Time for the latest piece of our new segment from the TND writers: Today's Release Highlights. Today brings with it many noteworthy album releases, and we chose some to point out to you that we hope don't get lost. Check them all out below!

Adult Mom – Natural Causes [Epitaph]

Since their 2021 album Driver, Adult Mom bandleader Stevie Knipe has been through the mill, facing down two cancer diagnoses and other intense challenges in their personal life. Armed with a more profound understanding of their queerness and a willingness to explore darker themes in their work, Natural Causes is perhaps Adult Mom’s first true band record, with all four members (plus engineer Chance Milestone) taking a “very communist” approach to recording and production, resulting in a high-contrast set with jangle-pop highs and sparse, existential lows. “We were all making choices as a unit,” says Knipe. “Every guitar tone, every sound you hear, was all decided together. We’re all the collective producer. I’ve never made a record like that before.” – Alan Pedder

AVAWAVES – Heartbeat [One Little Independent]

For their third album Heartbeat, London-based duo Anna Phoebe and Aisling Brouwer, aka AVAWAVES, expand on their cinematic earlier work with ten songs that combine their contemporary classical chops with ambient washes and a throughline of emotional grit. While their previous album (2021’s Chrysalis) featured just one song with vocals, Heartbeat makes good use of Imogen & The Knife frontperson Imogen Williams, who sings on six of the album's 10 songs – though only "Sleep Tight" is overtly lyrical. Built largely on violin, piano, and synth, the album also features guitarist Ben Wright and cellists Klara Schumann and Phillipp Johan Thimm. "We wanted this album to feel raw, honest, and intuitive," AVAWAVES explain. "There are themes of resilience, determination, grit, and an optimism in forever chasing the dawn after dark. It’s the bursting of bubbles and realising how much lighter everything feels without them." – Alan Pedder

billy woods – GOLLIWOG [Backwoodz Studioz]

Following his acclaimed 2023 collaborative album Maps with Kenny Segal, billy woods returns with his latest studio album, GOLLIWOG — a blend of cinematic horror and humor. The album explores topics ranging from African zombies to even time-traveling trap cars. A slew of producers contributed to Golliwog, including longtime collaborators Kenny Segal and The Alchemist. Guest features include Bruiser Wolf, Despot, al.divino, and Yolanda Watson. It's a danse macabre to kick off the summer. – Ricky Adams

Deradoorian – Ready For Heaven [Fire Records]

Completely self-made, this latest album from Deradoorian finds the former Dirty Projectors member embracing her most pop-leaning impulses and refusing to settle on one particular sound. Lyrically, it tackles themes of mental health and the downfall of humanity, with an “avowedly anti-capitalist” message at its heart. Far-reaching in its influences, Ready For Heaven borrows production inspiration from a motley bunch of jazz, funk, industrial, dub, and “weird krautrock” records that Deradoorian admires. “I don’t even feel like a songwriter at times,” she says of her fascination with production. “I feel like someone who is just inspired by so much music. And I want to try it all out! […] It’s just a weird thing to do it by yourself!”  – Alan Pedder

Kali Uchis – Sincerely, [Capitol Records]

In her debut for Capitol Records and third consecutive year releasing a full-length album, R&B singer-songwriter Kali Uchis presents her most personal project to date. Sincerely, began as a series of letters to herself, friends, and loved ones, but took on a deeper meaning after two "life-altering" events: the birth of her first child and the recent loss of her mother. The second single and closing track, “ILYSMIH” (I Love You So Much It Hurts), is a soft ballad about motherhood — written while recovering from labor in the hospital — dedicated to her newborn son with partner Don Toliver. Described in the liner notes as “a sanctuary, an escape from the chaos, a search for peace, and an act of catharsis,” her fifth studio outing is a departure from the vibrant reggaeton, merengue, and latin pop sound of last year's ORQUÍDEAS. A dial back to graceful, slower, yet powerful tunes, like the lead single "Sunshine & Rain". – Daniel Gonçalves Benítez

Kara Lis-Coverdale – From Where You Came [Smalltown Supersound]

From Where You Came is composer Kara Lis-Coverdale’s first major project in eight years, marking her return to the world of electronic music composition. The album, written and recorded across several continent, aims to piece together the sounds of electricity. Coverdale pulls inspiration from 19th-Century program music – where instrumental arrangements come together to tell a story – and 1970s modular music, marrying the two to craft a pulse. Her latest single “Offload Flip” demonstrates a taste of the record’s overall energy, finding a beat in the warbling of the synthesizer and sampled music. – Victoria Borlando

Maia Friedman – Goodbye Long Winter Shadow [Last Gang Records]

Maia Friedman is back with her sophomore record as a solo artist. Releasing four singles thus far, the Dirty Projectors member gave listeners a sampling of the soft, intimate instrumentation one might hear throughout the record. “Russian Blue,” a short song about the artist’s childhood cat, features a clarinet solo, and “In A Dream It Could Happen” weds the plunky piano with strings. Goodbye Long Winter Shadow lyrically analyzes Friedman’s personal life, offering reflections from childhood to now in short, poetic vignettes. – Victoria Borlando

Nils Frahm – Night [LEITER]

Composer and pianist Nils Frahm is back with a new EP, Night, which follows last year's album Day, and includes five new tracks. As with Day, each of the new pieces is a solo piano composition, ranging between five and eight minutes. Performed on a Klavins M450 piano – which was, at the time of its creation in 2015, the world's largest upright piano – the German artist recorded Night at the Funkhaus complex in Berlin, and produced and mixed the EP himself. – Jeremy J. Fisette

PinkPantheress – Fancy That [Warner]

The 20 minute mixtape Fancy That from British producer/pop star PinkPantheress is out today via Warner. The tape's nine tracks all clock in under three minutes, a musical philosophy the "Boy's A Liar" singer adamantly stands by. In addition to PinkPantheress herself, Fancy That includes production contributions from The Dare, Askel Arvid, and Count Baldor. Lead single "Tonight" uniquely samples Panic! at the Disco deep cut "Do You Know What I'm Seeing?" from 2008's Pretty. Odd.. PinkPantheress says of the mixtape, “This feels like the most tied together project i’ve applied myself to as an artist and for my fans who have been with me for years, I hope they can hear the signs of growth in me as an artist.” – Leah Weinstein

QUINQUIS – eor [Mute]

This second album from Breton singer/songwriter and producer QUINQUIS takes its name from a word meaning ‘anchor’ in Émilie Quinquis' ancestral language, and was inspired by time she spent sailing from France to the Faroe Islands, via Ireland and the Scottish isles. Mermaid folklore meets modular synths on eor, which seeks to recontextualize the mythology of sea sirens for modern times. The album features guest vocals from Welsh artist Cerys Hafana on “Blaz En Holen” and queer South African trailblazer Desire Marea on “Inkanuko”. – Alan Pedder

The Wonder Years – Burst & Decay (Vol. III) [Loneliest Place On Earth / Hopeless Records]

Philadelphia’s emo heroes The Wonder Years return with Burst & Decay (Volume III), the third installment in their ongoing series of stripped-down EPs featuring guest collaborations. As expected from the band, the release is full of personal and introspective lyrics from frontman Dan Campbell—one track even includes a recording of his son’s in-utero (not a Nirvana reference) heartbeat. Guest features on Vol. III include Joe Taylor of Knuckle Puck, Zayna Youssef of Sweet Pill, and Ryan Heagy of Origami Angel. – Ricky Adams