10 upcoming albums to stream during spooky season

Album covers of ‘Blight’ by The Antlers, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ by Taylor Swift, and ‘Sad and Beautiful World’ by Mavis Staples on a background of fall leaves — A few standouts from autumn’s album-release lineup

(Image credit: Transgressive Records / Republic Records / ANTI‐ / Getty Images)

Say goodbye to beaches and waterparks, because fall is on the horizon — and with it a collection of new albums. This includes highly anticipated LPs from some of the biggest names in show business.

Joni Mitchell, ‘Joni's Jazz’ (Sept. 5)

Joni Mitchell remains one of the most accomplished and well-recognized folk singers of all time, and at age 81 is still performing at concert venues. But if you can’t see her live, don’t fret — Mitchell is releasing a new LP, “Joni’s Jazz,” which will feature songs and demos from throughout her career. The deluxe album is a “passion project years in the making” that will contain “studio recordings, live performances, rare alternate
takes and material drawn from multiple decades and record labels,” said Mitchell’s website. An unreleased demo version of “Be Cool,” included on the new LP, is out now.

Ed Sheeran is taking a break from his mathematical album titles to drop a new LP, “Play,” which will be his eighth studio album. Unlike his prior few LPs, in which the superstar took on a softer acoustic feel, “Play” will be “getting back into big pop for the first time in a long time,” Sheeran told Variety. Sheeran isn’t slowing down with accompanying features, either, as he has also shot several music videos for various tracks on the album. The lead single, “Azizam,” is out now, as are several other singles.

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One of the world’s most popular divas is back, as Mariah Carey is releasing her 16th LP, “Here for It All.” The album is notable, as in the seven years since her prior LP, Carey “hasn't shared much new solo music, though she has dropped anniversary reissues of several classic albums,” said Rolling Stone. So it seems that “Here for It All” will be something of a renaissance for the singer, and the “11-track project includes two collaborations” with, respectively, Anderson .Paak and the Clark Sisters. A single from the album, “Type Dangerous,” is out now.

Jeff Tweedy is best known as the frontman of the rock band Wilco but has also made a significant name for himself as a solo artist. Now he’s ready to continue his career with “Twilight Override,” set to be Tweedy’s fifth solo LP. “Whatever it is out there (or in there) squeezing this ennui into my day, it's f--king overwhelming,” Tweedy said of his album in a press release, per Pitchfork. “It’s difficult to ignore. ‘Twilight Override’ is my effort to overwhelm it right back.” The album’s lead single, “One Tiny Flower,” is out now.

Many albums will come out in the fall, but this one will likely overshadow them all: Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” will be released to massive anticipation. Swift is at the height of her popularity and showing no signs of diminishing, as “The Life of a Showgirl” will be her fifth LP in five years (in addition to several re-recorded releases). Fans of Swift will also be able to purchase a “special limited vinyl edition of the album,” as well as a “special cassette edition,” said The Associated Press.

The Antlers will release its seventh studio album, “Blight,” which is a look into “adventurous arrangements while touching on themes of wastefulness, environmental devastation and our passive destruction,” said Pitchfork. The new album from the Brooklyn indie band will feature nine songs and is the band’s first LP since 2021. The Antlers also released information about the album’s lead song, “Carnage,” telling Pitchfork it’s a song about “violence not born of cruelty but of convenience.” As the first song on the album, “Carnage” is out now.

Since its formation in 2020, Bar Italia has become one of Europe’s most well-known indie bands and is set to jam out again with their upcoming fifth LP, “Some Like It Hot.” The U.K. band has been busy this last half-decade, releasing an album every year over the past five years except for 2022. The band takes inspiration for the LP from a classic movie, as the album is named after the 1959 film of the same name starring Marilyn Monroe. The lead single on the album, “Fundraiser,” is out now.

The band is back: After a six-year hiatus, the Lemonheads are returning with new music and will be dropping their 11th studio album, “Love Chant.” This will be the alternative band’s first LP since 2019 and only the third since 2009. But their last album of all-original material was in 2006, meaning “Love Chant” will be the band’s “first album of all-new original material in almost two decades,’ said Variety. Frontman Evan Dando is also featured on this album; he has been on and off with the band for years. A single from the LP, “In the Margin,” is out now.

The legendary singer and activist is back with a new album. “Sad and Beautiful World” will be a blend of old and new, and “combines original material with covers of songs by Tom Waits, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Frank Ocean, Curtis Mayfield and Leonard Cohen, among others,” said Pitchfork. She has also highlighted one of the album’s signature songs: a cover of Kevin Morby’s “Beautiful Strangers.” That song is out now.

If you like indie bands, this fall is the season for you. Sorry, the U.K. rock group, will be releasing its third studio album, “Cosplay.” The LP features a highlighted song, “Echoes,” in which lead singer Asha Lorenz’s “casual yet emotional vocal delivery serves as the centerpiece of the track, but a stunning guitar solo steals the attention during the bridge,” said Stereogum. “Cosplay” marks a long journey to stardom for Sorry, which was formed when Lorenz and bandmate Louis O’Bryen started covering Jimi Hendrix tunes. “Echoes” is out now.

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Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.