7 Albums Out Today to Listen To: The Mountain Goats, Hana Stretton, Ravyn Lenae, and More – Our Culture
In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on August 7, 2026.
The Mountain Goats, Days
The Mountain Goats’ new album, Days, began as a joke about a sequel to 2017’s Goths that would called Grunges. Naturally, it evolved into an earnest, nostalgic, and sprightly collection of songs, with John Congleton producing as the band recorded at Sear Sound in Manhattan. “These songs are loosely about the 70s, 80s, and 90s, which is to say they’re about the accumulation of days, each one a little further back than the next, sometimes miraculously seeming clearer as they recede and sometimes blurring into unrecognizable shapes which are sometimes pleasant and sometimes troubling,” John Darnielle explained. “Most songs here are in major keys but don’t let that fool you. If you do let that fool you I have a bridge to sell you; there is nothing on the other side of the bridge. Still, you shouldn’t let that deter you. Who am I to tell you what kind of bridge you need, or where the bridge you need should lead? Nobody, really. Nobody at all.”
Hana Stretton, tiarn
Three years after Soon, Hana Stretton is back with a new album, tiarn, released via Phil Elverum’s P.W. Elverum & Sun label. The multi-instrumentalist and producer made the album while living in the secluded beach town of Lake Tabourie. Describing her creative process, she said in our Artist Spotlight interview: “I have a very clear idea of where I am before I start; not physically where I am, but in my imagination. Where I want the song to live: Is it near water? What kind of animals live there? Is it hot? Is it cold? And that dictates the notes that come up, and the color that I’m making, and the time of day that it feels like, and it gives context to everything. It makes making itself so much more natural and easy.”
Ravyn Lenae, Blue Island
Ravyn Lenae expands her musical palette on her latest album, Blue Island, out now via Atlantic. The follow-up to 2024’s Bird’s Eye reunites the Chicago artist with Dahi on executive production, cruising through various styles of R&B, indie rock, and psychedelia. “‘Blue Island’ is a point of arrival, and feeling set in my ways and in who I am, and feeling free of any of those preconceived notions about Blackness or what I had to be in the past,” Lenae explained. “I think now it’s fun to challenge the idea of what R&B is supposed to sound like, what pop is supposed to sound like… and really say ‘fuck all of that’ and do my own thing.’”
Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Cannonball
Man/Woman/Chainsaw have come through with their debut album, Cannonball. Following 2024’s Eazy Peazy EP, it finds the London septet augmenting their chaotic post-punk with elements of grunge, chamber-pop, and blues-punk. They recorded the album with producers Seth Evans and Margo Broom, initially aiming for “a whole record of bangers – having everything be really in your face like a Rage Against the Machine record,” according to drummer Lola Cherry. “We soon realised we weren’t Rage Against the Machine and leant into the softer moments of the album which I think has really become a big part of our sound.”
Overmono, Pure Devotion
Overmono have followed up their 2023 debut Good Lies with a new album, Pure Devotion. The Welsh electronic duo of brothers Tom and Ed Russell sought to highlight the physicality of their studio process throughout the record: “Setting up loads of ways of processing, recording, re amping sounds…” they explained. “‘The vocal isn’t sitting quite right?’ let’s track it through an old tannoy speaker in the basement. that synth needs to twang harder? let’s play it through an old train station announcement speaker from the 1930’s.’ we ran tape over magnets, blew up some speakers and finally utilised that dirt cheap overclocked fx unit we snaffled years ago in bromley. we even oven baked a cymbal covered in coffee grounds, crisps and vinegar – thank you sylvia massy for that one.”
Rowena Wise, Bad Things Feel Good*
Rowena Wise has unveiled her sophomore album, Bad Things Feel Good*, via 22TWENTY and Beloved Records. The Australian artist worked with producer Rob Muinos (Julia Jacklin, Didirri) on the follow-up to 2024’s Senseless Acts of Beauty, recording live over three days at Ratshack Studios in Collingwood with bassist Richard Bradbeer and drummer Jess Ellwood. “I have been careless with my heart, dishonest to myself about what I want and who I am,” Wise reflected in a press release. “I’ve loved, lost, and left the realm of comfort to pursue hard truths. I realise now that pain has become something that doesn’t senselessly happen. It comes as one part of a larger picture, and I want to learn from it rather than recoil. Now I don’t know who I am, but I do know that I just want to be human, to be at peace with the messiness of life without continuing to try to tell a clean, novel story about it.”
Margaret Glaspy, I Am Both
Margaret Glaspy’s elegantly poignant new album, I Am Both, has arrived via ATO Records. The singer-songwriter made the record, which was produced by Joe Henry, after stepping away from social media. “When I started writing for this record I had a goal of getting my practice back – to walk the walk in terms of how I envision myself as a songwriter,” Glaspy recalled. “At first it was really hard to break that addiction to social media, but after a while something shifted. It felt like I’d gotten back to original thought instead of being under the influence of so many outside opinions. It was life-changing.”
Other albums out today:
Karol G, No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto; God of War, molly picture; FLO, Therapy at the Club; Roy Montgomery and Martha Skye Murphy, Nebular; Ceremony, Tell Me Your Dream Hardcore; Nino Paid, Somewhere Over the Rainbow; Blums, Sunk Cost Fantasy; Dinner Party, Watchu Bringing?; Slow Fiction, dollhouse ;Dionne Warwick, Dwuets; John Carpenter, Cathedral; Maya Ongaku, Nothing Space Music; Nate Sib, Reborn; Role Model, Chuck Timely & The Hourglass; Wealthy Women, Children; wave to earth, bad pieces; Sissi Rada, Serious Songs.