Summer begins with the solstice on June 20 at 6:34 a.m. EDT, and the astronomical fall for the Northern Hemisphere starts on Sept. 22. You can get a jump on the hot fun in “them summer days, those summer days” with our new music roundup. Here are some of the highlights … (see the whole list of new releases here).

June 17

Artist: Title: Label:
Jake Bugg “On My One” (producers: Bugg, Jacknife Lee; first single: “Gimme the Love”; Hear here; MP3) (Island)
Will Butler (of Arcade Fire) “Friday Night” (recorded live June 2015 at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall, with five songs from his “Policy” LP, two songs he recorded for The Guardian as part of a songwriting project, and five previously unreleased tracks; See here) (Merge)
Neko Case, k.d. lang and Laura Veirs “case/lang/veirs” (first single: “Atomic Number”; Hear here; MP3) (ANTI- / Epitaph)
Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers “Rehab Reunion” (producer: Hornsby; guests: Mavis Staples, Justin Vernon; first single: “Over the Rise”; Hear here; MP3) (429)
Sarah Jarosz “Undercurrents” (guests: Guster’s Luke Reynolds, Parker Millsap, Sara Watkins, Aoife O’Donovan; first single: “House of Mercy”; Hear here; MP3) (Sugar Hill)
Kris Kristofferson “The Cedar Creek Sessions” (double album recorded over three days in the summer of 2014; producers: Tamara Saviano, Shawn Camp; guest: Sheryl Crow; Read here) (Legacy)
Mumford & Sons “Johannesburg” (five-song EP, featuring Baaba Maal, The Very Best and Beatenberg; recorded in Studio 2 and the auditorium of the South African Broadcasting Corp.; producers: Mumford & Sons, The Very Best’s Johan Hugo; first single: “There Will Be Time”; Hear here; MP3) (Glassnote)
Laura Mvula “The Dreaming Room” (first single: “Overcome,” feat. Nile Rodgers; Hear here; See here; MP3) (RCA)
Jon Pardi “California Sunrise” (producer: Bart Butler; first single: “Head Over Boots”; Hear here; Read here) (Capitol Nashville)
Radiohead “A Moon Shaped Pool” (released on MP3 on May 8; producer: Nigel Godrich; first single: “Daydreaming”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl, two 180-gram LPs, with download card) (XL Recordings)
Red Hot Chili Peppers “The Getaway” (producer: Danger Mouse; first single: “Dark Necessities”; Hear here; MP3) (Warner)
Swans “The Glowing Man” (engineered by John Congleton; guests: Jennifer Gira, Okkyung Lee; Hear here; MP3) (Young God)
Thousand Foot Krutch “Exhale” (new single: “Running with Giants”; Hear here) (TFK Music)
The Tragically Hip “Man Machine Poem” (lead singer-lyricist Gord Downie has announced he has terminal brain cancer; producers: Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene, Dave Hamelin of The Stills; first single: “In a World Possessed By the Human Mind”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3) (Universal)
Various artists “Finding Dory (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (sequel to “Finding Nemo” opens June 17; See here) (Walt Disney)
YG “Still Brazy” (guests: Drake, Lil Wayne, Kamaiyah, Nipsey Hussle, Slim 400, etc.; new single: “Why You Always Hatin”; Hear here; MP3) (Def Jam)

June 24

Artist: Title: Label:
The Avett Brothers “True Sadness” (first single: “Ain’t No Man”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) (American / Republic)
Björk “Vulnicura Live” (One Little Indian)
Broods (New Zealand duo) “Conscious” (producers: Broods, Alex Hope, Captain Cuts, Joel Little; guest: Tove Lo; first single: “Free”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3; Cassette) (Capitol)
Sam Bush (Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist) “Storyman” (producer: Bush; guests: Emmylou Harris, Deborah Holland; Hear here) (Sugar Hill)
Bun E. Carlos “Greetings From Bunezuela!” (the former Cheap Trick drummer’s first solo album; guests: Robert Pollard, Xeno, Hanson, Alejandro Escovedo, Dave Pirner, John Stirratt, Nicholas Tremulis, Alex Dezen, Rick Rizzo, members of Candy Golde and the Monday Night Band; first single: “Do Something Real”; Hear/read here) (eOne Music)
D.A.R.K. (led by former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke and Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan) “Science Agrees” (first single: “Curvy”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) (Cooking Vinyl)
Deerhoof “The Magic” (first single: “Plastic Thrills”; Hear here; MP3) (Polyvinyl)
DJ Shadow “The Mountain Will Fall” (guests: Run The Jewels, Nils Frahm, Matthew Halsall, Ernie Fresh, etc.; Hear here; Read here; MP3) (Mass Appeal)
Drowners “On Desire” (recorded and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer; first single: “Cruel Ways”; Hear here; MP3) (Frenchkiss)
The Felice Brothers “Life in the Dark” (first single: “Aerosol Ball”; Hear here; See here; MP3) (Yep Roc)
Marian Hill (pop duo) “ACT ONE” (first single: “I Want You”; Hear here; MP3) (Photo Finish / Republic)
Rae Sremmurd “SremmLife 2” (guests: Juicy J, Lil Jon, Kodak Black; new single: “Look Alive”; Hear here; MP3) (EarDrummer / Interscope)
Rich Robinson (The Black Crowes guitarist) “Flux” (first single: “Music That Will Lift Me”; See here; Vinyl) (Eagle Rock)
Royal Southern Brotherhood “The Royal Gospel” (producer: David Z; Hear here) (Ruf)
Kandace Springs “Soul Eyes” (producer: Larry Klein; guests: Terence Blanchard, Jesse Harris, Dean Parks, Vinnie Colaiuta, Pete Kuzma, etc.; first single: “Soul Eyes”; Hear here; See here; MP3) (Blue Note)
Various artists “Vans Warped Tour ’16” (two CDs, 49 songs) (SideOneDummy)
Neil Young + Promise of the Real “Earth” (double album of live performances from their 2015 tour; Hear here) (Reprise)


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July 1

Artist: Title: Label:
American Authors “What We Live For” (first single: “Pride”; Hear here; See here; MP3) (Dirty Canvas / Island)
Bat For Lashes (aka Natasha Khan) “The Bride” (producers: Khan, Dan Carey, Head, Simone Felice, Ben Christophers; first single: “I Do”; Hear here; MP3) (Parlophone)
blink-182 “California” (their first studio album in five years; Alkaline Trio vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba replaces Tom DeLonge; producer: John Feldmann; first single: “Bored to Death”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3) (BMG Rights Management)
MAGIC! “Primary Colors” (first single: “Lay You Down Easy”; See here; Read here) (Latium / RCA)
Maxwell “blackSUMMERS’night” (his first album in seven years; first single: “Lake By the Ocean”; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) (Columbia)
Metronomy “Summer 08” (first single: “Old Skool”; Hear here) (Because Music)
Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek) “Young In All the Wrong Ways” (producer: Gabe Witcher; guests: Jim James, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, Chris Eldridge, Paul Kowert, Jon Brion, Jay Bellerose; first single: “Move Me”; See here; MP3) (New West)

July 8

Artist: Title: Label:
The Avalanches “Wildflower” (the Australian electronic group’s first album since 2000; first single: “Frankie Sinatra”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) (Astralwerks)
Biffy Clyro “Ellipsis” (producer: Rich Coste; first single: “Wolves of Winter”; Hear here; See here; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition) (Warner / 14th Floor Recordings)
Chevelle “The North Corridor” (producer: Joe Barresi; first single: “Joyride [Omen]”; Hear here; MP3) (Epic)
Kree Harrison (runner-up on season 12 of “American Idol”) “This Old Thing” (first single: “This Old Thing”; Hear here; MP3) (Plaid Flag)
Heart “Beautiful Broken” (Vinyl) (Concord)
Switchfoot “Where the Light Shines Through” (producers: Switchfoot, John Fields; Hear here; Deluxe Edition; Vinyl) (Vanguard)

July 15

Artist: Title: Label:
Jeff Beck “Loud Hailer” (Hear here; Read here; see related book below) (Rhino)
Bright Light Bright Light “Choreography” (guests: Elton John, Jake Shears, Ana Matronic, Alan Cumming, Mykal Kilgore; Hear here; Vinyl) (Self Raising / MRI)
Dirty Heads “Dirty Heads” (producers: Justin Gray, Da Internz, Drew Pearson, David Kahne, Jimmy Harry; first single: “That’s All I Need”; Hear here; See here; MP3) (Five Seven Music)
The Earls of Leicester (bluegrass supergroup led by Jerry Douglas) “Rattle & Roar” (producer: Douglas; first single: “The Train That Carried My Girl From Town”; Hear/read here; Vinyl) (Rounder)
Good Charlotte “Youth Authority” (guests: Simon Neil, Kellin Quinn; first single: “40 oz. Dream”; Hear here; See here; Vinyl; MP3) (MDDN / Kobalt Label Services)
Hillsong United “Empires Acoustic” (CD/DVD combo; acoustic version of their 2015 album “Empires”) (Hillsong / Capitol CMG)
Kidz Bop Kids “Kidz Bop 32” (MP3) (Razor & Tie)
Michael Kiwanuka “Love & Hate” (producers: Danger Mouse, Inflo; first single: “Black Man in a White World”; Hear here; See here; Read here; MP3) (Interscope)
David Nail “Fighter” (Hear here; Read here) (MCA Nashville)
NEEDTOBREATHE “H A R D L O V E” (first single: “Happiness”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) (Atlantic)
Various artists “Ghostbusters (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)” (2016 reboot opens July 15, starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones; Fall Out Boy collaborates with Missy Elliott on a new version of Ray Parker Jr.’s theme song; other acts on the soundtrack: 5 Seconds of Summer, G-Eazy feat. Jeremih, Pentatonix, WALK THE MOON, Wolf Alice; Hear here; See here; first single: Elle King’s “Good Girls”) (RCA)

July 22

Artist: Title: Label:
The Amazing (Swedish rock group) “Ambulance” (first single: “Ambulance”; Hear here; MP3) (Partisan)
Cait Brennan “Introducing the Breakdown According to Cait Brennan” (Hear here) (Black Market Glamour)
Capsize “A Reintroduction: The Essence of All That Surrounds Me” (first single: “XX (Sew My Eyes)”; Hear here; Deluxe Edition; MP3) (Equal Vision)
Crown the Empire “Retrograde” (Hear here; MP3) (Rise)
Honne (U.K. production and DJ duo) “Warm on a Cold Night” (guest: Izzy Bizu; first single: “Someone That Loves You”; See here; MP3) (Atlantic)
Charlie Hunter “Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth” (Hear here) (GroundUP Music)
Stephen Ragga Marley “Revelation Pt. II: The Fruit of Life” (guests: Rick Ross, Pitbull, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Iggy Azalea, Waka Flocka Flame, Dead Prez, Rakim, DJ Khaled, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, Shaggy, Black Thought, etc.; Hear here; MP3) (Ghetto Youths International)
Lou Rhodes “theyesandeye” (first single: “All the Birds”; Hear here; MP3) (Nude Music)

July 29

Artist: Title: Label:
Billy Talent “Afraid of Heights” (first single: “Afraid of Heights”; Hear here; Deluxe Edition; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition, with eight extra tracks) (The End)
Cotton Mather “Death of the Cool” (Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) (Star Apple Kingdom)
Death Grips (experimental hip-hop group) “Bottomless Pit” (first single: “Hot Head”; Hear here; Vinyl) (Harvest)
D Generation (including frontman Jesse Malin) “Nothing Is Anywhere” (their first album in 17 years; producer: guitarist Danny Sage; first single: “Apocalypse Kids”; Hear here) (Bastard Basement)
Fantasia “The Definition Of…” (first single: “Ugly”; Hear here; MP3) (Rock Soul / 19 Recordings / RCA)
Future Generations “Future Generations” (first single: “Stars”; Hear here; MP3) (Frenchkiss)
Gary Hoey “Dust & Bones” (his 20th album; Hear here) (Provogue / Mascot Label Group)
Lori McKenna (“Girl Crush” writer) “The Bird & The Rifle” (producer: Dave Cobb; first single: “Wreck You”; Hear here) (CN)
Owen (aka Chicago musician Mike Kinsella) “The King of Whys” (producer: S. Carey; first single: “Lost”; Hear here; MP3) (Polyvinyl)
Jake Owen “American Love” (guests: Chris Stapleton, Hillary Lindsey; Hear here; Read here) (Sony Music Nashville)
Chris Robinson Brotherhood “Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel” (first single: “Narcissus Soaking Wet”; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) (Silver Arrow)
3 Pill Morning (Minneapolis rockers) “Never Look Back” (first single: “Electric Chair”; Hear here; MP3) (The Fuel Music / Countdown Entertainment)
Vertical Church Band “Frontiers” (first single: “1000 Tongues”; See here; MP3) (Essential Worship)

Aug. 5

Artist: Title: Label:
Haley Bonar (Twin Cities-based singer-songwriter) “Impossible Dream” (first single: “I Can Change”; Hear here; MP3) (GNDwire / Thirty Tigers)
Jekalyn Carr “The Life Project” (guests: Stephen Brown, Gmbscm Youth Choir, Nariah Smith; Hear here; MP3) (Lunjeal Music Group / eOne Music)
The Dead Daisies (rock supergroup featuring former members of Mötley Crüe, Whitesnake, etc.) “Make Some Noise” (10 originals and covers of The Who’s “Join Together” and CCR’s “Fortunate Son”; Hear here; Vinyl) (SPV)
Dinosaur Jr. “Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not” (Hear here; Read here; Vinyl; MP3) (Jagjaguwar)
Jackyl “ROWYCO” (new single: “Rally”; Hear here; MP3) (Mighty Loud)
Jeremy & The Harlequins “Into the Night” (first single: “Into the Night”; Hear here; MP3) (Yep Roc)
Cody Johnson “Gotta Be Me” (producer: Trent Willmon; guests: Carl and Sheila Johnson; first single: “With You I Am”; Hear here) (COJO Music)
Moke (Dutch indie-rock band) “The Time Has Come” (producer: Joeri Saal; See here; MP3) (PIAS America)
Moose Blood (Canterbury, U.K., quartet) “Blush” (producer: Beau Burchell of Saosin; first single: “Honey”; See here; MP3) (Hopeless)
O.A.R. “XX” (career-spanning collection of their biggest hits and live shows plus new studio material; Hear here; See here; MP3) (Vanguard)
O’Connor Band with Mark O’Connor “Coming Home” (producer: Gregg Field; Hear here; MP3) (Rounder)
Skillet “Unleashed” (producers: Brian Howes, Kevin Churko, Neal Avron, Seth Mosley; first single: “Feel Invincible”; Hear here; MP3) (Atlantic)
Angie Stone “Covered in Soul” (covers of “These Eyes,” “Smiling Faces Sometimes,” “In the Air Tonight,” “It’s Too Late,” etc., plus new versions of her hits “Wish I Didn’t Miss You,” “Baby” and “Brotha!”) (Goldenlane)
Jonah Tolchin “Thousand Mile Night” (recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio; See here; MP3) (Yep Roc)

Aug. 12

Artist: Title: Label:
The Amity Affliction “This Could Be Heartbreak” (producer: Will Putney; first single: “I Bring the Weather With Me”; Hear here; See here; MP3) (Roadrunner)
Black Tape for a Blue Girl “These Fleeting Moments” (their first album since 2009; Hear here) (Metropolis)
Blind Pilot (Portland folk-pop band) “And Then Like Lions” (first single: “Umpqua Rushing”; Hear here; MP3) (ATO)
of Montreal “Innocence Reaches” (first single: “it’s different for girls”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) (Polyvinyl)
The Pineapple Thief (U.K. rock trio) “Your Wilderness” (Hear here; Read here; MP3) (Kscope)
Young the Giant “Home of the Strange” (producer: Alex Salibian; executive producer: Jeff Bhasker; first single: “Amerika”; Hear here; MP3) (Fueled By Ramen / Atlantic)

Aug. 19

Artist: Title: Label:
Bayside “Vacancy” (producer: Tim O’Heir; Hear here; Read here; Vinyl; MP3) (Hopeless)
Black Foxxes (U.K. rock trio) “I’m Not Well” (Hear here; MP3) (Spinefarm)
A Day to Remember “Bad Vibrations” (first single: “Bad Vibrations”; Hear here; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition) (ADTR / Epitaph)
French Montana “MC4” (first single: “Figure It Out,” feat. Kanye West and Nas; See here; MP3) (Bad Boy Entertainment / Epic)
Lydia Loveless “Real” (first single: “Longer”; Hear here; MP3) (Bloodshot)
One Less Reason “The Memories Uninvited” (first single: “Where Were You?”; Hear here; MP3) (Tattooed Millionaire)
Roosevelt (aka Marius Lauber) “Roosevelt” (Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) (Greco-Roman / City Slang)
Soilwork “Death Resonance” (Hear here) (Nuclear Blast)
TOBACCO (Pennsylvania-based electronic musician) “Sweatbox Dynasty” (first single: “Gods in Heat”; Hear here; MP3) (Ghostly International)
Ryley Walker “Golden Sings That Have Been Sung” (producer: LeRoy Bach; first single: “The Halfwit in Me”; Hear here; MP3) (Dead Oceans)

Aug. 26

Artist: Title: Label:
The Album Leaf “Between Waves” (first single: “Back to the Start”; Hear here; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition, with five bonus remixes) (Relapse)
De La Soul “and the Anonymous Nobody” (producers: De La Soul, Dave West; guests: Usher, David Byrne, Damon Albarn, Jill Scott, Snoop Dogg, Estelle, Pete Rock, Little Dragon, 2Chainz, etc.; Hear here; Vinyl; MP3) (AOI)
Dinosaur Pile-Up (British alt-rock trio) “Eleven Eleven” (producer: Tom Dalgety; first single: “11:11”; See here; MP3) (SO Recordings / Caroline)
Jack Ingram “Midnight Motel” (his first album since 2009; producer: Jon Randall; first single: “I’m Drinking Through It”; Hear here; MP3) (Rounder)
Joseph (sister trio) “I’m Alone, No You’re Not” (producer: Mike Mogis; first single: “White Flag”; Hear here; Read here; Vinyl; MP3) (ATO)
Cass McCombs “Mangy Love” (producers: Rob Schnapf, Dan Horne; first single: “Opposite House”; Hear here; MP3) (ANTI- / Epitaph)

Sept. 2

Artist: Title: Label:
Till Brönner (Germany’s top-selling jazz artist) “The Good Life” (producer: Ruud Jacobs; Hear here; MP3) (Sony Masterworks)
Chatham County Line “Autumn” (Hear here; Vinyl) (Yep Roc)
The Divine Comedy “Foreverland” (their first album since 2010; producer: frontman Neil Hannon; Hear here; MP3; MP3 Deluxe Edition, with 19 bonus tracks) (Divine Comedy)


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Sept. 9

Artist: Title: Label:
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds “Skeleton Tree” (their first studio album since 2013; Hear here; Read here; Vinyl) (Bad Seed Ltd.)
Billy Ray Cyrus “Thin Line” (guests: Miley Cyrus, Bryan Adams, Joe Perry, Shelby Lynne, Shooter Jennings, Lee Roy Parnell, Glenn Hughes, Braison Cyrus, Kenley Shea Holm; first single: “Hey Elvis”; Hear here; MP3) (Blue Cadillac Music)
The Head and the Heart “Signs of Light” (first single: “All We Ever Knew”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) (Warner)
Okkervil River “Away” (guests: Marissa Nadler, Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg, yMusic, etc.; first single: “Okkervil River R.I.P.”; Hear here; Read here; MP3) (ATO)

Sept. 16

Artist: Title: Label:
Cymbals Eat Guitars “Pretty Years” (producer: John Congleton; first single: “Wish”; Hear here; MP3) (Sinderlyn)
Various artists “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (2016 Off-Broadway Cast Recording)” (York Theatre Company’s revival officially opened May 31 featuring a cast of young actors; See/read here) (Broadway)

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