A trio of new releases are featured in my column this week, including titles featuring Ann Wilson & Tripsitter, Styx and Garbage.
Artist: Ann Wilson & Tripsitter
Title: Live In Concert (Mercury Studios)
You might like if you enjoy: Ann Wilson, Heart
Tell me more: Heart lead singer Ann Wilson and her four-member band Tripsitter made the most of a performance at Nashville's Brooklyn Bowl in July 2023, performing a winning mix of classic Heart selections as well as material from that year's album Another Door and reworked covers from several Rock and Roll Hall of Fame favorites. The concert was filmed and originally aired on PBS in November 2023, and is now newly available on Blu-ray as well as on digital video. One of rock music's all-time great vocalists, Wilson and company are outstanding across the 90-minute performance. Highlights include the buoyant opener "Crazy On You," the Renaissance-flavored rock ballad "This Is Now," the tender "Miss One & Only" (the latter two songs from Another Door), a fiery take on Led Zeppelin's"Immigrant Song" showcasing Tripsitter and an artful reading of Heart's beloved genre-defying gem "Mistral Wind." Wilson's impressive soprano is also showcased in a powerful version of John Lennon's emotive "Isolation" and the set-ending rock classic "Barracuda." Information: AnnWilson.com and MercuryStudios.co.
Title: Circling From Above (Alpha Dog 2T/UMe)
You might like if you enjoy: Styx, Asia, Queen
Tell me more: Styx is back with the band's 18th studio album, Circling From Above, an ambitious concept album whose 13 tracks look at the human experience as explored through the dissimilar worlds of modern technology and nature. The concept album is an intoxicating listen, with the band's signature sound celebrated via top-tier songs featuring the contributions from all seven members of Styx — founding guitarist-vocalist James "JY" Young, guitarist-vocalist Tommy Shaw, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer Todd Sucherman, keyboardist-vocalist Lawrence Gowan, guitarist-vocalist Will Evankovich and bassist Terry Gowan. Among my favorite tracks on the first half of the disc are the soaring "Build and Destroy" featuring Gowan's tenor lead vocals, the introspective rocker "Michigan" featuring Shaw's urgent vocals and the band's lush harmonies, the prog rock foray "King of Love" and beautiful acoustic-flavored "Forgive." The momentum of the masterwork continues with strong originals including the Celtic-mining "Blue Eyed Raven," music hall delight "She Knows," resplendent "Ease Your Mind" and the mellifluous "The Things That You Said." The album closes with the wonderfully bluesy "We Lost the Wheel Again" and genuinely introspective "Only You Can Decide." According to a media release, "the album was produced by Evankovich, who also helmed the band's previous two albums before becoming an official member in 2022. All 13 songs were penned in various combinations by the band's songwriting triumvirate of Shaw, Evankovich and Gowan." While the album won't be officially available on streaming or digital outlets until July 18, Circling From Above CD and vinyl copies are available for immediate delivery when purchased via StyxWorld.com. Fans can also purchase physical copies of the album on any of the band's "Brotherhood of Rock" tour dates. Information: StyxWorld.com.
Artist: Garbage
Title: Let All That We Imagine Be the Light (BMG)
You might like if you enjoy: The Pretenders, Garbage
Tell me more: Garbage is back with Let All That We Imagine Be The Light, the groundbreaking band's eighth studio album and one of the truly great discs of 2025. The 10-track album produced by the quartet and longtime engineer Billy Bush is filled with originals that are as literate as they are powerful; the songs here crafted with in-the-pocket rhythms, sharp guitar layers, an electronic veneer, nuanced dynamics, soaring choruses and singer Shirley Manson's signature vocals all delivered in the service of strong convictions. Among the terrific cuts on the album is the sumptuous opener "There's No Future in Optimism" with its mix of electronica and rock textures surrounding Manson's enticing vocals, the driving electronic rocker "Get Out My Face AKA Bad Kitty," fiery "Chinese Fire Horse" looking at the bias faced by women as they grow older, the tender "Hold," experimental rocker "Radical" and thought-provoking closer "The Day That I Met God." On Let All That We Imagine Be The Light, Manson, Duke Erikson (guitar, bass, keyboards), Steve Marker (guitar, keyboards) and Butch Vig (drums, percussion) prove they continue to chart the singular course of one of the world's most ambitious and important modern rock bands. Information: garbage.com.
Robert Kinsler
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