New Album Release Round-Up: August 2026
This month’s round-up features brief reviews of new albums from Julia Holter, Getdown Services, Sweeping Promises, Kiwi Jr., Alabama Shakes and more.
Collaborative Articles
No Ripcord Staff
This page collects collaborative articles by the No Ripcord team and articles by former contributors, who do not have an active author page.
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Reviews
2026
2026
Mastodon – Marrow Deep
On their ninth studio album, the heavy metal band hints at intriguing new directions for their collective sound.
2026
Sleep – Hempispheres
As Sleep’s Al Cisneros attempts to sell fans on a new album without guitarist and founding member Matt Pike, the resultant Hempispheres showcases the strengths of the band’s new personnel while finding a new strain to roll up and burn.
2026
New Album Release Round-Up: July 2026
This month’s round-up features brief reviews of new albums from Nia Archives, Shannon Lay, Ultra Lights, Shearwater, Twisted Teens, and more.
2026
New Album Release Round-Up: June 2026
This month’s round-up features brief reviews of new albums from Pearl & The Oysters, Tierra Whack, SLIFT, YHWH Nailgun, Bedouine, and more.
2026
New Album Release Round-Up: May 2026
This month’s round-up features our thoughts of new albums from American Football, Cola, Kurt Vile, The Bug Club, and Mad Honey.
2026
New Album Release Round-Up: April 2026
Our April Round-Up offers another series of quick takes on eight overlooked new records, including Lime Garden’s breakthrough, Metric’s comeback, and fresh releases from Failure, Yaya Bey, and Deary.
2026
New Album Release Round-Up: March 2026
Our monthly Round-Up returns with honest takes on eight new records, from Robyn’s comeback and Snail Mail’s uneven but rewarding third album to fresh releases from Shabaka, The New Pornographers, Courtney Barnett, and Bonnie “Prince” Billy.
2026
New Album Release Round-Up: February 2026
Our monthly Round-Up returns with sharp verdicts on nine new records, including Heavenly’s comeback, a new solo album from Big Thief’s Buck Meek, and the revival of Crooked Fingers, plus releases from Ulrika Spacek, Lucid Express, and Voka Gentle.
2026
New Album Release Round-Up: January 2026
Here are some quick takes on the January album releases we didn’t get around to covering in full. Featuring Jenny On Holiday, Megadeath, The Cribs, Westside Cowboy, and more.
2025
SUMAC & Moor Mother – THE FILM
SUMAC, the post-metal improv behemoth, teams up with Moor Mother on a collaboration that just makes sense.
2024
Aerial M – The Peel Sessions
Aerial M’s The Peel Sessions is a lasting record of a fleeting moment in Pajo’s history that we’re thankful to finally hear.
2024
St. Vincent – All Born Screaming
St. Vincent’s seventh album is a welcome return to form.
2024
Charli XCX – BRAT
On the evidence of BRAT, it’s also justified to say that, right now, Charli XCX is the greatest pop star in the world.
2023
Feeble Little Horse – Girl With Fish
Feeble Little Horse find their stride on their second album.
2022
Weyes Blood – And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow
With the sixth Weyes Blood album, Natalie Mering has concocted a successor to Titanic Rising that any gambler worth their salt would have no doubt taken the under on.
2022
Wet Leg – Wet Leg
Wet Leg’s hotly anticipated self-titled debut is no slapped-together producer’s vision of what the kids should like. Its authenticity is what makes it so addictive, so accessible.
2022
Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
To borrow a turn of phrase, Big Thief focus on, quite literally, the journey and not the destination. The result is the most compelling case in years on the potential of the journey—the insights to be gleaned, the friendships to be strengthened, your own potential waiting to be untapped.
2021
Ovlov – Buds
Despite getting out their humourous side in song titles and social media, Ovlov nonetheless funnel all their passion and expertise into their exhilarating sound.
2021
Hana Vu – Public Storage
Steeped in alt-rock and new wave influences and “you can't prove this is about you" vagaries, Vu’s full-length debut is just the right balance of melodrama, defiance, and inhibition.
2021
Self Esteem – Prioritise Pleasure
With Prioritise Pleasure, Rebecca Taylor has likely coined enough slogans to retire on t-shirt sales alone, but it’s also one of the most insightful pop records this year.
2021
Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
The immeasurable talent that hides behind Simbiatu Ajikawo’s fourth LP's nineteen tracks confirms that she’s one of the greatest artists of her generation.
2021
Darkside – Spiral
Darkside’s triumphant return after an eight-year hiatus is an alchemical concoction of beats, textures, sonic flourishes, and melodies that sound like they were recorded in a world that had no precedent.
2021
Charlotte Day Wilson – Alpha
The long period leading up to this record—not to mention the time afforded for additional audio work due to the coronavirus pandemic—means Wilson has had the space to hone her sound and deliver upon the potential her earlier releases promised.
2021
St. Vincent – Daddy’s Home
Clark’s second album with Jack Antonoff is inspired by her father’s incarceration and release from prison.
2021
Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg
New Long Leg was constructed in pieces on a wiped-down, passed-around tape deck—the new pandemic normal. It could easily have suffered for it, but the production is masterful.
2021
The Weather Station – Ignorance
Tamara Lindeman shifts gears on her fifth album as The Weather Station.
2021
Weezer – OK Human
With OK Human, Weezer deliver a specific brand of orchestral indie pop with solid results.
2021
The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You
Four years on from the divisive Wildflower, and now almost two decades on from Since I Left You, it feels like The Avalanches have now freed themselves from any pressure at all.
2020
Adrianne Lenker – songs / instrumentals
Like Dylan and Townes Van Zandt before her, Adrianne Lenker is emerging as a songwriter who takes an idea and toys with it.
2020
Owen Pallett – Island
Considering the avant-garde associations suggested by Island’s sonics, it makes sense to weigh the lyrics according to the same, progressive metrics, allowing that the words exist not as prose narrative but as poetic abstractions standing in for more universal meanings.
2020
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
Phoebe Bridgers takes a leap on her sophomore LP, Punisher.
2020
Charli XCX – how i'm feeling now
As far as isolation projects go, how i’m feeling now ranks somewhere between King Lear and that jigsaw you haven’t yet got around to finishing.
2020
Laura Marling – Song for Our Daughter
While there are moments with more levity, Marling casts this world with a haunting backdrop of striking stories and superb instrumentation.
2020
Yves Tumor – Heaven to a Tortured Mind
Tumor’s latest works on the issues of Safe in the Hands of Love, while reaching for new genres and ideas.
2020
Soccer Mommy – color theory
Soccer Mommy’s second album is equal parts buoyant, earworm riffs and gut punches.
2019
Burial – Tunes 2011-2019
Tunes is a monumental snapshot of the “second act” of Burial’s career, and should be on all electronic music connoisseurs’ Christmas wish lists
2019
FKA twigs – MAGDALENE
FKA twigs’ excellent second album confirms she now has the songs to match her magpie eye for production.
2019
Richard Dawson – 2020
Dawson reminds us that, in spite of our own difficulties navigating the Sisyphean tasks of daily life, there’s always someone worse off.
2019
Big Thief – Two Hands
Two Hands serves as the band’s call to arms—an unspoken dedication to not only put forth music that matters, but also a face-forward shake of the shoulders followed by a clutching embrace.
2019
Brittany Howard – Jaime
What started off as a leap of faith, then an attempt at a memoir, ended up as Howard’s album to date.
2019
Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Lana Del Rey takes a giant leap forward on her sixth full-length release.
2019
Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest
Bill Callahan’s sixth album under his own name—and 17th if you include Smog—is a deeply enriching experience.
2019
Craig Finn – I Need a New War
Craig Finn’s literary fourth solo album is a refined experience.
2019
Anderson .Paak – Ventura
Ventura is the fourth album from Anderson .Paak.
2019
Helado Negro – This Is How You Smile
The sixth Helado Negro album blends intimate glimpses of life growing up in an immigrant household with the struggle of preserving familial identity and fitting in as an outsider.
2019
Foals – Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1
The fifth album from British rock band Foals is a career high.
2019
Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow
Remind Me Tomorrow is Sharon Van Etten’s grandest and greatest evolution yet.
2018
Boygenius – boygenius
No longer in isolation with their own turmoil and emotions, boygenius gives each artist more light to combat the darkness.
2017
Julien Baker – Turn Out the Lights
Julien Baker’s second album scores a perfect ten.
2017
Protomartyr – Relatives in Descent
Protomartyr's fourth LP and first for Domino expands of their consistently impressive early work.
2017
Flaming Lips – Oczy Mlody
The 14th Flaming Lips record is a surprisingly focused, cohesive and fun effort.
2017
The xx – I See You
The xx’s third full-length sees the trio expanding their previously minimalist sound
2016
Pete Yorn – Arranging Time
Pete Yorn’s sixth album earned a rave review on its release, ten years ago this week.
2014
Charli XCX – Sucker
Charli XCX is the latest in an ever-growing list of successful, dynamic, and diverse female artists and musicians defining the current musical landscape.
2014
St. Vincent – St. Vincent
St. Vincent’s fourth full-length was our #1 album of 2014.
2013
Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest
Board of Canada maintained their high standards on 2013’s long-awaited Tomorrow’s Harvest, their fourth full-length album.
2013
Charli XCX – True Romance
On her debut album, Charli XCX proves that radio-friendly pop doesn’t equal formulaic.
2013
Flaming Lips – The Terror
The Flaming Lips’ thirteenth album is a bleak affair.
2013
Iceage – You’re Nothing
In celebration of the release of Iceage’s new single “Star,” we revisit our reviews of the Danish band’s first two records.
2012
Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet On Sky
Dinosaur Jr.’s tenth album is another steady triumph.
2012
The xx – Coexist
The xx’s second album is a worthy follow-up to their Mercury Prize-winning debut.
2012
Bloc Party – Four
Bloc Party’s fourth album fails to recapture the joy of their sparkling debut.
2012
Animal Collective – Centipede Hz
Animal Collective’s ninth album is a diverse affair.
2011
St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
Strange Mercy is St. Vincent’s most sonically rich effort to date.
2011
Mastodon – The Hunter
Mastodon’s fifth album expands their repertoire and capabilities while they turn off their heads and let their fingers tell the story.
2010
Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
Deerhunter's second masterpiece in a row, and their most natural record, a one-two punch for the books.
2010
Interpol – Interpol
Interpol’s self-titled fourth album is a bleak portrait of a band in transition.
2009
Weezer – Raditude
The seventh studio album from Weezer is not a classic.
2009
Flaming Lips – Embryonic
The Flaming Lips’s latest reinvention caps off another magical decade.
2009
The xx – xx
The nocturnal pop of The xx is impossibly unique, yet quiet and low-key at the same time.
2009
Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
Dinosaur Jr.’s ninth album is the band’s first for Jagjaguwar.
2009
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Grizzly Bear’s ornate Veckatimest was the second highest rated of 2009.
2009
St. Vincent – Actor
Annie Clark’s second album as St. Vincent is a grand performance.
2009
Mastodon – Crack the Skye
Mastodon’s fourth album may be polished, but don’t call it a sell out.
2009
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
The most-hyped record of Animal Collective’s career sees the experimental group trading guitars for a more sample-based approach.
2008
Beck – Modern Guilt
Beck teams up with Danger Mouse on his eleventh studio album.
2008
Weezer – Weezer (The Red Album)
The Red Album is not as bad as you’ve heard nor as good as you might have hoped.
2007
Grizzly Bear – Friend
An EP of odds and ends from the Yellow House sessions, plus some friends covering Grizzly Bear originals.
2007
St. Vincent – Marry Me
Annie Clark’s debut oozes class—and no shortage of promise.
2007
Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond
After a ten year hiatus, Dinosaur Jr. are back—and this time with their original line-up.
2007
The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters
The debut album from The Twilight Sad earned a rare 10/10 rating in 2007.
2006
Grizzly Bear – Yellow House
Grizzly Bear’s second album sees Edward Droste transcending the work of his bedroom project.
2006
Flaming Lips – At War with the Mystics
The eleventh Flaming Lips record keeps the magic alive.
2006
Liars – Drums Not Dead
Released on 20 February 2006, the third album from Liars was an immediate classic, and arguably the best of their storied career. Here is Alan Shulman’s original review.
2006
Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Twenty years ago this week everything fell into place for Neko Case on 2006’s phenomenal Fox Confessor Brings The Flood.
2005
Boards of Canada – The Campfire Headphase
Boards of Canada show no sign of standing still on their phenomenal third album.
2005
Animal Collective – Feels
The great achievement of Feels is that it throws everything at every track yet never loses sight of the tunes themselves.
2005
Love as Laughter – Laughter’s Fifth
Love as Laughter’s classic 2005 release earned a perfect ten rating in 2005. Alan Shulman explains why.
2005
Animal Collective – Prospect Hummer
On this EP the folksy, acoustic sounds of AC are perfectly matched to the vocals of the long-lost folk goddess, Vashti Bunyan.
2005
Beck – Guero
Beck’s ninth album sees him reuniting with the Dust Brothers, who worked on Odelay.
2005
Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
Bloc Party’s stellar debut announces a new talent.
2004
MF DOOM – MM..FOOD
The masked supervillain serves up a feast of kooky couplets, subtle trash talk, and distinct beats ladled with scores of sci-fi and cartoon samples.
2003
Animal Collective – Spirit they’re gone, Spirit they’re vanished / Danse Manatee
FatCat’s two-CD retrospective compiles Animal Collective’s first two records.
2002
Beck – Sea Change
Beck’s eighth album is the perfect antidote to the bloated Midnite Vultures.
2002
Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips strike gold again on the joyous Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots.
2001
New Order – Get Ready
New Order’s first full-length since 1993’s Republic is a pleasant surprise.
Features
2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in October 2026
Our monthly preview looks ahead to new records from Greg Freeman, Dawn Richard, DIIV, Queens of the Stone Age, Wishy, and more.
2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in September 2026
Our monthly preview looks ahead to new records from Protomartyr, This Is Lorelei, Arab Strap, The Tubs, Slow Pulp, and more.
2026
Badly Drawn Boy’s The Hour of the Bewilderbeast Revisited
Bewilderbeast scooped the 2000 Mercury Prize and launched the career of Damon Gough. But how does it stand up today?
2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in August 2026
Things are warming up nicely. The challenge this month was keeping our preview down to ten picks. New records from Kiwi Jr., Interpol, Westside Cowboy, and Weezer feature.
2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in July 2026
July’s already thin release schedule is dominated by big pop releases. We’ve picked out the highlights.
2026
Death Cab For Cutie Interview (2002)
Death Cab For Cutie’s eleventh studio album, I Built You a Tower, is out now. To celebrate the landmark, we are revisiting a classic early interview with the band from the No Ripcord archive.
2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in June 2026
Our regular preview rounds up ten of the most hotly anticipated records from the month ahead, including new releases from Vince Staples, Death Cab For Cutie, Olivia Rodrigo, Modest Mouse, and more.
2026
Big Star Interview (2009)
In 2009, No Ripcord caught up with Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel to discuss the legacy of Big Star—popular music’s greatest cult band.
2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in May 2026
Our regular preview rounds up ten of the most hotly anticipated records from the month ahead, including new releases from Broken Social Scene, Weird Nightmare, The Field, Iceage, and more.
2026
Miracle Legion’s The Backyard Revisited
Miracle Legion’s The Backyard EP is a cult classic from the ’80s college rock scene.
2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in April 2026
In our regular preview, we look at the month ahead and new releases from Friko, Prism Shores, Sunn O))), and Foo Fighters.
2026
M83 Interview (2004)
In early 2004, French duo M83 were still coming to terms with the unexpected success of their breakout album, Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts. Our interview from that time captures a modest band at the precise moment when everything around them is changing.
2026
MF DOOM Interview (2004)
In 2004, No Ripcord scored a rare interview with MF DOOM—and, by sheer accident, became the first publication to hear MM..FOOD after his manager mistakenly sent over an advance copy. Republished from the archive, this is DOOM at a pivotal creative peak.
2026
The Comsat Angels Interview (2009)
Memorably described as “the band Joy Division could have been,” Sheffield’s Comsat Angels remain the city’s best kept secret. Our 2009 interview captures the band’s mindset at the time of their brief comeback.
2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in March 2026
February ended with a bang, and March promises to keep the momentum going with a slate of top-tier releases. We’ve picked out ten highlights you won’t want to miss.
2026
The Wrens’ The Meadowlands Revisited
Released in 2003, The Meadowlands is regarded as an indie rock classic. But how does the final album by New Jersey’s most famously unreliable band stand up today?
2026
10 Albums to Look Forward to in February 2026
Things look set to warm up in February. The stacked release calendar features big hitters, hyped debutants, and hotly anticipated comebacks. We select our ten highlights.
2026
I Am The Cosmos: Chris Bell and the Secrets That (Mostly) Don’t Exist
Legendary Big Star singer/guitarist Chris Bell would have turned 75-years-old today. In his honour, we are delighted to share this wonderful 2022 article by Weston Cutter—one of the finest pieces of long-form writing we’ve ever published.
2025
The Best Albums of 2025
We are excited to reveal our Best 50 Albums of 2025, continuing an annual No Ripcord tradition that dates back to 2002. Dig in, enjoy the picks, get unnecessarily worked up about the omissions, and share widely!
2025
The Best Albums of 2025: Bubbling Under
These twenty albums may have narrowly missed our Top 50, but they're simply too good to go unrecognised. Our Bubbling Under feature gives them the spotlight they deserve.
2024
The Best Albums of 2024
This is it! It’s time to reveal our top albums of 2024. A longstanding tradition since 2002, our full list consists of 50 albums selected by the entire No Ripcord staff.
2023
The Best Albums of 2023
This 2023 end of year list features our favourite 50 albums of the year, as selected by the entire No Ripcord team.
2022
The Best Albums of 2022
We have reclaimed our Best Albums of 2022 feature from the archive so you can enjoy it here. Dive in and reacquaint yourself with some recent classics.
2021
The Best Albums of 2021
We have reclaimed our Best Albums of 2021 feature from the archive so you can enjoy it here. Check it out and rediscover some old favourites.
2020
The Best Albums of 2020
2020 was a tumultuous and traumatic year for many of us. Our best fifty albums list celebrates the best releases of the pandemic year, including heavyweight hits from Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, Run The Jewels, and more.
2019
The Best Albums of 2019
The 2010s signed off in style with a strong year of releases. Its best fifty albums are highlighted here, in our traditional end of year list.
2018
The Best Albums of 2018
Our best fifty albums of 2018 list celebrates the finest releases of the year, including modern classics from U.S. Girls, Iceage, SOPHIE, and Mitski.
2017
The Best Albums of 2017
Our best fifty albums of 2017 list celebrates the finest releases of the year, including modern classics from Lorde, Kendrick Lamar, St Vincent, and Protomartyr.
2005
The Best Albums of 2005
In anticipation of our upcoming End of Year coverage, we take a look back at what we were raving about twenty years ago. Let the nostalgia commence!
2004
The Best Albums of 2004
Our 2004 albums list captures a golden year for indie rock. Revisit the records that defined No Ripcord’s listening back then—and see which ones still hold up more than twenty years later.
2003
The Best Albums of 2003
Our 2003 albums list captures a year when indie rock was flourishing, pop was sharpening its edges, and tastes were starting to broaden. Revisit the records that defined No Ripcord’s listening back then—and see which ones still hold their ground two decades later.
2002
The Best Albums of 2002
Our very first end of year feature came in 2002, when we rounded up our top 50 albums of the year—a tradition we’ve maintained ever since.