It’s one thing to craft a great song, but its another skill to create a cohesive album that takes a listener on a journey.
Here’s four recently released albums that we’ve been playing at OUTinPerth HQ, new records from Harry Styles, Haute & Freddy, Bill Callahan and Anjimile.
Anjimile
You’re Free to Go
★ ★ ★ ★
On his third full‑length record, Anjimile Chithambo continues to explore life as a transgender man and his recent embrace of non‑monogamy in their relationship. This album of folk‑influenced tunes, fronted by the artist’s luscious vocals, sees Anjimile sharing their life and lessons.
Produced by Brad Cook, who has created albums for Waxahatchee, the sound is a mix of strummed guitars, warm organs and gentle drums, creating a sonic journey that you’ll easily play on repeat on a lazy Sunday.
Free to Go, Rust & Wire and Wait for Me are a trio of gentle songs that ease us into Anjimile’s world. On Wait for Me, the singer harks back to his youth, reflecting on a time when, as a transgender person, you know you have yet to take on your full form.
Like You Really Mean It is almost a dance number with its faster pace and solid bass — it’s excellent. Turning Away, Exquisite Skeleton, The Store and Ready or Not continue our journey through mellow folk sounds. Point of View changes things up with a tinkling piano at the forefront and a brutal vocal about broken bonds.
This is a beautiful album that traverses a range of topics — family, relationships, hopes for the future and breaking from the past.
Harry Styles
Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
On his fourth solo album, Harry Styles is heading to the dancefloor. Lead single We Belong Together sets the pace with its driving dance beat and cavernous call‑out vocal. Styles recently performed the single at the Brit Awards, showcasing why he’s still one of the most captivating artists in the world. He may have been away for a few years, but he stepped right back into the spotlight.
The second track, also the album’s second single, is the more downbeat American Girls. Again, it follows a template of echoing vocals that encourage a sing‑along, set against a backdrop of beats and subtle electronica. Ready, Steady, Go! repeats the formula with enough variation to keep things interesting.
The intensity increases with Are You Listening Yet, as the speed of the beats picks up and the lyrics are delivered with urgency. Take Back and The Waiting Game continue the journey, but the dancefloor begins to morph into something that sounds more like we’ve stepped into a computer game.
There’s a sudden shift on Coming Up Roses as strings enter the soundscape and Styles becomes a crooner for a romantic ballad. The glitchy electronica and drum beats return on Pop, and things get funkier on Dance No More.
“Oh, what a gift it is to be noticed, but it’s got nothing to do with me,” Styles opens on Paint By Numbers, a melancholy tune with strumming guitars that almost steps into alt‑country territory. Album closer Carla’s Song brings us back to the sound that defines most of this record, giving us a euphoric high to send us off.
Haute & Freddy
Big Disgrace
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
We’ve been following the career of Haute & Freddy for over a year now, and their debut album Big Disgrace has finally arrived. If you like super‑theatrical performers like Freddie Mercury, Chappell Roan, Mika, Kate Bush, or Lady Gaga, then give this duo a go.
It’s operatic, camp, bold and quirky, backed by electronic beats and a collection of instantly catchy tunes. We’ve already enjoyed a run of superior singles including Fashion Over Function, Freaks, Sophie, Anti‑Superstar, Shy Girl and the recently released Scantily Clad. These tracks all appear here and make up almost half the album, but if you’re wondering whether we’ve already sampled the cream off the top, don’t worry — there’s no filler.
Symphony for a Queen sets the scene, Sweet Surrender is another instantly addictive number, Dance the Pain Away is an atmospheric track that keeps the party going, Femme Hysteria is a standout, and Showgirl at Heart is a mellower moment where Haute’s vocals recall The Motels’ Martha Davis – there’s a strong ’80s aesthetic running through this record.
Fields of Versailles is pumping, and the album has the perfect closer in I Like My People Weird, which ends things on a more relaxed note. This duo have slowly been finding fans since releasing their first track back in January 2025, and indie radio has begun picking them up – with this album, they deserve to explode across popular culture.
Bill Callahan
My Days of 58
★ ★ ★ ★
American singer‑songwriter Bill Callahan is prolific. He released eleven albums as Smog before switching to his own name, under which this is his tenth record of alt‑country odes.
With an incredibly distinctive voice, a wonderful turn of phrase, unusual song subjects, and a style that swings from country to folk and psychedelia, he has a unique offering. This 12‑track collection is as good as anything he’s ever done.
It opens with the epic Why Do Men Sing?, which stretches to almost seven minutes, building to a crescendo of rocking country guitars and rousing vocals. Things suddenly get very introspective with The Man I’m Supposed to Be, where Callahan sings about the demons within him, though the vibe lightens on the choruses before turning dark again.
The sound takes on a jazz element in Pathol O.G., where Callahan reflects on three decades of songwriting, saying it began as a way for him to communicate with other people, himself, and the spirits. Stepping Out for Air is filled with slide guitars that make us feel at home on the range, but it also features warm brass tones.
Empathy is a powerful song recounting how Callahan’s father told him at thirteen that he was leaving the family, and how Callahan now reflects on his own fatherhood. Things shift again on Computer, which layers improvisational jazz mayhem beneath his musings on online culture. In Lake Winnebago, Callahan sings about “death being a hazy horizon,” a profound line that introduces a quirky meditation on mortality.
Just as we’ve been lulled into a succession of jazz‑tinged country tunes, And Dream Land arrives, driven by a propulsive drumbeat and a burst of energy that snaps us out of the daydream state the singer has woven. The final track, The World Is Still, signs off with what sounds like a choir of recorders, creating an almost supernatural ending.
If you like this, there are 21 other records from this prolific artist to explore. Start with Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle, Dream River, Apocalypse, and his dub‑tinged album Have Fun With God.
