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.
Well, here we are. It’s Lost Weekend … weekend! Phoebe Bridgers may just be the most recognizable — and arguably beloved — artist in our short stack of new records this Friday, but she’s in good company.
Also out today is the newest record from the duo of Charlie Martin and Will Taylor, otherwise known as Hovvdy (that’s “howdy” to y’all not in the know). The band is gearing up for a Milwaukee show at Vivarium in November, so you’ve got time to get acquainted with their heartfelt, light-as-a-feather folk rock. Finally, for those who crave something noisier, dig into the electric rock ‘n’ roll of Sweeping Promises or French-American noise pop crew Special Friend.
Happy New Music Friday!
Best new albums out Aug. 14
Phoebe Bridgers, Lost Weekend
We bet Phoebe’s fans are more than ready to snap up all the copies of Lost Weekend — her first new album in six years and longest release to-date, weighing in at 16 tracks total.
There are a lot of fun features on production and instrumentation, including Jack Antonoff, Alex G and Christian Lee Hutson, plus backing vocals from boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. According to Rolling Stone, the full album explores themes of arrested development, fatigue from the digital and phone age, and personal reckoning, underpinned by celestial and astronomical motifs.
For Lost Weekend vinyl variants, you’ve got lots of double-LP options and no end of limited-edition colored vinyl pressings. Many have a double-pocket gatefold jacket with a 20-page full-color lyric booklet, but the ones at most shops will be the basic black and a “Neptune Winds” color vinyl, which looks like a star-studded night sky.
Hovvdy, Big World
The Austin-hailing duo’s signature dreamy indie rock gets a little more punchy and off the cuff on album number six. Charlie Martin and Will Taylor are based in Nashville these days, and the record title seems to sum up the big life transitions of making a cross-country move.
Vinyl variants include two limited-edition split color versions of red/yellow and green/blue; as well as a blue, red and green segmented version with paint splatter that’s limited to 100 hand-numbered copies with a signed art card. Of course, there’ll be a plain old black version available at all the shops, too.
Special Friend, Clipping
The French-American noise-pop duo released their third studio album this past March, but it took until now for it to make its official appearance on wax. Special Friend are known for blending lofi sounds and looping guitars, so if you’re a fan of ’90s bands like Galaxie 500, The Pastels and even Dinosaur Jr., these sounds will absolutely be for you.
Clipping is available on standard black vinyl in record shops, or you can scoop up the limited-edition orange variant exclusively on Bandcamp.
Sweeping Promises, You Say I Romanticize
The post-punk duo have been a fave since their 2020 debut, Hunger for a Way Out, which was a first taste of their energetic sound reminiscent of bands like ESG (on the single “Accent”) and Joan Jett (on “Shooting Shadows,” which you’ve heard on 88Nine). Now they’re back with their third studio effort, a couple months before they take the stage at Cactus Club on Oct. 29. Vinyl heads can find this one on a black-and-yellow confetti version at all indie record shops near you.
More of our picks
- Dent May, The Big One
- Grace Cummings, Bloodhorse!
- Judah & The Lion, I AM A PRISM
- Jungle, Sunshine
- Kelly Finnigan, B-Sides, Singles & Forgotten Gems
- Kiwi Jr., Blowin’ Up
- L’Rain, fata morgana
- Pigeon, OUTTANATIONAL
- The Womack Sisters, The Womack Sisters
