The Lead Sheet ~ 4/28/2026

The Lead Sheet is your guide to this week’s new music - taking a look at newly released albums, who made them, and how listeners are responding  

American folk-pop artist Noah Kahan released his fourth LP, The Great Divide, on Friday. The singer-songwriter first shot to super stardom via TikTok in 2022, when his big hit “Stick Season” became part of a viral trend where users would feature their rural hometowns in time to the song’s chorus, matching the editing in the music video. “Stick Season” would go on to reach 1.8 billion streams on Spotify, and Kahan now sells out stadiums. The Great Divide debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top 200 and is seen as an excellent follow-up, showcasing the artist’s maturation and thoughts about his recent fame. While more refined and musically ambitious, Great Divide won’t likely have the same virality as 2022’s Stick Season. Great Divide explores a more expansive sonic profile, shifting from high energy stomp-clap to Americana folk-rock, evoking Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. Noah Kahan will tour the new album this summer and fall in the United States, UK, Europe and Australia. 

Legendary post grunge group Foo Fighters released their long anticipated twelfth album, Your Favorite Toy to decent reception. Critics rate the album highly, but average listeners are a little bored, finding the album somewhat forgettable in their overall discography. Both groups are in agreement that new drummer, Ilan Rubin, delivers excellent work and high energy, perfectly complimenting the band’s trademark alt-rock sound. The album’s somewhat tepid response may also be in part due to frontman Dave Grohl’s recent public marital infidelity scandal, which he addresses on songs like “Unconditional” and “Caught in the Echo”. The album feels urgent and personal, but doesn’t seem to hold any memorable hits. The album’s ten tracks span familiar genres like garage punk, blues, and even some country-rock flavor. Foo Fighters are currently on their massive “Take Cover Tour”, which will continue into 2027 and include stops in North America, the UK and Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand. 

Ringo Starr needs no introduction, the former Beatle has gone down as one of the most famous and influential musicians in history. Now eighty-five, Starr continues to produce new music, releasing his 22nd album Long Long Road this week. The autobiographical album reflects on Starr’s life through a distinctive Americana-country sound, produced in collaboration with one of the genre’s prolific guardians, T Bone Burnett. Starr’s vocal range has diminished somewhat over a lengthy career, but is supported by featured talents like Sheryl Crow, Molly Tuttle, and Billy Strings. Standout tracks include the idyllic and refreshing “It’s Been Too Long”, and “Choose Love”, a re-recording of his 2005 album’s title number which features new vocals from St Vincent. Critique is generally favorable, and listeners appreciate how Starr’s voice has changed over time, suiting the genre in a baritone timbre. Starr will do a brief album tour for twelve performances in North America in late May, running through June 14th. 

Popstar Meghan Trainor has been experiencing a resurgence in recent years - the singer’s single “All About That Bass” debuted at number one in 2014, and in 2016 she won the Grammy Award for “Best New Artist”. In the time since, Trainor hasn’t held quite as much cultural relevance, or hadn’t until 2022, when a TikTok dance craze around her single “Made You Look” re-launched her digital presence. Her new album Toy With Me, doesn’t seem to strike that same chord with its audience. Reviews are mixed, a common criticism is that the upbeat pop album feels too commercial, and listeners easily imagine advertisers and shopping centers using the songs. Trainor also seems to be aiming for TikTok virality, but the simplicity that allowed her dance craze to spread quickly may have backfired on the second go round as listeners feel the music and lyrics remain surface level, without much to be said for vulnerability and authenticity. Toy With Me’s sixteen songs are mostly similar bubblegum pop, but there’s still some good artistry on tracks like “Little One”, a genuine lullaby to her children, and “Angel”, which listeners say demonstrate a bit more complexity and maturity for the singer. Trainor recently cancelled her entire “Get In Girl” tour for 2026 to focus on family, but has communicated to her fans that she’ll “be back soon.”

Acclaimed R&B singer Kehlani released her self-titled album, Kehlani, on April 24th, celebrating her thirty-first birthday. Her fifth LP, Kehlani is a personal statement piece about growth and vulnerability that is sonically inspired by late 90’s and early 2000’s R&B. It also features some big names, including Usher, Lil Wayne, Big Sean, and Cardi B to name a few. Kehlani’s lead single “Folded”, earned Kehlani two Grammy awards, one for Best R&B Performance, the other Best R&B Song. Kehlani is scoring excellently, with high marks from listeners and critics, and perhaps more importantly, dubbed a “no-skip” album by fans. Kehlani’s seventeen tracks pay homage to millennium R&B, and works as a musical timecapsule to recapture that sound. Kehlani and her production team experimented with vintage gear, favoring some of the older analogue drum machines and looping tech for a more authentic recreation. Overall, consensus is that Kehlani is the artist’s most sophisticated project yet. Kehlani expects to launch a world tour for the album later in 2026, but in the meantime has a series of performances scheduled this summer in The U.S., U.K., Canada and Portugal. 

Noah Kahan- The Great Divide

Released April 24, 2026

Mercury, Republic Records

Foo Fighters - Your Favorite Toy

Released April 24, 2026

RCA Records, Roswell, Reach Records

Ringo Starr - Long Long Road

Released April 24, 2026

Universal USA, Roccabella, UMe

Meghan Trainor - Toy With Me

Released April 24, 2026

Epic Records, Sony Records

Kehlani- Kehlani

Released April 24, 2026

Atlantic Records