Alice in Chains' Unplugged Returns, Tinashe's Popstar Era, Ms. Rachel's Debut Album

Alice in Chains' Unplugged Returns, Tinashe's Popstar Era, Ms. Rachel's Debut Album

Fresh Press Friday — new vinyl out Friday

Alice in Chains' Unplugged Returns to Vinyl, Tinashe Refuses to Be Boxed In, Ms. Rachel Makes Her Album Debut

Plus Leon Bridges goes sun-soaked, Linkin Park's São Paulo rebirth, and a heavy stack of new releases from M83, Olivia Dean, King Gizzard, and more.

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Friday's a heavy one, in more ways than one. A hometown legend's most haunting performance comes back to wax. A pop star who refuses to be filed into a single genre finally gets her moment. And the most influential children's educator in the country makes her album debut. Here's where to start.

Just Dropped

Alice In Chains — Unplugged [2LP]
Seattle, we need to talk about this one properly.

By early 1996, Alice in Chains hadn't played a proper show in over two and a half years. Layne Staley's heroin addiction had gotten so severe that the band scrapped a tour with Metallica, turned down Woodstock '94, and effectively went dark, even as their self-titled third album shipped in late 1995 with no way to promote it live. MTV had been begging them for an Unplugged session since the early '90s; Jerry Cantrell kept saying no, worried their songs wouldn't survive being stripped of distortion. They finally said yes, mostly because there was no other way left to support the record.

What happened on April 10, 1996, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre became one of the most quietly devastating performances in rock history. Staley showed up thin, his hair a shock of pink, hidden behind dark sunglasses for most of the set — visibly, undeniably unwell, and somehow still commanding. "We've been waiting a long time to play this show," he told the crowd, in a line that landed as both a joke and a confession. Backed by candlelight and Cantrell's mournful harmonies, the band reworked "Nutshell," "Down in a Hole," "Would?," and "Rooster" into arrangements that somehow hit harder unplugged than they ever did with amps on. "I would have to say this is the best show we've done in three years," Staley announced partway through. A bandmate corrected him: it was the only show they'd done in three years. He laughed. "Well, it's still the best."

It would turn out to be one of the last times Staley ever performed. His fiancée Demri Parrott died of an overdose that October, and by most accounts from those close to him, that was the moment he truly withdrew from the world. He died alone in his Seattle apartment in April 2002, at 34, found two weeks after his death. Eddie Vedder wrote a song the night he heard the news. Chris Cornell dyed his hair blonde in tribute and sang "Wild Horses" at Staley's funeral alongside Ann and Nancy Wilson.

This city has never let go of him. There's a memorial bench for Layne in Viretta Park, not far from the house where Kurt Cobain died, sitting quietly alongside Cobain's own. Every August, near Layne's birthday, the Showbox hosts an annual tribute weekend that's now in its third decade running, with proceeds going to Therapeutic Health Services' addiction recovery programs — a fan-built, ongoing act of care for a guy this city still refuses to let become just a rock and roll cautionary tale. Cantrell still pays tribute to him, every single time Alice in Chains plays "Nutshell" live, to this day. Unplugged is the reason why: 73 minutes that capture exactly what this city lost, and why it still matters here more than almost anywhere else. Now back on 2LP.

Tinashe — Popstar [Stardust Vinyl]
Tinashe has spent the better part of two years proving she doesn't need anyone's blueprint but her own. "Nasty" went viral out of nowhere in 2024 and became her first-ever solo Hot 100 entry off pure TikTok momentum. Her Disco Lines remix of "No Broke Boys" then went further: topped Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, crossed one billion streams worldwide, and picked up Dance Song of the Year at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards. Two back-to-back victories, on completely her own independent terms, through her own label alongside Nice Life and Atlantic.

Popstar is what happens next, and by her own description, it's the most honest, least categorized version of Tinashe yet — sixteen tracks that fuse pop, electronic, hip-hop, and R&B without picking a lane, because picking a lane has never really been the point. After more than 5.5 billion streams and two world tours built almost entirely on refusing to be boxed in, this is her fully leaning into that instinct rather than fighting it. And yes — while supplies last, every copy comes with a free keychain, so don't sit on this one too long.

Ms. Rachel — I'm So Happy [Marble Purple Vinyl]
If you have a toddler, you already know exactly who Ms. Rachel is. If you don't, here's the scale of it: Rachel Accurso started her YouTube channel in 2019 after struggling to find good language-development resources for her own son, who had a speech delay. Six years later, that channel has over 20 million subscribers and more than 16 billion views, a Netflix deal, a toy line, picture books, two Emmy nominations, and a spot at No. 5 on Rolling Stone's 2026 list of the most influential creators in the country — ahead of names most adults would recognize far faster than hers.

What makes her genuinely different is the actual expertise underneath the songs: two master's degrees, one in music education and one in early childhood education, put to work on every slow, deliberate, developmentally-grounded video, at a moment when most children's media is built for speed and noise instead. I'm So Happy is her first-ever album, and it brings that same unhurried, patient philosophy to wax for the first time — 23 singalong favorites built for the smallest music fans in your house, on marble purple vinyl.

Leon Bridges — Happiness Anytime [Campari Red Vinyl]
The soul crooner's fifth album, produced by Jungle's J. Lloyd and Lydia Kitto — warm, coastal, and unusually cohesive. Drawing from Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, Brazilian rhythms, soul, and disco, Happiness Anytime is music you can put on no matter how you're feeling. An invitation to somewhere sun-soaked.

Linkin Park — Unshatter Film Soundtrack (Live in São Paulo) [Translucent Orange 2LP]
After a seven-year hiatus and the devastating loss of Chester Bennington, Linkin Park found their way forward — two new members sparking a creative rebirth. This live soundtrack to the Unshatter film captures their explosive São Paulo show, spanning their entire career from "In the End" and "Numb" to "The Emptiness Machine." The sound of starting over.

Also New This Week

One of this city's most haunting performances comes home, a pop star refuses every box she's handed, and the country's most trusted children's educator makes her album debut. Get your orders in before Friday's gone.

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— Drowned World Records

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