Artist: The Beths Album: Straight Line Was A Lie Label: Anti – Epitaph Link: https://www.thebeths.com/ Style: Pop, Pop/Rock, Alternative & Indie
The Beths is a New Zealand quartet led by Elizabeth Stokes, who sings, writes all the lyrics and composes most of the band’s songs. She is accompanied by Jonathan Pearce on guitar, Benjamin Sinclair on bass (they also provide backing vocals), and Tristan Deck on drums. In retrospect, their rise has been fairly rapid, as they have attracted public and critical interest since their first album was released in 2018. Their reputation has been reinforced by regular international tours. Straight Line Was A Lie is their fourth studio album to date.
In writing this album, the singer moves away from lyrics centered on romantic love and the relative success that can accompany it. She delivers much more intimate yet universal lyrics, relating to her doubts and, above all, her physical and mental health. The strength of this music lies in its ability to maintain a communicative joy and brightness despite its deeper themes. As on previous albums, the choruses are particularly catchy, and the melodies have the lightness and immediate freshness of pop songs that you want to listen to again and again without question.
As on previous albums, the band demonstrates its expertise in vocal and instrumental harmonies. As always, Elizabeth Stokes’ vibrant voice remains the most memorable, but it is when she is backed by the backing vocals, as in ‘Til My Heart Stops’, that she is most moving. The sound of the electric guitar rarely strays from its clear tone; it can sometimes take on an extra layer of saturation to present a livelier face. The rhythm section follows the same pattern, with an effective snare drum taking the lead on ‘Take’, the catchiest track on the album.
Artist: Big Thief Album: Double Infinity Label: 4AD Link: https://www.bigthief.net/ Style:Folk, Pop, Alternative & Indie
Although the four members of Big Thief met while studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston, it was only after graduating that they began playing music together. In 2016, when their first album Masterpiece was released, they were still unknown. Now, with a decade-long career and a handful of albums under their belt, they are one of the most influential folk artists on the independent scene. Their public and critical success continues to grow with each release, reinforced by the solo projects of the band’s members.
After a change of drummer and the recent departure of their bassist, Big Thief are releasing a sixth album featuring numerous guest musicians. While their method may have changed, their inspiration remains as intense as ever, carried by Adrianne Lenker’s powerful songwriting and emotionally charged vocals. It’s guitar-based folk, certainly, but while retaining the intimate and personal aspect that makes this style so appealing, Big Thief adds a broader, more ethereal dimension that takes the listener further, to a dimension that allows this music to appeal to an ever-growing audience.
In line with the evolution of their sound as their discography has progressed, this album benefits from a magnificent production that highlights the timbres and emotions conveyed by the band’s musicians and guest artists. Their number gives rise to the variety mentioned above and may confuse those looking for a copy of Adrianne Lenker’s magnificent latest solo album. On the other hand, attentive music lovers will delight in the intertwining voices and the steady, calm drumming, over which the intense melodies of acoustic and electric guitars float. In addition, the sound recording is so clean that everything is perfectly clear, making for an even greater audiophile pleasure.
Artist: Alex G Album: Headlights Label: RCA Records Link: www.sandyalexg.com Style: Pop, Folk, Alternative & Indie
Alex Giannascoli was introduced to the guitar at the age of eleven by his older brother. At the same time, he began composing and recording himself in his bedroom. In high school, he played in several bands in his hometown of Havertown, Pennsylvania, which allowed him to explore different musical styles. Between 2010 and 2012, the young man released his work independently on Bandcamp, which earned him a strong online following and led to him signing with various labels, including Domino, before signing with RCA. He cites Neil Young and Elliott Smith as his inspirations, and the lo-fi sound of his early work also brings his music closer to that of the band Pavement.
Still centered around his guitar, his compositions oscillate between acoustic folk reminiscent of Bonnie Prince Billy and a much more lush and electric pop. Strings and backing vocals, featuring the singer’s partner, add an extra dimension to a few tracks without sounding too conventional. Although Headlights is a departure from his early online recordings, he has managed to retain the indie charm that made him such an authentic artist. Fans will not be disappointed by this album, which is also likely to appeal to a new audience.
Long reluctant to record in a studio rather than at home, for fear of losing total control of his music in the face of technology he doesn’t fully master, Alex G took the plunge for his previous album and repeats the experience with Headlights. To do so, he once again placed his trust in Jacob Portrait, and the result is clearly convincing. The Lo-Fi spirit is preserved, with a homemade feel still present, but with a much cleaner and more precise sound that is better suited to listening on a high-quality system, allowing you to appreciate the intertwining of the melodic lines and the timbres of the instruments.
Artist: Swans Album: Birthing Label: Mute Link: https://mute.com/artists/swans/ Style: Rock, Alternative & Indie
A band that has undergone many iterations, with regular breaks and changes in line-up, Swans remains led by guitarist and singer Michael Gira. Initially close to Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, the band has changed style while retaining a heavy and dark foundation. Far from being a softie, the singer even regularly displayed violence towards his concert audiences in the early years, and despite a significant aura within the indie rock community, the band’s commercial success remained limited, to the point of causing problems with the MCA label and pushing the artists to develop a business model that financed the recording of studio albums through the sale of live records or other projects.
Now firmly established in a slow-tempo industrial sound, the Swans of 2025 plunge us into twilight, almost post-apocalyptic atmospheres in which there is little room for proto-melodies. On long tracks, which bring the album to almost two hours in length, Michael Gira chants morbid and violent lyrics, somewhere between screams and incantations, against a backdrop of distorted and saturated guitars, spread out over a carpet of percussion that seems to come from distant horizons. Despite everything, the original high standards that have always dominated the band’s destiny are still present in this dark new opus.
Even if the atmospheres are marked and heavy, they are not the result of an impenetrable amalgam. The elements that make them up remain clearly legible. First and foremost, the vocals reveal all their intonations and are sometimes accompanied by backing vocals. The guitar demonstrates a beautiful variety of tones, with a few acoustic parts always inserted into a light maelstrom of sounds. Finally, the percussion plays a central role in the sense of mass that emerges when listening to Birthing.
Artist: Matt Berninger Album: Get Sunk Label: Concord Records Link: www.concordrecords.com Style: Pop, Alternative & Indie
Trained as a graphic designer, he also paints and sculpts, but is best known as the singer and lyricist of The National, a band formed in the late 1990s. When Matt Berninger arrived in New York with Scott Devendorf, they had already been friends for several years, but their first band had not been successful. Critics took notice of them as soon as they released their first album with their new line-up, and since their second album in 2003, their fame has continued to grow. This hasn’t stopped the band’s frontman from wanting to produce solo music.
As Matt Berninger is the voice and soul of The National, his second solo album is inevitably reminiscent of the band. We find the same nonchalant, natural class in the phrasing and melodies, which, without seeming to, become catchy and haunting. While the songs’ themes turn to more intimate considerations, openly referring to his period of doubt and artistic decline, this is only to better highlight the beauty of the light that comes after melancholy. In this sense, Get Sunk is an album made to gently accompany us when we want to return to the world.
For the sound engineering and production, the singer with the deep baritone voice has once again placed his trust in Sean O’Brien, who played the same role on The National’s albums. It’s a winning choice, because while the record won’t confuse the band’s fans, it has a lighter side, even though the songs are still extremely polished, with an immediacy that sets them apart. The warm voice glides over the guitars and synthesizer, a saxophone nestles in the gaps, all carried by a haunting rhythm. All you have to do is let yourself be taken by the hand.
