Album of the Week – 14/08/26

Conventional wisdom would dictate that Phoebe Bridgers would get the Album of the Week slot, with her new release Lost Weekend. There are even people going as far as calling it the album of the year? Just to be difficult though, we’re going to ignore it and look a bit further. I doubt Phoebe will be devastated.

Surprisingly, there’s a new album from Carly Simon this week, with In Waves. There are also releases from Dent May and a live album from Sparks.

For our Album of the Week, we’ve gone for Laura Veirs and her new album Temple Songs.

Album of the Week – Laura Veirs – Temple Songs

“Laura Veirs returns with Temple Songs, her first new album in four years—and the first she has written, recorded, arranged, produced, and performed entirely on her own. “I didn’t know if I would write songs again,” says Veirs, who spent the intervening years building a backyard studio, getting married, blending a family with four teenagers, deepening her visual art practice (painting), and expanding her music teaching. “Turns out that period was a gathering phase. When I made the commitment to recording the album myself, the muse caught me again and it came together very quickly.”

Written and recorded in three months in the fall of 2025 in Veirs’ backyard “Temple of Bloom” studio, Temple Songs marks a new level of artistic independence. While 2022’s Found Light (co-produced by Veirs and Shahzad Ismaily) was a declaration of autonomy, Temple Songs goes further: every creative decision—what to record, how to record it, and how it should sound—was Veirs’ alone. Made with just two mics and a laptop in a 10’ x 14′ room, the album feels unmistakably “Veirs-ian,” yet strikingly new.”

Albums of Note 

— Carly Simon – In Waves

— Dent May – The Big One

— Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Weekend

— Sparks – Sparks Live on the Moon

August 14th:

— Accept – Teutonic Titans 1976-2026

— Ann Wilson and Tripsitter – Consecrated Ground

— Ashley Cooke – ashley cooke

— Ayra Starr – Starrland

— Becky G – BARAJA BENDITA

— Bob Marley & The Wailers – Roots, Rock, Reggae: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon

— Brendan Angelides – Can You Feel The End Begin?

— Carly Simon – In Waves

— Dent May – The Big One

— Descendents – Liveage! (Reissue)

— Duffy x Uhlmann– Hot Creek

— Elizabeth Cook – Great Television

— Everything Is Recorded – Cut Off Your Nose EP

— Ferris & Sylvester – It’s a Joy to Be Alive

— The Frenetic – You Say I Romanticize

— Fridayy – Tension

— Getdown Services – Massive Champion

— Girl Talk, Michael Christmas and Chris Crack – Don’t Come To My House Sharing Your Location EP

— GLU – PONY BOY EP

— Grace Cummings – Bloodhorse!

— Hank Heaven – Welterweight

— Hayley Law – Last Summer

— Hovvdy – Big World

— Icona Pop – Ritual

— James Ellis Ford – Lost In Another World

— Johanna Samuels – Sorry, Kid

— Jon Batiste – Black Mozart (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 3)

— Jon Batiste – Black Mozart (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 4)

— Judah & The Lion – I Am A Prism

— Jungle – Sunshine

— KATSEYE – WILD EP

— Kiwi Jr. – Blowin’ Up

— L’Rain – fata morgana

— Laura Veirs – Temple Songs

— Lukas Graham – Good Times

— Maggie Rose – Half Moon

— Masicka – Forever Reign

— Nestor – Live at Gothenburg Film Studios

— Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal – DOOMED!

— P-Lo – Out The Box

— Pat McAfee – The Diary of a Polarizing Figure

— Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Weekend

— Radiator Hospital – Distorting Time

— Real Numbers – Was It Always This Way

— Reverser – Reverser

— Rochelle Jordan – Disc 1-5

— rommulas – SONOFRHEASILVIA EP

— The Script – The User’s Guide to Being Human

— Sparks – Sparks Live on the Moon

— Stephen Bishop – Careless (50th Anniversary Edition)

— Strange Lot – Strange Lot

— Sweeping Promises – You Say I Romanticize

— THEYA – a changeable feast EP

— Trippie Redd – NDA

— Various Artists – Sending Hearts To All My Dearies – A Tribute To The Smashing Pumpkins

— Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) – The Ecstatic (Reissue)