The Groove’s Monthly Picks: September
The Groove’s Monthly Picks: September 2025
Politics and female power at the turn of a season.
September’s music has been dominated by British women, from the mystical indie rock of The Last Dinner Party, to the jazzy return of RAYE, and of course, Olivia Dean’s highly anticipated album, released three days ago. Politics have also been a recurring theme, which makes sense, because some truly horrendous things are happening in the world right now — and our world leaders continue to be complicit, if not direct contributors to them.
But music has always been political, and right now its power and influence is more important than ever. Read on to see who made it into our monthly picks of new tracks and albums for September.
The Last Dinner Party: ‘The Scythe’ cover art. Image credit: Laura Cieplik, Island Records
The LAST DINNER PARTY – THE SCYTHE
Haunting and healing in equal measure, The Last Dinner Party’s timeless new single features a cinematic music video painted as ‘the fantasy of imagining what it would look like if your parents had been able to grow old together’, directed by Fiona Burgess (Wolf Alice, Florence & The Machine). Abigail Morris’ stunning vocal performance shares the stage with a rich set of instruments, which filter in beautifully as the song builds to the crest of its grief.
Goldie Boutilier – Gouldie Boutilier Presents… Goldie Montana
This debut album is a work of true art that sees Canadian Kristin Boutilier put on her ‘Goldie Montana’ hat with confidence and conviction. Conjuring vintage imagery of dusty small towns, Boutilier picks apart and plays with gendered expectations through sharp wit and immersive – sometimes heartbreaking – storytelling: ‘wanted a geisha wife, but I’m a Swiss army knife’. Sonically interesting, lyrically thought-provoking and thematically cohesive, each song delves into separate but neighbouring worlds as a model, an aspiring singer and a former escort. It’s a presentation of corrupted glamour that gets better with every listen.
Goldie Boutilier: ‘Goldie Boutilier Presents… Goldie Montana’ album artwork. Image credit: Goldie Enterprises
Genesis Owusu – Pirate Radio
If dark times are often the catalyst for great music, then Genesis Owusu’s first release since 2023 album ‘STRUGGLER’ is the proof. ‘Pirate Radio’ from the genre-bending Australian is a scathing attack on those at the top, with industrial beats to backdrop a steady stream of deftly crafted defamations. Like its subject matter, the track is anxiety-inducing, heavy-handed, and relentless. It’s clear that Owusu’s new era aims for the heart, and it seems we’re in for more bite of equal calibre from his next album.
Paris Paloma: ‘Good Boy’ cover artwork. Image credit: Nettwork Music Group
Paris Paloma – Good boy
‘Good Boy’ is going to anger exactly who its targeting. Paris Paloma is the artist behind feminist anthem ‘Labour’, and now she’s served up the 2025 sequel: slightly more nuanced, just as damning. With an electric music video starring Tom Blythe, ‘Good Boy’ is introduced by Emma Thompson: ‘I knew one day I’d have to watch powerful men burn the world down. I just didn’t expect them to be such losers’. Paloma paints the ‘Good Boy’ as perpetrator and victim of the patriarchy, mocking its blindly following subjects, but recommending they open their eyes.
PEACE - good jeans
No, this isn’t a weighing in on the Sydney Sweeney American eagle advert. ‘Good Jeans’ is a moment of lighthearted respite in a fragile political climate, and it really is about denim (well, the chorus is): ‘I’ve got good jeans on, I’m going out tonight’. Described by the indie rockers as their favourite song from upcoming album ‘Utopia’, this happy, xylophone melody can drag you from even the worst mood or deepest pit of anxiety, and make you feel slightly better.
RAYE: ‘Where Is My Husband?’ cover artwork. Image credit: Twnty Three
RAYE – Where is my husband?
After teasing the song at Glastonbury and Lowlands festival sets, RAYE makes a welcome return, delayed after the theft of her songwriting books last year. Now she’s looking for her future husband, entering a new chapter with an elevated glamour, percussion and pizazz that catapults her into a different league. ‘Where Is My Husband’ is truly euphoric, mixing melodic rap with big band instrumentation, and even a cameo from Grandma. Once you work out how to sing it, you won’t be stopping anytime soon.
FLORENCE & THE MACHINE — ONE OF THE GREATS
This is the kind of song an artist earlier into their career might not get away with. Is it serious? Is it sarcastic? Or is Welch just being silly? It might be all three. Over six minutes, Florence Welch dances with her mortality and her perceived career success, not without some serious swipes at sexism tucked between her lyrics: ‘It's funny how men don't find power very sexy, so this one's for the ladies’ / ‘It must be nice to be a man and make boring music just because you can’.
Olivia Dean ‘The Art Of Loving’ album cover. Photo credit: Polydor Records
olivia dean – the art of loving
Olivia Dean’s sophomore album is a breath of fresh air; gentle, tender, and timeless. Dean’s ability to draw jazzy elements from bygone eras of glamour and twist them into songs with modern sentiments has set her on the path to greatness. The LP’s best track may have been set free already in ‘Man I Need’, but this album is set to soundtrack many homes and headphones this Autumn. Read a fuller appraisal in our review of ‘The Art Of Loving’.
Underrated Gem:
Off Jade Bird’s latest album ‘Who Wants To Talk About Love’, which follows the long and convoluted road of a breakup, ‘Einstein’ is the unsuspecting hardest hitter, tucked away behind the more pop-leaning anthemic singles. Quietly devastating, it narrates the realisation that your partner has simply lost interest, with painfully simple, poetic songwriting: ‘might be a fool for waiting to see’. ‘Einstein’ will make you stop what you’re doing to dedicate a moment of sympathy to Bird and all those who’ve been there with her.
Listen when:
You’re going through it </3