On the Stereo: Sharon Van Etten, James Brandon Lewis, Ty Segall's Freckle, GBV

Plus Andy Fairweather Low, Joe Ely and the Jellybricks

Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory—Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory [2025]

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory marks a new beginning of sorts for Sharon Van Etten, moving the singer/songwriter from the solo realm into the context of a collective. Just because she's surrounded herself with sympathetic collaborators that doesn't mean she's made a clean break from her previous work. Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory expands the new wave and post-punk undercurrents of Remind Me Tomorrow and We've Been Going About This All Wrong, transforming them from texture into a guiding principle. Much of the album pulsates to a distinctly nocturnal beat or, failing that, rides cool waves of synths and echo, all leading to a destination that's lonesome but not alone. As icy as elements of the album can seem, the keening voice of Van Etten lends the music a palpable humanity, warming the steely insistence of "Idiot Box," offering consolation on "Afterlife" and 'Trouble," while providing a beacon of light on the spectral longing of "Fading Beauty" and "I Want You Here," a pair of crawling epics that close the record. Van Etten may remain the focal point but the deft interplay of the Attachment Theory teases out a number of emotions within a deliberately controlled palette.

James Brandon Lewis—Apple Cores [2025]

Anybody introduced to James Brandon Lewis through last year's high-octane collaboration with the Messthetics may be surprised by how open and adaptable the saxophonist is on Apple Cores. Working with longtime associates drummer Chad Taylor and bassist/guitarist Josh Werner,