Now Hear This! - October 2025

Sarah McLachlan
Better Broken
Concord

Sarah McLachlan returns after 11 years with songs that turn scars into light. Expanding her creative circle, the Canadian icon deepens her legacy of soulful transcendence, balancing raw truth with luminous grace. It�s an album of resilience and revelation, reaffirming her singular gift for transforming pain into timeless, universal song.

Daffo
Where the Earth Bends
Concord

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The debut album from an essential new voice on the indie-rock scene. Produced by Rob Schnapf (known for his work with Elliott Smith, Beck, Cat Power, and more), Where the Earth Bends encompasses an intimate yet frenetic sound that perfectly mirrors the album�s emotional intensity. Daffo brings an unexpected beauty to the most uncomfortable of feelings.

Noah Floersch
Francis Aquarius
Concord

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Floersch�s Francis Aquarius character is a guilt-tripping, projecting heavy-heart spewing his insecurities all over the place. But while Francis might be a bummer, Noah isn�t. From sad-boy singalongs, to cheeky, slick funk and stirring dance floor-fillers � you might be rolling your eyes at the guy singing these songs, but you can�t help but let him make you move.

Hardy
Country! Country!
Mercury Records

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Hardy reloads with Country! Country! a 20-track set that cements his place as Nashville�s great disruptor. With Stephen Wilson Jr., ERNEST, and Joey Moi in tow, he blends grit, wit, and anthemic punch�from aching ballads like �Car That Drove You Away� to barn-burning shouts like the title track.

Mirador
Mirador
Republic Records

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On their debut, Mirador channel myth, folklore, and Delta blues into a thunderous new vision of rock �n� roll. Led by Greta Van Fleet�s Jake Kiszka with Chris Turpin, and sharpened under Dave Cobb�s live-to-tape production, the band delivers raw, fearless firepower. It�s boundary-bursting, uncompromising, and destined to carve a bold new path forward.

Marcus King
Darling Blue
Republic Records

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At just 29, Marcus King already carries a lifetime�s weight of music. Featuring guests from Billy Strings to Noah Cyrus, the album traverses outlaw country, Southern soul, and blues-soaked rock. With heartfelt ballads, radio-ready anthems, and searing guitar work, King reaffirms his restless artistry and unstoppable momentum.

Madison Cunningham
Ace
Verve

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The stunning 2025 album, Ace, from Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham is a record about love, every part of it: falling out of love, having your heart broken, then falling in love again. Ace, on which Cunningham serves as co-producer, sees the acclaimed guitarist bring the piano into the foreground, creating intimate songs that are as playful as they are reflective.

Say She She
Cut & Rewind
drink sum wtr / All Flowers Group

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Say She She return with Cut & Rewind, a politically-charged, disco-drenched triumph. The NYC trio blend whistle tones, lush harmonies, and pulsing grooves into protest anthems you can dance to. Fierce, funky, and fearless, it�s resistance wrapped in irresistible rhythm.

Patrick Watson
Uh Oh
Secret City Records

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Patrick Watson turns crisis into catalyst on Uh Oh, born from the near-loss of his voice in 2023. Rather than retreat, the Montreal art-pop visionary reimagined his craft, writing songs for a constellation of guest singers while diving deep into modular synths and cinematic textures. It�s reinvention, equal parts vulnerability and vision.

Neil Young
Coastal Soundtrack
Reprise

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Coastal offers an intimate portrait of Young on his 2023 solo U.S. tour, directed by Daryl Hannah. The documentary captures the rock icon�s post-Covid return to the stage, blending candid bus musings, raw audience exchanges, and unfiltered vulnerability. Its companion soundtrack spans 11 tracks, weaving classics and deep cuts into a timeless, lived-in journey.

C�cile McLorin Salvant
Oh Snap
Nonesuch

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MacArthur Fellow and three-time Grammy winner C�cile McLorin Salvant delivers a genre-defying marvel. Across twelve originals (plus a sly nod to the Commodores� �Brick House�), Salvant explores indie, folk, jazz, and experimental pop with her singular voice. Featuring longtime collaborators and special guests, it�s a testament to boundless creativity.

Biffy Clyro
Futique
Warner Records

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Biffy Clyro return with their first album since topping the UK charts three times. Led by the soaring single �A Little Love��a Radio 1 Hottest Record and vinyl chart-topper�the record meditates on memory, connection, and time�s quiet vanishing points. It�s another anthemic, deeply human chapter from Britain�s alt-rock heavyweights.

Robert Plant
Saving Grace
Nonesuch

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The legendary Led Zeppelin frontman unveils Saving Grace, his first album with the band of the same name. Born from lockdown days in �The Shire,� the project finds Plant alongside Suzi Dian, Oli Jefferson, Tony Kelsey, Matt Worley, and Barney Morse-Brown, reimagining centuries-old folk, blues, and gospel with luminous freshness and shared spirit.

Carter Faith
Cherry Valley
MCA

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Carter Faith�s debut Cherry Valley is a heartfelt chronicle of her journey from North Carolina to Nashville. Crafted over two years, the album weaves triumph, heartbreak, and late-night reveries into a deeply personal narrative. With honesty and warmth, Faith stakes her claim as a rising voice in modern country-pop.

Author & Punisher
Nocturnal Birding
Relapse Records

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Collaborating globally, from guitarist Doug Sabolick to Megan Oztrosits, Fange, and Kuntari, Shone fuses mechanized industrial weight with literal birdsong, translating nature into sculpted, monolithic soundscapes. With art by Lucile Lejoly, the album is a haunting synthesis of raw melody, sonic heft, and profound thematic depth.

Supersuckers
Liquor, Women, Drugs & Killing
Blue Elan Recoreds

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The band strips back to a raw, focused three-piece sound, balancing biting, darkly humorous lyrics with upbeat, hard-hitting punk-rock energy. From scorching singles like �Maybe I�m Just Messin� With You� to twang-infused gems like �Unsolvable Problems,� it�s late-career brilliance from one of rock�s most enduring bands.

Beat
Live
Inside Out Music

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Adrian Belew and Tony Levin reunite with Steve Vai and Danny Carey on BEAT, a live reimagining of King Crimson�s 80s masterpieces Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair. Captured during their sold-out Los Angeles show, the package melds virtuosic performance, cinematic 5.1 mixes, and archival insight, celebrating prog�s enduring power.

Cole Chaney
In The Shadow of The Mountain
Thirty Tigers / Ridgeline Records

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Cole Chaney fuses Kentucky bluegrass and folk with the raw edge of �90s rock, crafting a sound both reverent and rebellious. Produced by Duane Lundy and Zachary Hamilton, the album captures Chaney�s evolution as a songwriter unafraid to blend tradition with grit, delivering a distinctly personal Americana statement.

Bones Owens
Best Western
Thirty Tigers / Black Ranch Records

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Self-produced, the 15-track album pushes Owens� gritty rock-blues into cinematic, introspective territory, navigating restlessness, mortality, and the open road. Standouts like �In the Wind,� �All Time Low,� and the confessional �Sunday Fix� highlight Owens� restless creativity and genre-defying instincts.

Young Gun Silver Fox
Pleasure
Blue Elan Records

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An album steeped in West Coast Yacht Rock charm. Andy Platts and Shawn Lee channel �70s California pop-soul influences from Steely Dan to Earth, Wind & Fire while crafting ten sun-soaked tracks. Breezy, sophisticated, and effortlessly smooth, Pleasure is a nostalgic, modern ode to laid-back, melodic escapism.

Josh Ritter
I Believe In You, My Honeydew
Thirty Tigers / Pytheas Recordings

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Josh Ritter returns with a ten-track testament to his enduring craft and devotion to the muse that�s guided him across twelve celebrated albums. Featuring his Royal City Band, the record balances warmth, wonder, and hard-won reflection. Songs written not for an audience, but for inspiration itself, this is a luminous, intimate entry in Ritter�s storied career.

G Flip
Dream Ride
Flipo Music PTY LTD

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G Flip is steps into their new character �Butch Springsteen� as they rev the engine on a thrilling new album era, an �80s-inspired blast where no drumbeat is too big and neon signs flash and glow over a raucous Sunset Boulevard. Get in the car, we're going on a Dream Ride.

Rachael Yamagata
Starlit Alchemy
Jullian Records, Inc

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Rachael Yamagata�s first studio album in nearly a decade is a master of cinematic, soul-baring songwriting as she blends bruising vulnerability with wry humor and grit across a cohesive, immersive collection. Poised, intimate, and intentionally crafted, Starlit Alchemy reaffirms her place as one of contemporary music�s most compelling and independent voices.

They Are Gutting A Body Of Water
Lotto
ATO Records

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TAGABOW, hailed by Stereogum as �the most important band in modern shoegaze,� return with Lotto. The album channels the band�s signature experimental edge, blending menacing riffs, soaring leads, and wailing distortion. In a world dominated by AI and automated content, Lotto is a defiant celebration of four humans making visceral music together.

Robbie Fulks
Now Then
Compass Records

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Fusing punk�s raw spirit with country and Americana storytelling, Fulks reflects on his Appalachian upbringing, life in Los Angeles, and the contemplations of older age. Now Then blends pensive, droll, and subtly angry perspectives with masterful performances from top-tier collaborators.

Meredith Moon
From Here To The Sea
Compass Records

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From Here To The Sea sees the Canadian songwriter expanding beyond the Appalachian old-time roots of Constellations. The album weaves blues, folk, folk-rock, and hints of old-time jazz, with Moon�s banjo remaining present, now a subtle underpinning to her richly expressive songwriting.

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Harmless
by them, by you, by me
Nettwerk

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Harmless returns with their second studio album, marking a fresh chapter in Nacho Cano�s musical evolution. The ten-track release fuses his signature indie-pop with gauzy shoegaze textures and full-band warmth reminiscent of Slumberland and Captured Tracks catalogs. Cano reflects on the tension between creativity and careerism, emerging revitalized and purpose-driven, building on a decade-long trajectory that began with 2012�s I�m Sure (under the initial alias Twin Cabins) and the viral sensation �Swing Lynn.�

The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) is a national level organization comprised of the best independent record stores in America. CIMS was founded in 1995 with the goal of uniting like minded independent store owners, giving them a more powerful voice in the music industry. The stores that make up CIMS are all very different, but we share the same desires � to be the heart of our communities, to super-serve our customers, to support and develop artists, and to share our love of music.

For more information about CIMS and the stores in our organization, please visit cimsmusic.com or find us through social media with the #cimsmusic hashtag. And please remember to always shop local by supporting your neighborhood record store.

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Now Hear This! - October 2025