By: Music Journalism Club

Every week WSUM’s Music Director, Allison, chooses the best new releases to add to our music library. Here are the second half of September’s highlights, presented to you by the station’s Music Journalism Club.

September 23rd, 2025 ADDS

Wednesday, Bleeds

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Elderberry Wine”, “Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)”, “Candy Breath”

GENRE: Alternative Rock, Country/Folk 

RIYL: Momma, Slow Pulp, Hotline TNT 

Asheville-based band Wednesday’s sixth studio album Bleeds was easily one of my most-anticipated releases of the fall, and it did not disappoint. Bleeds kicks off with a striking and extremely satisfying build-up in “Reality TV Argument Bleeds”, and keeps the energy going with catchy choruses and walls of sound in “Townies”and “Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)”. The band subsequently slows it down a little with “Elderberry Wine”, the album’s lead single. This song easily became a song of the summer for me upon its release, and I can’t get enough of its tender pedal steel and atmosphere that feels like sticky summer. Karly Hartzman, the band’s lead singer, delivers a sweetly-packed punch with her stunning vocals and striking lyricism. It especially shines through on this album. “The Way Love Goes” has this same effect as “Elderberry Wine”with its gorgeous twang and impactful, sincere lyrics. The album picks up again in tempo later on with hits like “Bitter Everyday”before ebbing once more in the last two tracks. Throughout it all, Bleeds weaves together tales of everything from heartbreak and grief to small-town gossip, drawing listeners into the experiences of the place most dear to them, their Carolina homeland. 

— Catalina DeSua

Mappe Of, Afterglades

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Terraforming Moons”, “Honeyhaze”

GENRE: Avant-Folk, Alternative 

RIYL: Bon Iver, Thom Yorke

The rising musician, Mappe Of, released his newest album entitled Afterglades this past week. With songs full of reflection, spirituality, and imagination, Mappe Of is just as their track 2 song is titled – a spiritguide. The artist finds a unique medium between an acoustic, folk feeling while appealing to genres of experimental, psychedelic music. Similarly, Mappe Of employs whispered vocals alongside lively production elements, ultimately juxtaposing two broad feelings throughout the record. The musician’s voice, coupled with the album’s overall instrumentals, provides the perfect audio space for someone people-watching or simply enjoying a meditative moment alone. Whether it’s track eleven “Afterglades”with its beautiful acoustic guitar fingerpicking, or “Obsoloscenic”with its gripping dynamics, Mappe Of has created an album that’s an easy-listen for everyone. 

— Lillian Hescheles 

Toro y Moi, Unearthed: Hole Erth Unplugged

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Smoke (unerthed)”, “CD-R (unerthed)”

GENRE: Alternative, Indie, 

RIYL: Loving, Slaughter Beach, Dog

Toro Y Moi’s latest release, Unearthed: Hole Erth Unplugged, is a great album for a calm fall night. This album has a slow and introspective sound to it, reflected in the acoustic guitar and soft vocals. Two vocalists harmonize in each of the songs, adding new layers and depth to each song. The chords have a melancholy feel at times, like the ending of a season. This melancholy feeling is also present in the slower tempo of the songs. The lyrics feel raw and personal, which makes for a very intimate feeling while listening. Overall the album Unearthed: Hole Erth Unplugged is one you should consider listening to on those slow calm nights, while you’re walking as the sun sets, or enjoying a nice fall afternoon.

— Christine VanDen Heuvel

Frog, The Count

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “BITTEN BY LOVE”, “SAX-A-MA-PHONE”, “MARIAH VAR. XII”

GENRE: Indie pop, Folk Pop

RIYL: Jack Steuber

The New York-based, indie-rock band/duo, Frog, is back with a new album for everyone who’s been craving a lo-fi-feeling, alternative pop album with hints of folk. With soft, yet expressive vocals that mirror those of Jack Steuber, this album really gets you in your feels on a late afternoon. It was these vocals, and the distinctly different feelings of each track that initially drew me into this album. “MARIAH VAR. XII” is definitely my favorite track on this record. After having listened to the entirety of this album at least 3 times in the last week, I have to say, I will definitely be seeing where this duo ends up and recommend everyone check this out!

— Gabriel Salgado

September 30th, 2025 ADDS

Emily Yacina, Veilfall

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Battle”, “Blanket”, or “Free (Forgotten)”

GENRE: Indie Rock, Bedroom Pop, Singer/Songwriter

RIYL: Alex G, Clairo, Indigo de Souza

Yacina’s sophomore album feels like a peek into a secret world- a set of intimate revelations to a lost loved one combined with bittersweet coming-of-age sentiments. Her unique and intricate vocal layering mixed with Alex G-esque guitar creates a dreamy, floaty atmosphere filled to the brim with ambient textures and instrumentals. Each song brings something new to the table, “Free (Forgotten)” features more upbeat woozy guitars contrasted with grieving lyrics, while “Talk Me Down”, featuring Trissss, maintains the same degree of melancholy but in an electronic style adorned with hi-hats and heavy synths. Yacina’s thoughtful portrayal of her anguish is sure to stick with listeners – as her final track “Blanket” says, “It feels weird to be exposed”; but such intimacy is what makes Veilfall shine extra bright. 

—-Taylor Wemer

Purity Ring, purity ring

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “many lives”, “part ii”, “imanocean”, “glacier ::in memory of rs::”

GENRE: Synthpop, electronica, soundtrack

RIYL: Ninajirachi, Frost Children, yeule, After

Described as the soundtrack to a fictional RPG, you would never be able to tell that Canadian duo Purity Ring has been creating dreamy electronica since 2011 with how fresh and ambitious this record sounds. But the silvery vocals and ultra-hip all-lowercase track names remind us that they’re the blueprint for some of the hottest electronic artists right now, not the other way around. For all its trademark futuristic danciness (“place of my own” especially had me Zumba-ing up Bascom in the morning), purity ring also brings new rounds to the Purity Ring artillery—tracks like “part ii” and “mj odyssey” incorporate cherubic chorus vocals, elegant acoustic guitar and piano lines that call to mind something more delicate and wistful than the Nintendo 64 graphics it was inspired by. The dramatically entropic, nature-focused lyrics also add to the largely ethereal overtone of this record, and leave you to quietly speculate as to what world this album could possibly be inhabiting, and what fascinating new things could be growing and dying there.

— Adriana Mathiason

Sam Prekop, Open Close

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Font”, “Para”, “Opera”

GENRE: electronic ambient, IDM, indie electronic

RIYL: Casino Versus Japan, Isabel’s Dream, Lena Raine, Boards of Canada

Coming from playing with the Chicago-based indie, post-rock band, The Sea and Cake, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, inspiring the ears of early hipsters, Prekop ages with them. Growing from the subtle angst of his band years, into a more composed, yet lively sound on his fifth solo album, Open Close. In his solo work, Prekop favors working with modular synths to achieve a sound that seems to reach through its electronic tone inspiring visions of the skies, the lakes, and rolling pasturelands. The opening title track invites you on an open road watching clouds rush by as your speed past hills in the daylight with glimmering melodies and warm electronic swells. It heads into “Font” which drives forward with a steady bass, followed by the curious, spacey, ringing “Para.” Two more tracks follow on the brighter side, and then the digital adventure culminates with “Opera”, with a building, urgent, looping melody rising from the surging electric horns. Open Close creates a wide-eyed playfulness and worldly awe that makes it fit for a soundtrack to some indie open world video game or a long, sunny drive.

— Dasha Berezhanskiy

Geese, Getting Killed

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Cobra”, “Getting Killed”, “100 Horses”, “Taxes

GENRE: Indy Rock/Alt-Country

RIYL: Black MIDI, Squid, Black Country New Road

This fourth studio release by Geese continues the winning formula of driving polyrhythmic interplay between drums and percussion, laying down beds of funky rhythm that propel each song, combined with other very capable musicians, and the emotive sounds of lead vocalist Cameron Winter’s plaintive, Thom Yorke-like wailing. 

The standout track on this album is definitely “100 Horses”, a funky banger that really highlights Winter’s vocal style to maximum effect.

— Charlie Schomaker

Nine Inch Nails, TRON: Ares

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “As Alive As You Need Me To Be”, “I Know You Can Feel It”, “Infiltrator”, “Target Identified”

GENRE: Industrial, industrial rock, industrial dance, electronic

RIYL: Portishead, Filter

If all you know by NIN is “Closer,” it’s time to dive a little deeper. This is not Trent Reznor’s first soundtrack, having also done Pixar’s Soul, The Social Network, and more. This album immediately became my favorite thing to listen to while studying. While only four tracks have lyrics, they all have a steady momentum that borders on danceable–like you’re in the unlit basement of a goth club. And although some of the tracks (I’m looking at you “100% Expendable”) probably make more sense in the context of the film they were made for, the whole soundtrack can be taken as NIN’s first album in five years. The tracks range from beat driven and danceable to airy and meditateable (that’s a word). If you’re looking for a synthy, atmospheric vibe or a little background music, or a couple new NIN’s tracks (“As Alive As You Need Me To Be”, “Shadow Over Me”) this is your album.

— Cora Linos

Talon, Codes

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “Your Girlfriend”, “Paulie, Bobby”, “Time Stops”

GENRE: Indie rock, bubblegrunge

RIYL: Momma, SPRINTS, Charly Bliss

Punchy indie pop-rock from NY made up of—who else?—a quartet of lesbian best friends. Talon pulls a good amount of inspiration from the talk-rock craze sweeping the UK on this record, which throws a fun, snarky vibe over the moody basslines and matter-of-fact vocals that tie this record together. Codes does a great job of balancing the ditzy, laidback sound of this genre with the disillusionment and just-concealed anger of some of their punker cited influences, like Mannequin Pussy. In a scattered field of bratty cheerleader personas (“Stupid”) and absurdist vignettes (“Bracelets”), the sweet spot lies in “Time Stops”, where the expansive instrumental underscores the most earnest vocal performance on the album. In addition to the RIYLs, I’d recommend Codes to anyone who liked the most recent Wet Leg record—fashionably lethargic at times, righteously energetic at others, but always sharp and witty.

— Adriana Mathiason

Daffo, Where the Earth Bends

HIGHLIGHT TRACKS: “When I’m in Hell”, “Sideways”

GENRE: Indie rock, folk, alt rock

RIYL: Wednesday, Slow Pulp

The Album Where the Earth Bends was released on September 26 by Daffo. Many of the songs have a slower and angstier feel to them making this album feel perfect for the cooler weather. While some songs take on a more somber theme, some songs from the album have a happier and brighter feel to them. These two emotions alternate throughout the album. All of the songs have an acoustic sound to them and Daffo’s vocals create raw and genuine emotion in her songs. This is a great album and I highly recommend that you give it a listen this fall!

— Christine VanDen Heuvel