We haven’t even hit the first day of summer and New Music Friday is giving us further hints about what’s coming up in the fall. Too soon? Probably, but…
Singles
1. Cold War Kids, There Goes the Night (Downtown)
This is sort of new, but also quite old. Back in the days of Robbers & Cowards, the band’s debut album 20 years ago, they wrote this song but never found a place for it. Now that there’s going to be an expanded version of that first album, this track will help with that expansion. The release date of the new Robbers & Cowards is still TBA.
2. Mike D, True Colours (Capitol/Universal)
After a long time contemplating life and his career after the death of fellow Beastie Boy Adam “MCA” Yauch, Mike D is back making music with the help of his son and a few other collaborators. A full album entitled Thank You will arrive on August 28. This will be the first full-length release of new music from anyone associated with The Beasties Boys since Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 in 2011. I expect this to be a massive record in the fall.
3. Electric Callboy feat. The Offspring, Let the Good Times Roll (Century Media Records)
This song delivered my biggest smile of the way. Electric Callboy is a six-piece German outfit that’s hard to categorize. That being said, The Offspring likes this enough to collaborate with them on a song that will appear on an album entitled TANZEID on August 7. Note video appearances of Howie Mandell, Brian Posehn, and metal icon John Goblikon. The video got 1.1 million YouTube views in just its first five days.
4. Dominic Fike, Babydoll (Columbia)
Again, a new song that’s actually old. Its first appearance was on a 2018 collection of demos, but then TikTok came calling earlier this year. The song went viral and started showing up on all the other platforms. Hey, re-release it while you can, right? And yes, it is just 99 seconds long.
5. Interpol, This Mirror Weighs a Ton (Partisan Records)
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Woodwinds, strings, and strange sound designs on an Interpol song? Yes. The band has expanded their sound for their eight album, This Mirror Weighs a Ton, which will be here on August 28th. It’ll be the first album since The Other Side of make-Believe from 2022. Interesting choice of a producer. Andrew Wyatt is a rocker, but he’s also produced albums for Miley Cyrus and Chari XCX.
6. Lobster, The Boys of Summer (Independent)
Don Henley will be earning more royalties via a new version of Boys of Summer. Lobster, who are from Finland, have followed The Ataris by covering the song. Which one do you like best?
7. Roger Taylor, Come on Summer (It’s Party Time) (Columbia)
The drummer for Queen as released more solo material than you might realize. His first was Fun in Space, an album that Taylor Hawkins once told me was one of his all-time favourites. There have been six others since, including Violence Insane in a Beautiful World, which is coming September 18. That record will also feature performances from The Ndlovu Youth Choir from Limpopo, South Africa, who once released a Zulu-language version of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Albums
1. Dirty Heads, 7 Seas (Better Noise Music)
Dirty Heads, the Huntington Beach reggae rock band, are back just in time for summer with their eighth album. Vocalist/guitarist Duddy B)says, “This is a song about getting together with some close friends and just enjoying the moment. With everything going on in the world today, it’s nice to have a lighthearted song like this to remind us to go have a good time.” Perfect.
2. Embrace, Avalanche (Cooking Vinyl)
This ninth album from the the five-piece Yorkshire band who initially had a good run in the 90s before breaking up in 2006 after five albums. They reunited in 2014, and that has stuck together nicely, although they haven’t released an album in four years. If you like confessional melodic indie rock, this is for you.
3. Joan as Police Woman, Real Life Evolution (Reveal Records)
Joan Wasser first appeared in the early 90s as a solo artist and then as a collaborator with others, including indie hero Antony Johnson. There was a time in the late 2000s/early 2010s that she appeared ready to but through big-time, but it never really happened. That being says, she has lots of friends in high places, including Iggy Pop, who is a fan. This album is a reimagining of every song off her 2026 debut album, Real Life.
4. Mono, Snowdrop (Temporary Residence)
I really wish there was more coverage of Japanese rock in North America because some of the best stuff is coming out of that country right now. Mono is an instrumental band formed in Tokyo in 1999 that has taken post-rock in some interesting directions over the decades. This is their 13th album.
5. Sublime, Until the Sun Explodes (Atlantic)
This is the first band-new album from Sublime since their self-title 1996 album which featured all those ska-punk hits featuring singer Bradley Nowell. But just weeks before that record was released, Nowell died of a heroin overdose in a San Francisco hotel room. Bandmates Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh have carried the torch through the last 30 years in various ways and have kept the name alive. Now they’re back with a new album featuring singer Jakob Nowell, Bradley’s 30-year-old son, who was born less than a year after his father died. Guests on the album include G. Love, Fletcher Dragge from Pennywise, and H.R. from Bad Brains.
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