Every Friday, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf and Lilliput Records co-owner Tanner Musgrove tell you about the new albums you can’t miss on a new episode of On Vinyl. Check out their top picks and a list of this week’s other releases, and listen to their full conversation using the player on this page or on the 88Nine airwaves at 1 p.m. every Friday.
This Friday, a little depth does it with the chamber-orchestra-powered Neon Grey Midnight Green by Neko Case, her first new album in seven years.
We’ve also absorbed a little wordly worrying (with plenty of groove attached) from L.A. synth-pop trio Automatic, and jumped out of the groove to somewhere more loose: the rock ‘n’ roll poetry of Cameron Winter and his Geese bandmates. Then we’ve got a touch of the avant in the swirling, mystical pop of Welsh producer and singer Cate Le Bon.
It’s a bit of a wild, disorienting ride. But in this new season of falling leaves, occasional cloudbursts and mellow beams of sun, it all seems fitting to be a little musically muddled. Happy New Music Friday!
Best new albums out Sept. 26
Neko Case, Neon Grey Midnight Green
The first time we heard Neko Case’s voice, we were insta-fans. There’s a depth to it that goes beyond just how it sounds, and now we have our first new full-length collection since 2018’s Hell-On. She recorded Neon Grey Midnight Green with a chamber orchestra and her full band, and it sounds really on-point — one of those records you want on vinyl.
For local fans who can wait a bit, find her and her merch table at the Pabst Theater on Oct. 18. For the less patient, hunt down those special vinyl versions available today. Fans who drop by her website can pick it up on chocolate-covered strawberry splash-colored vinyl, which is limited to 1,500 copies (two other special vinyl colors have already sold out). There’s also a clear, frosted version and, as always, classic black.
Automatic, Is It Now?
If minimalist synth-driven sounds are your thing, Automatic will be a total delight to listen to. They’ve got a knack for good, foundational rhythms and chill-but-playful vibes. Even though their latest will likely make you move and groove, the themes center around modern-day anxieties, so it’s a very relatable listen despite its prone to twitchiness; that makes this album both cathartic and hopeful in a way.
Geese, Getting Killed
The Brooklyn-based rock band is back with their fourth album. The singles leading up to the full collection have been great breadcrumbs, and fans got a little extra taste with lead singer Cameron Winter’s solo album Heavy Metal, released this past December. Winter’s solo stuff may be a little more chill, but there’s still that wild poetic heart to everything he writes.
Getting Killed is available on indie-exclusive blue vinyl at any local record shop near you and on ultra-clear vinyl if you order your copy through Bandcamp.
Cate Le Bon, Michelangelo Dying
Outside of having seven solo studio albums — including today’s new release — Welsh producer and musician Cate Le Bon also has a side project with visual artist Tim Presley called DRINKS. As a producer, she’s kept busy by working with Wilco, Kurt Vile, Horsegirl, Deerhuter and more.
Le Bon’s distinctive fingerprint is on everything musical she touches, and although her music feels abstract and a little off-kilter, it’s also undeniably beautiful. She’ll be at Milwaukee’s Vivarium on Jan. 23, so tide yourself over by finding the new album on standard black or bone white vinyl at indie record stores everywhere.
More of our picks
- CARRTOONS, Space Cadet
- Jeff Tweedy, Twilight Override
- Olivia Dean, The Art of Loving
- Rainbow Kitten Surprise, bones
- Robert Plant, Saving Grace
- SPRINTS, All That Is Over
