of frequency to make her point. There’s a monumental quality to it (how could there not be?), but it often comes across as deathly intimate too, with movements cloaked in heavy fog and sustain. Nothing happens in a hurry, nor without effort, and a listener would be wise to take the same approach. – Alan Pedder

K-OS – BLackneck [Spiritual Tech Records via The Orchard]

“I never thought Drizzy would pay for my album!” K-OS proudly exclaims on the opening track, and that line sums up the feel-good story behind BLackneck, the Canadian hip-hop legend’s first album in over a decade. The seven-track LP was financed and executive produced by Drake, who grew up idolizing K-OS and his seamless blend of singing and rapping, a hybrid that helped lay the groundwork for Drake’s own breakout.

According to K-OS, Drake had one simple request: “Please make me a K-OS record, please, please, please.” He delivered. Nearly 25 years after releasing his debut album, Exit, K-OS’s voice still sounds just as heavenly, and his pen game feels as polished as ever. As one of the artists my dad put me onto as a kid, K-OS helped turn me into the hip-hop head that I am today, and he proves that he hasn't lost a step all these years later. If this ends up being the 54-year-old’s final project, it’s a fitting capstone to nearly three decades of wonderful music. – Isaiah Gessner

nomi. – this wolf may cry [Earth Angel Records]

Rising North Carolina singer-songwriter nomi. delivers a gorgeous debut with her highly anticipated album, this wolf may cry. The record follows her April EP, sweet talk, and its title track, her biggest song to date, finds a home here as well. Across the album, her syrupy vocal performances make you want to stroll through a park with the sun beaming on your face. That warmth is what makes her so compelling: even when the songwriting turns bittersweet, her bright, upbeat sound holds everything together. Standout track “r u?” captures the struggle of wanting to let someone go while part of you still clings on. Her COLORS performance of the song is a stunner, and it’s easy to imagine her landing a Tiny Desk Concert once she has a few more releases to her name. With one of the best R&B records of the year under her belt, nomi. is an emerging star worth keeping an eye on. – Isaiah Gessner

Queens of the Stone Age – Perfecth [Matador]

Oh, great. Just Perfecth, isn't it? The Josh Homme-helmed rock band Queens of the Stone Age has a new record that's something of a grab bag, offered after a trilogy that took a decade to materialize: 2013's emotional lodestone …Like Clockwork, 2017's get-up-and-dance Villains, and 2023's In Times New Roman…, which threw out an occasional riff reminiscent of classic Queens.

What's next? Perfecthion, it turns out. Songs range from the ridiculous ("Where the Goth Girls At?" ...are we serious?) to the laidback ("Insignificant Other"). There's even a track reworked from the Iggy Pop album Homme produced ("Sunday") and a lead single that sounds like it belongs on the playlist of a matcha establishment ("Easy Street"). QOTSA's shortest record to date, Perfecth may not be their most thought-out, premeditated, or essential, but it's a decent addition to quite a stacked discography. Don't miss Dave Grohl drumming on the closing number. – Tyler Roland

Sam Burton – Fairweather Friend [Captured Tracks]

Los Angeles singer-songwriter Sam Burton has released his third solo album, Fairweather Friend, via Captured Tracks. The 11-track folk record grew out of a bad car accident on tour with his previous band and the healing that followed. Burton, who records everything live, cut part of the album with producer Jonathan Wilson, and the rest with his band at drummer Pierce Gibson’s Echo Park studio, with no producer involved. Start with focus track “After Days Slip Away,” then work your way through the rest. – Matt Keenan

Sophie's Body – Zero [Independent]

Boston’s Sophie’s Body have released their debut album, Zero, which frontwoman Sophie McMinn calls an “accidental concept album” about looming unease, uncertainty, and stress. The self-described bubble grunge quartet (McMinn, drummer Dylan Hughes, bassist Harry Van Der Meer, and guitarist Adam Hurt) made the eight-track record with producer Justin Termotto in Brooklyn, following their 2025 EP, Mandatory Girl. Start with the centerpiece, “Socialyte Zero,” the last song McMinn wrote for the record, then work backward from there. – Matt Keenan