With so much new music getting released weekly, it can be difficult to keep up and not miss anything important. We here at Tuned Up know the struggle and wanted to offer previews of a few new releases that piqued our interest this week. We’d also like to wish our contributor Alex Dye a heartfelt congratulations on the birth of his new child. Since he is obviously out of commission, I thought I (Topher P.) would step in to try and lend a hand at what he has done such a fantastic job with thus far. That said, which releases here sound interesting to you? What did we miss? Drop your thoughts in the comment section.

Harry Styles – Harry’s House

Harry Styles has been all over the airwaves since his arena pop anthem “As It Was” first released a couple of months ago. While the super radio friendly smash was our only preview of Harry’s House before the album released today, much of the rest of the former One Direction singer’s third LP, in contrast, finds him leaning further into the ‘70s influences from 2019’s Fine Line. Stream the full album here.

Undercover On The Streets: A Vagrant Records Tribute

Tribute albums are always an intriguing thing. They usually turn out either really well or really poorly, but with this massive 31-track collection paying homage to influential emo label Vagrant Records, there are a lot of tunes that hit rather than miss. Stream the full compilation here and read Alex’s review here.

Cave In – Heavy Pendulum

Boston’s Cave In returns with their latest full-length and their first with Relapse Records, Heavy Pendulum. The driving, explosive metal album incorporates elements of sludge, post-metal, metalcore, and space rock, even giving off subtle Alice In Chains vibes at certain points throughout the record. Stream the full album here.

The Unlikely Candidates – Panther Island

After fourteen years together as a group, Keller, Texas-based The Unlikely Candidates have finally released their debut full-length proper. Even the record’s lead single “Novocaine” released more than three years ago initially. Nevertheless, considering how well the quintet merges bright synth pop with edgy alt.-rock, it seems like Panther Island was worth the wait. Stream it now, and stay tuned (in) for Phil Hawkins’ review of the record, coming later this weekend.

Charlie Hickey – Nervous At Night

On his vibey, atmospheric debut LP Nervous At Night, Los Angeles native Charlie Hickey channels this pensive, “sad person” energy made famous by artists like Phoebe Bridgers. It’s a parallel that makes a lot of sense when you consider that Hickey and Bridgers were not only childhood friends, but also that Hickey is now signed to Saddest Factory, Bridgers’ offshoot of Dead Oceans. Stream the full album here.

Other Notable Releases

Albums:

Hanson – Red Green Blue (pop rock)

Evergrey – A Heartless Portrait (The Orphéan Testament) (heavy melodic metal)

The Fruit Machines – Goodbye, Lost City (indie / dance)

Daniel Villarreal – Panamá 77 (prog / psych folk-funk)

Modeling – Somewhere Before (experimental / electronic)

Lykke Li – EYEYE (indie pop)

Gang of Youths – immolation tape EP (indie rock / alt. rock)

Levvy – Bury EP (indie rock)

Singles:

Interpol – “Fables”

Santigold – “High Priestess”

Soccer Mommy – “Bones”

Hundredth – “Fantasize”

Rina Sawayama – “This Hell”

Foals – “2001”

Making Movies – “Porcelina” (featuring Tennis)

070 Shake – “Body”

Matt Maeson – “Blood Runs Red”

Zola Jesus – “The Fall”

Microwave – “Straw Hat”

Astronoid – “Human”

Switchfoot – “interrobang”