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 6 new releases we'd like to key you into as you head into the weekend. Check them all out below.

Ba bam!

Cinder Well – A Blooming Body [Hen House Studios]

“How do we know when it’s finished?” asks LA-based artist Amelia Baker on the opening track of A Blooming Body, her fifth LP by the name of Cinder Well, offering in the process something that could equally be seen as the album’s philosophical core. Folk music by its wandering nature has always resisted the idea of the definitive, and Baker’s noirish take on it here carries some of that shifting quality. Shadowy in sound but not melodramatic enough to be labelled gothic, A Blooming Body decenters spectacle to turn a watchful eye on the harsh and heavy world around. “I experimented with being descriptive about the world around me, even when it did not appear to be conventionally lyrical,” she says, having found new poetry in ordinary moments and acts of care.

Expanding her role in production and mixing, as well as broadening her palette instrumentally (big fan of the horn section on “Ashes”), she's meticulously stuck to her vision while also seemingly coming to terms with the idea that not everything needs to happen in sync with some grand plan. As she ultimately says in answer to her question at the start, “How do we know when it’s finished? Sometimes we just stop.” – Alan Pedder

Lido Pimienta – Caribenya [ANTI-]

Originally conceived as a companion piece to last year’s La Belleza (a TND staff AOTY highlight), which found Lido Pimienta eyeballing European classical music through a decolonial lens, Caribenya quickly morphed into its own thing, turning away from orchestral grandeur towards something more musically embedded in her Caribbean roots – and, in a twist she hints at in the album title, the white-witch mystical soundworld of new age-y chamber pop legend Enya. As it turns out, that’s a potent combination, giving Caribenya a distinctive air of grace and openness inside of politically minded tropicalia, cumbia, dembow, and experimental pop, with her banquet table dress on the cover a no-notes perfect symbol of the feast that lies within. “It has a sense of joy and collaboration that is very Caribbean,” she says. “It’s like ‘come over and hang. You don’t need to set up an appointment, you can just knock on the door.’” Guest musicians include Puerto Rican popstar Ana Macho on “Libélua” and Pimienta’s close friend Nelly Furtado on the swaying “Hoy Por Tí.” – Alan Pedder

Loathe – A Stranger to You [SHARPTONE]

UK metalcore group Loathe have always defined themselves by contrast; whether its the combination of a chilling electronic atmosphere and intense technical riffage on 2017's The Cold Sun, or the hazy shoegaze leanings mixed with downtuned sludge fury on 2020's I Let It In and It Took Everything, they've existed in the space between sounds, never quite settling in one camp before moving onto the next. On A Stranger to You, their first full length in six years, they've imagined a world where baritone guitar-fueled progressive metal, psychedelic, synth-driven pop, alternative rock, and who knows what else come together to form something that at the very least sounds fresh. With production that strikes a balance between modern metal punch and analog rawness, in all its noisy glory, its clear their intent is to stand out from the pack in a tired genre landscape where bands would rather trend chase than embark on their own journey. – Shaye Frenkel

Motionless In White – Decades [ROADRUNNER]

Motionless In White are easily one of the biggest modern metal bands out there today. After two decades together, the Pennyslvania group have gone from local venues to arenas around the world; and while they've moved on from their early metalcore sound to a new realm occupied by mainstream rock, nu-metal, and industrial, if the singles from Decades, their newly released seventh LP, are anything to go by, they've tip-toed through their multi-decade discography to bring back some old sounds amongst the sea of fresh ideas. Regarding the new record, frontman Chris Motionless states: "Decades is definitely heavier than some of our past albums. Our current world bred more aggressive energy, anger, and resistance." With lyrics that don't shy away from calling out real world issues, such as lead single "Playing God" featuring Slipknot's Corey Taylor, a track about the toxicity found in online communities that both bands have dealt with, and the division it causes, being a prime example. Look no further if you're craving big budget, radio ready hits with some intent behind the surface. – Shaye Frenkel

N NAO – Nouveaux Langages [Mothland]

This two-volume set from Montréal-based Naomie de Lorimier, aka N NAO, acts as both a prolog and an epilog to last year’s Nouveau Langage, with one disc of four-track demos and “origin pieces” and one disc of reworkings, including new versions with treasured guests Helena Deland (“Fleuron”), Lou-Adriane Cassidy (“Corps”), and Sea Oleena (“Déjà”), and a handful of remixes by Ben Shemie of Sunns, DJ/producer Regularfantasy, and other Canadian music makers. But for de Lorimier, Nouveaux Langages is not just a celebration of creative dialog or a look behind the curtains of the process, it also marks a first major step into mixing her own work, overcoming any fear of being too close to the clay to see the cup, so to speak. “This album has a pretty strong symbolic significance for me,” she says. “I trusted my ears, in fact, I simply trusted myself, a new step forward for the musician that I am. I pushed myself and I am very proud of it.” – Alan Pedder

Syd – Beard [Columbia]

Circa Goblin, no one would've thought that Tyler, the Creator's DJ would have become a godmother to this era's stoned R&B. Now Syd is the most unsung queer icon in her claque, watching Internet bandmate Steve Lacy score a number-one hit and drop his significantly goofier album the same day, while us fools still wait for Frank Ocean to follow up Blonde a decade later. It's coming up on that much time since Syd's 2017 solo record Fin as well, a model of tight and catchy breathiness she's built on since without perfecting. Now that she has the self-explanatory Broken Hearts Club out of her system and the ace-in-the-hole Beyoncé co-write "Plastic Off the Sofa" under her belt, she frees herself to be horny as ever. From "girl put on that sundress that I like I'm tryna see sum" to "your physique is therapy for me," Syd continues to flex her liquid voice and subtle craft in the service of blunted soul even on her most conventional album ever, even when "My Love" tries its roving hands at bossa nova lounge. – Daniel Aaron