New releases today: Indie/Alternative

Review: More than four decades after he first appeared in smudged eyeliner and a mop of jet-black hair, Robert Smith is still finding new ways to pull his music apart and stitch it back together. This new remix collection i assembled and curated by Smith himself i feels less like a victory lap and more like a restless dissection of a legacy he's still actively shaping. The collaborators here are hardly incidental: Four Tet, Orbital, Ame, Chino Moreno, Mura Masa, Trentemoller, Mogwai. It reads like a list built by someone still hungrily tuned into the present, not stuck in the past. And true to form, the results are all over the place i a feature, not a flaw. Some tracks lean into grandeur: Paul Oakenfold's take on 'I Can Never Say Goodbye' opens with all the sweeping melodrama you'd expect, while Daybreakers stretch 'WarSong' into widescreen synthwork. Elsewhere, Shanti Celeste and Ex-Easter Island Head bring a strange intimacy to 'Alone', teasing out its ache with a different kind of spaciousness. At times, you wonder if Smith enjoys seeing how far his work can be bent before it breaks. But it never does i even filtered through others' hands, his sense of tension, drama and deep emotional unease holds everything together.

Review: In today's all-go culture, quitting is frowned upon. Ironically, the new 15-track rock-leaning album from Haim, produced by Danielle Haim and Rostam Batmanglij, hardly hears so much a scrap of towel thrown in. It follows a reconvening by the trio in early 2023, and a nudging hint via social media at an upcoming Jai Paul collab. Alana Haim described this record as "the closest (they) have ever gotten to how (they) wanted to sound," marking a notable shift from their previous work. Paul Thomas Anderson returns to shoot the album cover, continuing his creative partnership with the band after Alana starred in his most seventies teen drama Licorice Pizza.

Review: Following 2020's acclaimed Women In Music Pt. III, which earned GRAMMY and BRIT nods, the LA-based American rock trio and sisters HAIM return with their bold fourth studio album on Polydor. Produced by Danielle Haim and Rostam Batmanglij, 15-tracker I Quit leans confidently into their noted classic rock influences while introducing fresh textures, including warped samples and stripped-back ballads. It's a record made for the stage as it is raw, dynamic and deeply rooted in their chemistry as live performers. The record reaffirms HAIM's place as modern rock trailblazers and is familiar yet evolving, so it will appeal to old fans and new ears with its fine balance of swagger and soul.