New Music Friday – July 18, 2025

July 18, 2025 Ben Pagani

It’s New Music Friday and that means all the latest records are out now. Scroll down to see a list of the top releases in music this week. First, here’s a deeper look at a highly anticipated album arriving today.

The Best of New Music Friday:

Lord Huron – The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1

Throughout the 21st Century, Lord Huron has created an inspiring universe of characters. The group has drawn in and maintained a dedicated fanbase through their instrumental arrangements and lyrics, all working to paint a new musical world. On The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1, the group’s fifth record, frontman Ben Schneider and co-conspirators Tom Renaud, Mark Barry and Miguel Briseño craft another extension in the Lord Huron galaxy.

The most obvious way Lord Huron craft a great big world on their latest album is through the use of over the top and exciting production elements. The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 is a spectacle. The group taps superstar actress Kristen Stewart to offer a spoken word performance on the scratchy, wavey and slightly electronic blues rock song “Who Laughs Last?” Schneider handles the chorus. For the song’s visual component, Stewart also starred in its music video. Stewart is a popular name, and her addition on the track makes for a dreamlike moment, separating this song from the standard formula of music and making the band’s work more grand. They also tapped Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino to help mashup the jangle pop song “Fire Eternal,” bringing a new audience to this extraterrestrial album.

Thematically, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 ponders on big life questions: How do you manage the future when the most influential parts of your existence are now long in the past? On single “Nothing I Need,” the band wrestles with this question and other existential crises, like figuring out what one might want to do with their life—and if that’s even possible to solve.

It’s not just the band’s words that string along these sorts of emotions. Strings quite literally carry tracks like “It All Comes Back,” where an orchestra guides the song along from start to finish, creating a deep feeling in the listener’s mind. This song is also an example of Lord Huron relying more on their individualised musical talent than plain old mainstream songwriting. The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1 doesn’t rely much on verse-chorus-verse type songs. Instead, the band has many exciting and unique moments inside their songs. Each line on the album seemingly exists as its own thing. It’s bold of the band to attempt such a feat, but Lord Huron’s past success allows them the ability to be unconventional with little risk. The reward is high. This helps the album to find success as one 2025’s most thought provoking releases so far.

What Lord Huron has here is an elevation of their own career. They play around with many genres and take things to another level. The band has already become one of the most innovative acts this millennium. The group has existed at “the top” for over a decade. Now they are building on a legacy, and just like the cosmos, their expansion seems neverending.

New Music Friday Top Picks:

Alex G – Headlights [RCA]

Alex Warren – You’ll Be Alright, Kid [Atlantic]

DJ Haram – Beside Myself [Hyperdub]

Silica Gel and Japanese Breakfast – “NamgungFEFERE (南宮FEFERE)”

Skullcrusher – “Exhale” [Dirty Hit]

Zac Farro – Operator [Congrats]

Which of these tracks from New Music Friday will you add to your favorite playlists today? Any we missed? Let us know in the comments or on Instagram!

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Ben Pagani

Music Projects Manager at Beyond The Stage Magazine

Ben is a music journalist living and working in Chicago. They joined Beyond The Stage as an intern and have stayed on the staff for several years. Now serving on the editorial board, Ben is proud to be BTS' Music Projects Manager, coordinating coverage between international record labels and our staff. Ben has interviewed, photographed and written about bands from across the world. Ben has lived all over the United States working in television and media. They are an Emmy Award-winning writer. Ben can be found spinning records as 'DJ Wearing Sunglasses' in clubs and basements across the US.