From solo piano to orchestra, the music in this genre bears witness to life’s atrocities; it reflects the change of seasons; it seeks to console and uplift. Our top pick reintroduces us to a fallen friend, but new composers make an impact as well; one can never tell where the next great album will come from.
Soon the leaves will begin to fall again, and then the snow, and then the rain, and then it will be summer. These composers bring us through life’s transitions, always looking forward to the next, teaching us the wisdom of cycles through the beauty of notes.
Our cover image is taken from Jean-Michel Blais‘ mirador, covered below.
Jóhann Jóhannsson has been gone nearly a decade now, and his absence is still felt. After a trickle of posthumous releases, we had grown resigned to the thought that we might never again hear new music from the composer. Meanwhile, Adam Wiltzie was working on unfinished pieces from a collaboration begun before the composer’s untimely death. We can think of no one better to tackle such a project. Adding to the sadness is the knowledge that Steve Albini helped with the production before he too was lost to the sands of time. Friendship Survival Guide is a tribute and a sonic keepsake; it’s a minor miracle that it exists at all. The first video is the beginning of a narrative thread; we can’t wait to see the rest! (Deutsche Grammophon, September 18). Also on Deutsche Grammophon, Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir reimagines her back catalogue with Robert Ames and the DSO Berlin. This Will Be Us breathes new life into these pieces and is preceded by non-album track “Floods” (October 23).
The cover of Jean-Michel Blais‘ mirador looks like Max from Where the Wild Things Are sleeping off his evening; but it may also be a young man dreaming of adventure. The album is an ode to childhood imagination, bolstered by copious choirs and swirling strings (Arts & Crafts, September 25). Third Coast Percussion returns with Vernacular, the percussion ensemble’s 25th album. Jlin is now a full performing member, as heard on the opening single Premonition (Rockwell, October 23). Klara Lewis‘ Opening is already out, one of autumn’s early highlights. The album is awash in shades of blue, from art to music. After the abraded loops of “Ta Min Hand “, the set moves from form to abstraction, shifting like light through falling leaves (Editions Mego, September 4).
Justyna Jablonska‘s Unforeseen is a diverse set that addresses migration and memory through song, spoken word, voice and field recordings. The artist’s cello shines throughout the set, which culminates in a surprising rendition of “Shchedryk,” known to modern listeners as “Carol of the Bells” (Alumni Records Glasgow, September 4). Earlier this year, cellist Gaspar Claus impressed us with the score to French film Un Monde Violent. Now he returns with CELLS, which includes a contribution from Matt Elliott (Third Eye Foundation). The album is released September 25 on InFiné. Inspired by the work of visual artist James Turrell, Alyssa Weinberg‘s Pieces of Light, performed by cellist Gabriel Cabezas, plays with permutations of illumination. The album is preceded by the single ultraviolet (MASS MoCA, October 2).
Clerestory reflects its title, which refers to the windows in the upper section of walls, as found in churches. Jules Reidy uses this image to color the music, which highlights the interplay between shadow and light and whose single-track Side A is brought to light by JACK Quartet (Thrill Jockey, September 25). Twin Cities four-piece The Dust of Suns Ensemble offers Alyosha is a series of miniatures, inspired by Dostoyevsky, but with a playful aura. Released on September 1, early copies of the album are available on precious 10″ vinyl.
We don’t receive many hurdy-gurdy albums, much less albums of hurdy-gurdy with violin and cello. Almost Starlight is one of these, recorded in a medieval church by Jem Finer (yes, that Jem Finer, from The Pogues!), John Matthias and Jay Auborn. The results are magical, mystical and ceremonial (Touch, September 4). Simon Goff‘s electronic chamber music is packed with violin and viola, with guest appearances by Anne Müller on cello. Interior Realms – vol. 1 is upbeat and life-affirming, on the surface a study of architecture but beneath this a treatise on the soul (Sonic Pieces, September 10). We can never tell where more eaze will head next, which is part of her appeal. On valley and structure, she heads for the heart of modern composition, even offering a score booklet. A host of guest starts decorates the set with new timbres and additional grace (Thrill Jockey, October 9).
Goldmund‘s In Each Moment is a gorgeous fall collection, inspired by the teachings of Buddhist nun Sister Dang Nghiem. The piano notes are as delicate as incense wafting to the sky, enhanced by some gentle ambient textures, producing a sense of perfect peace (Nettwerk, October 9). Chad Lawson‘s lowercase hush is as serene as can be, a prelude to winter. On held by evening, one can hear the almost hear the leaves as they start to fall (Decca, September 11). Jumping straight into that faraway season, Volodja Brodsky‘s piano-based Winterglare recalls the sun’s low angle in Estonia’s winter (We Are Busy Bodies, October 2). Piano player meets machine on The End is a Beginning, from the aptly named Postmodern Machine. The beats are warm and plentiful, but the ivories still hold court (Moderna, September 11).
Some may recall that Björk’s first film role was in the feminist retelling of the Grimm tale The Juniper Tree. Forty years after it was written by Nietzchka Keene, the film receives a new score from Midori Hirano. The artist manages to tap into the tenderness and leans into the unsettling tension, with piano as the anchor and synthesizer as the encroachment (Viernulvier/Thrill Jockey, October 2). Ingfrid Breie Nyhus‘ Silkegul – Slåttepiano III is the third in a series of albums that investigate Norwegian folk traditions by means of the piano. As the nights grow longer, the notes will seem more and more fitting, like tales told around a fire (Lab, October 9).
Billed as a classical soul pianist, Alexis Ffrench releases the lush 24, two dozen pieces meant to comprise the soundtrack of a day. With tracks such as In Flight, crossover success is virtually guaranteed (Sony Classical, October 2). Pianist Sofi Paez releases Bodies of Water, inspired by Iceland’s diversity of natural beauty. Ocean is the first single (OPIA Community, September 25). Doubts and Loves Like a Mole is the new EP from pianist Nathan Schubert, preceded by the peaceful, brass-inflected single Schillerpromenade (Bigo & Twigeitti, October 2). Brandon Hopkins follows Three Commutes with Piano Etudes, Book I, six works of tender wisdom (September 25).
On the cover of conditions for observing light, pianist Cephas Azariah seems to have been shot through with a sunbeam. The metaphor applies to the composer’s work, which also touches on ambient and electronic territory, while searching fro radiance in all of its forms (Anjunachill, September 3). With radiant contributions from Clarice Jensen and Spencer Zahn, Sova (Sophia Vastek) can do no wrong. As one might expect from the title, early single “Heavy Shit” is an exercise in darkness, but the album Alight! is a study of contrasts, anchored by Sova’s exquisite keys (Hout, September 4). Double bass and electronics merge on Fragments, an album long in the making; Fragment I debuted in 2025. By blending genres, ZKHR hopes to appeal to multiple audiences (September 19).
Dobrinka Tabakova has been accumulating the pieces of Stone Trail for nearly a quarter-century; now they are gathered in one place. The album is graced with numerous collaborators, and is one of our furthest-out releases, dropping November 13 on NMC. The first half of Episodic Memory includes a murder ballad, but the second is a vibrant instrumental suite that comments on the experience of trauma. Exceptet and Bendon Randall-Myers handle both with aplomb (cmntx, October 9). Daniella Ljungsberg splits Other Plans between vocal and instrumental pieces, but when she sings, she does so with reverence, honoring the Baroque nature of these tender Nordic folk tales (ORTHODOX, October 2). Alfredo Ovalles and Black Page Orchestra present The Art of Parties on September 18, preceded by the inviting single Dance! (PARMA).
Richard Allen