New Music Friday – April 18, 2025

April 18, 2025 Ben Pagani

This New Music Friday is exciting. This week’s biggest record is a collaboration between two of rock’s most talented artists. Read on to view a complete list of top EPs and albums out now.

The Best of New Music Friday:

Julien Baker and TORRES – Send A Prayer My Way

Cowboys are supposed to ride alone, but Julien Baker and TORRES aren’t your usual bunch of bandits. That’s perhaps why the two superstars have joined forces, gone country and released the new album Send A Prayer My Way. This record (not that record) is the first Baker has released since that record and the first from TORRES since her early 2024 hit What an enormous room. But this story goes back further than those iconic LPs. Baker and TORRES have been scheming up this album since 2016 when they first performed a live show together. Now at long last, the pair have released a collaborative record and an upcoming tour of the southern and western United States awaits. Partners? Partners.

No hour of life is wasted if it’s spent in the saddle, and the same is true about the 40-minutes it takes to experience Send A Prayer My Way. From opener “Dirt” to closer “Goodbye Baby,” there’s not a moment of time where one of these two talented musicians wastes a breath or strum.

“Tuesday,” is the name of a song and a girl TORRES fondly remembers as contributing to her queer awakening when she “left Georgia for Tennessee.” However, Tuesday’s mom objects because southern girls are meant to love Jesus and men. The two ultimately don’t end up together and TORRES concludes that if Tuesday ever hears this song, she can tell her momma “she can go suck an egg.” This lyrical tale plays out while steel pedals and symbol-heavy percussion carry the instrumental section.

Don’t make any mistake, neither of these artists plays second fiddle to the other on Send A Prayer My Way. Baker looks at the past while enjoying a brighter future on “Off the Wagon.” She discusses addiction and financial struggles. The instrumental style contrasts, and guitar and fiddle make this a happy sounding song. Both the artists give each other plenty of alone time in the spotlight, but they are equally happy sharing it.

Baker and TORRES have many commonalities as both humans and musicians. They are both queer people with Southern American upbringings. They are both recording artists influenced by the country genre. Their energy, when combined into one force, is like a prayer or hymn given to the masses: it’s simultaneously beautiful and self-aware. Man is like Julien Baker and TORRES, except Julien Baker and TORRES have guts, guitars and horses.

New Music Friday Top Picks:

Blackwater Holylight – If You Only Knew EP [Suicide Squeeze]

Davido – 5ive [RCA]

Fontaines D.C. – Romance (Deluxe Edition) [XL]

Juana Rozas – Tanya [Sony]

I’m With Her – “Standing on the Fault Line” [Rounder]

Lana Del Rey – “Bluebird” [Interscope]

Militarie Gun & Dazy – “Tall People Don’t Live Long”

Post Animal – “Last Goodbye” [Polyvinyl]

Tunde Adebimpe – Thee Black Boltz [Sub Pop]

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.