The Chronicle’s guide to notable new music.

NEW RELEASES

Sufjan Stevens, ‘Javelin’ (Asthmatic Kitty)

With more than a dozen albums under his belt over the past 25 years, Sufjan Stevens is one of the most prolific and influential singer-songwriters today. “Javelin,” out Friday, Oct. 6, represents the convergence of his opposite poles: brilliant orchestral arrangements with carefully calculated electronic production.

Here Stevens plays nearly every instrument on the album, stacking sounds in his home studio. He’s joined by a modest-but-mighty backing choir on singles “Will You Ever Love Me?” and “So You Are Tired” as his voice towers next to endless strings, keys, flute and gentle thumps to create intimate, arresting music.

Boygenius, ‘The Rest’ (Interscope)

Formed in 2018,Boygenius— the supergroup of indie singer-songwritersJulien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus— has already released one of this year’s most critically acclaimed albums in March’s “The Record.” Now “The Rest” arrives on Friday, Oct. 13, as a companion EP. While the trio possesses three vastly different voices, they continue to find powerful harmony together.

Signed to a major label these days, Boygenius has transcended the indie space, with its music coming to define a new niche in pop.

Jamila Woods, ‘Water Made Us’ (Jagjaguwar)

The title to the third album by Chicago singer and poet Jamila Woods, “Water Made Us,” is a nod to a quote from author Toni Morrison: “All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.”

Throughout the record, out Sunday, Oct. 15, Woods yearns to better understand her sense of place and the role of love and connection on her winding journey. The R&B folk sensibility of “Wolfsheep” contrasts with the rhythmic, bouncy synths of “Boomerang,” showing the breadth of Woods’ arsenal as a creator in this spellbinding effort.

Blink-182, ‘One More Time …’ (Columbia)

Blink-182 hasn’t released an album with the original lineup of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker since 2011. When DeLonge left the band in 2015, the pop-punk darlings pushed forward, putting out two albums with Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba in his place. Come Oct. 20, the band’s dynamic will shift back to the way things were, following an emotional reunion with DeLonge. In a teaser video for the album, Hoppus didn’t hold back, calling it “the best album we’ve ever made.”

Sampha, ‘Lahai’ (Young)

When velvety British electro-soul singer Sampha releases his sophomore album on Oct. 20, the stakes will be incredibly high. His 2017 debut, “Process,” won the prestigious Mercury Prize as the best U.K. album of the year.

“And I don’t feel so scared, dreaming with these open eyes,” the artist sings on the elegant “Spirit 2.0,” seemingly affirming his readiness for this next step in his career.

SONG OF THE MOMENT

德雷克SZA、(蛋/ Intersco粘你pe)

The lead single to Drake’s forthpcoming album, “For All the Dogs,” out Oct. 6, debuted in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100. The song, which marks the 12th time the Toronto rapper has had the No. 1 song in America, is an especially juicy collaboration with SZA, given that the pair briefly dated more than a decade ago.

While their differences have been set aside, “Slime You Out” details a couple with disparate sides of a story. The sultry, deliberate production adds to the mystique of who wronged who.

LOCALLY MINDED

Meernaa, ‘So Far So Good’ (Keeled Scales)

Much has happened for Petaluma native Carly Bond since she moved to Los Angeles from Oakland in 2021. The formerTiny Telephone Studiosengineer built the Altamira Sound studio along with bandmates Rob Shelton and Andrew Maguire, then signed tokeen-eared indie label Keeled Scalesto release “So Far So Good,” set for release Friday, Oct. 6. The bucolic sounds within are evocative of ’70s-era Laurel Canyon folk, with psychedelic synths, dexterous guitar, and swaths of saxophone, pedal steel and violin. But it’s Bond’s sumptuous voice on songs like “Another Dimension” and “As Many Birds Flying” that lingers longest across the stellar album.

DJ Shadow, ‘Action Adventure’ (Mass Appeal/Liquid Amber Records)

Born in San Jose, schooled in Davis and now based in Marin County, DJ Shadow is nothing short of a hip-hop production pioneer. With more than 60,000 vinyl records in his collection, the legendary crate-digger dipped into his own undiscovered records for inspiration for his seventh album, dropping Oct. 27.

If the retro-funk vibe of “You Played Me” and breakneck synth bravado of “Ozone Scraper” are any indication, the sounds of the ’80s were spinning often on his record player.

The Bay Area native is set to perform Halloween night at San Francisco’s 1015 Folsom.

Vince Guaraldi Quintet, ‘A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving’ (LMFP)

While the classic “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” has aired each of the past 50 years, the soundtrack will be released for the very first time on Oct. 20.

Recorded in 1973 at San Francisco’s Wally Heider Recording Studios, the album features the original 13 songs, plus nine unreleased tracks, including Guaraldi singing on “Little Birdie,” accompanied by Seward McCain (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Tom Harrell (trumpet/brass) and Chuck Bennett (trombone).

Adrian Spinelli is a freelance writer.