11 New Records Worth Adding to Your Collection
The best new albums of October, as well as some highly anticipated vinyl reissues.
It’s that time again music lovers, to peek inside my record collection to see what I snagged this month. October has been especially good to us, with plenty of fresh albums to soundtrack the fall, as well as some new vinyl reissues.
So whether you're building out your vinyl stash, adding to your playlist, or just curious about what I’ve been spinning, here’s what’s caught my ear this month.
All the following new releases have been entered into the Album of the Year Leaderboard. Stream on Spotify and Apple Music.
We are approaching 100 albums — vinyl colorways and liner notes on all 100 will be available in book form in December.
Geordie Greep - The New Sound
Get Vinyl: Black
London's black midi might have called it quits after three wild, genre-bending albums, but frontman Geordie Greep isn’t fading quietly into obscurity. His debut solo effort, The New Sound, is even more chaotic and captivating than you'd expect—imagine Bowie’s Blackstar if Bowie had spent a summer in Rio, absorbing the sun-drenched energy of Brazilian Tropicália.
Teaming up with black midi drummer Morgan Simpson and producer Seth Evans, Greep delivers a fever dream of grandiose anthems and labyrinthine lyrics, his theatrical vocals leading the charge like a wrestling heel cutting a promo.
Highlights abound but I keep returning to “Holy, Holy,” which sounds like Donald Fagen mashed with The Mars Volta, and the sprawling, shocking 12-minute epic "The Magician." Even if black midi wasn’t your thing, I’d still give this a try. Watch Greep rip through both “Holy, Holy” and “The Magician” live in the video below.
The Smile - Cutouts
Get Vinyl: White
Jonny Greenwood told NME in 2021: “I’m the most impatient of everybody in Radiohead. I’ve always said I’d much rather the records were 90 percent as good, but come out twice as often.” Well, Cutouts, the latest release from The Smile, is proof of that philosophy in action—and I’m all in.
While we’ve waited eight years and counting for a new Radiohead album, The Smile is making up for lost time. Cutouts, their second album in just nine months, finds Thom Yorke and company embracing the urgency of time, delivering a looser, but no less powerful, record.
From the slow-burning “Instant Psalm” to the driving pulse of “Don’t Get Me Started,” the A-side is, for my money, their best stretch as The Smile. Cutouts isn’t a side project or a placeholder—it’s their most engaging work yet.
Christopher Owens - I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair
Get Vinyl: Clear
It’s been 12 years since Girls disbanded and seven since we last heard from frontman Christopher Owens. In the meantime, Owens has weathered more than his share of storms—a motorcycle accident, homelessness, the loss of his fiancée, and the passing of bandmate and best friend Chet "JR" White.
Now, with I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair, Owens returns with the kind of wistful, heart-wrenching prog-folk that made Girls so beloved. The standout is the album’s closer, "Do You Need A Friend"—a simple yet heartfelt track that features a surprising Roxette’s “It Must Have Been Love” cameo before erupting into a grand crescendo. A triumphant return.
Goat - Goat
Get Vinyl: Goatbrain Splatter
The Swedish experimentalists Goat are back with their self-titled sixth album, and it’s exactly what you’d hope for—a sludged-up psychedelic trip that doesn’t let up. From the moment “One More Death” kicks off with its guitar-heavy, trippy goodness, you’re in for a ride.
The real magic happens mid-album with tracks like “Dollar Bill,” “Zombie,” and “Frisco Beaver,” where the band hits their groove. Every listen reveals some new, foreign sound that no one else seems capable of producing.
I’d love to catch Goat live on this tour, but the turntable will have to suffice for now. Also don’t you love it when the wax matches the album art?
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - No Title As Of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead
Get Vinyl: Black
Montreal's Godspeed You! Black Emperor return with No Title As Of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead, their eighth full-length album over a 27-year career of shaping post-rock. The album’s title leaves no ambiguity—a response to the staggering death toll and human devastation from the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
The music itself is typical Godspeed—swelling crescendos that make you feel something deep in your bones. It’s heavy, it’s raw, and it’s a wordless call for humanity to do better. This is one of those albums that feels like a powerful statement without ever saying a word.
Here’s a link to donate directly and safely to the Palestinian people.
Phantogram - Memory of a Day
Get Vinyl: Red and Orange Marble | Black
Phantogram is back with their fifth album, and let me tell you—Memory of a Day might be their best since their 2010 debut Eyelid Movies. Sarah Barthel’s vocals are as stunning as ever, floating over their signature blend of electronica and trip-hop. But this time around, they’ve layered in some lush shoegaze guitars, giving the album a fresh, dreamy vibe.
As usual, Phantogram delivers a few classic bangers per album— here we have the lush “Attaway,” the poppy anthem “Happy Again,” and the earworm first single “All a Mystery.” The title track closes things out on a high note, with an infectious chorus that’ll be stuck in your head for days.
Tim Heidecker - Slipping Away
Get Vinyl: Summer Sky Splash
Comedy legend Tim Heidecker gets serious on Slipping Away, his sixth album, which sees him trading punchlines for folk-rock introspection. Backed by his touring band (the aptly named Very Good Band, including video editor extraordinaire Vic Berger on keyboard), Heidecker delivers a set of Randy Newman-esque songs about missed opportunities, parenthood, and the post-pandemic world.
Tracks like “Well’s Running Dry” and “Dad of the Year” are standout moments, showing off a raw vulnerability that might surprise those who know him from Tim and Eric. It’s a soothing, heartfelt record, perfect for the end-of-the-world vibes we’ve been dealing with lately. I give this album 5 bags of popcorn and 2 sodas.
Japandroids - Fate & Alcohol
Get Vinyl: Pink | Clear
RIP to beloved rockers Japandroids, who are officially bowing out with Fate & Alcohol, their fourth and final album. Best known for capturing lightning in a bottle with their 2012 masterpiece Celebration Rock, the Vancouver duo has crafted a proper farewell—bittersweet and raw. Sadly, there’s no tour to follow, meaning we’ll never experience these songs in all their live glory.
For a deep dive into the live and death of Japandroids, check out Ian Cohen’s longread over at Stereogum. It's the end of an era—thanks for all the hits!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It’s Blitz!
Get Vinyl: Yellow Splatter
Now let’s end the list with a few fun reissues I added to the PC.
Karen O and company’s third album It's Blitz!, featuring production by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, turns 15 this year and it finally received it’s first ever colored release, which ships out this week. Nice touch with the egg splatter vinyl.
The album bursts with infectious energy, especially the A-side, highlighted by the irresistible dance-punk anthems “Heads will Roll” and “Zero.”
The Starting Line - Say It Like You Mean It
Get Vinyl: Apple Red
It's been a banner year for pop punk vinyl collectors, with plenty of long-lost gems resurfacing. After years of shelling out hundreds on the secondary market, fans can rejoice with represses of white whales like Something Corporate's Leaving Through the Window and now The Starting Line's Say It Like You Mean It.
Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else
Get Vinyl: Bleach Marble | Splatter
To mark the 10th anniversary of Cloud Nothings’ Here and Nowhere Else, label Pure Noise Records is releasing a deluxe version featuring eight live tracks and two remixes.
There was a month or two back in 2014 where this was my go-to running soundtrack, with each track delivering an adrenaline surge strong enough to push through to the last mile. The drums on "Psychic Trauma" and the seven minute "Pattern Walks" may change your life…
Signed Vinyl Giveaway Time
Hey thanks for reading. To the paid subscribers, thanks for your support, it means the world to me! To the rest of you, for about the price of a beer, you can keep the lights on around here. Subs get many perks, including $10 off in the gift shop.
Additionally, you are automagically entered into a monthly signed vinyl giveaway. This month features DIIV, The Hotelier, girl in red, Everything But The Girl, Bethany Cosentino, and Gouge Away. A winner will be announced next week.
We will return this Friday for The Weekender. Until then, happy listening!
wow totally loved that tim heidecker -- thanks for reminding me that he makes music!
Check out Being Dead's EELS, definitely in my top 2. Thanks for this!