April is blooming with a bunch of interesting music releases, including new albums by Elton John and Dutch symphonic metallers Epica, the return of multiple «Grammy winner Bon Iver, and folk electronica in the new project by «Yuko»’s Yulia Yurina. Read more about the best music releases of April 2025 in our article.
Content
Genre: pop rock, indie rock
Release date: April 4
Number of tracks: 10
Where to listen: YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
The legendary British singer Elton John and American country star Brandy Carlile celebrate their longstanding friendship with the release of their joint album Who Believes In Angels? Critics joke that the new duet partner was able to launch Elton John’s rocket man into space, bringing him back to the lush melodic pomp of the 1970s.
The opening track «The Rose Of Laura Nyro» greets listeners with an almost two-minute instrumental introduction, and then transitions into Carlisle’s vocal part, which is repeated by Elton in the background. With each verse, this emotional ballad rises higher, adding gorgeous piano chords to the warm synths and guitar, before the voices of both artists merge in a powerful choral finale.
The Telegraph summarizes that Elton John’s 37th studio album — is not only a real treat for music fans, but also a collection of absolute hits, including the quirky American fantasy «Riverman», the dizzying indie folk «You Without Me» and the touching «When This Old World Is Done Me» performed by Elton in solo.
Genre: synth-pop, indie rock
Release date: April 4
Number of tracks: 12
Where to listen: YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
Although American actor Joe Keery is best known for his roles in the TV series «Stranger Things» and «Fargo», he is also a talented musician who recently released his third studio album «The Crux» under the pseudonym Djo. Music reviewer of the publication Diymag does not spare any flattering epithets, calling Kiri’s new work a leap into a sonic wonderland where the performer paid tribute to all the musical idols of his youth, from T-Rex to The Beatles.
The press release describes «The Crux», recorded at the legendary Electric Lady Studios, as a work of «impeccable craftsmanship» with lush guitars and instruments in the style of late 70s pop music. At the same time, it seems like Kyrie is having a lot of fun when she imitates Queen’s harsh guitar on «Gap Tooth Smile», experiments with her signature soft keys on «Egg», or adds quirky arcade machine sounds to the title single «Basic Being Basic».
Genre: folk, electronica
Release date: April 4
Number of tracks: 9
Where to listen: YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
Ukrainian singer Yulia Yurina has presented her new album «Kralya», which creatively reinterprets traditional folk songs from different regions of Ukraine and combines them with pop, art rock and electronica. The artist herself calls this style folktronica, in which listeners will be able to find both incendiary dance compositions and lyrical stories that resonate with our present.
Yurina notes that her goal was to show young people the beauty of Ukrainian folk songs. But she tries to do it in a modern musical language, so that the energy and mood are felt first, and only then does the desire to look for the originals of old songs arise. The album was accompanied by a music video for the title track «White Ribbon».
Genre: chamber folk, alt-rock
Release date: April 4
Number of tracks: 11
Where to listen: YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
The British baroque rock sextet Black Country New Road has released its first album Forever Howlong with a new lineup. After the former frontman Isaac Wood left the band, the vocals were taken over by the female half of the group: bassist Tyler Hyde, violinist Georgia Ellery, and keyboardist May Kershaw.
With three female voices, the band changed the genre from post-punk to chamber folk with art rock elements. The results can be seen in the dreamy road movie «Two Horses», the long folk composition «Mary» and the lyrical gem of the album «For the Cold Country». The structure of the latter is similar to many of the band’s old songs. It starts very slowly to change dramatically about halfway through and builds to a grandiose and euphoric climax at the end.
Genre: symphonic metal
Release date: April 11
Number of tracks:
Where to listen: YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
The ninth studio album of the Dutch band Epica confirmed its status as one of the leaders of symphonic metal. All 11 tracks carry the band’s signature sound, which, as before, is centered on the power and emotion of Simone Simons’ vocals combined with heavy riffs, atmospheric choral inserts, and cinematic orchestration.
My personal favorite among the album’s tracks is — «Darkness Dies In Light» with Simone’s brilliant vocals, Mark’s masterful growling and epic guitar work. But Aspiral is not limited to this and contains a number of great songs for every taste: from the fast-paced «Cross the Divide» to the melancholic «Obsidian Heart» and the grandiose «The Grand Saga of Existence».
Genre: indie folk, alternative
Release date: April 11
Number of tracks: 12
Where to listen: YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
The leader of the alternative band Bon Iver, singer and multi-instrumentalist Justin Vernon, has added to his boundless repertoire with his first full-length album in six years, SABLE, fABLE. The album contains three songs from the melancholic Sable EP 2024. The rest of the songs are more positive and combine elements of folk, country, and rhythm and blues to heal the wounds of a broken heart and tell of the first rays of a new romantic dawn in the artist’s life.
The contradictory structure of the album is also reflected in its cover design, on which a gloomy black square is surrounded by a cheerful salmon-colored frame. By the way, SABLE, fABLE received 83 points based on 24 critical reviews on Metascore and ranks first among April releases by this indicator. Lady Gaga’s seventh album Mayhem, which we wrote about in review of the best music releases March 2025.
Genre: hip-hop
Release date: April 12
Number of tracks: 12
Where to listen: YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
On the occasion of the annual Record Store Day, the legendary hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, together with its longtime partner producer Mathematics, released their first full-length release since 2017, Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman. The album was released in a limited edition of 5000 copies. In addition to tracks from the band’s core members, it contains tracks and features by Kool G Rap, Kurupt, 38 Spesh, Crooked I, Willie The Kid, Benny The Butcher, and other artists.
One of the album’s highlights is the song Mandingo (Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Method Man & Cappadonna). But be careful: the track may contain something like voodoo, so it’s addictive. For example, I suddenly got so carried away that I listened to it 5 times in a row without noticing it.
Genre: electronica, pop rock
Release date: April 18
Number of tracks: 12
Where to listen: YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
It’s been over a decade since DJs Paul Armand-Delil and Alexandre Greenspan teamed up to form Polo & Pan, enriching the European house scene with an elegant cocktail of electronica, Brazilian bossa nova and playful French hedonism. In their third full-length album «22:22», the duo used a large number of live instruments and invited unusual collaborators who added a fresh sound to the band’s music.
Longtime fans will be attracted by the lush «Pareidolies» with its characteristic notes of beachy Balearic house. Collaborations are also interesting: string-adorned electro-disco «Nenuphar» led by the female band I.M. YONI, emotional soul «Petite Etoile» with powerful vocals by American singer Beth Ditto, and hypnotic «A Different Side of Us» featuring rap artist PawPaw Rod.
Genre: post-punk, alternative
Release date: April 18
Number of tracks: 13
Where to listen: YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
The style of The Convenience’s debut release could be defined as gentle synth pop. Four years later, the band returned with their second album Like Cartoon Vampires, and according to the musicians, it has much «more guitar». However, this does not quite accurately describe the hard, angular sound, sharp rhythms and angry vocals in the aesthetics of the Strokes, The Killers and Franz Ferdinand.
Genre: alt metal, thrash metal
Release date: April 25
Number of tracks: 12
Where to listen: YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
The American heavy metal band Machine Head, which has a strange obsession with replacing the letter «O» in song titles with the crossed-out Scandinavian «Ø», presented its eleventh studio album, Unatøned. Fans were waiting for the album’s release with some apprehension. The fact is that drummer Matt Alston and guitarist Reece Scruggs took part in the recording for the first time, which also took place on the road between hotels and concert halls on different continents.
However, it seems that the pioneers of the new wave of heavy metal did not disappoint. Publications Metalontap compares Unatøned to a cool drink on a hot day — in his opinion, it’s just as fresh and full of flavor. The album has everything that made the band so beloved by metal fans: crushing riffs, explosive drums, and the harsh vocals of the band’s permanent leader Robb Flynn. And when the heavy and aggressive sound changes to a piano ballad in the final track SCØRN, Machine Head proves that they can create not only thrash, but also deep emotional music that impresses in many ways.
