New Music Friday: 11/14/25

Thanks, as always, to Pause & Play for keeping an essential record of each week's new releases. Here's a little sampler plate of the stuff that made me happiest from yesterday's list — not our longest NMF post, and heavy on established acts, but hey, every week is different. Hope you find something you enjoy here:

"Prize Fighter," Jean Dawson
Context counts for a lot. Fans seem sort of mixed on Jean Dawson's latest release, Rock a Bye Baby Glimmer of God — partly because some feel his once-restless sound has grown sort of static, and partly because it's a "deluxe" version of 2024's Glimmer of God, which is always sort of a dick move — but if you're coming in blind, like I was when I heard "Prize Fighter," all you're going to hear is an artist that blends a somewhat disparate array of sonic bits into a smoothly compelling whole.

I've seen Dawson compare himself to Prince — not in terms of generational talent, but in terms of his resistance to being pigeonholed. You can hear that here: "Prize Fighter" sounds like spinning in a dark room, with New Wave touches (watery goth guitar, sinuous sax) adding a warmth that makes that darkness feel like an embrace instead of a threat, all while Dawson's voice pulses out of the gloom in a way that makes it hard to keep consistent track of what the hell he's saying while also making it hard to get too worked up about it.

All of which is to say that if you're a Dawson fan, this might sound like a rut; to me, an elderly n00b, it sounds like a groove.

"Shot in the Dark," the Format
It's hard to know what to do with fame, and I suspect there isn't really anyone who can tell you how to handle it when you find yourself in possession of it. For reasons that aren't clear to me, I get the sense that former fun. frontman Nate Ruess has sort of worn out his welcome with a lot of the folks who used to love that band, but I think he deserves some credit for having the gumption to determinedly follow his own path — a path that, for the last decade, has seen him paying the bills with various superstar songwriting collaborations while spending most of his time raising a family and periodically poking his head up with oddball projects like a podcast devoted to the Lethal Weapon TV series.

I was aware that Ruess had reunited his pre-fun. group the Format, and knew they'd released stray bits of music between reunion gigs, but I assumed that was probably about as far as it'd go — in this era of new albums seeming like more of a luxury than a prerequisite, especially for indie acts, it felt foolish to look at it any other way. But lo and behold, the Format's got a new record, Boycott Heaven, slated for early next year, and to whet the appetite, here's "Shot in the Dark." If you're hoping for something that sounds like Aim & Ignite-era fun., you'll be disappointed; if you'd just be happy with another Ruess solo record, then I think this track will float your boat just fine. Ruess remains an reliable distributor of stirring pop-rock anthems, and he and bandmate Sam Means pulled out all the stops for this record — it was produced by Brendan O'Brien, who also played bass, and they were also joined by Matt Chamberlain on drums. It's like the early aughts all over again... in a good way?

"Feathers and a Smile," Little Feat featuring Inara George
The first time I heard Inara George sing, she was covering "Trouble" with Little Feat for the excellent but slept-on tribute album put together for her dear departed dad Lowell in 1995. She has since, of course, gone on to great success as one-half of the Bird and the Bee, but I've always hoped time and tide would lead her back around to her father's songs, so I was very happy to see the news that they were getting back together to cover another cut from the Lowell George songbook.

This one's a deep cut — per Rolling Stone, it's a never-recorded number written more than 50 years ago — and the timing of its release is particularly bittersweet, given that it coincides with the announcement of Little Feat's farewell tour. Coming fairly fast on the heels of the group's recent (and quite excellent) Strike Up the Band, it strongly suggests that whenever this run of dates concludes, it'll see them going out on a high note.

"Break Through," Steve Morse Band
The new album I was most eager to hear this week was Triangulation, the first release from the Steve Morse Band in more than 15 years. If you're roughly my age and you give a shit about the guitar, you probably know Morse's story, which starts with the Dixie Dregs, includes stints in Kansas and Deep Purple, and includes a ton of acclaim but very little in terms of record sales. It seems doubtful that Triangulation will alter that equation much, but it proves that Morse remains capable of raising your eyebrows with his playing while never forgetting that his real job is to give you an honest-to-gosh song.

Here's hoping the next record arrives far faster.

"I Stay I Leave I Love I Lose," Jessie Murph
This track comes from the just-released deluxe edition of Murph's Sex Hysteria album, which makes it twice in one week that I'm guilty of encouraging artists who've decided to soak their fans by releasing an embiggened version of something they already own. I thought the remix album craze of the early '90s was gross, but this is grosser.

Anyway, while I've never quite been able to figure out how I feel about Murph in general — is she really all that talented in her own right, or is she just fun to listen to because her sound is so close to so many legitimately great artists? — I have no convincing arguments against this number, which does a fine job of highlighting her soulful vocals.

"One Blue Light," Dan Penn
This marks the spot where I endorse a holiday song for what will probably be the only time this year, or possibly ever. It's been ten years since Mellowmas ended, and I still bear the scars — but new music from Dan Penn is always to be celebrated. He's 83 and he's long since stopped needing to prove himself to any damn body, so I keep waiting for him to retire, and I'm always pleasantly surprised when he tells us he's decided not to.

"Vagabond," Ariel Posen
Anything you read about Ariel Posen will typically include mentions of all the big names he's played with, but "Vagabond" reminds me most of a guitar hero that hardly anybody ever talks about: Willy Porter, a player whose pyrotechnic capabilities are usually sublimated in service of the song. While "Vagabond" includes plenty of the fuzz-coated slide Posen's known for, he isn't here to cut heads — rather than any guitar tricks, it's the chorus that'll ring in your ears after the final note fades.

"fool," Ethan Regan
The 17-year-old says "fool" sounds unfinished, but not in a bad way, and I think that's about as good a way as any to describe the oddly appealing sound Ethan Regan has cobbled together here. It's spare in most respects — a lot of this track chugs along with little more than what sounds like a banjo — but you can tell the stacks of distinctive harmonies he's piled up here came together with a lot of effort. It carries the hermetically sealed air that typically comes with stuff built track by track in the studio, but it doesn't sound excessively fussed-over. I dunno; based on what I hear here, I'm at least mildly intrigued by this guy.

"Dopamine," Robyn
Robyn's been pretty quiet for the last few years, and I suspect it's been longer still since most people even thought about her. Her moment may have passed — the commercial shelf life for Swedish pop singers is, in general, not very long, although I'm perfectly aware there are exceptions, you pedantic jerks — but whatever its chart fate turns out to be, "Dopamine" proves she hasn't lost her fastball. I don't dance and I'm allergic to clubs; this song makes it seem, however briefly, that those decisions might be mistakes.

"MOLLY," Ecca Vandal
There's a ratty, anything-goes energy to this song that I find very appealing — just a really colorful grab bag of sound, anchored by a stomping beat and topped off by Vandal's ragged yet muscular voice. According to what I've read, she has a Sri Lankan background, was born in South Africa, and now lives in Melbourne, which is the type of detail you'd generally use to pad out a word count, but in this case serves as a useful signpost for an artist whose appeal rests at least in part on her kaleidoscopic perspective.