10 new albums streaming right now for Phoenix music fans

Every week, dozens and dozens of albums manifest from the ether. (Or, wherever records get pressed, really.) It’s hard to tell what’s good, what’s bad and what’s just mostly undeserving of your time entirely. So, we here at Phoenix New Times want to try something new by recommending 10 great albums every single Friday. With a solid mix of local and national releases, and LPs from across the musical spectrum, these are the albums that deserve your time, attention and perhaps, even your heartfelt love and appreciation. Now, get to listening pronto.

The Joeys, ‘Sonoran Dreams’

It's almost hard to believe that Dean Cheney is just 20 years old. And yet in just a few short years leading The Joeys, he's found a way to blend surf, rockabilly and a dash of outlaw country into this sound that's refreshingly nostalgic without feeling trite or dated. "Sonoran Dreams," then, is Cheney and company's best chance yet to show just what this extra young band is capable of when it comes to melding past and future. Whether he's serenading on "I Will Find You," or emoting deeply on "I Am Hanging On," Cheney has clearly hit his stride. Now let's see what happens when the kid really gets moving.

The Weekend, ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’

What is it about The Weeknd and trilogies? He started his bedroom pop career with one ("House of Balloons," "Thursday" and "Echoes of Silence"). And now that he's a mainstream pop leading man, he's wrapping up "After Hours" and "Dawn FM" with this month's "Hurry Up Tomorrow." Sure, the accompanying psychological thriller of the same name (due in May) is giving us flashbacks of the awful "The Idol." Yet the album proper finds him grappling with nostalgia and anxiety for the future, working it all out over shimmery synth-pop. Call him Mr. Turkey, 'cause the man is killing it on tape.

Mike, ‘Showbiz!’

Take everything you know or ever learned about New York City rap and forget it posthaste. Because, as he demonstrates on "Showbiz!," MIKE is not at all your typical East Coast MC. Sure, you can hear his smooth, extra confident flow unfurl on tracks like "Bear Trap," but that's only part of the puzzle. Songs like "Pieces of a Dream" prove that MIKE not only has a singularly skewed and potent wit, but he can use his voice as an instrument to grapple with listeners even further. And none of that's even begun to consider how he produced much of this LP, and how MIKE is a sonic explorer like few others. Talk about a real showman, yeah?

Charlie Houston, ‘Big After I Die’

It's clear that Charlie Houston's name and image don't fully match, and that's probably for the best. Because the Toronto singer-songwriter spends a lot of "Big After I Die" trying to subvert some of our expectations from a musical perspective. "Pink Cheetah Print Slip" rides the line between Le Tigre and Snail Mail, a rip-roaring slice of sleezy synth-rock that is a proper revenge anthem. Meanwhile, "Slut for Excel" (best song title of 2025?) is like a modern, extra sleek update of INXS. Houston's whole approach is the best kind of genre-bending, where she approaches each respective genre with a fresh sense of joy and all-around authority.

Maribou State, ‘Hallucinating Love’

Like plenty of folks, Chris Davids and Liam Ivory of Maribou State had a hard time during COVID. But unlike others, the pair had to deal with, among other things, crippling anxiety, an ADHD diagnosis and chronic headaches that led to surgery for Davids. The duo's latest album, then, is very much a response to both these issues as well as a re-commitment to their musical bond. "Blackoak" is the perfect intro, the techno-jazz opener for a hopeful '90s period piece. "Bloom" captures more alt-R&B vibes as the pair craft an anthem for starting over. This LP is proof that the sharpest hardships can make for the most alluring art.

Circa Waves, ‘Death & Love Pt. 1’

With the band's sixth album, "Death & Love Pt.1," Circa Waves frontman Kieran Shudall says this LP was a most important reminder. "I needed this record to process what I went through," he says in a statement. "A letter to tell myself I would stick around." You can hear those very sentiments across the nine-track LP. It's in the swelling but deeply reflective "American Dream." Or, how "We Made It" feels celebratory even as there's a darker edge or sheen. It's a rather fitting title for an album such as this: love and death are more intertwined than you'd think, and embracing both is the way to ensure a life best lived. We're just glad Shudall indeed stuck it out.

Teek Hall, ‘BEHEMOTH’

OK, technically we're cheating a bit here as the 10-track "BEHEMOTH" (recorded alongside Phoenix producer Pac0naut) debuted last week. You'll just have to forgive us considering our sustained love affair with Teek Hall, and the MC's ongoing development as this force for hugely powerful hip-hop. The standouts include "40 Days of Fright," which fuses '90s West Coast and horrorcore; "Guns & War," which perfectly balances gangster rap with more socially conscious fare; and "Slush Puppies," which feels like early Cypress Hill. It's another LP with a super-accurate title as "BEHEMOTH" is a larger-than-life dispatch from the heart of Phoenix.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, ‘The Purple Bird’

In a career spanning some 32 years, Bonnie "Prince" Billy has only worked with a producer one other time. But oh what a new producer he's chosen, as David Ferguson takes his expertise gained from working with Johnny Cash and Sturgill Simpson to elevate the 12-track "The Purple Bird." For instance, "London May" sees Billy at both his most earnest and contemplative while also achieving something akin to a poppy fervor. From there, "Downstream" is simple enough structurally, but the vulnerability will disarm you regardless. Not that Billy needs any help, but a few more chefs in the kitchen have made his folk gumbo truly transcendent.

Lilly Hiatt, ‘Forever’

As she tells it, Lilly Hiatt spent a few years gathering songs about her life. But when they seemingly didn't reflect her newly-changed surroundings (complete with a husband, house and a dog), she threw it all out and recorded the nine-song "Forever" track by track. The album proper reflects a lot of that journey. "Shouldn't Be" sees Hiatt unwilling to accept her newfound life, rebelling via hearty garage rock. By the time we get to the album closer "Thoughts," Hiatt is ready to just let things ride with cautious grace. It's hokey to say life's a highway (we did it anyway), but Hiatt shows that there's power and life to that old cliche.

L.S. Dunes, ‘Violet’

L.S. Dunes (which features members of Circa Survive, My Chemical Romance, Thursday and Coheed and Cambria) have high hopes for "Violet." The band even called it a "giant leap forward in [their] evolution," complete with "experimental melodies and introspective lyricism." Rightly, a little hyperbole can help move album copies, but the LP's actually quite compelling. Be it the snarling "Fatal Deluxe," the rollicking ballad "Machines" or the stirring "Paper Tigers," L.S. Dunes expertly manage that sweet spot between earnest ballads and outright blasts of sonic fury. If this is what maturing was really like, maybe more folks would acquiesce and grow up.