Release Radar: March 2025

At the end of each month, Afterglow presents a staff-picked list of new albums and singles that left a lasting impression on our ears. For Women’s History Month, we are highlighting women artists with glowing releases in March.

Written by Afterglow Staffers

Photos courtesy of Higher Plain Music, Alice Baxley, Charleston Wine + Food, Last.fm, and Bandcamp Daily

Here are our favorite albums and singles released during March 2025. For more reviews of recent releases, check out our album review page!

Shiny Singles We Loved This Month:

“High Horse” by NMIXX

K-pop girl group NMIXX returns to the scene with "High Horse," a jazzy feminist track conveying dissatisfaction with an unfulfilling relationship. Vocalist Haewon alternates between English and Korean: "Sick of that high horse / I just can't take it no more / Teong bin daehwa." NMIXX proves that K-Pop is not a sonic monolith; instead of glimmering synths and autotuned vocal production, NMIXX opts for drum and bass, with UK street-soul elements. — Zachary Bolash

“Dreams” by Ari Abdul

Brooklyn native Ari Abdul kicked off the first weekend of the month with the dark and sensual “Dreams.” With thorny production and distorted synths, Abdul’s sultry new track strengthens her image as a mysterious yet innovative alt-pop princess. — Valeria Mota

“Shit Out Of Luck” by Susannah Joffe

Susannah Joffe pays tribute to all her exes in Texas with her first country single “Shit Out Of Luck.” Joffe’s twangy vocals pair with a despondent string-forward musical backing, building to incorporate a fast-paced drumbeat, leaving listeners swooning with the nostalgia of a country heartbreak. — Rachel Yost

“Dribs and drags” by Salami Rose Joe Louis

Salami Rose Joe Louis’ atmospheric style turns over on its side for a hauntingly playful three-song single that teeters on the edge of entropy. With resonant auditory pins and needles, asynchronous arpeggios, and a seamless blend of intangible electronic sounds and intimate soft vocals, Salami Rose Joe Louis is unhurried yet pleading, neurotic yet self-soothing. — Maren Bell

“Any Other World” by Deradoorian

After a five-year hiatus, Angel Deradoorian has composed an assertive return to music with her ominous single “Any Other World.” Punchy, repetitive incantations of doubt and demise float over melancholic chord progressions and an electronica backdrop that slowly devolves into disarray. — Carly Williams

Glowing Albums We Loved This Month:

INFLUENZER by GFOTY

Listeners may interpret GFOTY as a walking art installation straight from the MoMA. The musician barged onto the PC Music scene with her provocative dance club single "Friday Night." GFOTY's latest project, INFLUENZER, continues her tradition of challenging the status quo by diving headlong into electronic, rock, and metal genres. INFLUENZER teems with the grotesquerie of today’s romance. In the firestarter track "GRWM (eww)," GFOTY rambles over a thrash-metal guitar as she recounts a disappointing date: "So, later on in the day, I'm on this date where I am wearing all my fancy clothes / And he's dressed in his Topman suit and some really weird shoes I think he got off Brick Lane." "CONGRATS.." shifts the artist’s artistic direction away from metal, but continues thematically exploring today's hyper-capitalistic bleakness. As an industrial, drum-and-bass sound roars, GFOTY whines about the materialist realities of modern dating: "All he wants my money, kind of funny, you're in luck / But every time you do, I think / You're a fucking fuck." While "GRWM (eww)" and "CONGRATS.." unify through their sonic heaviness, "Sitcom" proves GFOTY as an unreliable narrator. The track exists unburdened by the rest of INFLUENZER; it is rife with bubbly synthesizers and melodic vocals. Yet thematically, “Sitcom” still follows the same thread as "GRWM (eww) " and "CONGRATS.." by portraying relationships as contrived and cinematic, much like high-production sitcoms: "Film me, we're on the telly / You're gonna kiss me / Theme tune / Singing together, beautiful weather." As a cohesive work, INFLUENZER stands as an inter-genre attack of modern romance, welding metal, dance, and electronic music to satirize the contemporary woes of dating. — Zachary Bolash

Support GFOTY on Spotify and Apple Music.

I Miss You, I Do by Árný Margrét

Icelandic singer Árný Margrét effortlessly captures listeners with simple acoustic guitar riffs and soft vocals on her vulnerable March release, I Miss You, I Do. Over 10 tracks, Margrét evokes the feeling of winter’s final days as melting snow gives way to blooming flowers. The singer opens with the calm yet catchy title track, emphasizing her shifting feelings toward her lover by changing the chorus from “I miss you, I do / And I hope you do” to “I miss you, I do / And I know you do” by the song’s end. While the track is primarily acoustic guitar, the closing distorted synths subtly capture Margrét’s underlying anxiety as she yearns for her distant lover. The gut-wrenching “I Love You” illustrates the inherent grief of familial love as one grows apart from their first home. Aided by tambourines and layered vocals, Margrét gives listeners a tight hug by ending the song with a tender “They never said it so I’ll say it / I love you.” The album’s closing track, “Happy New Year,” subtly lifts spirits in an otherwise heartbreaking record. The song contrasts with the rest of the project with its intricate and lively production, showcasing the possibilities of starting over in a new year. By ending the album on a hopeful note, I Miss You, I Do serves as a warm blanket against the harsh winter of anxiety, grief, and lost love, comforting listeners with the wholesome reminder that spring is around the corner. — Valeria Mota

Support Árnŷ Margrét on Spotify and Apple Music.

Blood On the Silver Screen by SASAMI

With two albums under her belt, indie-pop artist SASAMI embarks on a journey of love not found with her newest album, Blood On the Silver Screen. Straying from themes of self-transformation that are present in her first two projects, this third album tackles the most vulnerable, distorted, and emotionally draining elements of love. The starting track “Slugger” introduces the uncertainty of the relationship that shapes this album. As SASAMI toggles between high and low octaves, she uses clever similes to express the toll this connection has taken on her mental well-being. She recounts feeling “Whiplash like a car crash in the ocean” due to the lack of clarity and communication. Utilizing softer vocals paired with a mysterious electronic musical backing, “In Love With A Memory,” featuring Clairo, captures the sorrow of saying goodbye to this elusive lover despite the memories shared. Coming to a close with “Lose It All” and “The Seed,” SASAMI slows the pace, incorporating piano and raw vocals in “Lose It All” while reflecting on her past of loving and losing. “The Seed” leaves an ominous impression, and amongst the looming metaphors and instrumental breaks, the message that “trust is the light that will bring us back” lingers as the final notes ring out. — Rachel Yost

Support SASAMI on Spotify and Apple Music.

For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) by Japanese Breakfast

Indie-pop band Japanese Breakfast has released its first album since Jubilee in 2021, a year desperate for Michelle Zauner’s sweet vocals amid lyrics of lack, loneliness, and loss. If Jubilee was an ardent auditory lapse from the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) is sonically pessimistic about its view of the world. The album leans less heavily on pop crutches, trading upbeat percussion and electronic elements for angelic, whimsical strings that softly spearhead the album from the first track, “Here is Someone,” alongside almost indulgent orchestral accents. Zauner’s lyrics run the gamut of sorrows, from estranged father-daughter relationships in “Leda” to Greek and Roman mythological betrayals in “Orlando in Love” to — perhaps worst of all — incel culture. In “Mega Circuit”, Zauner introduces country music elements to the album and delivers lines of sarcastic passivity toward modern masculinity: “I better write my baby a shuffle good / Or he’s gonna make me suffer the way I should.” A pedal steel guitar interwoven with the album’s recurring violins, not to mention lyrics involving ATVs and shooting blanks, draws out a twang in Zauner’s taut voice that recalls heartbroken pop-country ballads of years past. For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) is, naturally, melancholic, and deeply so, spanning regret, confrontation, and docility. All the while, Zauner’s voice lifts the melodies — most appropriate for the album’s spring arrival. — Maren Bell

Support Japanese Breakfast on Spotify and Apple Music.

Can’t Lose my (Soul) by Annie & the Caldwells

The suave sounds of Annie & the Caldwells hail from the small town of West Point, Miss., in the mother-daughter trio’s newest record, Can’t Lose My (Soul). Despite its humble six tracks, the album carries images of enduring perseverance and hope on a funky fusion of gospel and soul. Slick bass and organs transcend genre boundaries, underpinning Annie Caldwell’s persistent vocals. This mother-daughter outfit asserts its strength in humility, proudly repeating “I was wrong” throughout the entirety of “Wrong.” Rather than fearing embarrassment, the group attributes its ability to overcome and grow from mistakes to the power of Jesus. The momentum of these sentiments of growth in the presence of spirituality continues in “Can’t Lose My Soul.” Caldwell vulnerably admits that “[she] don’t wanna go to Hell” and affirms her faith that she will ultimately see Jesus. In the tradition of jazz, this track builds on a call-and-response dynamic between Annie Caldwell and her daughters, fostering assurance in the face of uncertainty through the community that religion has brought them. With a constant back-and-forth that they “Can’t lose [their] soul,” they envision a spirituality that hinges on togetherness rather than individuality. Annie & the Caldwells usher in spring with a smooth fusion of gospel and soul, reinforcing notions of tenacity and togetherness. — Carly Williams

Support Annie & the Caldwells on Spotify and Apple Music.

DIVERSITYAfterglow ATXApril 4, 2025carly williams, rachel yost, maren bell, valeria mota, zachary bolash, release radar, women's history month