Fabiano do Nascimento & Vittor Santos Orquestra – Vila (Far Out)
With preternaturally nimble fingers blazing, Fabiano do Nascimento has dabbled with electronic loops, collaborated with other luminaries and always held strong to his carioca roots in making music inspired by Brazilian folkloric idioms and popular forms. His new album Vila is the latest and fullest addition to his oeuvre. Made with the 16-piece Vittor Santos Orquestra, Vila is an ensemble piece in full bloom from start to finish, 17 musicians at their sweetest.
A trombonist and arranger, bandleader Santos has worked with many of the greats of bossa nova and samba–Elsa Soares, Marcos Valle, João Donato–and he and his ensemble put their familiarity with these genres’ foundations to work here. Strings, percussion, horns, and keys all swirl together in rosy nostalgia, evoking the most mellifluous parts of the 1960s and 1970s. They offer Nascimento a sumptuous backdrop for his intricate playing, which remains the most dazzling single element of the assemblage–although, of course, he is inextricable from the orchestra that supports him through the entirety of Vila. – Adriane Pontecorvo
Nuevos Ríos – Nuevos Ríos (ZZK)
Less than a year after her luscious solo debut, Pacífico Maravilla, Nidia Góngora returns, this time as the frontwoman of Nuevos Ríos. Alongside her are members of her longtime group, Canalón de Timbiquí, and Toulouse-based Reco Reco, an ensemble that focuses on plugged-in renditions of South American styles. Together, the collective perform lively, electrified versions of music from Góngora and Canalón de Timbiquí’s finely honed repertoire, continuing to bear witness to the traditions and lifeways of the Pacific coast of Colombia for audiences worldwide.
Nuevos Ríos’ self-titled debut is nothing short of astonishing, a clear continuation of the work Góngora and her compatriots have long been doing, and yet something that feels wholly new. With only nine tracks, there’s not a moment to waste. The group’s first record emerges from organic processes of collaboration that treat local cultural expressions not as samples but as relevant contemporary music. This is exciting music, a vibrant new turn for Góngora, Canalón de Timbiquí, and Reco Reco. – Adriane Pontecorvo
Adam O’Farrill – Elephant (Out of Your Head)
Elephant is Adam O’Farrill’s most engaging and impressive recording to date. His trumpet absolutely pops into your ears for several reasons: his sound and approach have matured in recent years; these compositions and their recording give him a true leading role for the first time; and the trio he has assembled here is breathtaking. In executing eight O’Farrill originals, the quartet find eight thrilling ways to create atmosphere and jazz momentum, without ever seeming to fall back on old habits.
No Elephant has ever been this nimble and dancing. The album pops and jabs, hops and slithers. It has all the moves. Adam O’Farrill’s record always finds ways to achieve the rhythmic propulsion and conversational give-and-take of the best jazz. The feeling is similar to what Brandon Woody achieved on his Blue Note debut last year, For the Love of It All. Still, O’Farrill’s dynamic range is greater, and the imagination of the interplay of improvisation in this group is more varied and brilliant. – Will Layman
Odd Okoddo and Ogoya Nengo – Palagoma (Cool Waters)
Odd Okoddo and Ogoya Nengo, the artists behind the new album Palagoma, make for an eclectic combination. A Nairobi-based duo made up of German-born experimental drummer and producer Sven Kacirek and Kenyan-born dodo singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Olith Ratego, Odd Okoddo have been performing electrified interpretations of Luo folk music since 2018 to global acclaim.
Unpredictable and always an adventure, Palagoma brings together three individuals who, working together, make something far more than the sum of its parts. Each of the performers at hand is a well-trained innovator in their own right, but their work on Palagoma is genuine alchemy. Even in the ever-changing, ever-progressive realm of folktronica, the sounds of Odd Okoddo and Ogoya Nengo stand out here as exceptional. This bodes well not only for the artists but for Nairobi-based label From Cool Waters, for whom this is the very first release. Intriguing, grounded, and with a very sincere edge, Palagoma is worth many a spin. – Adriane Pontecorvo
Ohyung – Iowa (Trans Music Archive)
Composer and performer Ohyung (Lia Ouyang Rusli) takes an impressionist approach with real depth on the new experimental album Iowa. Created based on her 11-month stay in the album’s namesake state, Iowa, is an act of counter-cartography.
Against the grain of static pastoral heartland narratives, it portrays the state from an on-the-ground viewpoint as an ever-changing palimpsest. Spacious electronics and samples evoke vast and open landscapes, stories of life and loss, and social tensions and oppression ranging from European colonization to the acts of slow and fast violence that mark the contemporary stateside condition for so many, to specific policies that have recently been implemented in Iowa against, in particular, the state’s trans communities. – Adriane Pontecorvo
Maisie Peters – Florescence (Gingerbread Man / Atlantic)
“I forget about you when I’m not even trying,” sings Maisie Peters on her third studio album, Florescence. “They play our song, and I keep driving.” In the highly anticipated follow-up to her sophomore effort, The Good Witch, Peters’ latest work finds her returning more to her acoustic roots while broadening her musical horizons, dabbling in country and folk influences. As the singer continues to chronicle the ascent of her womanhood as she enters her mid-20s, Peters not only sounds at peace with herself and old wounds, but like she’s solidifying her place in the pop music canon and, by extension, in the world at large.
Our experiences are what make up who we are, for better and worse, full of light and darkness. What Peters expertly accomplishes in Florescence is to weld these narratives into a cohesive body of work that expresses the dual experience of falling low and flying high once again. – Jeffrey Davies
Pick a Piper – Dandelion (Halocline Trance)
After three years away, electronic duo Pick a Piper (Caribou drummer Brad Weber and vocalist Sophia Alexandra) return with a new album, Dandelion. It takes the listener on a bold, kaleidoscopic sonic journey whilst also acting as a manual for emotional survival. Finding emotional depth in the exquisite soundscapes, the record focuses on the fortitude needed to move forward, whilst serving as a reminder that challenging times can spur renewal.
Pick a Piper have crafted a rich and rewarding record. Fusing disparate elements together, from the restless rhythms of UK garage to the expansive warmth of ambient pop, the production is consistently restless and inventive. However, at its core, Dandelion is a poignant reflection on love and renewal, whilst offering a reminder that there is beauty in the process of starting over. – Paul Carr
Ratboys – Singin’ to an Empty Chair (New West)
Ratboys’ music weaves together strands of indie rock, post-country, and folk, creating a sound that sits comfortably at the crossroads of several guitar-driven traditions. Their evolution toward fuller arrangements and higher-fidelity production has allowed them to stretch across these genres with increasing confidence, even coming close to creating fun, easily digestible pop-rock songs. However, no matter the evolution or what music genre they are toying with, there are some specific Ratboys moves that they keep returning to that push against genre and into something distinctly their own.
Their distinct take on rock ‘n’ roll keeps sending them down new roads, each one looping back to offer a different vantage point on where they came from. The result is a wonderful album that shows the band revving their engine once again, ready to take another long, curious lap around the block. – John Lennon
RAYE – This Music May Contain Hope (Human Re Sources)
The singer-songwriter RAYE, whose given name is Rachel Keen, does not make algorithmic hits. Her second album, 2026’s This Music May Contain Hope, is a sprawling collection of jazz and classical-influenced pop, including a collaboration with composer Hans Zimmer. That track, “Click Clack Symphony”, epitomizes the album’s mission: compressing grandiose instrumental arrangements into an accessible format without sacrificing scale.
Many of the tracks toe the line between nuanced insight and cliché encouragement, but when they do, production choices from RAYE herself, Mike Sabath, and Tom Richards prevent the songs from drowning in their grandiosity. “Life Boat” opens as a soft ballad in which RAYE, alongside spoken-word contributions from friends and family, repeats the mantra “I’m not giving up yet.” By the end of the song, this refrain transforms into the foundation of a propulsive, synth-driven dance beat, proving that Raye can craft modern pop while paying homage to big-band-era instrumentation. – Matthew Dwyer
Olivia Rodrigo – You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So in Love (Geffen)
With the release of her third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So in Love, a concept record following the course of a relationship, the singer has become as confessional as ever, eschewing flashy pop-punk hooks for depth and maturity. “I’m a sad shell of a woman, and I’ve got maggots for brains,” Rodrigo sings, all because she feels empty that her lover has gone away. While the singer has always crafted her songs in a campy fashion that leaves her figuratively smiling and winking at her audience, Rodrigo takes this skill to new heights on her latest LP.
“The Cure” is the album’s biggest highlight because it encapsulates the entire narrative that You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So in Love is trying to tell: that no person or relationship is ever going to explain or fill the unexplainable void inside that exists no matter which version of ourselves we choose to present. Since this is a lesson we must learn for ourselves over and over again, Olivia Rodrigo’s musical appeal continues to extend wisely beyond her 23 years. – Jeffrey Davies