Another week, another chance to dive headfirst into the depths of New Music Friday.
The weekend’s within arm’s reach and we’ve made it, friends.
Before we clock off and shut our laptops, we’ve rounded up standout new releases from here and across the ditch.
The Amity Affliction – House of Cards
The Amity Affliction lean into reinvention on House of Cards, their most personal and punishing record yet. With new clean vocalist Jonny Reeves in the mix, the band sharpen both melody and brutality.
It’s grief-driven, deeply introspective, and still hits with the kind of force that’s defined their legacy.
Windwaker ft. RinRin – ‘click.’
Windwaker keep pushing their glitchy, hyperactive take on metalcore with ‘click.’, and it’s a lot – in a good way.
RinRin slots in seamlessly, adding to the chaos. It’s loud, messy, and very online, leaning into that sensory overload rather than pulling back from it.
Sonic Reducer – ‘Song For Steven’
‘Song For Steven’ sees Sonic Reducer slow things down just enough to get a bit darker. It’s still scrappy, still rough around the edges, but there’s more space here.
Feels like a band figuring out how to stretch their sound without losing what makes them work.
Max Aurora & The Southern Lights – ‘How I Know It’s Right’
Max Aurora leans into that push-pull of heartbreak and clarity here. Big guitars, big feelings, but it never tips over into melodrama.
There’s something satisfying about how it balances chaos with control – like it’s just holding itself together.
e4444e – ‘Ghost / Embers’
Romy Church continues to blur the edges of indie with ‘Ghost / Embers’, two tracks that feel intimate and slightly off-centre. It’s quiet, a bit strange, and sits somewhere between folk and warped bedroom pop.
Both are a total mood that slowly get under your skin.
Pavey Ark – More Time, More Speed
Pavey Ark’s new album leans into that cinematic indie-folk space – soft, detailed, and thoughtfully put together. Recorded in a farm building, which kind of tracks.
It’s reflective without dragging, and the arrangements give everything room to breathe.
Takara – ‘Mona Lisa’
‘Mona Lisa’ feels like Takara fully stepping into her thing. It’s smooth, confident, and a little bit untouchable – pulling from R&B, Afrobeat and alt-pop without overcomplicating it.
Playful, but very intentional.
FRIDAY* – ‘just you’
FRIDAY* comes back with something a bit bigger and more cinematic. ‘just you’ leans into contrast – soft, emotional moments against heavier, more layered production.
It’s dramatic, but it works, especially when it dips into those nostalgic textures.
Jasmine Golden – ‘Draw You’
‘Draw You’ is bright, busy, and built around collaboration. The brass, the vocals, the scale of it all – it feels like a lot of moving parts, but it holds together. Underneath it, it’s still just a solid indie-pop song about connection.
ELTAKCHI – Big Dream Baby
Justine Eltakchi’s debut Big Dream Baby lands without a huge fuss, but it sticks. ‘Daughters and Sons’ with Casey Donovan is a clear standout, but the whole record leans into family, identity and where you come from.
It’s thoughtful, grounded, and easy to sit with.
Joan & The Giants – ‘Mamma Don’t Cry’
This one hits pretty directly. ‘Mamma Don’t Cry’ is built around a heavy story, but it doesn’t overplay it. There’s a softness to how it unfolds — moving from something painful into something a bit more hopeful without forcing it.
