1. Tove Lo – "Cool Girl"
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Will Gyrating On Top Of An Old Car Outside Of A Motel Somewhere In The Desert Make You Cool: No. Please get off of my car.
Lady Wood is out October 28 on Island Records.
2. Angel Olsen – "Shut Up Kiss Me"
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Will This Song's Title Convince Your Crush To Kiss You: If you name is Angel Olsen, yes. For everybody else, probably not. Angel Olsen's forthcoming album is already being hyped as one of the best of 2016.
My Woman is out September 2 on Jagjaguwar.
3. Local Natives – "Coins"
Is Local Natives An R&B Band Now: Not quite. But man, can they write a great R&B song!
Sunlit Youth is out September 9 on Loma Vista Recordings.
4. Danny Brown – "When It Rain"
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Perfect For: Curling up next to the fireplace on a rainy fall day....and then destroying your house.
Atrocity Exhibition is out September 30 on Warp.
5. Against Me! – "Crash"
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Are The Late 70s/Early 80s Back: I sure hope so. Laura Jane Grace and crew have crafted a power-pop hit that wouldn't sound out of place next to The Cars.
Shape Shift With Me is out September 16 on Total Treble Music.
6. Sleigh Bells – "It's Just Us Now"
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More Like SLAY Bells Amirite: Ugh. Let's ignore that and just appreciate the fact that Sleigh Bells is releasing their first album in three years.
Jessica Rabbit is out November 11 on Torn Clean.
7. American Football – "I've Been So Lost For So Long"
How Fall Is This Album: As fall as a legendary emo band from the midwest named after a popular fall sport releasing their first album in 16 years.
American Football is out October 21 on Polyvinyl.
8. M.I.A. – "Go Off"
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Is This Really M.I.A.'s Last Album: It's hard to say. Maya Arulpragasam has a history of saying what she means. But, can you imagine a world without M.I.A.? Who else would give the finger to America during the Super Bowl?! But if this is the last album, its first two singles, "Borders" and "Go Off" suggest that M.I.A.'s final LP may be one of her best yet.
AIM is out September 9 on Interscope/Polydor.
9. IAN SWEET – "All Skaters Go To Heaven"
How Do I Get To Heaven: Start skateboarding, apparently. And be nice to animals.
Shapeshifter is out September 9 on Hardly Art.
10. Green Day – "Bang Bang"
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Nice: Right? Green Day turned 30 years old this year, and three decades in, you just can't count these guys out.
Revolution Radio is out October 7 on Reprise.
11. Julia Jacklin – "Coming Of Age"
Country Or Rock And Roll: Lucky for you, a little bit of both. Jacklin's Nashville sound is even more surprising when you find out that she's from Australia.
Don’t Let The Kids Win is out October 7th on Polyvinyl.
12. LVL UP – "Pain"
Because Blustery Winds: Mean it's time for some gusty indie rock. Listen to this track while driving back to college.
Return To Love is out September 23 on Sub Pop.
13. Crying – "Wool in the Wash"
Listen To: While jumping in a giant pile of leaves. Here, Crying has traded in their chip-tune video game-influenced sound for a big pop-rock tune.
Beyond The Fleeting Gales is out October 14 on Run For Cover Records.
14. AlunaGeorge – "Mean What I Mean"
If You're In College: Play this at a house party to get the dance floor going in no time. Unless you're at a frat, in which case you can get away with just playing "Ignition Remix" for the million time.
I Remember is out September 16 on Island Records.
15. Kero Kero Bonito – "Graduation"
WTF Is This: A super happy song about graduating that includes an adorable cat sound effect. What more could you possibly want?
Bonito Generation is out October 21 on Double Denim Records.
16. Beach Slang – "Punks In A Disco Bar"
'Tis The Season: School is back in session, which means you've already fallen deeply in love with the new boy/girl in your study hall. It's time to invite that special someone to a Beach Slang show.
A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings is out September 23 on Polyvinyl Records.
17. Honeyblood – "Ready for the Magic"
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OMG Who: A pretty kickass punk duo from Glasgow.
OMG Why Haven't I Heard Of Them Before: I know right? Their 2014 self-titled album is pretty awesome too!
Babes Never Die is out November 4 on Fat Cat.
18. Joyce Manor – "Fake I.D."
Would You Recommend Using A Fake I.D.: Your best bet is to probably find someone who kind of looks like you and use one of their old ones. But no, I don't recommend illegal mischief like that.
Cody is out October 7 on Epitaph.
19. Bon Iver – "33 'GOD'"
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What Happened To Bon Iver: Well, he seems to have mostly dropped the sad singer-songwriter guy schtick and adopted a massive, reverb-y sound that sounds like it's sucking you into an uncomfortable cloud. But don't worry – his trademark falsetto hasn't gone anywhere.
22, A Million is out September 30 on Jagjaguwar.
20. Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam – "1000 Times"
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Who: The singer from The Walkmen and the guy from Vampire Weekend who left earlier this year.
OK: Yeah, it's a little more Walkmen than Vampire Weekend, which, if you have Hamilton Leithauser on the mic, can only be a good thing. "1000 Times" is an earworm.
I Had A Dream That You Were Mine is out September 23 on Glassnote.
21. Fudge feat. Alex Mali - "In My Shoes"
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WTF Is This: Fudge is a collaboration between producer Prefuse 73 (who's worked with the likes of The Flaming Lips, GZA and TV On the Radio) and rapper Michael Christmas. Their debut is set to be one of the best headphones hip-hop albums of the year.
Lady Parts is out September 9 on Lex Records.