Notable vinyl releases out this Friday - January 30, 2026

When Blackwater Holylight left their hometown of Portland OR three years ago, their mission was to escape the gloom of the Pacific Northwest and the placating comfort of familiarity. Aiming for the sunnier climes of LA, the band found themselves not only in a warmer environment, but in a blank slate landscape—one without jobs, longtime friend groups, and the easy retreat of old habits. And it was here, unencumbered by the contentment of security, that Blackwater Holylight began diligently working on their fourth full-length album, Not Here Not Gone. As with their previous work, Not Here Not Gone explores the duality of light and dark—menacing riffs provide the bedrock to beguiling melodies; dense walls of shoegaze guitars pair with lighter-than-air synths; and heavy subject matter is delivered by siren song vocals. Across their work, the listener gets a sense of empowerment at one turn, vulnerability the next. As drummer Eliese Dorsay describes it, “some songs we’re the predator, and some songs we’re the prey.” The juxtaposition of confidence and uncertainty is never in as such stark relief as when one makes a life changing decision, which may explain how the band’s relocation intensified their study in contrasts to intoxicating new heights on Not Here Not Gone. The title is the perfect description of the band’s adjustment. “It’s one foot in, one foot out,” vocalist and guitarist/bassist Sunny Faris explains. “It’s about how you can lose people in your life but still have their presence and energy around you.” And indeed, listening to Not Here Not Gone, you get the distinct sense that Blackwater Holylight dragged some of the Northwest gloom down into Southern California. The opening chords of “How Will You Feel” are drenched in the muddy weight of perpetually overcast skies. But a Jacob’s Ladder of light shines through the scuzzy guitars in the form of Faris’ lilting vocals and Sarah McKenna’s blissed-out ambient synth work, guiding the listener out of the mire and into the garden. Even in their heaviest moments, like the sludgy psychedelia of “Bodies” and “Spades,” Blackwater Holylight masterfully sculpt the thunder and grime into something that feels transcendental. Lead single “Heavy, Why?” is perhaps the apex of the band’s masterful duality and an appropriately titled examination of the ensemble’s methods. Mikayla Mayhew’s low, dirge-like riff and Dorsay’s propulsive drums could easily find a home in the catalog of an amp-worshipping Roadburn act, but Faris’ fragile vocals transform the composition into a question, a pointed and probing examination that uses beauty and grace to offset the threatening instrumentation. In one of the biggest stylistic shifts of the album, the instrumental track “Giraffe” churns out a hallucinatory blend of woozy keyboards and pulsating bass over a beat provided by David Andrew Sitek (TV on the Radio, Run the Jewels, Solange). The song serves as a dividing line of sorts, as Not Here Not Gone shifts gears into even more nuanced territories. The band asserts that the primary change to their music has been the addition of time. On previous albums, youthful urgency yielded material that felt immediate and direct. But on Not Here Not Gone, Blackwater Holylight deliberately slowed their creative pace. “If there were to be a theme to the album, it would be patience,” says Faris. “Some of these songs we’ve been working on for three years, just giving the songs time to breath and develop while we were exploring a new place and new lives.” It’s especially evident on the latter half of the album, where tracks like “Void to Be,” “Fade,” and “Mourning After” deliberately eschew the big riff in favor of fever dream melodies and layered instrumentation. But forever savoring the paradox, the album’s final track was composed just days before the band entered the studio. “Poppyfields” is a harrowing account of a friend losing their home in an LA wildfire, set against a backdrop of blast beats, double kick drum, symphonic synths, and black metal-inspired guitars. In what feels like a counterweight to the album’s general tilt towards less tormented territories, “Poppyfields” serves as a stark reminder that no paradise is permanent, and everything will be reborn through ashes. Not Here Not Gone was recorded at Sonic Ranch outside of El Paso TX by Sonny Diperri (Narrow Head, DIIV, Emma Ruth Rundle), allowing the band to once again step outside of their comfort zone and isolate themselves in a place where they could focus exclusively on their art. The result is the crown jewel of Blackwater Holylight’s catalog—a rich and immersive study in tonal chiaroscuro, where light finds its way out of the shadows.

Refracting beatifically through realities and mirages flickering along his aural parade route, Animal Collective’s Geologist rides the high country on a hurdy gurdy of many colors. Via the mystery science of musical engagement, we take his sonic kaleidoscope of encounters into our own experience as we listen. That’s the beauty of Can I Get a Pack of Camel Lights?, the debut solo transmission of the heart and soul and life and times of Geologist. A1. Oracle Road A2. Tonic A3. RV Envy A4. Not Trad B1. Color in the B&W B2. Compact Mirror/Last Names C1. Government Job C2. Pumpkin Festival C3. Selley Duvall C4. Sonora D1. Last Names (w/Drums - bonus track)

Following his critically acclaimed debut FORWARD, Jordan Ward returns with his anticipated sophomore album BACKWARD, a soulful, time-bending exploration of growth, nostalgia, and self-discovery. Blending funk, R&B, and introspective storytelling, BACKWARD cements Ward as one of the most compelling new voices in modern music. Experience it in its purest form on translucent cobalt vinyl!

Joyce Manor are California pop-punk legends and I Used To Go To This Bar is this epochal band operating at the top of their game. They continue to deliver relentlessly satisfying rock music in a manner that makes it look simply effortless. The Torrance, California-hailing trio of Barry Johnson, Chase Knobbe, and Matt Ebert are at a point in their career where their position as one of the most beloved rock bands is a foregone conclusion. Their seventh album finds the group continuing to find rich new veins to tap in their short-and-sweet songcraft without losing an ounce of bite that gained them such repute in the first place. I Used To Go To This Bar further situates Joyce Manor in the rich lineage of their influences and inspirations. Think AFI's rapid-fire burn, Weezer's indelible power-pop acumen, and the dusky emotionalism of the Smiths while further establishing them as leading lights in the current rock landscape.The fresh burst of inspiration that fuels I Used To Go To This Bar proves that Joyce Manor are far from content to rest on such laurels, moving forward with their sound and style in a way that reminds you of how they got to this point in the first place. Catch them live at Coachella 2026.

French Touch icon and electro-pop songwriter dandy Sebastien Tellier is back with `Kiss the Beast.' Tellier returns to the format of a pop album. `Kiss the Beast' draws from the different sounds he has explored in his career while opening new directions, from introspective French & English ballads to electro-pop groovy tracks. Includes "Na?f de Coeur" and "Refresh." With contributions from Nile Rodgers, Kid Cudi, and Slayyyter. Produced by Daniel Stricker, Victor Le Masne, SebastiAn & Oscar Holter. Available on standard black vinyl in gatefold jacket with poster included.

On their powerful new album When A Flower Doesn’t Grow, Softcult (Mercedes and Phoenix Arn-Horn) deliver their most unflinching and transformative work to date. Written during a period of personal upheaval and self-discovery, the record charts a journey through trauma, disillusionment, empowerment and eventual liberation.

The Soft Pink Truth (Drew Daniel also of Matmos) grafts chamber music and electronic music into a beguiling new hybrid pop album that evokes mid-20th century film soundtracks with nods to minimalism. Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever? features artwork by Robert Beatty (Tame Impala, The Weeknd). The new album features a host of special guests: Bill Orcutt offers one of his most delicate performances committed to record. Other guests include strings arranger Ulas Kurugullu, harpists Neleta Ortiz and Cecilia Cuccolin, pianists Koye Berry and M.C. Schmidt, strings player Kurugullu, and the Ebu String Quartet, as well as woodwind players by Brandon Wilkins and Evelyn Frances and Zach Rowden of celebrated noise duo Tongue Depressor provides grinding double bass drones. Wedding emotional expression with canny references to the inherited history of recorded music, the chimes, organ and pizzicato strings on “Phrygian Ganymede” recall Bernard Herrmann’s scores for classic Alfred Hitchcock films, while galloping marimbas lend a sense of screwball comedy on “L’Esprit de L’Escalier.” Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever? is a singular album that speaks to the prowess of Drew Daniel as a composer and producer, deftly interlacing pop structure and classical timbre while interlacing subtle electronic sound design with gorgeous acoustics. Across the album Daniel embraces a spirit of drama and romanticism that blurs the boundaries between unconscious desire and everyday reality. The Soft Pink Truth has created a sound world of lavish fantasy that acts as a balm and counterpoint to the communal pains of modern life. A1. Mere Survival Is Not Enough A2. And By and By A Cloud Takes All Away A3. Phrygian Ganymede A4. Underneath (I) B1. L'Esprit de L'Escalier B2. Time Inside the Violet B3. Orchard B4. Underneath (II)