New season, new music: Fresh releases for Autumn 2025
September is upon us, meaning a new academic year and a return to work after the summer holidays. Whether you’re in need of some new tracks to fill the commute, or some fresh additions to the study playlist, here are a selection of my favourite recent releases from the mainstream and alternative scene:
Wolf Alice have perfectly captured a late-summer warmth with their track ‘White Horses’, part of their eagerly anticipated fourth album, The Clearing. Folky acoustics open the song, but are given depth by the persistence of the drum beat and focused chant of the verses. Ellie Rowsell’s vocal recalls the drifting quality of Fleetwood Mac’s best material, which is no surprise as the seventies legends are noted as an influence on this latest album. Arguably, Wolf Alice provide more drive and direction – 'White Horses' indulges in a sunshine glow and is road-trip ready, but equally can power you through to meet a deadline.
Naming an album Britpop shows an obvious desire for nostalgia, and Robbie Williams offers just that with his track, ‘Spies’. There is more maturity in the vocal now, but the grandeur and youthful determination behind 1997’s Life Thru a Lens are still audible. Robbie’s comfort when among both soaring orchestral accompaniment and unkempt rock drums prove his versatility as a performer in this track, something earlier evidenced in the chaotic showmanship of ‘Ego Agogo’. His latest material is sure to be a hit with fans and also soundtracks the current wistfulness for all things nineties.
Quite the gear change now as we turn to Laufey, and her latest album, A Matter of Time. Jazz is not typically a genre I go to, but pieces such as ‘Mr. Eclectic’ offer such a richness that they instantly transform any room into a shabby-chic cocktail bar. Lyrically, this track is biting – akin to mid-noughties Kelly Clarkson or Avril Lavigne, but instrumentally is anything but, giving it a complexity and humour that lifts it above the realm of pure background music.
Last summer, Jungle renewed our affection for chilled seventies funk, and new Liverpudlian artist MT Jones continues this with ‘Why I Cry’, the follow-up to April’s ‘Punchin’’. Jones’s voice recalls the raw soulfulness of Teddy Swims, but is not afraid to step back and allow lush instrumentals to come to the fore. ‘Why I Cry’ is definitely worth a listen - it is one of the most technically proficient releases of the past few months and is dripping with an effortless cool: bound to transform your day.
sombr is an alternative artist climbing the mainstream charts, and it is no wonder. The echoing intensity of the Arctics reverberates through ‘12 to 12’, heightened by some foreboding guitar-work, but this track doesn’t stay in well-trodden indie territory. The latter section introduces a Quincy Jones-esque funk and hint of eighties electronica but stays rooted in a supernatural, ‘Blinding Lights’ sound, making it a deserved success.
Some quite eclectic suggestions here for September’s soundtrack, but I hope that whatever you choose to add to playlist, the return to work, uni or school is made better by some great music.