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Shadow Work by Rebecca Sanborn
Five years, 18 musicians and grants from three local arts nonprofits went into the making of Rebecca Sanborn’s Shadow Work, the singer-songwriter-pianist’s collaboration with the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble. As you might expect, it’s a big, towering, ambitious work, but Sanborn’s voice is more than a match for the dense arrangements, soaring over these knotty compositions with a grace that brings to mind past jazz maximalists like Björk and Betty Carter. Out Sept. 4 via PJCE Records.
Linda’s Head by Helen
Liz Harris is famous the world around for the spectral, multitracked choirs of her own voice she releases as Grouper, but what happens when they’re built on a rock chassis? With the Portland rhythm section of bassist Scott Simmons and drummer Jed Bindeman backing up the Astoria artist’s reverbed-out madrigals, the first album from Helen in 11 years makes explicit the dream-pop leanings that have always bubbled under even the most abstract moments of Harris’ music. Out Oct. 2 via Kranky
Grimdark by Saoirse Dream
Taking its name from the post–Dark Knight pop culture moment when antiheroes reigned supreme, Grimdark gives Portland hyperpop artist Saoirse Dream’s sound the gritty-reboot treatment, leaning deeper into singer-songwriter Catherine Egbert’s emo and punk roots. Examining deteriorating relationships, trans revenge fantasies and apocalyptic anxieties, Grimdark carries a lot of weight. But the record is just as happy to alleviate the burden when necessary with bubblegum hooks and soaring chiptune synths. Out Oct. 9 via Lauren Records.
Things Left Unseen by Pete Swanson and Ilyas Ahmed
Months after High Cube, an awesome collab between Portland electronic music perennials Brian Foote (Nudge) and Paul Dickow (Strategy), the Geographic North label is putting out another team-up between two local underground titans: Pete Swanson, half of the great noise duo Yellow Swans, and Ilyas Ahmed, who makes painterly post-rock as part of Grails. Recorded live with no overdubs, Things Left Unseen is a tectonic clash between Ahmed’s guitar and Swanson’s fearsome custom noise rig. Out Oct. 9 via Geographic North.
There Is No Evil by How Strange It Is
As evidenced by their Neutral Milk Hotel–nodding name, this Portland five-piece exists within a long tradition of lo-fi, outsidery, patchwork indie rock that’s not afraid to throw everything into the blender. What distinguishes them from the hordes of Sparklehorse and Guided By Voices wannabes out there is just how hard they crank the psychedelic effects and how thickly they smear the guitar layers—they describe themselves as “fuzzed-out indie rock,” which is a little like describing Led Zeppelin as a blues band. Out Oct. 20 via Pleasure Tapes/Disposable America.
See the rest of the 2026 Fall Arts Guide here!
