New Music Friday: 10/31/25

Many thanks, as always, to the indispensable Pause & Play for rounding up releases every New Music Friday. Here's the stuff that made a solid first impression this week:

"Captain Goat," Avatar
Because I'm not up on my Swedish metal, I'd never heard of Avatar before learning of their new Don't Go in the Forest LP, and I had no idea what to expect when I tuned in. I mean, okay, I had some idea of what to expect, but "Swedish metal" can mean a lot of different things — I wasn't sure whether I was about to be treated to something fun, or something punishing.

While I haven't listened to the rest of Don't Go in the Forest, I am here to tell you that "Captain Goat" delivers exactly what you want from a song with this title from a band of this nature, which is to say that it is loud and rad and seems to have an incredible sense of humor. Rock, friends:

"Try Me," Flyana Boss
Much like "Captain Goat," "Try Me" made me chuckle, although that's where the similarities end. Flayana Boss is not a Swedish metal band; instead, they're a California hip-hop duo. They also have a fun sense of humor, but it's somewhat less good-natured than our face-painted Nordic friends — "Try Me" is a good old-fashioned middle finger to one's haters, gotten across with a stomping beat, nyah-nyah playground chorus, and a wonderfully childish second verse:

I hope you wake up casually and
Stub yo big toe
I hope you drinkin' water
Wrong pipe then you choke
I hope you sit down to pee and
The toilet seat closed
I hope your credit card declines
Like oh you still broke

In some respects, I am a complicated man. In others, not so much.

"Somebody I'm Not," Eli
The best pop music — hell, maybe the best music, period — has a way of hooking you in before you even really understand what you're listening to, and Eli's "Somebody I'm Not" definitely fits that description. She has a distinctive, elastic voice and a knack for memorable melodies, both of which make this track a lot of fun to listen to before you lean in to pay attention to the lyrics. Suffice it to say that the song makes a statement that's as forceful as it is poignant, and based on what I've since read about Eli, I predict a big mainstream splash isn't far off.

"A Different Kind of Animosity," Ferkaad featuring Derek Sherinian
How's this for funny timing? Just a few days after I listen to my first Dream Theater record, here comes a new EP from the "international prog collective" known as Ferkaad, with a title track featuring former DT keyboardist Derek Sherinian. As a prog track, I suppose it's a little lightweight, given that it clocks in at a measly 4:18, but that brief running time is enough to demonstrate this lineup's ability to balance instrumental virtuosity against, y'know, actual songwriting.

"Silo Park," Harper Finn
While listening to "Silo Park," my first thought was that every generation gets the McCartney disciple it deserves, and while I don't know whether Harper Finn will turn out to be as great as, say, Ron Sexsmith, this is still a song worth celebrating. I have since learned that Harper is a Finn from that Finn family, which is to say that Tim is his dad and Neil is his uncle. The great debate over nature vs. nurture continues; in the meantime, here's hoping we're hearing the one member of this musical dynasty who's able to consistently manage record sales commensurate with their talent.

"shady," flowerovlove
flowerovlove is at the stage of her career where she's being consistently tabbed as a next big thing and landing opening slots for name-brand acts like Olivia Rodrigo and Halsey. These things have a way of not panning out far more often than they do, but listening to "shady," you can understand why she's been able to build this much momentum — she has a warm, appealing voice, and this is a supremely catchy pop song with the sort of anthemic chorus designed to ping-pong around your brain for hours after you hear it. If a hit's on the horizon, don't be surprised.

"ego of a man," Mikayla Geier
This is basically the meme "lord give me the confidence of a mediocre white man" stretched out to two and a half minutes and given a killer chorus. It's a lot of fun, in other words, and has left me curious enough to check out the rest of Mikayla Geier's new HOT POT! album.

"(You Can't Go Back To) Oxford Talawanda," Guided by Voices
Where is Oxford Talawanda and why would anyone want to go back there in the first place? This is just one of countless mysteries I ponder when facing this band's vast catalog, an open sea I will surely never attempt to swim. Still, courtesy of an eager recommendation from Friend of Jefitoblog Rob Smith, I dipped my toe in long enough to appreciate this track, which is fist-pumping rock 'n' roll for middle-aged dudes who don't really want to get up off the couch.

"Struggle with the Beast," Anna von Hausswolff
Anna von Hausswolff's new Iconoclasts album features guest spots from Iggy Pop and Ethel Cain, which is another way of saying that she's currently about as buzzy among American music critics as any Swedish pipe organist could ever hope to be. I heard the Cain cut earlier today and thought it was fine, but this record's real pleasures lie in the stuff she did without famous friends — like "Struggle with the Beast," a rather bonkers display of compositional prowess that rocks like a bastard for a few minutes behind Otis Sandsjö's aggro sax before really getting going.

This isn't for everybody. Then again, that's part of the appeal. If you're the type of listener who finds yourself periodically yearning for something different without being able to put a finger on what "different" exactly is, this will probably light up your switchboard. Set aside nearly nine minutes and see what you think.

"Usho Njalo," Madala Kunene and Sibusile Xaba
Also standing outside the American pop umbrella — albeit in a far less confrontational way — is this delightful track, culled from the recently released kwanTU, an album-length collaboration between South African guitarists Madala Kunene and Sibusile Xaba. If you know your South African guitarists, you know this is a cross-generational summit between an established master (Kunene) and rising talent (Xaba); if not, don't worry about it, because you don't need to have heard of any of the players in order to love what they're doing here.

"Stay Still, a Little While," Lane 8 featuring Jyll
This track opens with cascades of the warm organic synths I associate with John Carpenter movies and old episodes of NOVA before settling into its true purpose, which is to pulse and bleep behind Jyll's impassioned vocals while she exhorts the listener to experience the bliss of simply not fucking doing anything for a bit. For people who are seriously into EDM, I get the impression that a new Lane 8/Jyll collaboration is a big deal; for the rest of us, it's enough that this song is a warm, reassuring sonic bath.

"The Passing," Jamie Lidell and Luke Schneider
Orbiting the same sun as the previous track, here's my favorite song from Lidell and Schneider's new album, whose title — A Companion for the Spaces Between Dreams — probably tells you everything you need to know about the cut of their musical jib. (If not, allow me to helpfully add that they're referring to it as "a kind of sonic tool to navigate a liminal state of mind.")

It does not have a good beat. You cannot dance to it. But you might just be able to float downstream for a bit.

"What a Life," Makaya McCraven
Before we venture back into the world of verse-chorus-verse, here's "What a Life" from drummer Makaya McCraven's new People's Mixtape LP. Confidently minimalist, the song just sort of burbles along behind Joel Ross' vibraphone for most of its runtime, which is absolutely everything I needed to hear from it. Chill grooves for now people.

"CY," Mother Soki
Mother Soki hails from Chicago, which means there's a pretty good chance she's suspiciously eyed dog-eared underwear catalog Dave Lifton during a shared ride on city transit at some point. Beyond that, I don't really know much about the story behind this song, other than the fact that she seems to have a fascination with Twin Peaks. "CY" is light on Lynchian weirdness, although it's certainly dark and moody — the type of song you don't really latch onto as much as you put on repeat and let wash over you. Pleasantly haunting.

"Hundred Acres," Noname featuring Devin Morrison
Propelled by a piano riff that wouldn't have been out of place on a Jurassic 5 record, "Hundred Acres" heralds Noname's long-awaited return — and metamorphosis into an MC whose flights of fancy are now tempered by a harder-edged approach. (Not entirely, though; speaking of fanciful flights, it isn't every day you see someone turn into a parrot.) Start to finish, this is funky, thoughtful shit; my biggest problem now is that I wish I was hearing Chali 2na along with Noname and Devin Morrison.

"Drift Away," Orville Peck
Mr. Peck is in the midst of a moment. After making his mark as a talented crooner of distinctively retro country songs, he jumped to Broadway in a recent production of Cabaret; next, he'll be seen in the latest dumb attempt to turn Street Fighter into a blockbuster film franchise. Happily, he hasn't forgotten his roots — "Drift Away," from Peck's soon-to-be-released Appaloosa EP, is just as hard to argue with as anything else I've heard from the guy. It's still possible to get high lonesome after all.

"Berghain," Rosalía featuring Björk and Yves Tumor
One glance at the three names associated with this track is enough to signal that it's the type of song that warrants its own immediate Wikipedia page, plus a bunch of discourse dedicated to unpacking everything that's going on here. To be fair, there's a lot going on here, and a different writer could fill an entire post with thoughts about it all, but that isn't what you came here for — which is fortunate for me, because it requires a lot less effort to simply say that "Berghain" is unlike anything else you'll hear this week, or most other weeks. I couldn't confidently tell you what Rosalía's trying to accomplish, but I can say there's enough stirring grandiosity to fill a film franchise, and two scoops of menacingly ethereal weirdness from Björk, and an Yves Tumor appearance that puts a suitably strange button on the whole thing. It's all delightfully cuckoo, yet it makes complete sense. I think.