The Lead Sheet ~ 8/5/25

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. 

Noah Oliver Smith, A.K.A. YEAT released his second EP, Dangerous Summer this week. The new project is being called his best work yet, and is getting praise for its creative density, unique instrumentation, hard-hitting lyrics and delivery. YEAT’s gritty baritone drives each track’s rage-rap flavor, but he also utilizes upper registers with seamless transitions, and creates a wider, more dynamic sound. Fans and critics agree Dangerous Summer is excellent and will undoubtedly go down as one of YEAT’s top albums. 

Reneé Rapp, Broadway's latest actor to turn pop-star, dropped her new album, Bite Me this week, to generally positive critique. Bite Me is Rapp’s second album, and the consensus across the board is that it’s an improvement from her first album, Snow Angel. Bite Me is aptly titled; the energy on the album is high, full of lyrical clapbacks on the artist’s haters. It’s primarily pop, but there’s also some hard rock and grunge flair that give the album its “bite”, and demonstrate Rapp’s massive vocal range and power. 

TikTok-viral shoegaze sensation, Wisp, debuted her first album this week, If Not Winter. The artist’s rise to fame can be credited to her big hit, “Your Face” becoming a most-used song on TikTok, and charting at #8 on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs for fifteen weeks in 2023. Now she’s back with a full album, and new label Interscope Records, behind her. The new record is being received positively by critics and fans. If Not Winter’s lead single, “Sword” is a stand-out track, and reflects a triumphantly dark, heroic rock sound. Wisp will be on tour in the U.S. and Europe August through November of this year. 

Blues Legend Buddy Guy, has graced us with another album at eighty-nine years of age- this week the prolific blues guitarist released Ain’t Done With the Blues, which is astounding,  as he released his first single in 1958. His recent cameo in the hit film Sinners has piqued the interest of music fans and moviegoers, and Ain’t Done With the Blues is being met with high praise. The album is fantastically cool, contemporary, and rife with rock-riffs and organ trills. Buddy’s vocals are explosive and crisp as ever. After over thirty albums released, Guy has utterly mastered his craft and Ain’t Done showcases his unequivocal talent and skill once again. 

Dev Lemons released her first studio album, Surface Tension this week, after previously releasing four EP’s and a few singles. Lemons excels in creating short, snappy tracks, curated for social media virality, and the self-published Surface Tension seems to follow that pattern, with the average track-length being just over two minutes. Musically, Lemons’ new work leans indie-pop, with a touch of rock,  and feels similar to some of Charli XCX’s recent discography. In execution there’s a definite edge to the sound, but also a sense of playfulness and whimsy. 

YEAT- Dangerous Summer

August 1, 2025

Field Trip, Lyfestyle, Capitol

Renee Rapp - Bite Me

Aug 1, 2025

Interscope

Wisp - If Not Winter

Aug 1, 2025

Music Soup, Interscope

Buddy Guy - Ain’t Done with the Blues

July 30, 2025

RCA 

Dev Lemons- Surface Tension

Aug 1, 2025

Self-produced