Superheaven returns after a ten-year break with a self-titled album that doubles down on the band’s grunge and shoegaze roots. Produced by Will Yip, the album’s thick guitars and moody vocals nod to the ’90s while carving out space for reflection and renewal.
“Numb to What Is Real” and “Cruel Times” bring massive hooks, while “Stare at the Void” showcases their introspective side. It’s a solid return that sticks to their strengths—and reminds us why their cult following never left.
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Julien Baker and Torres (Mackenzie Scott) venture into country territory on Send a Prayer My Way, a collaboration rooted in their Southern upbringings. The album blends banjo, pedal steel, and ambient textures with poignant reflections on queerness, family, and spirituality.
“Tuesday” and “Sugar in the Tank” are raw explorations of Baker’s experiences with religious rejection, while “Dirt” is a beautiful meditation on survival and recovery. While the genre shift may surprise longtime fans, the result is a heartfelt, stylistically bold album that shows both artists in sharp, vulnerable form.
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Tunde Adebimpe, known for his work with TV on the Radio, steps into the solo spotlight with Thee Black Boltz, an emotionally charged debut created in the wake of personal loss. The album mixes reggae, punk, and electronic elements into a shape-shifting suite of tracks that mourn, rage, and celebrate life in equal measure.
Highlights include “Magnetic,” an urgent anthem of resistance; the shimmering “Blue”; and “ILY,” a spare acoustic ballad written for his late sister. This is Adebimpe at his most sonically adventurous and emotionally direct.
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Beirut returns with A Study of Losses, a sweeping and introspective project originally composed for a Swedish circus performance. Inspired by Judith Schalansky’s An Inventory of Losses, the album contemplates forgotten histories and fading memories.
Tracks like “Tuanaki Atoll” and “Guericke’s Unicorn” blend Zach Condon’s brass-driven folk aesthetic with ambient and orchestral textures. It’s a deeply meditative and transportive record, rich in atmosphere and longing.
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On Thunderball, Melvins continue to defy expectations. The long-running sludge-metal icons lean into post-punk and noise rock, adding a cosmic weirdness to their signature sound.
Tracks like “Victory of the Pyramids” and “Venus Blood” are massive and menacing, while “King of Rome” proves the band still has a flair for the absurd. It’s dense, wild, and defiantly uncompromising—just as Melvins fans would hope.
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More alt. rock news from X96.3
New Music Friday: Melvins, Beirut & More – X96
