CARPARK RECORDS

In the quiet surrounding the pandemic, Madeline Kenney made sonic sketches in the basement studio she shared with her then-partner. In 2022, he left suddenly, and in the wake of that seismic shift she revisited the ideas that became the foundation for her fourth record. Rather than reckoning with love lost, A New Reality Mind grapples with the self that chose to fall, accepting that we’re all doomed to repetitive, ordinary heartbreaks, but not without agency to build new realities for ourselves.

The Search for God is a wake-up call for a troubled world that’s still worth saving, animated by a belief in the power of small connections to add up to big changes. Jimmy Whispers’ sophomore album was created mostly with two vintage synths, a drum machine, and a busted karaoke machine. It channels Midwestern emo, the Beach Boys’ Smile, subtle nods at hyper-pop production and forgotten jewel-box era college radio of the early aughts into a pure pop sound that transcends easy categorization.