highlighting new music by Squid, Sharon Van Etten, Heartworms, Maruja & MORE
An overwhelming amount of music is released daily, and we're here to help you weed through it all. Every week, we share select releases we are all looking forward to and personalized picks from a few of our editors.
Welcome to our new releases guide featuring the most notable music released the week of February 7.
BLIGATORY Picks
Squid - Cowards
Post-Rock, Art Rock, Experimental Rock
via Warp Records
write-up by Peter Doherty
London-via-Brighton five-piece and contemporary art rock/punk powerhouse Squid see their third outing as grounds for a more explorative and progressive trip. The ever-so-seedy worlds that Cowards, "an album about evil," dives into revel in squirmy, slow-moving molasses. Like watching lava rolling down the hillside, the arrival of the red-hot molten sludge is inevitable. With little to be done about the unavoidable, fate’s twisted tongue is sealed. The sense of unease that Squid hones in on feels like a natural state, rather than a manifested existence. The band taps into the dark lanes in which the mind so often dares to traverse. We're only ever one step away from falling into the unforgivable groove of the wrong move.
Evil, it's a part of us all.
Cowards is out now via Warp.
Atticus' Picks
Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory - Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
Indie Rock, New Wave
via Jagjaguwar
Jadu Heart - "Post Romance"
Indie Rock, Neo-Psychedelia
via VLF Records
Following the singles “U” and “You’re Dead,” the British electronic-rock duo Jadu Heart have formally announced their upcoming album POST HEAVEN with the single “Post Romance.” It is still unclear when exactly the album will drop, as the duo vaguely claimed April to be the month, while their vinyl pre-order states that the physical record will release on May 23.
Jadu Heart revealed via their announcement that after nine years as a couple, their two members Diva Jeffrey and Alex Headford had split, hence the name of the new single. “Post Romance” is rooted in tinny synths and a music box-like guitar part, which develops an eerie sense of wonder that is reminiscent of early Beach House production. Both members provide a verse, and their lyrics are fairly direct in describing the hesitant-yet-necessary reality of breaking off a relationship that likely fueled their chemistry as a musical duo.
In the Instagram comments of their ice-breaking post, Jadu Heart has clarified to fans that they are not “over,” however this upcoming record will clearly be a turning point in the duo’s life and career.
Frog - "HOUSEBROKEN VAR. IV"
Folk Rock
via tapewormies
Tennis - "Weight of Desire"
Bedroom Pop, Synthpop
via Mutually Detrimental
Dominick's Picks
AMOR, MUERTE Y LEONORA - Black Pop (EP)
Egg Punk, Garage Punk | Punk Valley Records
Weird punk certified! This band out of Alicante, Spain makes fuzzy, buzzy punk that will have you bouncing.
CCTV - Austerity Blues (EP)
Post-Punk, Garage Punk | Self-Released
No relation to the Midwestern egg punks, CCTV are a new post-punk/garage rock band out of Auckland, New Zealand. Austerity Blues—the group’s debut EP—rips, and is a nice introduction to the band with its six scathing tracks.
Crab - ApeApeApeApeApe (EP)
Indie Rock, Noise Rock, Art Punk | Moozik Records
Ape(x5) is the second EP from Brooklyn’s Crab, and their first as a full band. Noisy rock galore, with flashes of cowpunk (see “Paper Man”) and grunge (most evident on “Anymore”) influence.
Disaster Artist - Bag of Infinite Songs
Exp. Rock, Art Punk | Self-Released
DIY, Philly-based wizard punks Disaster Artist share their new album Bag of Infinite Songs. Twins Jo & Chris Mayo shared their last record, Beheading the Beast, in 2023.
In 2024, the duo not only appeared in a Mr. Beast video, but also began rolling out their graphic novel, titled Wizard Punk.
Per the Bandcamp,
“Bag of Infinite Songs is the companion record to the graphic novel Wizard Punk, set in the post-apocalyptic Trashlands, where mutants roam and gangs rule.
Hidden within the pages of Wizard Punk lies a secret record: Bag Within a Bag.”
Bag of Infinite Songs is out now. For more information on Disaster Artist’s graphic novel Wizard Punk, or to purchase a copy, head over to their Kickstarter. You can also catch them on tour this spring with fellow Philly punks, Friend.
Heartworms - Glutton for Punishment
Darkwave, Gothic Rock, Post-Punk | Speedy Wunderground / PIAS
Glutton For Punishment is the first full-length from Heartworms, the solo project of London-based artist Jojo Orme. Propulsive post-punk, dark gothic influence, and Orme’s lyrical prowess converge on this incredibly strong debut. Produced by longtime collaborator Dan Carey—a patron saint of London’s post-punk/avant-garde scene for a while now—Glutton For Punishment is out now via the indomitable Speedy Wunderground Records and Play It Again Sam.
Snörkler - Sleven Slongs (EP)
Hardcore Punk | Digital Hotdogs
Tattered and torn hardcore punk on the self-proclaimed “tasty first EP from your favorite Memphis dipshits!” The seven songs that bolster Sleven Slongs are out now, brought to you by the Austin, Texas-based label Digital Hotdogs.
Deep Sea Diver - "Let Me Go" (ft. Madison Cunningham)
Post-Punk Revival, Alt. Rock | via Sub Pop Records
Ahead of their fourth album, Billboard Heart, Seattle’s Deep Sea Diver—led by Jessica Dobson—share “Let Me Go.” The track features folk musician/songwriter Madison Cunningham.
Dobson says of the song and its accompanying video:
“I’ve been wanting to collaborate with Madison for a long time, and I was over the moon when this song came in such an unexpected moment. We were just jamming in the studio and I started playing a guitar riff that I’ve had kicking around since high school that Madison started immediately winding around on her guitar. We looped a drum machine that my co-producer Andy Park started playing and a few hours later most of the song was finished. This song felt effortlessly cool from the start; It reminds me of some of my favorite PJ Harvey songs, full of grit & power. We shot the music video with the same spirit, and as two LA natives who both love the city—we wanted to explore our hometown. Not knowing that it was two days before the LA fires, it has subsequently taken on a new meaning as a love letter to the city we both adore.”
Billboard Heart is Deep Sea Diver’s first release on Sub Pop and it is out February 28. Watch the video for “Let Me Go” here.
Loadcard - "Revenge"
Experimental Rock, Progressive Rock | Self-Released
In December, Loadcard—the drum-based, synth-driven project of Philadelphia-based musician Cameron Konner—shared “Feather” as his lone release of 2025. This week, Konner is back with another one titled “Revenge.”
It’s great. It feels/sounds like getting lost in some sort of zany, surreal, and twisted funhouse.
Teen Mortgage - "Box"
Garage Punk, Garage Rock | via Roadrunner Records
D.C. garage punk duo Teen Mortgage announce their debut full-length alongside a gritty single titled “Box.” Devil Ultrasonic Dream is out April 11 via Roadrunner. Watch the visualizer for “Box” here.
The Ophelias - "Cumulonimbus"
Art Rock, Indie Pop | via Get Better Records
Cincinatti indie rock/indie pop group The Ophelias announce their fourth record with its lead single, “Cumulonimbus.” The band’s upcoming album, Spring Grove, was produced by Julien Baker and is out April 4 via Get Better Records. Watch the video here.
EVEN MORE SINGLES FROM: Philly's Creepoid w/ their first song in 9 years, Stockholm-based band Clutter (PNKSLM), Brooklyn acts BAMBARA (Wharf Cat), Bedridden (Julia's War), Child Star, and YHWH Nailgun (AD 93/Many Hats), Indiana's Cloakroom (Closed Casket Activities), Chicago's Sharp Pins (K Records/Perennial), Bristol's Heavy Lungs (FatCat), and DARKSIDE (Matador).
Peter's Picks
FACS - Wish Defense
Post-Punk
via Trouble In Mind Records
The round and heavily reverberant worlds of Chicago's FACS find their feet in 2025 with Wish Defense, the band’s sixth studio album. It's a greyscale affair. The weather overcast. Remorse laden. Bearing heavy burdens. Colour seems to run like water off a duck’s back in these parts; external woes can't seem to get through or get out. Danceable and dingy—and Gothic by nature—nasty bass tones akin to Red-era King Crimson make themselves known.
The themes and lyrics of Wish Defense circle around the notion of “tackling the idea of facing yourself, and observing your ideas and motivations,” notes guitarist Brian Case.
Wish Defense is the final album to be produced by the late great Steve Albini. It’s out now via Trouble In Mind Records.
Alien Chicks - "Donkeyhead"
Post-Punk, Art Rock
via So Recordings / Hideous Mink Records
South London three-piece Alien Chicks slide into 2025 with the announcement of EP number two alongside its lead single "Donkeyhead." Alien Chicks will follow up their 2024 project Indulging the Mobs with the Forbidden Fruit EP on May 9, coming by way So Recordings & Hideous Mink Records.
Alien Chicks are currently playing around the UK on their 'hello 2025' tour with a handful of dates scattered across February and March before heading into Germany and the Netherlands in April.
Maruja - "Aon"
Post-Rock, Jazz Rock
via Music For Nations
Maruja's upcoming EP Tir na nÓg is set to complete the triptych that Knocknarea and Connla's Well healthily set up. The first single released from Tir na nÓg comes in the form of "Aon," a track of the untethered variety. It should come as no surprise for those who have attended recent Maruja liveshows, as a large portion of the performance is dedicated to sprawling jam sessions. Tir na nÓg is a fully improvised piece recorded live on September 12, 2024 at the New Adelphi Recording Studios in Salford University.
Tir na nÓg is out February 21 via Music For Nations.
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