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.

Today, we have a list of five new releases we'd like to key you into as you head into the weekend. Check them all out below.

Ba bam!

American Football – American Football (LP4) [Polyvinyl]

American Football frontman Mike Kinsella is months away from his 50th birthday. His creativity and musical prowess remains intact, as exemplified by the group's second comeback album. The certainty of mortality is omnipresent on this record, an apt theme for a man reckoning with middle-aged alcoholism. LP4's arrangements are the band's most expansive and progressive to date. On "No Feeling" (which features Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates on backing vocals) you can hear the impact of vibraphone mallets as Kinsella sings "Help me dig a hole / I'm already cold / I honestly never planned on getting old." The dense breakdown in the back half of eight minute epic "Bad Moons" slows to a flatline of guitar feedback. American Football did not take their return lightly – they did it because they had a statement to make. – Leah Bess

Isaiah Rashad – IT'S BEEN AWFUL [Top Dawg Entertainment/Warner Records]

It’s been nearly five years since Isaiah Rashad’s last album, The House Is Burning, and he picks up almost exactly where he left off. The opening track of IT'S BEEN AWFUL finds the Tennessee rapper lamenting his many problems over a laid-back, jazzy beat, beginning with the line, “I’m cut from a sinful nature, and I feel afflicted / falling over.” If you're a longtime fan, this vibe-setter will not shock you. What may catch you off guard, however, is the second track, “M.O.M.,” which bursts in with a 160-BPM, upbeat instrumental. No, it's certainly not a trap banger and is still tinted with his typical nonchalant energy, but the song signals that this effort is willing to stretch beyond Rashad’s usual sonic palette. Over the next 16 tracks, we find Rashad dueting with SZA on a peppy neo-soul cut, trading verses with Dominic Fike on the indie rock–leaning “CAMERAS,” and, of course, settling firmly into the languid, soulful rap that has defined his sound over the past 12 years. – Drew P. Simmons

Kneecap – FENIAN [PIAS/Heavenly Recordings]

Based on the two singles "Liars Tale" and "FENIAN," the Irish rap trio Kneecap might have baited listeners with more or less the same bombastic energy that bursted from their debut Fine Art's seams. Punchy, club ready, humorous, and rallying, these two anthems placed in the middle of the new record position themselves as the ultimate victory lap, a rejection of the ludicrous "terrorist" reputation the British government and critics tried giving them, as well as a reveling in their community that supported them during the 2025 trials. But, Fenian isn't all acid rave-influenced rap bangers, and it isn't all "eff you's" to the people who tried to stop them from raising awareness to the genocide in Gaza, the historical oppression of Ireland, and the violence of a capitalist system. (Although, "Gael Phonics," "An Ra," and "Cold at the Top" are classic Kneecap bangers.) Whirlpooling into the moody world of trip-hop and trance ("Carnival"), or unraveling to drum 'n' bass and hard rap ("Headcase"), the dance punk group tell a much more annotated story of the past year that covers personal loss, mental health struggles, self-esteem, addiction, and grief.

FENIAN, unlike its rambunctious and youthful predecessor, sees the men at their most sensitive, particularly in the haunting, Gorillaz-esque "Cocaine Hill," or the nostalgic, synth-pop-ish parental ode, "Irish Goodbye." Cap it all off with indie production extraordinaire Dan Carey helping out in the studio — assisting in the crafting of complex, supersonic, sharp, twinkling electronic beats ("Big Bad Mo" is a prime example) — and Kneecap have given their listeners a rich, "measured response" to the crazy unfurling of their lives as promised. — Victoria Borlando

Minute Taker – The Oblivion [self-released]

Here’s one for those who like their synth-pop dark-edged, queer, and existential, with a side of cosmic fancy and cinematic nous. Doubling down on the ‘80s vibe of his last album Wolf Hours, Minute Taker’s The Oblivion loosely traces a hedonistic arc of unravelings, from the dancefloor to the dreamlike night, all told through different characters that are, in a way, extensions of himself. “It’s a record about collapse, and about letting go,” says Ben McGarvey, the man behind the former day job name. Highlights include "Losing Self Control," with its 1984-themed gay romance, and closing track "Alone," where McGarvey's character finds "peace in the stillness, but also chaos in the absence of structure." – Alan Pedder

Tori Amos – In Times of Dragons [Fontana]

No single paragraph could hope to give a meaningful impression of all the ground that Tori Amos covers with In Times of Dragons, her 18th studio album, so here’s the deal if you’re not sure where to start. Yes, it’s long. Yes, her voice has weathered a tad. Yes, it comes loaded with deep lore, blazing political allegory, and a concept that seems kind of nuts on paper: Tori, in an alternate timeline, escapes a lizard demon billionaire husband, goes on the run across a failing but resilient America, rekindles an interdimensional love affair with a Celtic god, battles the patriarchy, and joins an ancient order of dragon queens (phew!). But it all somehow adds up to her liveliest, most ambitious, and outright enjoyable record in over 20 years. Welcome back, firebrand Amos. This album meets the moment and then some. – Alan Pedder