The Deep Dark Woods, masters of hushed resonance, unveil The Circle Remains on October 3, 2025, via Victory Pool Records. This LP isn’t about grand statements; it’s a subtle, effortless refinement of their potent craft. Today, they share “Traded In Your Name,” a single born from intuition—captured in a few takes, featuring a “beautiful harmony” by Evan Cheadle that frontman Ryan Boldt calls his favourite.

It’s been over a decade since Icelandic experimentalists múm last graced us with a full-length, but the wait is finally over. Today, the collective announced History of Silence, their seventh studio album, due out September 19th on Morr Music. Alongside the announcement, múm shared the video for their new single, “Mild at Heart,” a quintessential múm offering: fluid and ethereal, punctuated by those signature moments of hushed introspection.

Steve Gunn announces ‘Music for Writers,’ arriving August 15th via Three Lobed Recordings. It’s described as a wordless collection of pieces meant to accompany thought and inspire another way – “It came from walking without direction, from listening to birds and distant engines, looking at sculpture, watching movement through a window, from writing freely in notebooks and letting sound follow thought.” Listen to his single “Slow Singers On The Hill”.

On July 25th, Genevan microchoir Alice releases Châteaux Faibles via Bongo Joe. This art-pop album about resilience and communal strongholds is an audio tale of sisterhood. The title track embodies their core idea: building a space where vulnerability is transformed into a collective strength. The result is less about grandeur and more about the quiet, profound act of holding each other up with scraps of harmony and belief.

Noura Mint Seymali’s ‘Yenbett’ arrives after a nine-year studio hiatus, a testament to enduring growth. Co-produced by her longtime drummer Matthew Tinari and Mdou Moctar’s Mikey Coltun, the album’s first single, “Guéreh,” is a resurgent wedding dance from Mauritania’s past. Seymali, a griot and ardine master, breathes kaleidoscopic new life into this hidden gem; an electrifying reintroduction to an artist constantly pushing boundaries.

Oslo-based drummer, composer, producer and bandleader, Gard Nilssen has expanded his Acoustic Unity band with saxophonists Signe Emmeluth and Kjetil Møster for their new album, Great Intentions. Listen to their powerful lead single Ostronology – the magic of this new combination is clear from the outset.

Chris Staples has always possessed a knack for finding profundity in the mundane, but his latest offering, Don’t Worry (August 5th), elevates this skill to new heights. Settled into the stillness of Richmond, VA, Staples transmutes domestic tranquillity into a sprawling yet intimate landscape. The album’s lead single and video, “Doesn’t Matter Now,” serves as a gentle introduction to this introspective journey.

Dean Johnson isn’t new to the slow burn. For years, the Seattle songwriter was a local legend, a barman dispensing both libations and lyrical gems. His forthcoming Saddle Creek debut, I Hope We Can Still Be Friends, truly ushers The Melancholy Maestro of the Pacific Northwest into the muted, wistful spotlight he deserves. Check out the Ryan McMackin-directed video for his lead single, “Before You Hit the Ground”.

Anna Tivel has announced her seventh studio album, Animal Poem. This highly anticipated collection of original material was recorded live with friends and co-producer Sam Weber; the 10-track set was made “in conversation: everyone together in the room, listening and responding in real time…” Watch the video for the title track, “A meditation on the stories we tell ourselves and each other.”

Taken from his new album, I Love People (July 25th, Drag City), Cory Hanson’s latest single turns to the “bard of the Big Rotten Apple”, Lou Reed. He sings – “You were a prince and a fighter / and you were a tai chi master,” to form a tender elegy for Reed, an artist known for his wit, laughter, and affection for humanity.

Carson McHone announces her new album, ‘Pentimento’ on Merge Records, and shares her first album single ‘Winter Breaking’, the video for which features the art and work of ceramicist Alejandra Almuelle. She shared: “This project continues to be, really, a community effort. What began as a methodical structuring of personal artifacts kept speaking of collaboration, which allowed me to open up the process to others and bring it to life.”

This year sees the end of an era of sorts for Texan instrumentalist Hayden Pedigo, with the release of I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away completing his ‘Motor Trilogy’. We met to find out more about the making of this ‘bittersweet’ finale. “…it’s far more maximalist. We utilised heavy strings, mellotrons, synths, and bass; there’s a lot more on this record…the compositions are more intense and bolder…”