Green Day may have sung about waking up when September ends, but here at Paste, we’re excited that September’s just beginning. There’s so much good music slated to come out this month, from the 15 listed below to old favorites and runners-up like Deer Tick and The Lone Bellow. Settle in because September’s looking strong for new releases, especially in rock, pop and electronica.
Sept. 8
Alvvays, Antisocialites
It’s been three long years since these dreamy Canadians released their gleaming self-titled debut record, which landed in our Top 5 Albums of 2014. They’re finally back with a new batch of sweet songs, with vocalist Molly Rankin musing over sumptuous guitars and pulsating atmospheres. Lead singles “In Undertow” and “Dreams Tonite” are already two of the prettiest songs of 2017. —Matthew Oshinsky
The National, Sleep Well Beast
The National’s seventh studio album (the first since 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me seems to come with a little more experimentation, a bit more freedom to move around. Lead single “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” offers a genuine rock-guitar solo and a upbeat (despite the title) chorus that could make sense on a—gulp—Coldplay album. Anyway, it’s about time The National stretched out a little. —Matthew Oshinsky
Chad VanGaalen, Light Information
Chad VanGaalen’s Shrink Dust was a hidden gem in 2014, with galactic psych reverb spilling over jangly guitars and weird, spaced-out lyrics. Light Information keeps the formula intact: danceable indie rock with an experimental streak and nimble storytelling. Lead single “Old Heads” is a sci-fi anthem to technology that constantly replaces itself, proving both necessary and unnecessary at the same time. It’s also just really fun to listen to. —Matthew Oshinsky
Sept. 15
Foo Fighters, Concrete and Gold
I’m not even going to lie and say that I’m not excited to hear new Foo Fighters music. Whether that curiosity is rooted in old-school nostalgia or motivated by the brute sonic force of the band’s comeback single “Run,” the return of the last great ‘90s rock band is both comforting and thrilling. —Hilary Saunders
Hundred Waters, Communicating
L.A.-based trio Hundred Waters deal in atmosphere and emotion, with experimental beats buttressing pop hooks and Nicole Miglis’s breathy, multitracked vocals. Their last album, 2014’s The Moon Rang Like a Bell, played up the group’s expert balance of the electronic and the organic, and “Blanket Me,” the lead single from the new Communicating, does the same, blossoming from a spare piano ballad into an ethereal cloud of digital noises, drums, keyboards and the titular plea. —Matthew Oshinsky
Prophets of Rage, Prophets of Rage
With members from Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill, Prophets of Rage (a name borrowed from a Public Enemy song) is the protest-fueled rap-rock supergroup we need now. Although the group released an EP of originals, covers and live tracks called The Party’s Over last August, Prophets of Rage will include 12 new songs that show that music can be one of the best tactics to, as they say, “Unfuck the World.” —Hilary Saunders
Sept. 22
Hiss Golden Messenger, Hallelujah Anyhow
Hiss Golden Messenger’s last album Heart Like a Levee ranked among our favorites from last year. And lucky enough for us, North Carolinian M.C. Taylor is back so soon with 10 new tunes. Kicking it back up with longtime collaborators Phil and Brad Cook, Hallelujah Anyhow also includes contributions from former Mountain Man vocalist Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, ex-Civil Wars partner John Paul White, singer/songwriter/rock ‘n’ roller Tift Merritt and more. —Hilary Saunders
Jordan Rakei, Wallflower
As we said a few months ago in Jordan Rakei’s Daily Dose, the New Zealander multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer is already aligning himself with the types of artists building a new electronic soul music subculture that’s engaging and tasteful. Rakei plays most of the instruments on “Sorceress”—a decadent arrangement of atmospheric strings, rolling drums, woozing synths—and if that track we highlighted is any indication, the album will be a sexy rabbit hole to crawl through, too. —Adrian Spinelli
Moses Sumney, Aromanticism
The most notable revelation act of Day 3 of FYF Festival was L.A. singer and multi-instrumentalist Moses Sumney. Sumney’s jaw-dropping falsetto made for incredible hymnals that reach the deepest depths of the soul. There was a gorgeous humanity that most artists can only hope to achieve in the emotionally charged “Plastic,” which appears on his debut, and in his glorious cover of Björk’s “Come to Me.” Check out the rest of the recaps from FYF here. —Adrian Spinelli
Phoebe Bridgers, Stranger in the Alps
This 22-year-old phenom stunned us when she played three songs off the forthcoming Stranger in the Alps during her Paste Studio Session. Desolate and insightful, her songs are reminiscent of former tourmate Julien Baker’s. —Hilary Saunders
Rostam, Half-Light
The ex-Vampire Weekend songwriter and instrumentalist has worked all over pop music in the past few years—producing Charlie XCX, making an album with the Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser, remixing Ty Dolla Sign, among many other projects. Now he’s throwing it all into his own debut album, Half-Light, with the big drums and singalong melodies we’ve come to expect from Vampire Weekend, filtered through a singular songwriter with as much potential as anyone working today. —Matthew Oshinsky
Sept. 29
Ibeyi, Ash
Even though Beyoncé included these Franco-Cuban sisters on her masterful Lemonade, Ibeyi stand tall in their own right. On their 2014 debut album, Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Díaz incorporate elements of African rhythms, Western language and vocal stylings, and Latin percussion to create songs as sweet as frozen beach drinks that’ll leave you hungover the next morning. We’re excited to hear what they come up with next. —Hilary Saunders
Omni, Multi-task
Omni, the Atlanta trio behind one of 2016’s tightest post-punk records, Deluxe, is already back with a new set of wiry, Devo-inspired jams. The band, which includes former members of Deerhunter and Carnivores, piles power riffs on top of propulsive chord progressions and stop-start rhythms, as on the pogoing lead single, “Equestrian.” —Matthew Oshinsky
Kamasi Washington, Harmony of Difference
Okay, this is merely a six-song EP, but it’s the first we’ve heard from the star saxophonist since 2015’s triple-album, The Epic, which spread itself out over Coltrane-inspired free jazz and ‘70s-style fusion. Washington introduced Harmony of Difference at the Whitney Biennial in March along with a film by A.G. Rojas and artwork by his sister, Amani Washington. —Matthew Oshinsky
Worriers, Survival Pop
Worriers return with their second album and first for SideOneDummy at the end of the month. Led by the taut songwriting of Lauren Denitzio, Worriers rage and fret about the absurdity that is everyday life in a way that only punk rock can fully articulate. Check out their Paste Studio Session here. —Hilary Saunders