Friday is here again, praise Ozzy! My picks for the week is light on new albums actually released today, because to be blunt, a lot of what I checked out today simply didn't work for me. That said, this gives me an opportunity to promote some new singles and recent releases I missed from the last few weeks. 

Up first is the new album from Kadavar, Kids Abandoning Destiny Among Vanity And Ruin, or K.A.D.A.V.A.R. for short. Kadavar used to be a fairly straightforward 70s-influenced hard rock/metal band, but definitely drifted into more of a psychedelic direction in their last few albums. This one still has a good deal of the spacey vibe, but strikes me as a little tighter than some of their other recent albums. This is their second release of 2025 - I Just Want To Be a Sound came out in July. 

Health has been dropping single after single from their upcoming album for a few months, and they've all been bangers so far. "You Died" is no different. They're touring next year, and it's looking more and more like it's going to be a can't miss show for me. 

Miracle Blood was the subject of my first actual post on this blog, and I've been waiting to see what's next for these Boston punks since then. While I haven't seen any hint of new music from them yet (which is fine, they dropped an album last year!), they did release a live EP this week. It does a great job of capturing the chaotic, energetic feel of their live show. Check it out, it's a lot of fun. 

I didn't write about it because it's outside of my admittedly loose focus for this blog, but my wife and I saw David Byrne on Monday night. It was, in short, spectacular. If you have a chance to catch him on this tour, you absolutely should not miss it. While I could have done with fewer tracks from his new album, the show is a joyous celebration of music, bursting with positivity, creativity, and simple but spellbinding showmanship. Plus, he's performing "Psycho Killer" for the first time in decades! And wouldn't you know it, here's a fun new remix of that song. 

Finally, Iconoclasts from Anna Von Hauswolff came out last week, but I didn't get around to it until today. I discovered this Swedish singer/organist a few years ago with her album Dead Magic, and the new one builds off the creepy-yet-beautiful foundation of that album, but is much more expansive. In addition to exploring a broader range of sounds, she also enlists some big name guests, like Iggy Pop and Ethel Cain. In a roundabout way it reminds me of the Swans album To Be Kind, as it's full of strange energies and left turns that somehow work as a cohesive whole. Hands down, this is the most interesting thing I listened to today, and I look forward to spending a lot more time with it.

Have a great weekend, all. Your mission: To be kind.