The fact that MOUSE RAT wasn’t on the free stage at the State Fair this year was a real mistake. Parks and Rec fans understand.
Here’s all the new music out today.
• “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power“, Halsey. This is her fourth album. It was produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Her guests include Dave Grohl, and Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac.
There’s an accompanying film that was released in select IMAX theaters this week. The cover is inspired by an artistic depiction of Mother Mary with an exposed breast with baby Jesus. (You can see the cover here. Warning: It’s NSFW.)
• “Heartland“, Nelly. This is a country-inspired EP. His guests are Florida Georgia Line on “Lil Bit” . . . Blanco Brown and Breland on the song “High Horse” . . . Kane Brown on “Grits & Glamour” . . . Darius Rucker and City Spud on the track “Ms. Drive Me Crazy” . . . and Jimmie Allen on “Good Times Roll”.
• “The Way I Wanna Go“, Trace Adkins. This is his 13th album. It’s a 25-song set celebrating the 25th anniversary of his debut album, “Dreamin’ Out Loud”. It has Luke Bryan and Pitbull on “Where the Country Girls At”. His other guests include Blake Shelton on “If I Was a Woman” . . . Melissa Etheridge on the track “Love Walks Through the Rain” . . . and Snoop Dogg on “So Do the Neighbors”. Also, the song “Memory to Memphis” features Keb’ Mo’, plus Stevie Wonder on harmonica.
• “Screen Violence“, Chvrches. This is their fourth album. It includes the single, “How Not to Drown“ with The Cure lead singer, Robert Smith. To celebrate the release of this album, they will be performing at Hollywood Forever Cemetery tonight. It’ll be streamed on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel at 9:00 P.M. Pacific.
• “Love Made Me Do It“, Kat Von D. Yes, the tattoo artist from “L.A. Ink” and former owner of Kat Von D Beauty. This is her debut album.
• “Particles“, A Great Big World. This is their third album. The title comes from the duo’s belief that, quote, “the entire universe and all of its mysteries exist in every particle.” You might know them from their 2013 hit, “Say Something“ with Christina Aguilera.
• “Need“, 3OH!3. A staple on every (former) emo kid’s playlist. This is the duo’s sixth album. They’ll be performing at the Emo Nite Vegas Vacation festival in October with Avril Lavigne, Travis Barker, Sleeping with Sirens, and The Maine.
• “The Awesome Album“, Mouse Rat. This is the fictional band from “Parks and Recreation”. Chris Pratt’s character Andy Dwyer is the lead singer. This album features original songs from the series.
• “Starting Now“, Toad the Wet Sprocket. This is their seventh album. You might recognize them from their ’90s hits “All I Want“ and “Walk on the Ocean“.
• “Gotta Have the Rumble“, Brian Setzer. This is his first solo album in seven years. He’s the lead singer and guitarist from the rockabilly group, Stray Cats.
• “Human“, OneRepublic. This is their fifth album. The lead single, “Rescue Me“, was released back in 2019.
• “Higher Education“, Michael Ray. This is his third album. The title track features Kid Rock, Lee Brice, and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons.
• “Good Time“, Niko Moon. This is his debut album. You may know him as a member of Zac Brown’s side band, Sir Rosevelt.
• “The Girls Are Back in Town“, the female country group, Chapel Hart. This is their second album.
• “Midnight“, a four-song EP from country band King Calaway.
• “Circles“, the country-bluegrass band Boy Named Banjo. This is their major label debut.
