It’s the dog days of summer and I’m a rawhide bone chew toy. Everyone talks about global warming, but I for one think we need to focus on New England warming. C’mon, scientists! Get to work!

Let’s round ’em up:

Jack White — No Name

The music of the White Stripes was pretty much universally acclaimed. Since that venture dissolved, Jack’s solo albums have been a little more divisive as he’s expanded his sound to incorporate all kinds of different beats and a wider tonal color palette. But if you’ve yearned for the sound of the good old days, then you’re in luck with Jack’s new, surprise album which he dropped with no warning, no name, and no song titles (and originally gave away for free to customers who made any purchase at his record store). This is a stripped down return to the classic White Stripes’ sound — no keyboards, no dance beats, no making the guitar sound like it’s not a guitar. Just pure rock. Sometimes speedy punk, sometimes bluesy Zeppelin. Oh, and it’s good, too.

Brijean — Macro

Most of my comparison points are from the 20th century, which is useless for anyone who wasn’t there, but for anyone who was, Brijean sounds a bit like The Cardigans without the Swedish poppiness crossed with Stereolab without the French kitsch. Actually, I’m not even sure that’s useful for people who were there.

Orville Peck — Stampede

I don’t know how you feel about country music. People are usually divided. They’re even divided about what kind of country music they like — old or new. New doesn’t win a lot, but the contemporary alternative country scene has actually been great over the last decade. Even more so, the gay country scene has blossomed, and one reason for that is Orville Peck, the always masked man who’s a little like Roy Orbison if Roy was a gay cowboy. All of his albums have a sense of drama you don’t hear much anymore, and this time around he’s recorded a collection of duets and collaborations — half covers and half written by himself; half country songs and half something else — with a mix of luminaries (Willie, Elton, Beck, Kylie) and alt-country stars (Margo Price, Molly Tuttle) and a bunch more. I love Orville — he’s fun, he’s never boring, he has great songs, and did I mention he always wears a mask? Fantastic.