The Lead Sheet ~10/20/2026

The Lead Sheet is your guide to this week’s new music - taking a look at newly released albums, who made them, and how listeners are responding 

This week Irish post-punk group Fontaines D.C. released their fifth studio album, Dopamine Chamber, to excellent reviews. Dopamine Chamber sees the band progress from the scrappy garage sound of 2024’s platinum selling Romance to explore a synthetic, dystopian aesthetic. Some of the new tracks even forgo guitars entirely, with the album sonically centered in goth-rock, electronic and industrial pop. In creating Dopamine Chamber, frontman Grian Chatten took inspiration from the modern digital landscape -- noticing how social media serves its users memes alongside harrowing news updates, he intended for the record to serve as a warning of impending societal collapse. To listeners and critics, Dopamine Chamber is a triumphant success, and Fontaines D.C.’s risky genre shift completely sticks its landing. Despite its cynical take on the present, the album enjoys moments of relief, particularly “Where Is Gone”? Which features a heartfelt duet with Rosalia. Fontaines D.C. will embark on a year long global tour, with stops at major cities in every continent, starting in late October. 

Australian plunderphonics pioneers The Avalanches’ fourth LP No Bad Memories released on Friday, featuring a massive tracklist of thirty-one short songs and skits totaling nearly an hour. No Bad Memories also boasts a roster of twenty-one outside collaborators like Carly Simon, Rivers Cuomo, and Jamie xx, while Faith No More’s Mike Patton and actor Haley Joel Osment provide voiceover for some of the album’s surreal skits. Plunderphonics maximizes sampling, sometimes stitching hundreds of short, microsamples and soundbites into a single song, and typically manipulates variables like speed, pitch and rhythm to create entirely new beats and hooks. No Bad Memories is firmly rooted in this subgenre, but also incorporates elements from nu-disco and dance pop. The album satirizes advertising culture and corporate branding, while exploring how deeply nostalgia is tied to product placement. However, the album is ultimately upbeat and humorous, and has received glowing reviews from most publications. The Avalanches will kick off a supporting album tour on October 22nd, across major cities in Asia, Europe, North America, and their home country of Australia. 

New York based singer-songwriter, June McDoom launched her highly anticipated debut album, Follow the Light, after two successful EP releases. McDoom has carved out a signature sound described as “chamber folk reggae”, and Follow the Light takes influence from shoegaze, ‘60s psychedelic and even baroque-pop. The record demonstrates McDoom’s chameleonic ability to swing effortlessly from genre to genre, and has been embraced by listeners as a deeply refreshing new voice. Follow the Light’s twelve tracks clip along with driving acoustic guitars, while McDoom’s stacked vocals are elevated by orchestral arrangements that include harp, flute and strings. June McDoom comes from a family of musicians, and Follow the Light celebrates Jamaican heritage. To recreate her father’s original sound setup, McDoom captured the record on analog tape, giving it a vintage, wood-panelled texture.  McDoom will tour the album across North America, the UK, and Europe for a series of intimate shows from mid-October through April of 2027. 

Indie popstar Ashe has entered a new era with the release of her fourth solo album, The Girl of Your Dreams, marking her debut with major label Atlantic Records. Most recently, Ashe joined forces with FINNEAS to form a pop duo known as The Favors, releasing a highly successful collaboration album in 2025 titled The Dream. The Girl of Your Dreams is a triumphant follow-up, and so far the highest rated in Ashe’s discography. For the new LP, Ashe steps away from indie-pop into an expansive symphonic sound, and takes after 70s acts like ABBA, Carole King, and Stevie Nicks. The record challenges expectations placed on women, pushing back on the idea of perfection while moving towards healing and self-assuredness. The album’s lead single “Stop the Wedding” made the top five for the UK’s Official Singles List, and is driven by explosive, theatrical piano and anthemic choruses. The Girl of Your Dreams is lauded by critics as Ashe’s boldest work yet, balancing powerful orchestration with poignant vulnerability. Ashe has announced she intends to take the album on tour, but dates and locations are yet to come- in the meantime she’ll play an intimate performance at Amoeba Records in Los Angeles on October 22nd. 

Rachel Chinouriri’s second studio album, I think I spoke too soon, has received an outpouring of praise since dropping via Parlophone records. Chinouriri is known for storytelling in her music, and I think I spoke too soon as a concept album,telling the story of a chaotic night out on the town, and its sobering aftermath. Drawing from her own early twenties, Chinouriri reflects on her experiences through the lens of nightlife, examining her personal relationship with the party scene. For spoke too soon, the British singer-songwriter pivots from the grungy rock sound of her debut album to a much dancier pop structure. Elements of disco, pop, and EDM color the record’s uptempo rhythms and dark synths, taking the listener through a night of emotional upheavals and overstimulation. Called “razor-sharp” by critics, I think I spoke too soon successfully dodges the “sophomore slump”, and showcases Chinouriri’s immense talent for vivid lyricism and narratives. Chinouriri will continue opening for Gracie Abrams on tour throughout 2026, but will launch a headlining album tour across the UK, Europe, and Australia starting in February of 2027.

Fontaines D.C. - Dopamine Chamber

Released October 16, 2026

XL Records

The Avalanches - No Bad Memories

Released October 16, 2026

Modular Records

June McDoom - Follow the Light

Released October 16, 2026

Jagjaguwar

Ashe - The Girl Of Your Dreams

Released October 16, 2026

Atlantic Records

Rachel Chinouriri - I think I spoke too soon

Released October 16, 2026

Atlas Records, Parlophone