Best New Folk Rock Vinyl Releases, September 2026

Beck

Ride Lonesome is Beck’s first album in seven years, and Rolling Stone Australia described it as a return to “the sombre folk-rock of career highpoints like 2002’s Sea Change.” Nigel Godrich, who produced Sea Change, mixed the album, and NME noted that musicians from Sea Change and Morning Phase reunited for it.

Ok Cowgirl

Iridescent Gold

Rhinestone Cowgirl is the second album from Brooklyn band Ok Cowgirl, led by Leah Lavigne. It was recorded in Asheville with producer Alex Farrar, who has worked with Wednesday and MJ Lenderman, and leans further into alt-country than their debut. Bandcamp Daily highlighted its “wide, arid soundscapes.”

Will Sheff

Deep Purple

Extra Mile is Will Sheff’s second solo album, following 2022’s Nothing Special. Sheff fronted Okkervil River for more than 25 years, and the album features contributions from Griff Goldsmith of Dawes, Zac Rae of Death Cab for Cutie, Peter Silberman of The Antlers, and A.C. Newman. Stereogum compared the lead single “Funny Feeling” to 10cc.

Fruit Bats

The Landfill

Eric D. Johnson has led Fruit Bats for 30 years, and The Landfill on Merge is a return to a full-band sound after last year’s solo Baby Man. Largely recorded live in the studio, it’s a record about turning fifty, and Paste heard seventies soul influences on the opener and a vintage power-pop feel elsewhere.

Kurt Vile

Philadelphia's Been Good To Me

Philadelphia’s been good to me is Kurt Vile’s tenth studio album and a tribute to his hometown, recorded largely in his home studio. Treble compared the lead single “Chance to Bleed” to the jangly rock of his 2011 album Smoke Ring for My Halo.