The Lead Sheet ~ 7/14/2026

The Lead Sheet is your guide to this week’s new music - taking a look at newly released albums, who made them, and how listeners are responding.   

Twelve-time Grammy winner Jack White released his seventh solo album this week, titled Frozen Charlotte. The record explores themes of human greed and the modern loss of connection through historical and religious allegory. Frozen Charlotte is a sonic follow-up to 2024’s No Name, which hearkens back to White’s early garage rock sound after experimenting with an electronic period. White’s signature erratic blues-rock riffs punctuate the album, and a fun variety of retro keyboard textures add a spooky atmosphere. Critics praise the album’s high-energy, and its re-focusing on White’s guitar talents, but its similarities to No Name, which had great impact thanks to its surprise roll-out, have some fans nicknaming it No Name 1.5, and between the two albums, many prefer the former. Jack White kicked off a supporting world tour for Frozen Charlotte on July 10, with concerts throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and the UK throughout the summer and fall. 

As one of the most influential and legendary rock bands, The Rolling Stones need no introduction. Their new and twenty-fifth album Foreign Tongues dropped this week, to excellent reviews from most publications. General listeners offer slightly more mixed reception, but for a band that has been touring for over 60 years, the Stones still carry an impressive presence, and Mick Jagger’s gritty vocals haven’t lost their power and edge. The fourteen track record showcases several genres, including electric-blues, honkey-tonk, soul, and disco-rock. It also includes final archived drumming from the late Charlie Watts, who played with the group until his passing in 2021, as well as some exciting features like Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Robert Smith of The Cure, and Paul McCartney, who plays bass on “Covered in You”. Jagger has confirmed the group will take the year off from touring, but have tentative plans for 2027.

Ethiopian-American R&B singer Kelela is back this week with her third album, new avatar. With each new release, the artist has pivoted; while still rooted firmly in R&B sound, her albums take on a specific flavor of subgenre. Where her first two albums explored genres like futuristic art-pop or house techno, new avatar delves into indie shoe-gaze and alt-metal, described by Kelela as “R&B run through distorted guitar”. The record also features collaborations with PinkPantheress, who harmonizes on “The Bridge”, and London based A.K. Paul, who lends vocals on the Prince inspired track “Outta Time”. New avatar is already receiving widespread critical acclaim, with critics commenting on the artist’s maturation of sound and musical restraint, taking a “less is more” approach to song production while creating tension with stripped back vocal delivery. Kelela is currently gearing up for a world tour this fall across eighteen cities in North America, before crossing the pond to Europe for an early winter leg. 

Also releasing her third LP is Actor, Singer and Model Suki Waterhouse, whose highly anticipated dance album Loveland has struck a chord with fans and critics. Waterhouse collaborated with hitmaking producer Amy Allen,  (Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso”) to create catchy hooks and radio-appealing choruses. Loveland’s upbeat pop sound has a vintage, 70s aesthetic, with standout tracks “Back in Love” and “Tiny Raisin” getting attention on social media. The album’s physical vinyl version also includes a whimsical “Lovelandopoly” board game- for which the player most recently experiencing a break-up gets to roll first. Waterhouse has some great musical ideas, but there’s plenty of steep competition in the dream-pop space, and some critics hope to see more risk-taking from the artist to stand-out from the pack. Suki Waterhouse will begin an album tour on July 22nd, in Phoenix, Arizona, with a west coast leg planned for summer, and east coast leg for the fall. 

Finn Wolfhard is one of several Stranger Things stars with musical talent; Joe Keery’s viral megahit “End of Beginning” amassed nearly three billion streams on spotify, and Gaten Matarazzo has had a storied and successful career on Broadway. Wolfhard’s sophomore LP, Fire from the Hip released on Friday to unfortunately lukewarm reviews. Wolfhard’s album embraces indie slacker rock with confidence, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. His first album, Happy Birthday had a distinctive, lo-fi four-track sound, but Fire from the Hip scales the production up, channeling some 70s rock with vocal delivery not unlike Mick Jagger in his early days, leaning into a shout-sing style that doesn’t attempt for pitch perfection. Where the album falls short is in somewhat bland lyrics, and a meandering song list that could have been trimmed. Fans bemoan one too many ballads with unsatisfying choruses, and Fire from the Hip lacks memorable hits with huge replay value. Wolfhard will headline his “Common Side Effects Tour” in North America with a leg in summer and fall. 

Jack White- Frozen Charlotte

Released July 10, 2026

Third Man

The Rolling Stones- Foreign Tongues

Released July 10, 2026

Polydor, Geffen Records

Kelela- new avatar

Released July 10, 2026

Warp

Suki Waterhouse - Loveland

Released July 10, 2026

Island Records

Finn Wolfhard - Fire from the Hip

Released July 10, 2026

Night Shift, AWAL Records