Faces
TBA
Fifty-three years is a long-ass time to wait between albums but ‘70s rock staples Faces—who initially disbanded in 1975 and have performed sporadically over the years—promise they still have the juice. Remaining members Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, and Kenney Jones have been writing together on and off since 2020, with Stewart telling the Telegraph in 2021 that the band had recorded some “extremely worthy songs” (“We will get it finished, I promise” he said, about a new record. “No other band sounds like us.”) Jones followed Stewart’s pledge with a 2025 confirmation that Faces had recorded 11 new tracks, most of which will appear on the next album. —Alex Suskind
Fcukers: Ö
March 27
If Fcukers manage to ascend from New York buzz band purgatory, it’ll be because they don’t take themselves too seriously. Or because of a cross-coastal assist from Kenneth Blume, the producer formerly known as Kenny Beats, who treats the trashiest strains of electroclash and Eurodance as just more crayons in the box. Or because most of the hooks on Shanny Wise and Jackson Walker’s debut full-length, Ö, are so Kindergarten-simple—”L-U-C-K-Y I’m lucky,” “I like it like that,” “Say you wanna party? Come over to my house”—that they’ll still be rattling around your skull days after the rave. —Walden Green
Flea: Honora
March 27
Flea seems like the kind of guy who would already have a half-dozen solo releases under his belt. But the forthcoming album from the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist is actually his first. Lead single “A Plea” blends Flea’s slap-heavy bass riffs and peppy trumpet section with lyrics about America’s sordid affairs: “Is the ugly coming, and the guns? (Civil War, Civil War) / Is the army coming, blotting out the sun? (Civil War, Civil War).” Still, Flea maintains he has no interest in “the act of politics.” “I think there is a much more transcendent place above it,” he said in a statement, “where there’s discourse to be had that can actually help humanity, and actually help us all to live harmoniously and productively in a way that’s healthy for the world.” —Alex Suskind
Foo Fighters: Your Favorite Toy
April 24
The title track on Your Favorite Toy is brash and snarky and full of fuzzy vocals. According to Dave Grohl, it’s the single that unlocked the overall tone and energetic direction Foo Fighters wanted to go for their follow-up to 2023’s But Here We Are. Recorded at home with Oliver Roman, the rest of Your Favorite Toy is more in line with the snippy Australian rock of the aughts, but it feels new in the hands of Foo Fighters. Even when they slow the pace on single “Asking for a Friend,” they snake a venomous guitar solo into the heart of the track to pump it full of blood. —Nina Corcoran
Friko: Something Worth Waiting For
April 24
Friko expanded from a duo to a quartet and hired superproducer John Congleton for the follow-up to cult-making 2024 debut Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here. The Chicago band sounds accordingly beefed-up and business-ready on Something Worth Waiting For, an album whose indie-rock flair, psych-pop charm, and heartland-rock gusto make it equally suited to a bedroom shrine or festival big-top. If the album positions them in the lineage of sometime tourmates Modest Mouse and the Flaming Lips, Something Worth Waiting For sounds less like a swing for the big time than a merry jaunt into its general vicinity, happy to pick up any alt-rock lifers who’ll come. —Jazz Monroe
Gia Margaret: Singing
April 24
“There was a time when I really didn’t know if I would sing again,” Gia Margaret shared in press materials for her new album, Singing. If the title offers any indication, her concern proved to be unfounded. Margaret has spent the past near-decade recovering from the loss of her voice on a 2018 tour, releasing two ambient and piano-forward albums in the interim. But her next record, partially recorded with Frou Frou’s Guy Sigsworth, foregrounds Margaret’s vocals against a bricolage of Gregorian chants, icy electro pop and turntablist flourish. —Hattie Lindert
Greg Mendez: Beauty Land
May 29
When Greg Mendez’s music broke beyond his local Philadelphia scene and into the broader nationwide consciousness with 2023’s self-titled record, many pointed at Elliott Smith and Alex G to describe his music. Mendez has a voice of his own, though, and that’s increasingly clear while spinning Beauty Land, his fourth album and first for Dead Oceans. Over threadbare acoustic guitar, hollow piano notes, and the occasional percussive additions, these 14 songs track characters as they try to work through grief, love, and addiction. Recorded directly to tape, Beauty Land is an empathetic look at the fragile moments that comprise people’s lives. —Nina Corcoran
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Hiss Golden Messenger: I’m People
May 1
When M.C. Taylor started his folk project Hiss Golden Messenger nearly 20 years ago, he didn’t expect it to take him as far as it has: over a dozen albums, unlikely collaborations, and a deeper understanding of what life is all about—even if it’s hard to put into words. On I’m People, Hiss Golden Messenger press their palms together and dive headfirst into it all: losing faith, having babies, growing older, dashing expectations, rediscovering hope, feeling seen, and savoring the nature surrounding you. Recorded at a decommissioned church in upstate New York, I’m People captures a new bundle of imagery that Hiss Golden Messenger spot so effortlessly, this time with additional instrumentation by Bruce Hornsby, Fruit Bats’ Eric D. Johnson, Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith, and more. —Nina Corcoran
Honey Dijon: The Nightlife
April 17
House icon Honey Dijon is back and more famous than ever. For The Nightlife, Chloe Bailey lends her sugary pop vocals to the big-room house of “Nightlife,” Bree Runway emcees over runway track “Slight Werk,” and Mahalia coos over “Rush Me,” which shows off chirpy freestyle synths and a snaking bassline that would make Larry Heard proud. This is an album bridging together the queer club culture of Honey’s homes in New York, Chicago, and London, drawing from late ’80s Chicago house, early ’90s ballroom, and synth-heavy R&B funk. It’s definitely clubby, but poppy enough to blare on the radio. —Kiana Mickles
Irreversible Entanglements: Future Present Past
March 27
Irreversible Entanglements do not let up: Future Present Past, the free-jazz collective’s latest call to action, unites the mind and nervous system in a surge of hyper-focused chaos. The five-piece sets liberatory mantras to music that evokes a carnival of the soul, propelled by freeform drums that clamor forth as if to outpace our grim times. “It is our duty to vibrate higher, beyond the noise, above the hype, away from the novelty, over the walls, across the borders: to keep going,” the band said in press materials. A pair of Helado Negro collaborations bookend the album, and New York-based vocalist Motherboard returns to join firebrand singer-poet Moor Mother as a guest vocalist. —Jazz Monroe
Isaiah Rashad
TBA
An Isaiah Rashad album is no hurried thing. His past two LPs, 2021’s The House Is Burning and 2016’s The Sun’s Tirade, have each taken around five years to germinate—which means we’re right on schedule for Rashad’s next release, which he’s begun to offhandedly tease as his best album ever. In interviews, he’s cited influences from Prince and Outkast to Fousheé and BunnaB, a characteristically eclectic palette that hopefully reflects in the credits.
