3 New Albums Out This Week You Should Listen to Now: Jenny Hval, Blondshell, and Car Seat Headrest
There’s so much good music out in the ether that sometimes it’s difficult to parse through all of it. Every week The Daily Music Report will do the hard work for you and highlight the best releases available on streaming services.
This week we’re highlighting new music from Jenny Hval, Blondshell, and Car Seat Headrest.
Jenny Hval – Iris Silver Mist
Jenny Hval’s ninth album, Iris Silver Mist, is named after a fragrance by Serge Lutens and crafted to move like a perfume—shifting between the material and the ephemeral. Born from a period of musical absence during the pandemic, the record began as an exploration of scent, as Hval searched for presence through perfume before eventually returning to sound. Many of its songs originated as continuous, shape-shifting performances, and that fluidity remains: the album flows like a mixtape, with music, memory, and meaning bleeding from one track into the next. It’s a meditation on transformation, embodiment, and the subtle traces left behind.
Standout Songs: ‘Lay down,’ ‘I want to start at the beginning,’ ‘All night long,’ ‘You died,’ ‘I don’t know what free is,’ and ‘A ballad.’
7.8
Artist Links:
Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture
Blondshell’s second album, If You Asked for a Picture, builds on the raw songwriting of her 2023 debut with sharper self-reflection and a bolder sonic palette. Inspired by a line from a Mary Oliver poem and produced once again by Yves Rothman, the album draws from rock influences like Queens of the Stone Age and Red Hot Chili Peppers to explore themes of control and emotional growth. Blondshell describes it as “more grown up” and “full,” marking a new creative peak.
Standout Songs: ‘Thumbtack,’ ‘T&A,’ ‘What’s Fair,’ ’23’s A Baby,’ and ‘He Wants Me.’
7.6
Artist Links:
Car Seat Headrest – The Scholars
The Scholars, Car Seat Headrest’s thirteenth studio album, is out now via Matador Records. Written collaboratively for the first time and recorded mostly on analog equipment, the concept album takes place at the fictional Parnassus University and follows a cast of characters navigating themes of youth, death, and religious anxiety. Frontman Will Toledo began working on the album after recovering from long COVID, shifting from sole composer to creative organizer while encouraging greater input from bandmates. Promoted with a WebQuest-style game and three singles, The Scholars marks the band’s most ambitious and theatrical effort to date.
Standout Songs: ‘CCF (I’m Gonna stay With You),’ ‘Lady Gay Approximately,’ ‘The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man),’ and ‘Gethsemane.’
7.2
Artist Links:
When you’re done here lose yourself in our full library of 3 Albums Out This Week You Should Listen to Now.
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