Louder: 55 albums and shows for the fall (and Doja Cat!)

September 6, 2025

	By Caryn Ganz

We’re kicking off our fall preview with Doja Cat’s first interview about her fifth album, “Vie.” In a conversation at her Calabasas, Calif., home (between rounds of Fortnite), she revealed some surprising things about her journey to Joe Coscarelli: She’s a tough judge of her own music, and after swerving in search of something more personally satisfying on her 2023 album, “Scarlet,” she realized she knew what was best all along: old-fashioned hits. She reflects (fascinatingly) on her chaotic online persona and how it’s shaped her, and Jack Antonoff, who produced more than half the LP, contributes this astute note: “She’s the center of the culture by not giving a [expletive] about being the center of the culture.”

Jon Pareles and Jon Caramanica also selected 10 fall albums we’re anxiously awaiting in the latest Amplifier, and we’ve got 45 more pop and jazz releases and events in our annual roundup.

Hank Shteamer took a tour of Wayne Shorter’s archives, which have been acquired by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and are filled with gems from a creative life: neatly annotated scores; letters to presidents in impeccable penmanship; photos taken by Joni Mitchell. Carolina Shorter said her husband wanted his archive to be available to “people from all walks of life” rather than hidden away in a private collection, and that is definitely happening.

Plus: Jon Caramanica tackles the new album from Sabrina Carpenter. And after Melena Ryzik and I caught the Broadway play “John Proctor Is the Villain,” it struck us — onstage, onscreen and perhaps most prominently in music, the girls are screaming. (Here’s what we’re talking about.)

Chantal Anderson for The New York Times

You’ve Got It All Wrong About Doja Cat

The singer, rapper and provocateur pushes herself to the max. On her new LP, “Vie,” that means leaning into her pop roots and “doing what I know I know how to do.”

By Joe Coscarelli and Chantal Anderson

Cardi B, in a plaid shirt and striped top, raps into a microphone she’s holding with one hand, and holds the other hand in the air above her head.

Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

The Fall’s Most Anticipated Albums: 10 Picks

Cardi B’s long-awaited return, Jeff Tweedy’s low-key magnum opus, Silvana Estrada’s latest poetic release and more.

By Jon Pareles and Jon Caramanica

Taylor Swift sings into a microphone onstage while wearing a sparkly bodysuit and pointing one hand in the air.

Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

45 Albums and Shows Coming This Fall

A crop of artists on the verge of what’s next are returning with new releases, and Taylor Swift is reuniting with some of her poppiest collaborators.

By Elena Bergeron, Caryn Ganz, Olivia Hom, Jon Pareles and Hank Shteamer

A woman in a tuxedo top, black skirt and cane grins while holding a microphone to one side and standing on a set of stairs.

Album Review

Will the Real Sabrina Carpenter Please Stand Up?

On “Short n’ Sweet” last year, the singer became one of pop’s new queens of quirk. On its follow-up, “Man’s Best Friend,” she’s hiding behind her characters.

By Jon Caramanica

Tate McRae, in a kind of pink bikini and knee-high black boots, dances with four men in white costumes. Behind her, on a riser, is a drum kit.

Critic’s Notebook

Tate McRae on Tour: Dancing’s What She Loves

Dance, which has been a central part of McRae’s pop persona from the beginning, is thrillingly showcased on the Miss Possessive tour.

By Margaret Fuhrer

The Girls Are Screaming

A shriekathon in “John Proctor Is the Villain” is the latest in a wave of young women letting their pipes loose — and exhorting anyone to join in.

By Melena Ryzik

Audience Report: Oasis Returns, in All Its Glory

The British band’s long-awaited reunion tour arrived in New Jersey over the weekend, and fans broke out their bucket hats and soccer shirts in celebration.

What’s Loud, Pink and Drawing New Yorkers Together?

With his Karlala Soundsystem, Karl Scholz is using nightclub-grade audio to ensure that neighbors gather.

By James Thomas and Amir Hamja

A black-and-white photo of Wayne Shorter, in a suit, holding a tenor saxophone in one hand shoulder height with its mouthpiece above his head.

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Wayne Shorter Wanted Everyone to See His Archives. Soon, They Will.

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has acquired the jazz great’s scores, original artwork, letters and more, providing a rare glimpse of an imaginative mind.

By Hank Shteamer

5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Mal Waldron

The music of this pianist, who played with giants like Billie Holiday, Charles Mingus and John Coltrane, can feel mysterious and private, but it rewards deep listening. Explore these 11 songs.

By Giovanni Russonello