Written and recorded during the first half of 2018, Weyes Blood’s fourth album, Titanic Rising, is the culmination of three albums and many years of touring: stronger chops and ballsier decisions. It’s an achievement in transcendent vocals and levitating arrangements, conversational lyrics and thoughtful commentary on the modern condition of our souls, riding that line between classic songwriting and post-apocalyptic futurism. (Sub Pop)

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›› ISSUE Feature: Interview and performance by Weyes Blood.

The project of Australian songwriter and instrumentalist Eveyln Ida Morris, Pikelet grew out of Melbourne’s mid-2000s folk revival scene, characterized by looping structures and sonic experiments. Morris, who was once described as one of Australia’s “most fascinating and underrated musical icons” went on co-founded LISTEN, a feminist organization that promotes the visibility and experiences of marginalized peoples in Australian music. Now, after twelve years and five albums, Morris has released what will be the final Pikelet recording, the six-track EP Goodbye. Recorded and produced entirely by Morris, Goodbye is the most complete articulation of their Pikelet vision – experimental, inventive and uncompromising. (Baby Race Records)

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On Cheers, The Wild Reeds — comprising singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Kinsey Lee, Mackenzie Howe and Sharon Silva, with drummer Nick Jones and bass player Nick Phakpiseth — deliver sing-along anthems, lilting ‘60s pop-rock waltzes and even a hook-heavy track pop punk throwback. Even so, The Wild Reeds don’t shy away from sadness or open endings. The LA-based band’s third album creates beauty out of contradictions, finding community in individuality, tenderness in confrontation, and joy in the midst of grief and pain.(Dualtone Records)

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Stella Donnelly is a proud, self-proclaimed sh*t-stirrer. On her debut album, Beware of the Dogs, Donnelly says what needs to be said, whether it’s to an abusive man, a terrible boss, or a clueless significant other. The Western Australian-based musician is fearless in telling it like it is, introducing herself to US audiences in late 2017 with the release of the song “Boys Will Be Boys,” which she wrote in 2016 about victim-blaming of survivors of sexual assault. With Beware of the Dogs, Donnelly’s knack for nuance continues to shine. (Secretly Canadian)

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›› ISSUE Feature: Interview and performance by Stella Donnelly

New Zealand-born and Australian-raised singer-songwriter Jess Cornelius is making a name for herself in North America with the release of her new single “No Difference” accompanied by a beautifully shot music video. Described as a balance between self-help and blind fatalism, “No Difference” expands on her common themes of womanhood, relationships and the confusions of existence, all delivered by her startling voice. This track comes as the first release under Cornelius’s self-named project since her debut Nothing Is Lost EP in 2017—and it’s a striking stateside introduction.

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From director Gaspar Noé (Irreversible, Enter the Void) comes a hypnotic, hallucinatory, and ultimately hair-raising depiction of a party that descends into delirium over the course of one wintry night. In Climax, a troupe of young dancers gathers in a remote and empty school building to rehearse. Following an unforgettable opening performance lit by virtuoso cinematographer Benoît Debie (Spring Breakers; Enter the Void) and shot by Noé himself, the troupe begins an all-night celebration that turns nightmarish as the dancers discover they’ve been pounding cups of sangria laced with potent LSD. Tracking their journey from jubilation to chaos and full-fledged anarchy, Noé observes crushes, rivalries, and violence amid a collective psychedelic meltdown. Starring Sofia Boutella (Atomic Blonde) and a cast of professional dancers, Climax is Noé’s most brazen and visionary statement yet. (A24)

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In German director Christian Petzold’s brilliant and haunting modern-day adaptation of Anna Seghers’s 1942 novel Transit Visa, Georg, a German refugee (Franz Rogowski), flees to Marseille assuming the identity of a recently deceased writer whose papers he is carrying. There he delves into the delicate and complex culture of the refugee community, becoming enmeshed in the lives of a young mother and son and falling for a mysterious woman named Marie. (Music Box Films)

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Hand Habits’ debut album, Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void), was released by Woodsist Records in 2017. Two years later, Hand Habits (AKA Meg Duffy, who you might recognize as a long-time member of Kevin Morby’s touring band) has returned with their sophomore album placeholder. As tender and immediate as anything Duffy’s ever written, the album is also intensely focused and refined—the work of a meticulous musician ready to share their singular vision with the world. (Saddle Creek).

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