Welcome to another installment of Today's Release Highlights, where the TND writers room gathers up some brand new projects they want to draw your eyes and ears to.

This week, we have 11 new releases we'd like to key you into as you head into the weekend. Check them all out below.

Ba bam!

Edgar e Os Fita – Faz Frio Mas É Verão [Outra Música]

Through danceable and noisy beats, rapper Edgar and producer duo Os Fita build a chaotic vision of Rio de Janeiro in 2026 on Faz Frio Mas É Verão. The musicians, who previously collaborated in Edgar's 2024 track "Incapturável", build off each other as the MC delivers his deconstructed verses over Os Fita's (Abel Duarte and Cainã Bomilcar) experimental dance music. It's equal parts fun and dystopic – a tension heightened by such diverse guests as Crizin da Z.O., Tantão and Jup do Bairro. – Amanda Cavalcanti

Fat Dog – Cancel Me (I'm Tired) [Domino]

Listening to the singles released ahead of Cancel Me (I’m Tired), you might reasonably assume Fat Dog were taking things in a much poppier direction on their sophomore LP. “Go Fuck Yourself” features an ’80s-influenced bassline and descending synth lines, the title track is a twisted disco track, and “Heart of Darkness” is their most melodic song to date. Then you press play on the album and “Smile and Wave” comes screaming at you with lead singer Joe Love barking, “Life is but a dream / Of bitching NPCs / They’re banging at your door / They’ll fuck you like a horse,” over heavy drums and some spooky-ass keys.

While the album is certainly more accessible than their debut, Fat Dog haven’t exactly shed the darkness that shrouded that release. As someone who enjoys their move into more melodic territory but still wants them to sound completely fucked up, Cancel Me (I’m Tired) is just what the doctor ordered. — Drew P. Simmons

Holidays in United States – How to Count to Five [Heartfelt Records]

Emo is reviving again– making conversations with your co-workers about how emo is more than bands like My Chemical Romance and that one blink-182 song even more convoluted. New York City’s Holidays in United States describe their newest LP as “a lot of songs about being sad and missing people,” although it would be a disservice to whittle it down to simply that. How to Count to Five is an added notch in the resurgence of second-wave emo that has become increasingly prevalent over recent years. Encouraging DIY acts such as Citrus Jr., Train Breaks Down, and First Day Back have led the charge on this front, with releases paying homage to emo acts of old. Particularly, Holidays in United States turn to emo-royalty influences, i.e Rites of Spring and Cap’n Jazz, on their latest LP, distributed on Heartfelt Records.

The band, formed in 2022, only recently added co-vocalist Annika Haakonsen to the lineup after undeniable chemistry formed between the two parties. Lead single “Girl Problems” highlights Haakonsen’s purposefulness in being unapologetically femme in a traditionally male-dominated genre. How to Count to Five proves what has been obvious all along: emo needs more female-fronted groups! Holidays in United States’ album release show takes place at New York City’s Trans-Pecos on October 9th. – Brandon Cortez

Logic1000 – Confirmation! [Therapy/Because Music]

If you’re already familiar with Australian DJ Logic1000, you may know her for four-on-the-floor kicks and big, groovy synth bass, but on Confirmation!, Sam Poulter takes things in a more atmospheric, downtempo direction, blending elements of trip-hop, R&B, and pop into her electronic sound. The album opens with the spacious “48 Fairmount,” where melodic keys drift over the sounds of kids playing, before dropping into the heavy-hitting drums of “All In For You,” featuring Kučka. Poulter takes things in a more pop-focused direction with songs like “The Only One” and “2Love,” while “The Way I Change” leans further into trip-hop and R&B, with an instrumental that sounds like it could’ve been on Sade’s Love Deluxe.

If you’re still in need of some straight-up dance tracks, they’re here, too, in the likes of “Sparkle” and the album’s title track. Confirmation! is a pretty breezy listen, but Poulter still knows when to turn things up. — Drew P. Simmons

Meshell Ndegeocello – Synonym [Blue Note]

Legendary singer, songwriter, bassist, producer Meshell Ndegeocello is back with a new covers record, Synonym. Following back-to-back Grammy-winning albums The Omnichord Real Book and No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin (‘24 and ‘25, respectively), Synonym finds Ndegeocello back in a full-covers mode for the first time since 2018’s Ventriloquism. Whereas that record covered pop and R&B songs from the 80s and 90s, Synonym casts a wider net, tackling classic duets from the 60s all the way up through the 2000s, everything from Sonny & Cher to The Human League to Ja Rule.

She’s joined by a myriad of alluring and eclectic guests, from powerful vocalists like Cynthia Erivo and Brandi Carlile, to indie stars like Cat Power and ANOHNI and Moses Sumney. One of the most potentially surprising is Bill Callahan, who appears on the closing Dylan cover “With God On Our Side.” But no matter who she is playing and singing with — the album also includes musical muscle from the illustrious players like Bela Fleck, Chris Bruce, and more — or what style she’s tackling — either nestling comfortably into a song’s original genre, or totally upending it and subverting all expectations — Ndegeocello remains a truly intriguing interpreter of songs. ““The songs have diverse tones, representing various genres and intentional grooves,” she says. “But the album is also about joy, selfhood, individual representation, and universal experience.” — Jeremy J. Fisette 

Miranda Lambert – Crisco [Vanner]

No one in contemporary country has a winning streak longer than Miranda Lambert, from her incendiary debut single “Kerosene” to the heavy artillery of 2007’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend through 2014’s feminist-curious Platinum and 2019’s hookfest Wildcard (try “Settling Down” or “Tequila Does”), and that’s not even counting three explosive albums with her supergroup Pistol Annies.

But 2022’s Palomino felt a little disconnected at times from its attempted rock crossover and 2024’s Postcards From Texas a mite conservative (little-c, but enough to make one wonder). She’s already making some kind of comeback this year, having co-authored Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” which just became the longest-running Hot 100 topper of all time, but this new, inspired country-disco fusion album is even better.

Taking a cue from her compatriot Kacey Musgraves’ sassy “High Horse,” Lambert finally finds suitable new-old production for her throwback ballads and R&B-inflected new stompers alike, especially on “Whiskey Business” and “Cuttin’ Onions,” and Langley returns the favor upfront on “Snakeskin Boots” — Daniel Aaron

Quavo – QRÖMELIFE [Quality Control Music / Motown Records]

Pharrell has been on a run lately as a producer, lending his omnipresent sound to Clipse’s reunion album Let God Sort Em Out, which earned them their first Grammy win. Pharrell also has an elevated lifestyle of luxury, inviting Quavo to record songs on a yacht. Executive produced by Pharrell, QRÖMELIFE represents a new chapter for Quavo: healing after the loss of his nephew and Migos groupmate Takeoff and challenging himself to level up his melodic style to another plane.

With features from Atlanta trendsetters T.I., Future, and Lil Baby, Quavo supplies new anthems for the clubs. He and Offset are back on “Away,” making amends with his cousin after some friction. “Baby Breath” with Tyler, the Creator and A$AP Rocky will have people debating who had the best verse. “House Music” featuring Justin Timberlake takes Quavo into ‘80s synth-pop. His solo songs are just as good too; “Trance (Walk It Down)” and “HAAVIN,” are vintage Huncho earworms. Chrome life looks and smells like money. — Eric Diep

Spike Fuck – evidence [Sacred Bones]

Australian singer-songwriter Spike Fuck has gone through a lot over the last decade, and now he has reemerged from a period of recovery and introspection with his debut album evidence, out now via Sacred Bones Records. Written and recorded in three months with producer Adam Hyde (Keli Holiday), the record's eight tracks are literal evidence of Spike's frustration, confusion and resentment he once harbored in vain, continuing the themes established on 2016's Smackwave.

Now in recovery after facing addiction, detransitioning after living as a trans woman and a dalliance with monasticism, Spike is on the other side. "It’s a triumphant moment for me," he tells The Quietus. "It took me 10 years to get to this point, and I’m alive. I made it somehow… It made me feel human again. And potentially, by listening to it, it can do the same [for others]." — Nic Huber

The Sewing Club – Sew [Born Losers Records]

The Nashville-based band makes their official album debut with Sew, following an EP release back in 2024. The Sewing Club wears their influences well on the record, using catchy pop hooks as a cornerstone of every song and garnishing with heavy, blown-out tones inspired by the 90s shoegaze scene. ‘Sew’ releases a wall of sound, heavily using guitar tones that leave you feeling heady and vibrating. Each song offers moments of clarity, with Hannah McElroy’s voice cutting through the dense instrumentation like a beam of sunlight breaking through storm clouds. This is especially striking on tracks like “Bark” and “Strange 2.” The record perfectly captures the angst and uncertainty of navigating your twenties. — Rayne Antrim

Victoria Monét – Frequency of Love [Lovett Music/RCA]

With its lush, layered production (including and especially vocally), and uncanny time-jumping from doo-wop to quiet storm to Earth, Wind & Fire, Victoria Monét’s 2023 triple Grammy winner Jaguar II might be the best-sounding R&B album of the 2020s so far. This 22-song follow-up is subtler and sparer in the first half, which peaks at its horniest: “I almost came so loud / But almost doesn’t count,” she exclaims on the climax of a winning triptych that’s bookended by “Head to Toe” and “Juicy.” Then the second half ramps up the ambition, tempos and collaborations again, from a cheeseball tango with Bruno Mars to a worthy boom-bap with SZA to the danceable, “Rhythm Nation”-influenced “Reach Out.” If nothing hits quite as instantly as “On My Mama” or, for that matter, “Thank U, Next,” which she co-wrote, well, she’s in it for the long game, including and especially during intimacy. — Daniel Aaron

Wishy – Nature's Pill [Winspear]

If you’re searching for your next earworm, you’ll find plenty on Wishy’s Nature’s Pill. Moving a bit further away from the shoegaze-tinged ’90s alternative rock worship of their debut, the band, led by co-songwriters and vocalists Nina Pitchkites and Kevin Krauter, has fully embraced the craft of writing a sugary melody. There’s still an intricacy to the percussion, a rough-around-the-edges vocal mix, and plenty of head-banging guitar riffs, but it’s all neatly packaged into sharp, immediate pop songs. Read all about the band’s chemistry, DIY roots, and the making of this LP in our interview with the Indianapolis band. — Drew P. Simmons