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From major comebacks to bold debuts, July is shaping up to be an exciting month in an already stellar 2025 in music. Two-time GRAMMY nominee Kesha kicks the month off with . (PERIOD), her first album after departing RCA and Kemosabe Records. Mid-month, Backstreet Boys will revisit their legacy on Millennium 2.0. and rising phenomenon Alex Warren will release his debut LP, You’ll Be Alright, Kid. The original Alice Cooper Group will round out July with their first album in 50 years, The Revenge of Alice Cooper. 

Elsewhere in the month, several artists will bravely share deep, vulnerable feelings on new releases. Those include Jessie Murph’s Sex Hysteria, Jackson Wang’s MAGIC MAN II, Indigo De Souza’s Precipice, Dean Lewis’ The Epilogue, and FLETCHER’s poignant Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?

Others will embrace fantasy and fun, such as Wet Leg’s sophomore LP Moisturizer, GWAR’s chaotic The Return of Gor Gor, Laura Jane Grace in the Trauma Tropes’ Adventure Club, Paul Weller’s Find El Dorado, and Fitz and the Tantrums’ Man on the Moon. What’s more, July might be the month where rapper Roddy Ricch finally shares The Navy Album with the world.

To guide you through these fruitful upcoming four weeks, GRAMMY.com put together a list with the 15 Must-Hear Albums of July.

Kesha — . (Period) (July 4)

This year, Independence Day will mark another celebration for pop icon Kesha. Her upcoming album, . (PERIOD), will arrive on July 4 through her own Kesha Records under exclusive licensing to ADA Warner Music. It also marks her first record since departing RCA and Kemosabe Records in 2023.

The 11-song tracklist will include 2024’s hit “Joyride,” “Yippee Ki-Yay” with T-Pain, “Delusional,” “Boy Crazy,” and the recent Slayyyter and Rose Gray collaboration, “Attention!” In a press release, the album is described as “a defiant act of self-expression that refuses to adhere to expectations or play it safe.” Kesha is “at her most powerful best, turning her experiences into vibrant, audacious art with a spiked heel at the neck of pop culture,” the release continued.

In support of the album, Kesha announced TITS OUT, a co-headline tour with Scissor Sisters starting on July 1. “I’m going TITS OUT this summer to bring as much safety, fun, acceptance, love, connection, and celebration to this country because we are just as much the fabric of this FREE nation as anyone else,” she shared in a statement. “We will not be quiet, and we will fight through joy!”

Learn more: Kesha Reveals The 10 Most Important Songs Of Her Career, From “Tik Tok” To “Eat The Acid”

Burna Boy — No Sign Of Weakness (July 11)

Nigerian Afrobeats star Burna Boy is also making a return in July with No Sign of Weakness, has been teased since last year, and was preceded by singles “Bundle by Bundle,” “Update,” “Sweet Love,” and “TaTaTa” featuring Travis Scott.

A follow-up to 2023’s I Told Them…., No Sign of Weakness promises a fresh take on the artist’s Afro-fusion sounds, solidifying his presence as one of the world’s most exciting and influential artists. In order to commemorate the release, Burna Boy has announced a historic 16-city North American headline run. Beginning on Nov. 12 at Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Burna will become the first Nigerian artist to ever headline the venue, and will continue through cities like Seattle, Oakland, Houston, and Los Angeles. 

With the exception of the Red Rocks show, all performances will feature a custom-designed 360-degree stage in the middle of the arena floor, creating an immersive and intimate experience for fans.

Backstreet Boys — Millennium 2.0 (July 11)

As unbelievable as it sounds, Backstreet Boys’ chart-topping, GRAMMY-nominated, and signature album Millennium has turned 25 this year. To celebrate this milestone in true “Larger Than Life” fashion, the eternal boy band announced a deluxe version titled Millennium 2.0.

Read more: How Pop Ushered In Y2K: Revisiting Songs & Performances By Prince, Jennifer Lopez, Backstreet Boys & More

Millennium 2.0 will fittingly comprise 25 tracks, including all 12 remastered originals, live recordings from their 1999-2000 tour, demos, B-sides, and their latest single, “HEY,” which can be heard upon pre-saving the album. “Thank you for still loving this album more than 25 years later and we can’t wait to make a ton of new Millennium Memories with you!” the band shared on Instagram. “It’s time for (us) to go to work y’all…”

The album drops just as BSB kick off their Into The Millennium residency at Las Vegas’ The Sphere. Totalling 21 shows — with three extra dates due to overwhelming demand — they will become the first pop act to perform at the venue.

Learn more: 25 Years Of Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way”: 10 Covers By Ed Sheeran, Lil Uzi Vert & More

Wet Leg — Moisturizer (July 11)

The Isle of Wight five-piece Wet Leg, founded by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, will heat up the summer with their sophomore record, Moisturizer. Following their GRAMMY-winning 2022 self-titled debut, the album was also produced by Dan Carey, and is spearheaded by singles “Catch These Fists,” “CPR,” and “Davina McCall.”

The new LP was written while the band lived together in the remote English town of Southwold. There, they would work by day, and watch horror movies by night. “We were just kind of having fun and exploring,” Chambers said in press materials, while Teasdale concurred: “We focused on: Is this going to be fun to play live? It was very natural that we would write the second record together.”

Joined by musicians Ellis Durand, Henry Holmes, and Joshua Mobaraki, Wet Leg spent the greater part of the past few years touring, “evolving into a feral, electrifying live force.” Moisturizer is said to capture that energy, “delivering a sound that’s tighter, bolder, and more self-assured, yet still brimming with the same quick wit and raw, unrefined energy.” The band will kick off a 19-stop North American tour starting Sept. 1 in Seattle.

Jackson Wang — MAGIC MAN II (July 18)

“I created MAGIC MAN to figure out my pain, as a mask representing my darkest emotions, my internal emotions,” said Hong Kong-born musician Jackson Wang in a statement. That 2022 sophomore record plunged him into experiencing “nothing but the crucial reality of what humanity is.”

“I was in a very dark place mentally and physically. I thought I could never recover,” he added, explaining that this was the reason he took a year-long break to figure himself out. The result of his time off is MAGIC MAN II, an album about “being true to myself, listening to my heart and accepting all the good and the bad.”

The album is structured in four chapters that explore different stages of grief — from manic highs, to losing one’s identity, to ultimately finding acceptance. For a preview of those sounds, Wang has released a handful of singles, including “High Alone,” “GBAD,” and “BUCK” featuring Indian singer Diljit Dosanjh. 

Jessie Murph — Sex Hysteria (July 18)

Jessie Murph is set to give this summer some Sex Hysteria. According to a statement, the 20-year-old singer goes through “a bold departure” from her first record, 2024’s That Ain’t No Man That’s The Devil, and opens up for the first time about “themes of sexuality, generational trauma and self-discovery with a vulnerability and honesty that marks a new chapter in her artistic evolution.”

The 15-track LP is said to be “both a provocation and a reclamation,” with Murph confronting family wounds and reclaiming her body and her desires. The sophomore record pushes back “against the shame and stigma that often silence women who dare to be loud, sexual, or emotionally honest.”

Sex Hysteria will include Murph’s trap country hit “Blue Strips,” as well as “Gucci Mane” and “Touch Me Like a Gangster.” Starting July 27, she will embark on a worldwide tour, crossing North America, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand throughout the rest of the year.

Laura Jane Grace in the Trauma Tropes — Adventure Club (July 18)

The upcoming album by Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace and her new band, Laura Jane Grace in the Trauma Tropes, is a retelling of the quartet’s experiences in a life-changing songwriting retreat in Greece. Made possible by a grant through the Onassis Air Program, Adventure Club was recorded in Athens, and features Grace’s wife Paris Campbell Grace on vocals, as well as Athens-based musicians Jacopo “Jack” Fokas (bass) and Orestis Lagadinos (drums).

Read more: For Laura Jane Grace, Record Cycles Can Be A ‘Hole In My Head’ — And She’s OK With That

The 12-song collection is “a record about learning to take up space, about feeling free to be yourself as the bullshit of our ahistoric moment mounts,” per a release. “Protest songs and personal tunes have never been a binary for Grace, and she delivers some of her most profound — and, yes, playful — work ever at that particular intersection here. But the most prominent thread through Adventure Club’s dozen tracks is one of evolution, of letting yourself become something new.”

Adventure Club follows Grace’s 2024 Hole in My Head. In August, she and the Trauma Tropes will hit the road for a string of concerts across North America alongside Trapper Schoepp, Team Nonexistent, and Murder by Death.

FLETCHER — Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me? (July 18)

Queer icon FLETCHER poses a poignant question on her new album: Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me? The LP is her most intimate and honest work so far, as she shared on a handwritten note: “this is my heart split open on record” and is “both an open wound and an act of liberation.”

The singer born Cari Elise Fletcher built her career on sexual fluidity and singing about relationships had exclusively with women. However, things took a turn in her personal life last year, when she found herself falling for a man instead. The result was the single “Boy,” one of the biggest, rawest revelations she makes on Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me? “I kissed a boy,” she sings. “And I know it’s not what you wanted to hear/ And it wasn’t on your bingo card this year/ Well it wasn’t on mine/ I fell in love.”

Learn more: FLETCHER Is “F—ing Unhinged” & Proud Of It On ‘In Search Of The Antidote’

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, FLETCHER acknowledged that “There will be people that feel disappointed and feel confused and have questions. Girl, I had questions and I was confused too. It shocked me just as much as anybody else.” But by staying true to her feelings and fully sharing her journey, FLETCHER welcomes a stronger, truer version of herself to the world.

Alex Warren — You’ll Be Alright, Kid (July 18)

Alex Warren’s much-anticipated debut studio album is just around the corner. You’ll Be Alright, Kid arrives via Atlantic Records, and adds 10 new tracks to his 2024 EP of the same name.

The 21-song record will also include Warren’s recent viral hits “Ordinary” and “Bloodline” with Jelly Roll, as well as new single “On My Mind” featuring BLACKPINK’s Rosé. And while You’ll Be Alright, Kid (Chapter 1) focused on dealing with grief, the LP expands upon themes of healing and resilience. Most of the album was co-written by Warren in partnership with Cal Shapiro and Mags Duval, and produced by Adam Yaron.

Throughout the summer, Warren will play sets at several festivals around the world, including Lollapalooza Paris and Chicago, Norway’s Slottsfjell, and Canada’s Osheaga. The singer will also perform live in a string of North American cities during September and October.

Roddy Ricch — The Navy Album (July 18)

After several delays, Roddy Ricch was set to drop his much-awaited third LP, The Navy Album, on April 25, but the release was postponed once again. Two months later and it finally seems like the album will come out on July 18, as pre-save links on his Instagram note.

In December 2024, after announcing another postponement, the Compton rapper shared second single “Lonely Road,” featuring Terrace Martin on the saxophone. The track joins 2024’s “Survivor’s Remorse” — which samples Kelly Clarkson’s 2023 song, “Me” — as the sole previews of the album so far. According to Apple Music, Ricch’s other 2024 single, “911,” didn’t make the final tracklist.

Following 2021’s Live Life Fast and 2022’s mixtape Feed Tha Streets III, the upcoming album was produced by Terrace Martin, Turbo, Omar Grand, Evrgrn, and others, and will be released via Atlantic Records and Bird Vision Entertainment. Most recently, Ricch shared “Underdog” as a part of the star-studded F1: The Movie soundtrack.

Bush — I Beat Loneliness (July 18)

Rock band Bush are gearing up to release their tenth studio album, I Beat Loneliness. In advance, they shared “60 Ways to Forget People,” an impactful track that explores  “the complexities of heartbreak, personal transformation, and the painful process of letting go,” per the band’s press release.

“What I feel about this record is it addresses the common struggles we all have,” said frontman Gavin Rossdale. “‘60 Ways to Forget People’ is an ode to sacrifice and a dedication to the focus it takes to be better. All the time and in all things.” Produced by Rossdale and Erik Ron, the record includes 12 tracks that deepen the band’s post-grunge sound into more mature, sleek productions, as can heard on lead single “The Land Of Milk And Honey.”

Following the release, Bush will tour North America until the end of August, and then head over to Europe for a series of shows from September through November.

Indigo De Souza — Precipice (July 25)

In 2024, Hurricane Helene flooded Indigo De Souza’s home and destroyed many of her belongings. Forced to cancel events and launch a fundraiser to help with the costs, it was a liminal experience in her life  — one of the many that shaped her upcoming fourth studio album, Precipice.

“I feel constantly on the precipice, of something horrible, or something beautiful — something that will change my life for better or for worse,” De Souza said in a statement. “Music gives me ways to harness that feeling. Ways to push forward in new directions.” To harness that spirit, she tried blind studio sessions in Los Angeles and found a seamless connection with producer Elliott Kozel.

“I’d been wanting to work on more pop-leaning music for a while, so when I came out to L.A. I made sure to meet with people that could help bring that to life,” she said. “I wanted to make music that could fill your heart with euphoria while you dance along.” A preview of those sounds can be heard on pre-releases “Crying Over Nothing” and “Heartthrob.” De Souza will also tour 10 U.S. cities in October, with support from alt artist mothé.

GWAR — The Return of Gor Gor (July 25)

Legendary shock rockers GWAR are celebrating their 40th anniversary with The Return of Gor Gor. The multi-format album and 32-page comic book chronicles the comeback of Gor Gor, GWAR’s long-lost Tyrannosaurus Rex pet, who mysteriously disappeared following the death of their former frontman, Oderus Urungus.

Current vocalist Blöthar The Berserker commented on the album: “The last time I saw Gor Gor, he was just a wee fart dragon. He had crawled on the hood of my Kia Soul and was holding on for dear life while I drove to the store to buy Clamato. I bathed him in wiper fluid and used my wipers to knock him off my sweet ride. Next thing I know, he’s a 20-foot tall trans-species prostitute working a pickle park. Apparently, he’s all grown up and looking for revenge. This record chronicles his struggles as a young Dino-American trying to make his way in a cruel world.”

In support of Gor Gor and the new release, GWAR will headline a North American tour kicking off Oct. 18 in Salt Lake City and wrapping up Nov. 22 in Norfolk, Virginia.

Fitz and the Tantrums — Man On The Moon (July 25)

Pop-rock group Fitz and the Tantrums’ sixth studio album, Man On The Moon, arrives July 25. The follow-up to 2022’s Let Yourself Free is described as the band’s “most daring” yet in press materials, a “no-nonsense collection of soulful, pop-inflected masterpieces” that reflect “a band that’s confident in their signature style, yet unafraid to venture into bold new territory.”

“I decided I was simply going to write for my heart and for my soul and nobody else,” explained frontman Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick. “At this point in our career, myself and the band feel we have complete creative license. Because, c’mon, nobody knows what the rules are anymore. So I’m not going to chase some vapor in the wind. I’m going to just do what I want.”

“We’ve never wanted to be stuck in a box. We refused to do that,” added co-lead vocalist Noelle Scaggs. “With this project, we’re daring to be different.” A taste of this new sound can be heard on the title track and lead single, as well as March’s “Ruin the Night.”

Fitz and The Tantrums will embark on a summer tour right before the album drops and hitting 31 North American cities. The tour will feature Aloe Blacc and Neal Francis as special guests on select dates, and Ax and the Hatchetman, SNACKTIME and Gable Price and Friends as openers.

Alice Cooper — The Revenge of Alice Cooper (July 25)

It’s not every band that has the luxury of reuniting five decades after their rise to fame. The original Alice Cooper Group understands this privilege, and is making sure to come back in the most chaotic, boisterous way. The Revenge of Alice Cooper channels “a high-voltage journey into vintage horror and classic ’70s shock rock, capturing the sound, energy, and mischief” that made the band legendary, according to a press statement.

Comprising 14 tracks, including singles “Black Mamba” and “Wild Ones,” the LP also features a posthumous appearance by Glen Buxton, the band’s original guitarist who passed away in 1997, on “What Happened To You.” Furthermore, the box set and limited smart formats of the album include two exclusive new tracks: a long-lost 1970 version of “Return of The Spiders,” and the vintage blend “Titanic Overunderture.”

The Revenge of Alice Cooper is said to be “a celebration of friendship, nostalgia, and the timeless sound that solidified Alice Cooper as a rock icon,” and fan can expect a “powerful and nostalgic experience that bridges the gap between the band’s storied past and their vibrant present.”