9 New Releases You Need to Hear Today [April 2025]
Hot(ish) off the presses!
Welcome to another installment of the Best Music of All Time new release rundown column. Following a relatively slow month in March due to major life events (all positive, I promise), I’m sharing a larger-than-usual haul of recent music recommendations. From big pop records to exceptional indies, several of these records will be in the “best of the year” conversation.
I’ll be sharing a fresh new release radar post with you again next month, so if you enjoy fresh tunes and aren’t beholden to one specific genre, hit that subscribe button to get those updates sent your way in 30 or so days from now.
On commence:
1. “Mayhem” by Lady Gaga
Genre: Pop, Electronic, Glam Rock
Label: Interscope
Release Date: March 7, 2024
Vibe: 🌈
After an uneven run of starring film roles and supporting soundtracks, Lady Gaga returns with her first standalone pop effort since 2020’s Chromatica. Overflowing with melodic hooks, singalong choruses, and shock-jock charisma, it’s a hearty helping of unabashed fan service, and I mean that in the most positive sense possible. Gaga hasn’t sounded this fun since Born this Way.
What I wasn’t expecting was how much of Mayhem felt like a journey through the pop star’s record collection, implicitly walking us through her glam rock and new wave influences. Many of you will hear the nods to David Bowie and Blondie on “Killah” and “Zombieboy,” respectively; connecting those dots is part of this album’s charm. Unencumbered with the pressure of carrying the weight of a movie studio on her shoulders, it’s a rock-solid return to form for her.
2. “Hurry Up Tomorrow” by The Weeknd
Genre: Pop, R&B, Electronic
Label: XO
Release Date: January 31, 2025
Vibe: 😮💨
In the run-up to its much-anticipated release, Abel Tesfaye hinted that Hurry Up Tomorrow and its supporting tour would be the swan song for his alter ego, the Weeknd. If it’s indeed his final go-round with this character, he’s delivered an ambitious, intricate, and riveting send-off. Though it clocks in at nearly 90 minutes, this LP is far from a slog, rewarding multiple listens with its detailed, cinematic narrative.
Tesfaye’s always had a flair for the melodramatic, so it’s no surprise he’s dialed up his distinctive brand of lush melancholia to an 11. Alongside a stable of A-list collaborators, he creates an atmosphere that’s both of a piece with his recent synth-pop revivalism (see “Open Hearts” and “Big Sleep,” the latter of which features a Scarface soundtrack sample) and his House of Balloons mixtape days (”Baptized in Fear,” “Niagara Falls”).
It’s a sprawling record that won’t necessarily earn him droves of new fans, but if you’re willing to meet it on its terms, Hurry Up Tomorrow is an impressive achievement.
3. “So Close to What” by Tate McRae
Genre: Pop, R&B, Electronic
Label: RCA
Release Date: February 21, 2025
Vibe: 🪩
I went into So Close to What with more than a bit of trepidation. I hadn’t been a fan of Think Later, which felt more like reheated pop-trap tropes than a mission statement. However, the child-prodigy-turned-pop star has made good on hints of potential with this record, one that sounds more confident and, crucially, much more personal than her previous outing. Like Sabrina Carpenter on Short n’ Sweet, she invites you in instead of keeping you at arm’s length.
Unlike Think Later, this tracklist has a consistent, almost breathless energy. McRae never really gives you a moment to catch your breath, hitting you with one compelling bop after another. Cuts like “Sports Car” and “It’s OK I’m OK” are primed to soundtrack humid nights out for years to come, while more intimate songs like “Like I Do” and “2 Hands” prove she’s got another gear she can reach when she needs to.
As good as this LP is, So Close to What is proof McRae’s best days are still ahead of her.
4. “Like a Ribbon” by John Glacier
Genre: Alternative, Jazz Fusion, Hip-Hop
Label: Young
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Vibe: 👀
Since starting this newsletter, I’ve been a staunch objector to the increasingly loud opinion that today’s music, in so many words, kinda sucks—it all sounds the same, there’s nothing worth listening to being released, blah blah blah. But, if there’s any record released so far in 2025 that’s proof to the contrary, it’s Like a Ribbon, the latest from British rapper John Glacier. By fusing disparate strands of jazz, hip-hop, and psychedelia together, she’s fashioned something entirely unique. I’ve never heard an album quite like this.
One of many factors fueling its success is how expertly tension is built and released emotionally. Songs like “Emotions” and “Nevasure” whir with an anxious verve that has an otherworldly quality to it. Meanwhile, “Found” and “Dancing in the Rain” let you down gently, turning the glitchy, UK garage-style production into an exercise in sonic weightlessness. Featuring contributions from Sampha and Flume, it’s a fascinating, endlessly entertaining ride.
5. “Winter Poems” by Yuval Cohen Quartet
Genre: Jazz, Contemporary Classical
Label: ECM
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Vibe: ❄️
Winter Poems, Yuval Cohen’s debut on the ECM label, sounds exactly as its title suggests. Serene, minimalist melodies are moody and contemplative, tailor-made for long sits by the fire, steaming beverage in hand. Alongside pianist Tom Oren, bassist Alon Near, and drummer Alon Benjamini, this unassuming LP never feels rushed or overbearing, giving the listener the latitude to fill in the spaces between the notes with their own experiences and mindset.
“I’m very fortunate to be able to play with these young guys,” Yuval said. “I’ve known them for a long time – they’re three beautiful souls and talents with whom I had a great time shaping this music together.” That familiarity is likely one reason this collection sounds so seamless, song to song and moment to moment. It’s improvisational jazz that’s delightfully light on its feet.
6. “Murder During Drug Traffic” by Boldy James & RichGains
Genre: Hip-Hop, Alternative, Gangsta Rap
Label: Self-Released
Release Date: January 3, 2025
Vibe: 😶🌫️
The prolific Motor City native links up with frequent collaborator RichGains for another excellent mixtape that’s as confessional as it is unsettling. Supported by grimy, blunted beats, Boldy James serves up more snapshots from what seems to be an unlimited supply of hustler-centric vignettes. I do mean unlimited, too—Murder During Drug Traffic is the third LP he’s released already in 2025, with more on the way.
Like they did on Indiana Jones, Boldy and RichGains keep things fresh by leaning into the strange spookiness, the former seems to be drawn to lyrically and instrumentally. On “Telephono,” in all its stuttering intricacy, Boldy makes a meal out of his status on the streets, managing to be cold-blooded and laugh-out-loud funny in the same breath (”Two halves of man in saran/This ain't no Captain Crunch”). He strikes me as an artist who will never run out of vivid stories to tell.
7. “Choke Enough” by Oklou
Genre: Alternative, Electronic, Pop
Label: True Panther
Release Date: February 7, 2025
Vibe: 😌
Speaking of strangeness, there’s Choke Enough, the elliptical full-length debut from French electronic up-and-comer Oklou. It’s a record that refuses to be pigeonholed in one stylistic place or conform to a listener’s expectations of what dance-pop or synth-pop should sound like. There is plenty of nostalgia bait weaved into many of the best tracks, but there’s also a freeform quality to her music that keeps you on your toes throughout.
While you could call Choke Enough experimental, it’s more evasive than anything else. Songs like “Take Me By the Hand” and the title track offer glimpses into Oklou’s turn-of-the-century inspirations. However, the images they conjure up disappear just as quickly as they materialize. Elsewhere, a cut like “Forces” wades knee-deep into ambient electronica, a tact I wonder if Oklou will ever explore in more detail. Regardless, I’m intrigued to hear what she does next.
8. “City of Clowns” by Marie Davidson
Genre: Electronic, Alternative
Label: Deewee
Release Date: February 28, 2025
Vibe: 😅
On City of Clowns, Marie Davidson gleefully takes aim at one of Substack’s favorite punching bags: the technocrats who influence (or destroy, depending on your point of view) day-to-day life by using humans as data mining vehicles. Set against beefy, industrial grooves that owe as much to underground darlings like Felix Da Housecat as Depeche Mode, Davidson’s “bad attitude” is part of the record’s appeal. She doesn’t suffer online fools gladly and wonders why you would.
The singer/producer is so outraged by the state of the online world that she quotes directly from an unlikely source on the opening track “Validations Weight:” Shoshana Zuboff’s book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. “You learn to sacrifice your freedom to collective knowledge imposed by others and for the sake of their guaranteed outcomes,” she says, with an unmistakable Siri-esque lilt to her voice.
The rest of the album, with bangers like “Sexy Clown,” “Demolition,” and “Y.A.A.M,” follow suit from there in gloriously uncompromising fashion.
9. “Music” by Playboi Carti
Genre: Hip-Hop, Trap
Label: Interscope
Release Date: March 14, 2025
Vibe: 🥲
After multiple agonizing delays, Playboi Carti’s follow-up to 2020’s surprise hit, Whole Lotta Red, is here. Spiritually, you could’ve named this sequel Whole Lotta Carti, as it’s sure to give his fan base the head-spinning maximalism they crave. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, you should know what you’re getting into. Carti’s new material is brasher, louder, and even more unapologetic than Red was. Strangely, that makes it more engaging, not less.
The sonic juxtapositions at work here are a lot of fun, especially when they shouldn’t make sense next to one another. You have the lo-fi video game aesthetic next to a gospel choir on “Crrush,” classic-ish R&B auto-tuned just shy of parody on “We Need All Da Vibes,” and goofy vocal choices giving way to an ice-cold Kendrick Lamar verse on “Good Credit.” It’s long, indulgent, and unhinged in spots, but it’s also undeniably entertaining.
What recent release have you been playing recently? Let us know in the comments.
Mayhem! There’s also a nod to Yaz in a song. Can you guess which one? I’m beginning to think each song has a little tribute sample to one of her idols. Going back through the whole thing to see what else I can pick up!