New Music Friday: 9/19/25

Apologies for the delay with this one, amigos — my sister flew in on Friday for a weekend visit, which meant I wasn't able to sift through all the new releases until this morning. As always, big thanks to the indispensable Pause & Play, without whom none of us would know a single thing about what's coming out each week. They're appointment reading for me every Friday, and the same should go for you.

Now here's what stood out for me:

"Secrets," Miley Cyrus featuring Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood
I guess if Lindsey and Stevie are finally ex-bandmates for good, he might as well find a new raspy-throated songbird to collaborate with — and based on "Secrets," he could do a hell of a lot worse than Miley Cyrus. Oddly, the thing I might like most about this song is how subtle Buckingham and Fleetwood's involvement really is; if I had those cats in the studio, I'd be sorely tempted to make everything sound like either Rumours or Tango in the Night. Props to Ms. Cyrus for doing her own thing, albeit in such a way that you're still left feeling like you're only a few degrees removed from hearing a Buckingham/Nicks reunion.

"Where Is My Husband!," Raye
"The sound is... RETRO-POP," declare the opening moments of this video, and, well, that's a fair advertisement for what's to follow. More importantly, this song has a tight groove that does a bang-up job of supporting Raye's vocals and the fun-as-fuck brass arrangement. An easy pick for one of the most immediately irresistible singles of the year.

"David's Brother," the Favors featuring Finneas and Ashe
It'd be more accurate to say that the Favors are Finneas and Ashe, but whatever; I've rarely been able to come up with a strong argument against much of anything Billie Eilish's brother has done, particularly under his own name, and this single is a classically constructed pop-rock confection with a melody as sticky as double-sided tape. Their new album The Dream is now on the long list of records I need to investigate.

"Good Boy," Paris Paloma
This song is absolutely unsubtle in its attacks on the patriarchy, but the patriarchy isn't exactly being subtle about its bullshit these days, so I suppose subtlety isn't an arrow that Paris Paloma exactly needed in her quiver for "Good Boy." This is a song very much of its moment, in other words, and that's a sorrowful thing, but its simmering rage is still satisfying in its expression.

"Bleach," Bakar
I don't want to oversell this song, because it's ultimately rather slight, but I'm about to anyway: Bakar's acoustic-guitar-and-soulful-vocal vibe here — not to mention the lyrics about painfully unrequited love — makes me feel like I'm hearing what might have happened if Bill Withers had been born 65 years later. That isn't really what you'll hear when you listen to "Bleach," but I think you'll understand why I said it anyway.

"Cinder Block," Samia
Hey, here's some funny timing. Just a few weeks ago, I interviewed Honeydogs frontman Adam Levy, and he name-checked Samia as a rising young talent. I'd never heard of her when I spoke with Adam, but now that I've listened to "Cinder Block," I wholeheartedly agree. There's something about the way her vocals set up that mournful lead guitar that makes melancholy feel real good. Sounds like walking around your neighborhood and trying to sort things out.

"My Only Angel," Aerosmith featuring Yungblud
I haven't really enjoyed an Aerosmith album since Pump, so I went into "My Only Angel" with exceedingly low expectations, but damn if this doesn't boast a surprisingly high level of piss and vinegar. I'm not saying I'm so knocked out that I feel like going and finding out who Yungblud is, or that I'm willing to look past the fact that Steven Tyler and Joe Perry should be legally prohibited from performing on any song with "Angel" in the title at this point; I'm just saying that the Toxic Twins lost most of their bite at least 30 years ago, and it's nice to hear them sort of rocking again.

"Guardian Angel," Carly Rae Jepsen
If I'm being honest, a lot of the discourse surrounding Carly Rae Jepsen's music strikes me as at least a little overheated, and I would never have picked Emotion for a list of albums begging for a tenth anniversary expanded edition. On the other hand, I wholeheartedly agree that when she's on, she's really quite good, and "really quite good" is a perfectly accurate way to describe "Guardian Angel."

"Red Match Box," Mal Waldron
This one's a cheat, because while it's new to us, it really isn't new at all. This performance of "Red Match Box" comes from the recently released Candy Girl, which consists of lost sessions between Waldron and the Lafayette Afro Rock Band, a funk group that was based out of Paris when this was recorded in 1975. But if you can listen to this track and tell me you feel cheated, well, I think you need to see a doctor.

"On My Own," Jon Nolan
If you ask me, Jon Nolan's "On My Own" has more melodic teeth than your average Dawes track, but I'm still compelled to offer them as a point of reference when discussing his music, because there's no getting around the fact that as well-written as it is, this is your standard "guy with guitar" singer-songwriter cut. The thing is, solid examples of this stuff can be hard to find when you're in the mood to hear them, so thank you, Jon Nolan. I know I just sort of said your music is beige dad rock, but I meant it as a compliment.

"Before I'm in the Grave," Bones Owens
If you miss the days when Sturgill Simpson was content to exist within a moderately radio-friendly space that was still smoked and seasoned and catchy as all get out — and you need a breather between spins of the new Tyler Childers record — you may feel your antennae perk up upon hearing "Before I'm in the Grave." This is country-inflected rock (or rock-inflected country) with plenty of 'tude and hooks to match. Goes well with open windows and cheap beer.

"Everything You Do," the Happy Fits
The Happy Fits make power pop with extra power and also extra pop, and "Everything You Do" — with a chorus that comes across as a sort of inbred cousin to "I've Done Everything for You" — is a perfectly bright, sweet, and crunchy calling card for everything they do. Sounds a little more polished than their earlier stuff, which I suspect may rub a few longtime fans the wrong way, but anyone who digs Mike Viola should eat this up.

"Barroom Wonder," Lawn
I'm not saying Lawn sounds like R.E.M., but I am saying that they sound like they were influenced by every band that also influenced R.E.M. — and since we no longer have R.E.M., I wonder if perhaps their fans might also enjoy Lawn. In other words, there's some shaggy mumblecore in here, and there are also a lot of jangling guitars, and the combination of the two still makes a person lean in and want to hear more.