New Album Release Round-Up: June 2026

Every month brings more new music than anyone can reasonably keep up with—even the No Ripcord team.

Our Album Release Round-Up collects the records we didn’t cover in full but still feel compelled to comment on. Think of it as a spiritual successor to our original Quick Takes feature. No hype, no snark, just honest reviews.

SLIFT
Fantasia
(Sub Pop)

Toulouse trio SLIFT scale back their adventurous prog-metal tendencies on their fourth album. Following an 80-minute sci-fi odyssey like 2024’s Ilion, almost any release would seem lean by comparison, but the real question was whether the French rock band could thrive within a more restrained approach. To a large extent, frontman Jean Fossat succeeds, sustaining a sense of dramatic tension that rarely lets up. The palm-muted, psych-driven “A Storm in Wings” strikes a tricky balance between the gritty polish of Superunknown-era Soundgarden and the swagger of Clutch’s major-label run. “Orbis Tertius” and “Waiting Man” lean further into cosmic space rock, though their stop-start dynamics push them firmly into post-hardcore territory. As Fantasia concludes, it does leave a samey aftertaste, but the band’s technical flair—while dialled back—remains intact. (JR)

Ambrose Akinmusire & Mary Halvorson
Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings
(Nonesuch)

American guitarist Mary Halvorson has been responsible for some of the finest avant-garde jazz records in recent years, so it’s hardly surprising that her latest full-length—a collaboration with trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire—is bursting with invention and charisma. While the sombre opener “Prelude in the Ash” follows a surprisingly traditional path, the ensuing compositions are characterised by the sort of abrupt left turns we’ve come to expect from both artists. The pair’s wonderful interplay on “Soundcheck” is far more representative of Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings’ myriad charms. (DC)

YHWH Nailgun
Magazine
(4AD)

There’s an easy argument to be made that artists making artfully minded atonal music fall under the category of “you’re not supposed to get it.” It can render artists like New York City experimental project YHWH Nailgun seemingly immune to any criticism. Their second full-length project concludes almost as quickly as it took me to write this quick take. What’s more frustrating is that, even at 11 minutes, it felt somewhat tedious to discern the better ideas the band comes up with in these sketches. Is it a statement to the stimulation we get due to our short attention spans like I read someone mention recently? C’mon, let’s not kid ourselves. Tracks like “Ballerina” and “Burns” start promisingly, but don’t amount to much once they end abruptly. I will say that I greatly appreciate Sam Pickard’s drum groove, which reminds me of pre-Crush Abe Vigoda, a band that also understood the value of concision. (JR)

Kelsey Lu
So Help Me God
(Dirty Hit)

Seven years since their debut, Kelsey Lu is back with So Help Me God. Clearly a considerable talent, the cello-wielding singer-songwriter/performance artist has evidently chosen a less pop-centric path this time out. Don’t let the presence of Jack Antonoff fool you—Lu has evidently brought the highly regarded pop producer on board to co-produce an avant-garde excursion. I’m no great fan of Antonoff’s oddly sterile motifs, and I can’t help but wonder if his trademark polish has sanded the charm out of Lu’s vision. But there are moments worth exploring, namely the cinematic “Running To Pain,” which recalls Florence Welch, and the heavily Björk-influenced “American Sonnet.” (DC)

Bedouine
Neon Summer Skin
(Thirty Tigers)

The past pulls Bedouine, aka Azniv Korkejian, back in on Neon Summer Skin, where she navigates the effects of forced or voluntary separation from her homeland. Rooted in stories of transformation and strength, the Syrian-American singer-songwriter often uses memory as a weapon, revisiting episodes of her nomadic life to highlight the safety many often take for granted. As ever, Korkejian’s arrangements are sublime, especially on the piano-led opener “On My Own,” which builds into a grand chamber pop crescendo. She leans effortlessly into ’70s balladry more fully than ever on “One Thing Right” and “Long Way to Fall,” the latter assisted by retro-pop producer extraordinaire Jonathan Rado. While the album's neatly ornate production occasionally softens the intimacy that made the fingerpicked, less polished Bird Songs of a Killjoy so distinctive, Korkejian’s ability to let us into her inner world remains undeniable. (JR)

The Sentimental Tourists
Without Love We Expire
(Self-released)

The Sentimental Tourists is a collaboration between two legends of the late ’80s/early ’90s Irish indie scene, guitarist Paul Page (Whipping Boy) and vocalist Dave Long (Into Paradise). Neither Page nor Long achieved the success they deserved the first time around, and while this modest self-release is likely to correct that injustice, it’s undoubtedly a project befitting their considerable talents. A more atmospheric offering than anything their original bands produced, The Sentimental Tourists reminds me a little of Adam Franklin and Sam Fogarino’s underrated Magnetic Morning project. The mid-tempo chugger “Ghosts” is a highlight, but this is an even and engaging collection with much to recommend. (DC)

Office Dog
Prime Corner
(Flying Nun)

A continuation can be just as challenging as a beginning, a perspective that established New Zealand singer-songwriter Kane Strang explores in Prime Corner. Having initially formed Office Dog to try something new, he further refines his approach with his second LP, sharpening the edges of the power trio’s heavily melodic indie rock. Even in familiar surroundings, Strang captures a lingering sense of not quite belonging. On tracks like “Futures” and “Reins,” he inhabits the uneasy feeling that something is about to happen, yet never quite does. It might not sound like the most compelling concept on paper, but paired against a backdrop of melancholic dissonance (“Lesson” is a mid-album highlight), Strang and his bandmates wear their inner turmoil well. (JR)

Faceless Mule Corporation
Episode Two
(Self-released)

24 years ago, I savaged James Closs’ debut EP, released under his favoured Muleskinner Jones moniker, describing it as “absolutely dire” and dubbing Closs’ vocal “the most annoying I’ve ever heard.” I’d like to think we’ve both come a long way since then. Now recording as Faceless Mule Corporation, Closs has evolved into a progressive psych innovator, taking his outsider spirit into a more motorik realm. At 120 minutes, Episode Two is an unwieldy beast, but there is plenty here to delight fans of scrappy post-punk (try the Fall-esque “Void State Inhibitor”) and noisy experimentalism. (DC)

Tierra Whack
WHACK’S MUSEUM
(Interscope)

Getting straight to the point and leaving you wanting more the moment it ends, Tierra Whack crams in so many colourful ideas on her terse mixtape. A mixtape in name only, as WHACK’S MUSEUM feels as relatively fleshed out as you’d imagine from the Philly punchline rapper. Brevity remains one of her greatest strengths, as she shows off commanding bars over gritty, Conductor Williams-produced boom-bap on “WAX PAPER” and uplifting soul on “EARWAX.” “Siren,” built around an Erik Satie-sampled piano loop, stands out as a highlight, pairing her rapid-fire verses with an empowering message. Minor in scope but rich in personality, the mixtape fulfils its purpose in spades. The countdown to her return begins now. (JR)

Pearl & The Oysters
Monkey Mind
(Stones Throw)

Pearl & The Oysters have carved themselves out a nice little niche with their summery retro-futuristic brand of genre-hopping pop, and superficially at least, Monkey Mind sounds like business as usual for the French-American LA-based duo. But there’s an anxious undercurrent to the pair’s Jonathan Rado-produced sixth album, which was composed during the Southern Californian wildfires of 2025. There’s also delightful bossa nova, laid-back jazz, and whimsical space-pop. Monkey Mind might just be their best yet. (DC)