Albums of the Year so far 2026

i thought maybe we could start this thread for 2026 even though it's a lot earlier than when Michael B started last year's thread. i loved having it around to look into things outside of my awareness that other people found excellent. and i wanted an excuse to post about this synth / sax ambient-ish album that came out last week to a wider group of people, which is deeply, wildly beautiful and only after a few listens i feel will be in my top 10 this year.

caterina barbieri, bendik giske - at source
https://caterinabarbieri.bandcamp.com/album/at-source

ty, bookmarked

I loooove this new Esplendor Geometrico album

https://www.rotordiscos.com/catalogo/el-pulso-del-acero-shinkansen/5177/

and this thing

https://passepartoutduo.bandcamp.com/album/pieces-from-places

It's still very early, but this is the best thing I've heard overall so far this year:

https://music-from-memory.bandcamp.com/album/aqu-ticos

So far this year, I'm straight repping my city of Toronto with a new EP by my fave new band, Potions, and their debut EP, potions95:
https://potionspotionspotions.bandcamp.com/album/potions95

RIYL Grizzly Bear, Sam Amidon, two-singer song-for-song tradeoffs, young jazz guys playing freak-folk with a touch o' Gastr

Sending the batsignal out to my friend fgti since if he hasn't heard this group yet he needs to--his old bandmate Matt "Prince Nifty" Smith mixed it

Tomeka Reid, Pat Thomas & XT, Wendy Eisenberg, Ivo Perelman’s albums with Nate Wooley & Wadada Leo Smith, Sunn O))), More Eaze, Bill Orcutt…

I havent listened to many new albums this year but Ive liked these

Dry Cleaning
Mod Lang
Gumshoes

maara - “ultra villain”

Natural Magic - II
https://naturalmagic.bandcamp.com/album/ii

^ the last record that Stirmonster was involved in before we lost him, kind of like Neu doing cosmic rustic psych with a bit of a dubby groove. very organic music to let your mind wander to. yes there are probably a lot of other records out there that would also fit that description (Peaking Lights maybe?), but this is really well done

Top tier:

Jill Scott
Floorplan - Fabric mix

Good:
Dry Cleaning
Momoko Gill
Courtney Marie Andrews
Charli XCX
Iron & Wine
Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore

didn’t realize the momoko gill was out yet!

an album i will plug:
gena (liv.e & karriem riggins) - the pleasure is yours

maara - “ultra villain”

― ||||||||, Wednesday, March 4, 2026 7:10 AM (fifty-eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yes

also:

ratboys: singin' to an empty chair
picture: eeeeeee

placid angles: canada

i love that courtney marie andrews album too

florian hecker - natural selection
xaviersobased - xavier
joyce manor - i used to go to this bar
i promised the world - s/t ep
roc marciano- 656

The Jill Scott's wonderful.

also love shane parish’s new album of finger style autechre covers (appropriately titled autechre guitar)

also love shane parish’s new album of finger style autechre covers (appropriately titled autechre guitar)

Tomeka Reid

^^^^ I haven't heard the full album yet but the Bandcamp preview tracks are incredible.

Currently extremely into:

The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - Deface the Currency
The Ruins of Beverast - Tempelschlaf

The new Bill Frisell record 'In My Dreams' with his trio + a string trio (live, although it does not sound like a live record) is def on there.

And Ron Carter's album with a giant modern gospel group, 'Sweet, Sweet Spirit'.

stuff I've enjoyed so far:

Ben Vince - Street Druid
Shackleton - Euphoria Bound
Daniel Bachman - Revolutions
PVA - No More Like This
Velv.93 - Maidstone
DJ Sundae - Mirrors
Running Out of Time - Cash Back

Natural Magic - II
https://naturalmagic.bandcamp.com/album/ii

^ the last record that Stirmonster was involved in before we lost him, kind of like Neu doing cosmic rustic psych with a bit of a dubby groove. very organic music to let your mind wander to. yes there are probably a lot of other records out there that would also fit that description (Peaking Lights maybe?), but this is really well done

― Reggaeton Sax (NickB)

Oh this is how I just found out stirmonster passed away. :( He was a legend. So sad to hear this.

also enjoyed John T. Gast - Infant but that's technically 2025 i guess

co-signing the Natural Magic and Fabiano do Nascimento/Eddie Ruscha albums as well

oh shit moka, i'm sorry. it is heartbreaking :(

enjoying the maara

xps also loving the ben vince and velv.93 records

Tomeika Reid is my fav of the year so far

dance! skip! hop! | Tomeka Reid | Out Of Your Head Records https://share.google/IJqkIzPg7A6RaydeZ

this is a terrific new post-punk album from the folks behind Aussie punk bands Total Control and R.M.F.C.:

https://staticshockrecords.bandcamp.com/album/station-model-violence

oh hell yeah, thanks!

Really enjoying the Station Model Violence album so far (as someone pretty divorced from the Aussie 'egg punk' scene/who is unfamiliar with the bands, beyond Mikey Young mastering all the interrelated projects, so it seems)--am esp enjoying how both it as well as R.M.F.C.'s catalogue use 12-string guitar as a textural poppy post-punky secret weapon

totally, the 12-string rules (usually played by Mikey afaict)

Looks like Buz the R.M.F.C. guy is on 12-string, at least if this first SMV gig from 2024 that I just watched is any indication fwiw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6hJvnbJl5M

ah ok! Buz was drumming when I saw them (and his sister (I think) played sax, it ruled)

(them = RMFC)

Perhaps I'll use this thread to spotlight Pieni exit which is the new album by Finnish artist Malla. I chucked a vote at lead single "Toista tilaisuutta ei ehkä tuu" in last year's trax poll, which is broadly representative of the album as a whole: clubby, slightly wintry, lovelorn pop. There's a track with a refrain that sounds so much like peak Luomo ("Resepti") and I think my favourite track of all might be "<3 sanaa", an echo-y high BPM raveup.

other favourites thus far would include:

Girlfriend - Honey Water (accomplished R&B)
Hemlocke Springs - the apple tree under the sea (refer to the thread I started)
Charli XCX - Wuthering Heights (predisposed to love this as a True Romance truther)
Maria Arnal - AMA (Catalan post-Rosalía artpop album)

Melissa Aldana - Filin
Tomeka Reid Quartet - Dance! Skip! Hop!
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - Deface the Currency
Rob Zombie - The Great Satan
Teratoma - Longing Voracity
Immolation - Descent

And I gotta throw in a plug for something that's coming out on my own label:

Ava Mendoza - Alive Alone, Alive Together (a live album, half solo material and half duos with Hamid Drake; coming out 5/22)

Oh, one more:

Melvins with Napalm Death, Savage Imperial Death March

Glad to hear that Melvins/Napalm Death record is good!

Station Model Violence absolutely rules

Early favorites for me:

Barry Walker Jr - Paleo Sol
Wet Tuna - VAST
Blackwater Holylight - Not Here Not Gone
Hallas - Panorama
Eximperitus - Meritoriousness of Equanimity
Ratboys - Singin' to an Empty Chair
Converge - Love is Not Enough

(haven't played the new Messthetics or Cryptic Shift yet, but expect good things)

caterina barbieri, bendik giske - at source
https://caterinabarbieri.bandcamp.com/album/at-source

― map, Tuesday, March 3, 2026 8:18 PM (one week ago)

I'm moving slowly this year, but this is fantastic

Co-sign on the new Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis. Better, weirder and fiercer than before.

new sideshow album tigray funk absolutely lives up to the hype. been a fan of his for a while, and this is his best work by far.

enjoying barbieri/giske and tomeka reid bunches, thankin u ilx

fans of long hypnotic cosmic drone-y electronica: i recommend giving Nathan Dawidowicz - Fluff a spin

this is a terrific new post-punk album from the folks behind Aussie punk bands Total Control and R.M.F.C.:

https://staticshockrecords.bandcamp.com/album/station-model-violence

― alpine static, Thursday, 5 March 2026 17:44 (six days ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is fantastic

^ The Bandcamp description is great. Listening to "Heat" now.

"Heat" is an insanely good song. I'll probably linger on it for a while before checking out the whole album.

Natural Magic and Station Model Violence pair together well, I'm down with the 2026 motorik revival

'heat' off that station model violence record is magnificent

it really is

Much like the Possible Humans record, I wish the SMV record was available for domestic USA purchase.

"heat" is phenomenal, now that's a post-punk track

this album is like early new order + bowie's berlin trilogy, just without the synths. it rules!

Really enjoying the new Shackleton album Euphoria Bound

https://samshackleton.bandcamp.com/album/euphoria-bound

the new neurosis album with aaron turner is really lyrical, heavy and unique

https://neurosis.bandcamp.com/album/an-undying-love-for-a-burning-world

The Moth by Chicago trio, Cancer House, is terrific and actually lives up to expectations evoked by the Bark Psychosis and Hood comparisons. Another gem from the motion ward label although not really like anything else mw has so far released

http://motionward.bandcamp.com/album/the-moth

*Chicago quartet, not trio

Jason Moran - Plays Duke Ellington (Bandcamp only, not streaming anywhere)
Immolation - Descent

so far, there are the records from 2026 that i've enjoyed the most.
with high hopes for the new charlie puth's record, but still didn't have the chance to listen to it.

bill callahan - 'my days of 58'
bill orcutt - 'music in continuous motion'
cergio prudencio - 'antología 2 : obras para la orquesta experimental de instrumentos nativos'
FdeVACA - 'circus suburbia'
força maior - 'morte lilás'
frankie & kelman duran - 'mcarthur'
jack sheen - 'press'
kmru - 'kin'
laurel halo - 'midnight zone (ost)'
maaara - 'ultra villain'
phibes praetorius & ugurgkuliktavikt - 'arnold schöenberg: streichquartett nr. 4, op. 37 - utterly dismantled'
picture - 'eeeeeeee'
ratboys - 'singin' to an empty chair'
rosie carney - 'doomsday... don't leave me here'
serpente - 'visita do fogo'
sissi rada - 'nana butu'
the soft pink truth - 'can such delightful times go on forever?'
xavier - 'xaviersobased'

some stuff I enjoyed listening to in March:

Group Rhoda - Phase 5
Klein Volk - In Weelde Verbrast
Chantal Michelle - All Things Might Spill
Avalon Emerson & the Charm - Written into Changes
Kali Malone & Leila Bordreuil - Music for Intersecting Planes
Nomad War Machine & Susan Alcorn - Contra Madre
Maria BC - Marathon
Ms Ray - Melt EP
Fallen Flowers - s/t
Craven Faults - Sidings

love the new kali malone

I'm really digging both new Wet Tuna albums

felt like making a list

Excellent
Caterina Barbieri & Bendik Giske — At Source
Tomeka Reid — dance! skip! hop!
Shabaka — Of the Earth
Avalon Emerson & the Charm — Written into Changes
Various Artists — Fight the Fire: Digital Reggae, Conscious Roots and Dub in Nigeria 1986-91
My New Band Believe — s/t
MEMORIALS — All Clouds Bring Not Rain
Hannah Peel & Beibei Wang — The Endless Dance

Just bubbling under
Ari Lennox — Vacancy
Joshua Idehen — I know you're hurting, everyone is hurting, everyone is trying, you have got to try
Wendy Eisenberg — s/t

Enjoyed but need to listen again/more
Gregory Uhlmann — Extra Stars
Bill Orcutt — Music in Continuous Motion
Sofia Kourtesis — DJ Kicks
Lykke Li — The Afterparty
Boards of Canada — Inferno
Jeff Parker & ETA IVtet— Happy Today

Haven't gotten to yet
SML live
Kali Malone
Seefeel
Yazz Ahmed

Gotta do it:

Boards of Canada - Inferno

It's already top 3 on the year for me, but I have a lot of catching up to do.

More electronic but lots of instruments too:
Crespi Drum Syndicate - Colada Talk (might be the mvp)
Shackleton - Euphoria Bound
Upsammy & Valentina Magaletti - Seismo
Air Max '97 - Fool's Errand EP
Martyn - Music for Existing

Jazz:
Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - Happy Today
Kenny Reichert - Live in Chicago (Shifting Paradigm)
Immanuel Wilkins - Live at the Village Vanguard vol. 1
Walter Smith III - Twio vol. 2
John Scofield & Dave Holland - Memories of Home

Mostly instruments but also electronics, ambient interzone:
Gregory Uhlmann - Extra Stars
Shane Parish - Autechre Guitar
Memotone - Warm Shadows
Rosenau & Sanborn - Two
fields we found - thoughts persist
Força Maior - Morte Lilás
Isabel Pine - Fabels

Also really looking forward to that new Vince Staples tomorrow.

feeling both rob and jordan's lists

Jordan, thanks for the heads up with Upsammy - had no idea this was out, despite seeing her twice in two nights at Parameter.

Glad I'm not the only one digging the Shackleton - that entire album is a just a massive vibe. I bet Sean Booth has been digging it too. I'll check out the Crespi Drum Syndicate and Martyn too, thanks!

mine's short so far, there are still a few i need to check out. right now i'm waiting with baited breath for the king gizzard & lizard wizard album tbh.

caterina barbieri and benedik giske - at source
converge - love is not enough
neurosis - an undying love for a burning world

bated breath!

Rhododendron's Ascent Effort is mine right now.

I really like the Memotone too. Thanks for the reminder to go back to the Barbieri/Giske, map

some other random albums I’ve enjoyed this year:

Anthony Calonico - Spacious Heart
Aldous Harding - Train on the Island
Yu Su - Foundry
Sergeant - Symbols
No You - s/t
Visit Me - Daystar
Devon Rexi meets John T. Gast - Breathstep
Foote/Dickow - High Cube
Holy Fuck - Event Beat
Lucy Liyou - MR COBRA
OHYUNG - IOWA
Félicia Atkinson & Christina Vantzou - Reflections vol. 3: Water Poems

Joyce Manor, Cola, um... need to listen to more new stuff.

Station Model Violence - S/T
Potions - Potions95
Bill Orcutt - Music In Continuous Motion
Luke Temple - Hungry Animal
Neurosis - An Undying Love For A Burning World
Les Rallizes Dénudés - Disque 4: '76 Studio Et Live (reissue/archival)
feeble little horse - bitknot

https://d32yfsbcvr2c70.cloudfront.net/content/uploads/2026/05/Angine-de-poitrine-.png

Calcutá - Soon After Dawn
Cancer House - The Moth
Magic Tuber Stringband - Heavy Water
Daniel O’Sullivan & Richard Youngs - Persian Carpets
Pefkin - Unfurling
Schatterau - Wir gingen durch leere Stunden
Water Is The Sun - Ritual Fever
Zoviet France - The Gate Is Open

Matryoshka – Blasé Saint

https://sferic.bandcamp.com/album/blas-saint

Ahmed - Play Monk
Angine de Poitrine - Vol. II
Blankenberge - Decisions
Brown Horse - Total Dive
Zach Bryan - With Heaven on Top (Acoustic Version)
Feeble Little Horse - Bitknot
Flatland Cavalry - Work of Heart
The Julies - Cherisher
Morgan Nagler - I’ve Got Nothing to Lose, and I’m Losing It
Prism Shores - Softest Attack
Searows - Death in the Business of Whaling
Waterproof Goldstar - Canyon Flourish Town
WEED420 - Esto no es un show
Whitelands - Sunlight Echoes

I'll need to think about mine a little, but glad to see some love for that excellent Brown Horse album.

thanks for pointing that out, it's kinda hooking me right off.

Queen Esther - Blackbirding
Emily Scott Robinson - Appalachia
Nathan Evans Fox - Heirloom
Magic Tuber Stringband - Heavy Water
India Ramey - Villain Era
Boy Golden - Best of Our Possible Lives
Jessye DeSilva - Glitter in the Dark
Cat Clyde - Mud Blood Bone

love these threads, always so much to follow up on

I don't get the Magic Tuber album at all but I think it's a me problem

some faves so far

Object Hours – Solved By Walking

Basic – s/t

Wet Tuna – Vast

Setting – s/t

Thurston Moore & Bonner Kramer – They Came Like Swallows

Jeff Parker ETA IVtet – Happy Today

Bill Orcutt – Music in Continuous Motion

Prymek & Sage – Shelter

Winged Wheel – Desert So Green

Jason P. Woodbury & the Night Bird Singing Quartet – s/t

Marielle V Jakobson – The Patterns Lost to Air

Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, Macie Stewart – Body Sound

Sean Thompson’s Weird Ears – Inner Principles

Spencer Cullum – Coin Collection 3

David Moore – Graze the Bell

too many new things to listen to, slow down everyone

xp - yeah, I'm also having trouble connecting with that Magic Tuber Stringband stuff. seems like something I should like, but I'm not finding a way in.

so far...

Ruins of Beverast - Tempelschlaf
Elder - Through Zero
Cryptic Shift - Overspace & Supertime
Mors Verum - Canvas
Martyn - Music for Existing
Boards of Canada - Inferno
Aleksi Perala - Dream / Vibrations
ELUCID & Sebb Bash - I Guess U Had To Be There

Six Sex - ULTRA
Myaap - Pixie Dust
JayJayy - Detour
Fallon - Winter Princess
Robounoishi - Album 13
Fif - The Lower Forty-Eight
LinLin - Disco Inferno
Juky San - ĐẪM TÌNH
Djy Biza - Art of War
DJ M13 DA ZOL: No Ritmo Do Caos
La Joaqui - Electra
Djy Ora - The SGIDONOLOGIST2
Whodamanny - Onda Biloba

co-sign a lot of these, especially station model violence, setting, myaap, my new band believe, messethetics, gregory uhlmann, cancer house, feeble little horse, jill scott, shane parrish, elucid, yu su

some favorites that haven't been mentioned yet
booker stardrum - close-up on the outside
julian lage - scenes from above
heavensouls - westside trapped
arima ederra - a rush to nowhere
robber robber - two wheels move the soul
ulrika spacek - expo
jump source - fold
media puzzle - new racehorse
naomi scott - f.i.g.
estee nack & cookin soul - al-andalus
lemon twigs - look for your mind!
bill orcutt & mabe fratti - almost waking
veeze - y'all won
thomas dollbaum - birds of paradise
rainao - marcria
iceage - for love of grace & the hereafter
ear - rumspringa

been a good half-year

oh and

isaiah rashad - it's been awful

okay fine, in no particular order beyond when I got them this year:

Dry Cleaning - Secret Love
Barry Walker Jr. - Paleo Sol
Searows - Death in the Business of Whaling
Wet Tuna - VAST
Blackwater Holylight - Not Here Not Gone
Earth Tongue - Dungeon Vision
Ratboys - Singin' to an Empty Chair
Backengrillen - Backengrillen
Worm - Necropalace
Converge - Love is Not Enough
The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis - Deface the Currency
Cryptic Shift - Overspace & Supertime
Sunday Mourners - A-Rhythm Absolute
Bill Orcutt - Music in Continuous Motion
Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds - Mutiny After Midnight
Bill Callahn - My Days of 58
Weedpecker - V
Desert Collider - Generation Ship: Endless Drift Through Infinity
Ovven - Gnawing at the Cord
Sunn O))) - Sunn O)))
Shabaka - Of the Earth
Spencer Cullum's Coin Collection - 3
The Heads - yourprettyplaceisgoingtohell
Charlotte Cornfield - Hurts Like Hell
Sluice - Companion
MEMORIALS - All Clouds Bring Not Rain
My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe
Ella Langley - Dandelion
Flea - Honora
National Photo Committee - Red Hot Photo Committee
Friko - Something Worth Waiting For
Setting - Setting
Truckfighters - Masterflow
Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - Happy Today
Les Rallizes Denudes - Disque 4 - '76 Studio et Live

behind on releases from the past few weeks as I've been insanely busy between the kid's travel baseball season and work

the Wet Tuna "Auds Don't Leak" live set is killer too, esp the version of "Candy Says"

they have another new live thing that I haven't even heard yet!

yeah the Tuna live stuff is phenomenal (and tough to keep up with haha)

2026 thus far:

station model violence - st
maria arnal - AMA
dream sitch - 3
charlotte cornfield - hurts like hell
frederic d oberland and radwan ghazi moumneh - Eternal Life No End ليلة ظلماء ملعونة، كحياة طالبيها
les louanges - alouette!
asher white - jessica pratt
jeff parker ETA IVtet - happy today

maybe Slippers will make it?

Thanks to all for the recommendations. Gotta clear some listening time ASAP

top five so far this year:

hannah peel & beibei wang: the endless dance
avalon emerson & the charm: written into changes
picture: eeeeeeee
olof dreijer: loud bloom
jump source: fold

secret favorite album of the year: all the new luomo singles compiled

all the new luomo singles compiled

cosign

they really are incredible

Good to see the word is finally getting out re Luomo

faves so far have probably been Octo Octa, Dry Cleaning, Roy Montgomery, Mitski, Tanya Tagaq

Mandy Indiana - URGH
Lip Critic - Theft World
Dry Cleaning - Secret Love
The Field - Now You Exist
underscores - U
dalek - Brilliance of a Falling Moon
Octo Octa - Sigils for Survival
Kurt Vile - Philadelphia’s been good to me
Shackleton - Euphoria Bound
hemlocke springs - the apple tree under the sea

In addition to some already mentioned (Ratboys, Avalon Emerson, Robber Robber) I really like Blame the Clown by Twisted Teens. New Orleans garage punk with pedal steel. I saw them play a few months ago, good live show too.

Barbieri / Giske is stunning for an EP

HORSE LORDS

So far, with plenty more highly promising fare imminent, here's everything I've scored at least 9/10:

Janis Lago - Janis
Major Parkinson - Valesa Chapter II: Viva The Apocalypse!
Apollo Bitrate - Three Bewildered People In The Night
Furii - Pyromancy
Station Model Violence - s/t
Logan Posthumous - The Peasants' Revolt
Oiseaux - Cries𝅘𝅥𝅮
Buy-In - `'

Investigate if you like music that's a lot, I guess

obviously Station Model Violence is the only crossover with anyone else's lists but that's fine, I have my lanes

Luomo
Horse Lords
Nicosta Steel
MoM/Lee Perry
Cramps
Radon Abatement
sunn O)))
Wet Tuna
Guests
Station Model Violence
Natural Magic

reissue/archival releases by F/i, Laughing Hyenas

great year so far

(Luomo is cheating as noted above)

lots to listen to, actively downloading some of this stuff as i type. my faves so far:

DJ Plead- Please
Beatrice M.- Sinking
traumprinz- Life
Shackleton- Euphoria Bound
Daniel O’Sullivan & Richard Youngs- Persian Carpets
Scorched Bogon- Back at the Deep Hole
Kareem Ali- The Essence

most of the rest are EPs.

ok I gotta try with Persian Carpets again

I get it might not be for everyone. I would give it a whirl on a bright morning

You might like the Scorched Bogon record too sleeve

loved the DJ Plead on one listen, need to return to it

yea enthusiastic co-sign for dj plead

also kelela’s album belongs in the convo

Alison Cotton's The Gods Laugh is outstanding

Also feeling the Scorched Bogon record during this early morning listen

It doesn’t really “change” much over its length but it does what it’s doing remarkably well and sometimes that sort of plodding fried jamscape is what I need.

Wow, thx for the heads-up re: Scorched Bogon!
Nicely mirrors the Cancer House album on Motion Ward, not only in its jammy slowcoreness, but also being a guitars-and-drums outlier on a predominantly electronic/tape-manipulations-based label.

volition immanent: “too late”
wendy eisenberg: “wendy eisenberg”
lone: “hyperphantasia”
enno velthuys: “music from the other side of the fence” (reissue)
KMRU: “kin”
fabiano do nascimento & e ruscha v: “aquáticos”
exxûl: “sealed into none”
força maior: “morte lilás”
isabel pine: “fables”

Jesse Hackett - Nocturnes (Hive Mind Records) ..... like a long-lost OST from a '70's film .... gorgeous music

in the past 1.5 months my top five has completely shifted. wild year :)

Please share.

Nirosta Steel- My Skyscraper (retrospective)
Neba Solo and Benego Diakité's 'A Djinn and a Hunter Went Walking
Chanel Beads-Your Day Will Come 2026
Downtown Boys-Public Luxury
Swamp Dogg - Swamp Dogg Contemplates the Afterlife

Neba Solo and Benego Diakité is Malian traditional sorta but more than that

Chanel Beads is "cloud rock" kinda Alex G but different

Downtown Boys go beyond hardcore punk on this bilingual new one

Swamp Dogg is soul

Nirosta Steel worked with Arthur Russell

Please share.

― jmm, Friday, July 17, 2026 1:05 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

well maybe i'm a little embarrassed bc my top three are all from the same label lmao

That Solo/Diakite album is great...

Yes, thanks for the tip on that curmudgeon!

test

didn’t work

Jeff Parker is ruling my year thus far.

Here's where I'm at.

Converge – Love is Not Enough
Exxûl – Sealed Into None
Midriyasi’s Kult – Italian Dark Sound
Poison Ruïn – Hymns From the Hills
Rhododendron – Ascent Effort (👑)
Scimitar – Scimitarium II
Spell – Wretched Heart
Station Model Violence – Station Model Violence
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis – Deface the Currency
The Ruins of Beverast – Tempelschlaf
Various Artists – Metal Lourd
Worm – Necropalace
Zorn – Return to Castle Death

the Cloud Machines album by Berndt / Schmidt is pretty kickass, surprised that it's not on any of these lists. please pardon me if I'm mistaken.

Haptic did a nice, vaguely AMM-like thing called Ecliptic. Haptic releases are typically good to excetional, though. on the same label (Granny Records), Suspended Movement by Savvas Metaxas is superb.

the Zero Talk 3×CD by Kevin Drumm & Taku Unami is surprisingly good, deceptively heavy and transportive. it definitely makes up for the (seeming) dud that is Sheer Hellish Miasma II. maybe I haven't listened to SHM II loudly enough (?) ..it just sounds thin and overly dense. like a draft beer that's all head / foam and no body

this Essential Key album on Not Not Fun is totally chilled out lofi 80s bliss... RIYL the first eleventeen eston album

https://essentialkey.bandcamp.com/album/sons-of-freedom

jmm, thanks for the heads up on that Rhododendron album, great stuff!

Right? It doesn't seem to be getting much attention. I liked their previous one too, but this one sounds more focused and refined to me, and jazzier.

Need to go through a bunch of albums listed by critics in a Billboard poll on Latin music that I linked to in Latin thread . I am sure some of those 26 albums will impress me.

I'm really enjoying the following recently:

O'Flynn - Kairos

It's poppy and beautiful, I guess this is my "poptimisism" record of 2026? Yet it's a pure dance album? I really like O'Flynn and this and his last album Shimmer slap. Dude's like a more sugary Overmono with some Burial-on-anti-depressants vibe

Daniel Lanois - Belladonna Nocturne

Gorgeous ambient dub and jazzy album that takes a lot of beautiful turns. Pretty stunning and not sure if this is a comeback or not, but I hadn't heard anything Lanois has done in 30 years so it was a bit of a surprise

dgoHn - Tessares

Wasn't familiar with dgoHn (pronounced "John") but he's apparently been writing and producing some very lovely acoustic forward drum and bass (drumfunk?) for a while now. Seems very influenced by jazz and math rock and scratches some real percussive itches

a free jazz demo (a trio, recorded during 2007) used to send to concert organisers in Berlin (?) published on Bandcamp this past May ... it's ace. the electric guitar playing (plus tone / timbre) reminds me of Skin Graft bands, Deerhoof, Iceburn, Nomeansno (et al) industrial churn crossed with Derek Bailey's fits/flights and scribbling rakeage, among others. the drumming is insanely good, responsive, creative (it sounds like they're fielding and filing everything being thrown at them by the guitar on "Türsturz") ... trombone playing is nicely varied, spare/staccato/punctuative at parts and fittingly dynamic all around. it's killer stuff. apologies that it doesn't qualify as an album of the year.

Aufsturz

Johannes Bauer trombone
Michael Griener drums
Olaf Rupp electric guitar
Johannes Bauer trombone
https://scatterarchive.bandcamp.com/album/aufsturz

I just received the 4 CD box of John Tilbury recordings called At home (Another Timbre) ... it's beautiful. The recording quality is excellent, and the pieces are lovely. The variety of the pieces is fantastic. Dude is the lord of finesse, of piano playing.

Thanks for the Lanois heads-up, octobeard! Black Dub and Flesh & Machine are old favorites.

Agreed, the Lanois is really good. I love all the high-passed cut up piano. I've tried with his solo stuff before because it always sounds great on paper (Brian Blade! Venetian Snares!), but it doesn't stick with me. Sort of like Bill Laswell. Ok, the Venetian Snares one was pretty cool.

dgoHn - Tessares

Will check this out, he's long been one of my drumfunk break science faves. There was a Resident Advisor podcast a few years back that was sick.

Six or Seven Ways Towards Becoming Undone - Camila Nebbia and Chris Corsano
Almost Waking - Mabe Fratti and Bill Orcutt

i've been really taken by the fratti / orcutt album.

parts & labor - set of all sets

Slayyyter
Underscores
Alewya
Kelela
Grace Ives
Malla
Fcukers
Charli (wuthering heights)
Aldous Harding
Kelsey Lu

is roughly my top 10 I think, I could sub Madonna in there somewhere too perhaps. The Nirosta Steel album is great but idk whether to classify that as a 2026 album

octo, check out his Omni Series from 2008 (especially the Purple Vista one) for more Lanois ambience/steel guitar loveliness xps

Top 11

Dry Cleaning - Secret Love
Styrofoam Winos - Any River
Angine de Poitrine - 2
Cocanha - Flame Folclore
Gumshoes - Happy New Year
Mr Fingers - Leev Yr Mynd
Chanel Beads - Your Day Will Come
Seamus Fogarty - Shops
Xylitol - Blumenfantasie
The Lemon Twigs - Look For Your Mind!
Boards of Canada - Inferno

Ships not Shops!

favorite rock albums 2026 so far:

ben auld - loserdom
cel ray - celrayzer
cola - cost of living adjustment
cs cleaners - what's this?
iceage - for love of grace & the hereafter
landowner - assumption
national photo committee - red hot photo committee
bill orcutt - music in continuous motion
slippers - slippers 08
station model violence - s/t
stuck - optimizer
twisted teens - blame the clown/florida water blues

love the second twisted teens album, especially the song "javelina."

Ward Fowler, thanks for bringing Almost Waking to my attention, scratching an itch atm!!

leo - “cicada burnt”

Twisted Teens - really appreciate the tip NA!

leo - oh wow, I'm friends with some of the Manchester crew and have been following for a long time, but somehow I missed this! And on Peak Oil too. Sounds great, like a better version of the Carrier record. Still very spacious but more kinetic.

segundos auxilios - “magnetocolonizacioncerebraldechipserroneospormetodosubtextilconfinesdepublicidadautomotriz”

Yeah I adore the Leo album - extremely me-coded

Twisted Teens - really appreciate the tip NA!

Florida Water Blues is making my day. thanks!

Just catching up and wow @ Station Model Violence. Really feels like a lost classic. I'm ambivalent about new stuff that sounds like it could have been done in the 80s from a treading water perspective, but it's done soooooo well.

Having more difficulty than usual ranking releases against one another this year but this would be my rough top twenty I think:

Lucie Antunes - Silence
SML - Spontaenous Music Live
Avalon Emerson - Play with the Changes
Shackleton - Euphoria Bound
Maniac Maison - Maniac Maison
Olivia Rodrigo - You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love
My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe
Beth Orton - The Ground Above
L’Rain - Fata Morgana
Shabason & Krgovich - Four Days in June
Kelela - new avatar
Ratboys - Singin’ to an Empty Chair
Max Cooper - Feeling is Structure
Jinje - Traces and Tremors
Ulrika Spacek - EXPO
Leo - Cicada Burnt
Kelsey Lu - So Help Me God
Akusmi - Terra Incognita
Charli XCX - Wuthering Heights
JayJayy - Detour

the ulrika spacek album is really great

gotta check out that jinje ep

falling hard for the beth orton album and l'rain. and now twisted teens are gonna get me.

Jinjé ep is sounding great. no surprise I was really into early Four Tet and Gold Panda (not that this sounds retro!)

damn missed the DJ Plead rec and album until now. The track Shush was my favorite thing on Logic 1000's DJ Kicks that released this year.

I still have to check some of Tim F's suggestions, but these are some of my favourites records so far, i guess. (no order)

- Anthony Calonico - Spacious Heart
- Ben Vida - Oblivion Seekers
- Beth Orton - The Ground Above
- Bill Callahan - My Days of 58
- Bill Orcutt - Music in Continuous Motion
- Bill Orcutt & Mabe Fratti - Almost Waking
- Charli XCX - Wuthering Heights / Music, Fashion, Film
- Charlie Puth - Whatevers Clever
- FdeVACA - Circus Suburbia
- Frankie & Kelman Duran - McArthur
- Hilary Duff - Luck Or Something
- I'A'V - Volatile Poem
- Jürg Frey - Clarinet Quintet
- Kehlani - Kehlani
- l'rain - fata morgana
- Lucie_Antunes-Silence
- Maniac Maison - Maniac Maison
- Nirosta Steel - My Skyscraper
- Odeal - For A Good Time…
- Olivia Rodrigo - you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love
- Ondness - I Can Only Put So Much Into a Song
- Phoebe Bridgers - Lost Weekend
- Ratboys - Singin' to an Empty Chair
- Rosie Carney - Doomsday...Don't Leave Me Here
- Sissi Rada - Serious Songs / Nana Butu
- The Soft Pink Truth - Can Such Delightful Times Go on Forever
- The-Dream-Love_Hate_II
- Wild Up - Julius Eastman Vol. 5 Gay Guerrilla (2026)
- Xaviersobased - Xavier

- Lucie_Antunes-Silence
- Maniac Maison - Maniac Maison

Yessssssss nourry, besties 4 life

SML - Spontaenous Music Live

Oh, somehow missed that they had released a recording. Cool.

Bassvictim - ?

Great little record. Haven't listened to anything else half as much this year.

Bit of a pivot from the previous (pretty fun) albums, as there's more of an indie folk/Wicker Man vibe. Still a bit of noise and some beats here and there, but def also the closest they've come to Shirley Collins, which, why not*?

*i guess the "why not" is "well, you won't be as good", but this is still great fun

I reckon the SML album (the title of which I obv misspelled) is their best to date by some margin - just totally captivating

yes love that sml record

it leaves the previous ones in the dust

Yessssssss nourry, besties 4 life

oh <3

Tim F, thank you for making me discover Shabason & Krgovich's Four Days in June.
I'm amazed by its beauty.

I was at one of the run of SML concerts from which the music on the new one derives. I don’t think any of the music they played the night I went made it onto the album, which is wild because both sets they played that night (especially the later set) totally blew my mind. Which I suppose just goes to show what an absolute force of nature they are as a live ensemble

also this Maniac Maison album is awesome, cheers Nourry/Tim

I've been hearing great things about their live shows (SML), I don't think they repeat pieces. Would love to catch one.

as i'm sure i've said elsewhere on this website, the SML show i saw was absolutely captivating. as good as anything i've seen in the past decade.

not sure i agree this year's LP is better than the first two, though.

The new Cho Co Pa Co Cho Co Quin Quin album ('Synthetic') is insanely good, only heard it for the first time today and already it's in the running for my AOTY.

― Tim F, Wednesday, 26 August 2026 00:30 (seven hours ago)

Me on the Haruomi Hosono thread. It’s like a collision of Paraiso, Ege Bamyasi, Africa/Brasil, On The Corner and Emperor Tomato Ketchup

Thanks for the Cho Co Pa... recommendation, Tim F. It's a real pleasure so far. I'm getting strong Remain In Light vibes.

Cosign, so good...

Cho Co Pa etc def one of the AOTY, so fun and inventive

some recent albums i've enjoyed:

Tristan Allen - Osni the Flare
Serenity Complex & Aika Mal - The Garden
GB - Herzsprung
Shannon Lay - Past the Veil
Sarah Davachi - The Will of Tongues
S.B.A. - Heresy Museum
Regina Collage - Horizont
Eden Aurelius - Entre Nous
Ibrahim Alfa Jnr - Infinite Black Inside
Charlotte Jacobs - Word Passed the Time
Buttechno & TRIS - the spirit
Safety Trance - sacrificio

this maniac maison album is insane

there's one song that samples nelson's "ha-ha" from the simpsons and uses it as a rhythmic element

The new Cho Co Pa Co Cho Co Quin Quin album ('Synthetic') is insanely good, only heard it for the first time today and already it's in the running for my AOTY.

― Tim F, Wednesday, 26 August 2026 00:30

Thanks for the rec -- been playing it often. "Return" hits that Can spot.

Yeah, this is cool. Some OOIOO vibes there, but with this whole Cuban rhythmic underpinning.

this maniac maison album is insane

― mobb derp (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 1 September 2026 2:33 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

there's one song that samples nelson's "ha-ha" from the simpsons and uses it as a rhythmic element

― mobb derp (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 1 September 2026 2:34 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

glad you like it voodoo! I find it has this really dazzling quality to it, especially some of the arpeggio work. Music for imaginary new megalopolises (although it's possible I'm allowing the presence of "New Museum" - which is literally about the excitement of there being a new museum in town - to exercise undue influence on my framing).

yeah i tend to respond well to kitchen sink-type albums and maniac maison def fits that bill

Cho Co Pa Co Cho Co Quin Quin album ('Synthetic')

this is awesome, thank you

The new Lambchop album has really sunk its teeth into me--sure, it's arguably NPR-core, but it's weirdly arranged NPR-core stripped down to just acoustic/banjo/vox with frequent old-timey choral outbursts, good lyrics, subtle textural treatments and at least one hilarious DJ-drop jumpscare around two and a half minutes into the first track ("FREEZE! LAMBCHOP, NEW SHIT!")

Cho Co Pa Co Cho Co Quin Quin album ('Synthetic')
this is awesome, thank you

from me too, totally amazing fun

It’s been discussed on her dedicated thread but since I don’t see it itt I wanna shout out Ravyn Lenae’s top-notch Blue Island. Pop/r&b with hooks for days. Sometimes feels like a midpoint between Janet Jackson and Carly Rae Jepsen? Great songwriting and singing, nicely varied tempos and production.

I listed these earlier:

Jason Moran - Plays Duke Ellington
Melissa Aldana - Filin
Tomeka Reid Quartet - Dance! Skip! Hop!
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - Deface the Currency
Rob Zombie - The Great Satan
Teratoma - Longing Voracity
Immolation - Descent
Melvins with Napalm Death - Savage Imperial Death March

New additions to the list:

Spirit Adrift - Infinite Illumination
Dave Douglas - Transcend
Magda Mayas - Chant
Elder - Through Zero
Odd Okoddo & Ogoya Nengo - Palagoma
Nduduzo Makhathini - The Myth We Choose
James Brandon Lewis Quartet - Omni
Astriferous - Atavistic Unraveling
Cécile McLorin Salvant - With Every Breath I Take
Tyondai Braxton - Splayed Werks
Henry Threadgill Zooid - Cut You Where You Was
Enneads - Enneads

cosign on the enneads record, plenty to check out on that list

eoy shortlist is nearing 100 already so won't post list but the recent sarah davachi record is something very special

faves of the year

Kareem Ali - The Essence
Maara - Ultra Villain
Shed - Rave Echoes
GiGi FM - Shelter Our Time
Answer Code Request - Halo
Acid Arab - Resonance
K Wata - Give U Space
Long Island Sound - s/t
Lusine - Melting Days
Placid Angles - Canada

thanks for surfacing the Lambchop album, Craig — i had kinda been overlooking it, "yeah yeah another lambchop album," but this is really interesting and experimental, the mixture of gospel and folk and legit hip-hop drops, as you mention. above all, just really well executed.

do we have a 2026 experimental thread? I am loving this album of stacked manipulated vocals by Barbara Ellison

https://unsounds.bandcamp.com/album/murd-chann

man this CHO CO PA album is getting repeats here wooo

Is there a bandcamp link for the CHO CO PA album their bandcamp page only has releases up to their last:
https://chocopacochocoquinquin.bandcamp.com/

would like to listen to this thing off of Spotify!

my follow up to that is “tradition” as good as “synthetic coast”?

i think it's a bit better tbh, but maybe thats just me

though there's nothing as good as the title track on synthetic coast

my model is: listen at bandcamp or applemusic, buy at bandcamp if i love it or listen like 5x or more. saddly, less fave stuff may linger a long time at my applemusic collection, but ultimately i always intend to buy the faves if i can on bc friday. imperfect, best efforts, and well— what i can do i guess. one thing is def true since before covid: fuck spotify.

Thx Nick!

Is there a bandcamp link for the CHO CO PA album their bandcamp page only has releases up to their last:
https://chocopacochocoquinquin.bandcamp.com/

― octobeard, Wednesday, 9 September 2026 20:33 (yesterday)

would like to listen to this thing off of Spotify!

― octobeard, Wednesday, 9 September 2026 20:33 (yesterday)

Was about to post the exact same question. Is it really only available on spotify? I can't even find somewhere to buy a physical copy.

it is all on YT if that helps?

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nrored-XutEW2LH3BX-EK-1rRrklatMzA&si=UY5SP3qzY6iIhT1c

Still not ideal but I do at least use youtube whereas I am a strict No Spotify person - thanks, Nick.

one thing tbat record did remind me of apart from Harry H was that whole Tortoise-ish era of post-rock electronica, stuff like Kreidler and To Rococo Rot and The Sea And Cake and even maybe Stereolab in places

Choco pa is on Bandcamp twice.

once from time capsule who also sell physical copies
https://timecapsulespace.bandcamp.com/album/tradition

and once from the band. digital only
https://chocopacochocoquinquin.bandcamp.com/album/tradition

oh sorry I think that's the earlier album. I didn't realize there was a newer one

need the cho co bc link

agree ^^

ok everyone's talking about it so i'm checking it out and yeah it kinda sounds like an instant classic. very ilm-core. it's a blend of all those influences and also really catchy, hooks everywhere. overall a surprisingly chill feel to it, just a joy to listen to.

i would also like to buy this album and i hope a digital copy is available soon. the last time i remember being surprised by something in a similar way was listening to the books for the first time.

I really like it, it sounds amazing and I need to give it some more listens. But currently I don't like it as much as a lot of other stuff this year.

one thing tbat record did remind me of apart from Harry H was that whole Tortoise-ish era of post-rock electronica, stuff like Kreidler and To Rococo Rot and The Sea And Cake and even maybe Stereolab in places

― Angine de Postecogloutrine (NickB)

This is OTM, I've been getting a big Lippok brothers feel from it. Love it, will def make my EoY list!

Current major contender for my top spot is the new Hakushi Hasegawa album: Honest Feeling Album (I think it was ufo who brought it to my attention on another thread?)

Maxine Denuc - Club Imperiale is an instant hit over here. Ambient trance played in a Dusseldorf church on a huge pipe organ controlled via midi. It's really immense and beautiful

Antropoceno - No Ritmo Da Terra is ambient tropicalia except it's also metal. I dunno, has to be heard to be believed really

cosign on the maxine denuc record

thought i posted about the antropoceno record too but cant find any record of it
very unique album

Choco pa is on Bandcamp twice.

once from time capsule who also sell physical copies
https://timecapsulespace.bandcamp.com/album/tradition

and once from the band. digital only
https://chocopacochocoquinquin.bandcamp.com/album/tradition

― bryan

Tradition is their 2023 album. The 2026 one, Synthetic, is the one I am asking about...

now i’ve absorbed tradition some. it’s good easy listening pop-dancey or -vibe-y tracks imo.
synthetic coast is … what i want. fuck, if PINE had a belew solo, it might be a fuckin PERFECT track lol.

billy gomberg - capacity
deep glens - carver

both released during the last few days

deep glens! Autechre turned me on to them.

Likewise! by way of one of the ilxor ae threads, i believe. the process behind carver (mixing tape loops, sorting through numerous recordings of perc patterns and tonal elements) sounds like a bit of a departure from earn grips ... maybe closer to the dg ae material, process-wise. the album (carver) has a unique vibe... almost similar to old Def Jux production, cinematic and worn qualities. the beats / perc. patterns are super nice, dynamic and unusual. it's a compelling listen.

All of this considered, the album of the year is still Boards of Canada's Inferno

Yeah probably

Cloud Machines is a strong contender, but its existence is questionable

Antropoceno - No Ritmo Da Terra is ambient tropicalia except it's also metal. I dunno, has to be heard to be believed really

― snark of mall Ds (dog latin), Monday, September 14, 2026 7:09 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is blowing my mind at the moment

thanks for antropeceno. fucking cool. accessible, but not the same and going to slightly new place for me.

I need to sort out an updated list, but I like Angela Autumn - Believer (2026) more every time I listen to it

will check out Antropoceno since I like 2/3 of ambient tropicalia metal

rob do share i dint know there was a genre school at all.

i’m having some 30 yr flashbacks to when, understanding rather a bit of mpb, i ran into carlinhos brown of that era.

waiting for a paycheck and my birthday weekend to begin to buy a load of stuff, but will say that i co-sign omar little's endorsement of the new Lusine album— it's gorgeous.

and also, strange to see Billy Gomberg on here— one of my good friends dated him for a bit, always loved his music.

Sensible Soccers - Camminando di Notte

a record that kind of feels like a vibey dj set on a beach somewhere, first few tracks are exquisite floaty fantasias that mix japanesey fm synths and spanish guitar plucks and sometimes an Eberhard Weber-ish bass and would sound very much at home on a Music From Memory release, then beats are slowly introduced and you end up with some Studio-ish shuffley dance-ish things, it's pretty lovely if you're in the mood for that sort of thing

This is really lovely, thank you!

Wow yeah I second that Sensible Soccers rec, this is perfect right now

They also have a massive wiki page for a band I have never heard of before lol

I prefer the more rounded, expanded, and definitive evolution ‘sensible world of soccers’

'berlaitada' is especially great

faves so far have probably been Octo Octa, Dry Cleaning, Roy Montgomery, Mitski, Tanya Tagaq

those five plus Nia Archives, Beth Orton, Tricky, Loraine James, Luomo (if that counts) makes a pretty great top ten already

The Barbieri / Giske EP is great. “Impatience Magma” in particular is one of my favorite tracks of this year so far. What a great sound and buildup.

faves so far have probably been Octo Octa, Dry Cleaning, Roy Montgomery, Mitski, Tanya Tagaq
those five plus Nia Archives, Beth Orton, Tricky, Loraine James, Luomo (if that counts) makes a pretty great top ten already

have heard zero of these

Dismissal, boast, complaint, expression of curiosity, or some obscure fifth thing?

need to check out the Octo Octa and Beth Orton records. other than Luomo, most of those others don’t appeal much.

Loraine James’ music is something I should like, but I have never been able to connect with it in an enthusiastic way. it’s good, but i never return to her records.

the tricky is def a contender for me this year. if I was to go just now, I think my list would be (in no particular order)

sofie birch, “bivabippabualukka”
leo, “cicada”
DJ plead, “please”
jump source, “fold”
chanel beads, “your day will come”
maara, “ultra villain”
fabiano do nascimento & e ruscha, “aquaticos”
avalon emerson, “written into changes”
tricky, “different when it’s silent”
lambchop, “punching the clown”

Things likely to make some theoretical list or ballot at this point:

Ratboys Singin' to an Empty Chair
Charli XCX Old White Guys in the Kitchen
Avalon Emerson Written Into Changes
Twisted Teens Blame the Clown
Beth Orton The Ground Above

Things that might:

Olivia Rodrigo sad girl so love wow
The Drin I Lost My Way for Centuries
The Tubs Hard Life

A bunch of other stuff I've listened to and liked but haven't really focused on, including things from this thread. I look forward to the annual end-of-year exploration.

Charli XCX Old White Guys in the Kitchen

lol

def Twisted Teens

a few others I liked a lot

https://mouseonmars.bandcamp.com/album/spatial-no-problem
https://horselords.bandcamp.com/album/demand-to-be-taken-to-heaven-alive
https://passepartoutduo.bandcamp.com/album/pieces-from-places
https://naturalmagic.bandcamp.com/album/ii

also this, which just came out
https://danielbachman.bandcamp.com/album/the-witness-tree

updating my post from four months ago (unranked, new additions before the line breaks):

Excellent
SML — Spontaneous Music Live
Neba Solo & Benego Diakité — A Djinn and a Hunter Went Walking
Various Artists — Kaiso Power: Sound Revolution in Trinidad
Akusmi — Terra Incognita
Sofie Birch — Bivabippabualukka
Moliy — BADDIES <3 MOLIY
L'Rain — fata morgana
Jinjé — Traces & Tremors
Tinashe — Popstar
Angela Autumn — Believer

Caterina Barbieri & Bendik Giske — At Source
Tomeka Reid — dance! skip! hop!
Shabaka — Of the Earth
Avalon Emerson & the Charm — Written into Changes
Various Artists — Fight the Fire: Digital Reggae, Conscious Roots and Dub in Nigeria 1986-91
My New Band Believe — s/t
MEMORIALS — All Clouds Bring Not Rain
Hannah Peel & Beibei Wang — The Endless Dance

Just bubbling under
Momoko Gill — Momoko
Where Rivers Meet — Your Brother's Keeper
Lee "Scratch" Perry & Mouse on Mars — Spatial, No Problem.
Alewya — Zero
Resavoir —Themes for Dreams
Helado Tropical — s/t
Ayetian — JamPack
Wau Wau Collectif — Teranga

Ari Lennox — Vacancy
Joshua Idehen — I know you're hurting, everyone is hurting, everyone is trying, you have got to try
Wendy Eisenberg — s/t
Gregory Uhlmann — Extra Stars
Jeff Parker & ETA IVtet— Happy Today

Enjoyed but need to listen again
Various Artists - Nigeria 80s
Vanishing Twin - Archives
Colin Stetson & Brighde Chaimbeul - All the light in the world

Haven't gotten to yet but is in my wheelhouse
Oren Ambarchi - Cooked
Beth Orton (a weird one as I loved the advance releases but have struggled to listen to this as an album)

Anticipating
Angèle - Instinct
Theodora - SM4L
This has been my year of francophilia

I was vaguely annoyed at the pissy discourse around current jazz being too vibey, but seeing this list I admit it would be cool if there was something with some fire in it. Probably my fault for not paying attention.

A tracks list would be very difficult, or very long anyway.

o yah I forgot abt the Moliy record!

<3

sleeve have you listened to Kaiso Power? I think you'd be into it: https://soundwayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/kaiso-power-sound-revolution-in-trinidad-1970-1980

I was vaguely annoyed at the pissy discourse around current jazz being too vibey, but seeing this list I admit it would be cool if there was something with some fire in it. Probably my fault for not paying attention.

You might like these two albums, out now on my label:

https://wadadaleosmith-bam.bandcamp.com/album/constellations-and-hemispheres-2
https://michaelsarian-bam.bandcamp.com/album/in-this-desert

thanks, I'll check those out, I am way overdue to explore WLS's catalogue.

I should also say that the Tomeka Reid has some shredding on it

Digging the new Axel Boman + Superpitcher

rob, really surprised to not see the Martyn record on your list tbh!

is that the same Martyn who was on Hyperdub? I don't think I've heard anything from him since then, but I will definitely check it out! I'm assuming it = Music For Existing?

adding Axel Boman to my need to listen. and remembering that Josh Johnson has a solo album out soon too, love that guy

Dismissal, boast, complaint, expression of curiosity, or some obscure fifth thing?

― Tim F, Monday, October 5, 2026 1:17 AM (seven hours ago)

more of an "amazing how much music there is" kind of thing ... happy that others have a top 10 of records i haven't heard and probably will never hear

the new bullion, shabason & krgovich, charli, antropoceno, fluisteraars, maxime denuc, K wata, maniac maison, kelela, squarepusher, station model violence, the four tet squiggles side project, tara clerkin trio, scorched bogon, shackleton, the picture releases… I mean, holy stacked year

mouse on mars and lee scratch perry
king gizzard & the lizard wizard
l'rain
beth orton
oren ambarchi
caterina barbieri & bendik giske

haven't fallen hard for a metal album yet though it might be the amon amarth album.

I've got a huge swath of ambient gems on my list, because I've absolutely gone soft. Some personal standouts though:

Shane Parish - Autechre Guitar (though actually it's made me go back to some of his earlier albums)
Isobel Waller-Bridge - Objects (came out in Dec 2025)
Mouse on Mars/Lee Perry
Ben Wendel - BaRcoDe (sax + four vibraphones quintet)
Horse Lords
Jeff Parker IVTet
Play Time - Magic Object
Skuli Sverrisson & Bill Frisell - For All Your Flowers
Jem Finer & John Matthias - Almost Starlight
Andrew D’Angelo - BCDELUXE (solo/overdubbed bass clarinet)
Tyler Friedman - METLASR (algo electronic mallet instruments)

I could go on but yeah

xp map you should check out the antropoceno album (No Ritmo da Terra) urmbchjo just mentioned

first track on the Martyn album was really cool, definitely gonna listen to the rest later

Just got the new JD Allen album, SÖWT, in my inbox and it's immediately going on my year-end list. It's a mix of jazz (Allen is my favorite living tenor saxophonist) with Gnawa music, but totally different from Pharoah Sanders' or Peter Brötzmann's work with Gnawa musicians, because Allen isn't that kind of player - he's much more restrained and austere, in a Coltrane-in-1964 way. Beautiful stuff.

oh that sounds fantastic, thanks for mentioning it

Faves so far this year (I think finding some things I like and just burrowing down into them further rather than trying to listen to everything is more rewarding the last few years)

Chanel Beads my fave of the year. Looking forward to seeing them next month

Chanel Beads - Your Day Will Come
Dry Cleaning - Secret Love
Styrofoam Winos - Any River
Tara Clerkin Trio - Somewhere Good
Gumshoes - Happy New Year
Kneecap - FENIAN
Boards of Canada - Inferno
Mr Fingers - Leev Yr Mynd
Seamus Fogarty - Ships
Charli XCX - Music, Fashion, Film
Angine de Poitrine - 2
Cocanha - Flame Folclore
Cancer House - The Moth ep

faves so far have probably been Octo Octa, Dry Cleaning, Roy Montgomery, Mitski, Tanya Tagaq

― sufjeon steeveelutions (geoffreyess), Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Which Roy Montgomery album - Guitars Infernal or Nebular w/ Martha Skye Murphy? There's was a new Peter Jefferies album out last month, too.

my partner put me on to that Cocanha record, really good stuff

xp map you should check out the antropoceno album (No Ritmo da Terra) urmbchjo just mentioned

this is cool!

i'm feeling this new black bananas album. maybe cuz i'm high at work? haha

oops forgot abt the new Neil Young album which is genuinely incredible and my fave of the year so far

fabiano do nascimento & e ruscha, “aquaticos”

yessss this is so beautiful

That GB 'Herzsprung' album is up there too, and Sarah Davachi.

Music From Memory is kinda killing it this year? I also really like the Anthony Calonico album and the blunted dreamy SY3 ep. The Ron Trent ambient-ish disc is pretty cool too!

big co-sign on gb and "aquaticos"

Been playing two albums a lot:

Lambchop - Punching the Clown (mentioned upthread a couple times)
Trooper Salute - 友達がいました (symphonic Japanese indie-rock that hits big highs)
https://open.spotify.com/album/7MxIjhS7vO37Tf8NAfxBWq

wow the new Black Bananas is great too!

so much good music

yesss the GB album has grown on me hugely. like prefab sprout meets gastr del sol or something?

that's an amazing description, yeah

my kinda funny experience checking out new releases this year from 'aging indie' artists who i haven't kept up with is as follows

black bananas - wtf jennifer herrema is a national treasure
lambchop - ewwwwwwww

okay I'm digging this Superpitcher Axel Boman collab album, but hot damn if the track Side Quest isn't a pretty blatant "homage" to Aphex Twin's On. Nearly the identical lead melody with delay fx. Drums on it are seriously fire though

I often love rob's recommendations and this Kaiso Power album is no different.

Which Roy Montgomery album - Guitars Infernal or Nebular w/ Martha Skye Murphy?

the first one, gotta hear the other

Seconding the praise above for:
Akusmi - Terra Incognita (jazzy minimalism, reminds me of Amaro Freita's Y'Y from '24)
K Wata - Give U Space (file next to Andy Stott)
Underscores - U (Hyperpop landing at a interesting equilibrium point)
Slayyter - Wor$t Girl in America (catchy, perhaps less to say than Starfucker, but the promotional cycle of videos is capturing this moment)
Boards of Canada - Inferno (Dante as wayward impressionist. Won't convert those who weren't beguiled by their early works)
SML - Spontaneous Music Live ("You got Can in my The Necks", "No, you got The Necks in my Can". Great ideas, but too few per piece. Window into the inputs for the post-production edits in their prior two albums)

Unmentioned above:
Metropolis Ensemble / Erik Hall / Sandbox Percussion - Canto Ostinato (Hall again interpreting Holt, this time with an ensemble. For those who wonder if Music for 18 Musicians could accommodate darker moments)
Miryam Saleh - Syrr (Egyptian avant folk. Can't understand a word, but the production is clean and the emotion is strong.)
Kinshasha in Action - Kinact (better that the last 5 Tradi-moderne congolais albums, wish it wasn't so brief (35 mins))
Kiss Facility - Khazna (Arabic art pop bumps into the same limits English language art pop has been bumping into for decades)'
Jessie Ware - Superbloom (still good, but lower highs, and the 3rd album of this approaches pandering)

Nice to see further love for Akusmi (and indeed SML, though that seems to have a higher profile generally AFAICT)!

Tim, have you heard jennifer herrema / black bananas? i think there's a chance you'll like bad bunch.

I often love rob's recommendations and this Kaiso Power album is no different.

― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Tuesday, October 6, 2026 7:41 PM (yesterday)

That's nice to hear PBKR! I'm glad you like it. On that note, I really like the Martyn album, thanks tabes. I haven't gotten around to the others I noted yet; adding Miryam Saleh to the queue too.

Saleh did a collab record a few years ago that would have absolutely made my EOY list if i did things like that back then— it’s called ‘Lekhfa’ and also features Maurice Louca and Tamer Abu Ghazaleh. she is incredible, will have to check the new one

The new Marina Herlop record is insanely ambitious and beautiful. So many styles, sounds and dynamics at play, it's quite the journey.

Thirding Akusmi, is exceedingly likely to end up as my #1. Weirdly it reminds me of the Lounge Lizards at points? Probably both drawing on a specific source tradition I'm not familiar with.

The new Marina Herlop record is insanely ambitious and beautiful. So many styles, sounds and dynamics at play, it's quite the journey.

― octobeard, Sunday, 11 October 2026 12:06 AM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

This album is a lot. In every sense.

These first two albums I have listened to nearly every day (sometimes multiple times a day) — the last time I felt this strongly ‘possessed’ by a new record was with Caroline Polachek’s ‘Desire, I Want To Turn Into You’ (which is still my favorite ‘pop’ album of the 21st century.)

Charli xcx: Music, Fashion, Film (Atlantic)
Ben Vida: The Oblivion Seekers (Shelter Press)

++++++++++++++++++++++

And in no order (although the Black Bananas album is striving to break out of the general list to join the Charli and Ben Vida records above — there are a few late 2025 records included, mostly from October 2025 or later, i.e. a year ago.)

Black Bananas: Bad Bunch (Not On Label/Self-released)
Beth Orton: The Ground Above (Partisan)
Souled American: Sanctions (Jealous Butcher Records)
Charli xcx: Wuthering Heights (Atlantic)
Martha Skye Murphy / Roy Montgomery: Nebular
Mark Fell / Pat Thomas: Reality Is Not A Theory (late 2025)
John Tilbury: At Home (Another Timbre)
Feldman: For Bunita Marcus - John Tilbury piano (True Blanking)
Feldman: Palais de Mari - John Tilbury piano (True Blanking)
Anthony Moore with AKA & Friends: On Beacon Hill (Drag City, late 2025)
Mozart Estate: Tower Block in a Jam Jar (Cherry Red, late 2025)
Prolapse: I Wonder When They’re Going To Destroy Your Face (Tapete, late 2025)
Prolapse: Mary Anne Hobbs Sessions 97-98 (Precious)
Dave Tucker & Hannah Marshall: Lawns (Scatter Archive)
Spratleys: BLOOM (Alphabet BC)
Cardiacs: LSD (Alphabet BC, late 2025)
Sharpie Smile: The Staircase (Drag City, late 2025)
Chris Weisman: Distant Fastness (Cadential Windfall)
Natalie Beridze: Fernweh (Bandcamp)
Kory Reeder: We Are Done For In The Most Remarkable Ways (Atari)
Ming Tsao: Plus or Minus - GrauSchumacher Piano Duo (NEOS)
Hen Ogled: Discombobulated (Domino)
Francis Comyn / Adam Fairhall: Metalurgia (Confront)
Alex Mincek: Images of Duration - Yarn/Wire 10
Mark Fell: Psychic Resynthesis (Frozen Reeds)
Schoenberg: Four String Quartets - performed by The Webern Quartet (Etcetera)
Tyshawn Sorey: Members … Don’t (Pi)
Tyshawn Sorey: Monochromatic Life (Afterlife) (Dacamera Editions)
Matthew Shipp: The Cosmic Piano (late 2025)
Tricky: Different When It’s Silent (False Idols)
John McCowen: Pressure Chords w/ Lucy Railton, Weston Olencki (Hallow Ground)
Christian Kobi / Taku Sugimoto: Forgotten Objects in Musahina (Ftarri)
Werner Dafeldecker / Eliad Wagner: Fray Field (Room 40)
Betsy Jolas: Femme le soir, perf. Nicolas Hodges etc (Bastille Musique)
AMM: Phlegm (Matchless)
AMM With Sachiko M: Testing (Matchless, late 2025)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PLUS: All of the La Musica Series reissues from Black Editions, but especially:

Black Tape II –– Ohkami No Jikan
Doo Dah Nean — Nean
Rotting Telapathies: Rotting Tapes II
You Ishihara: Formula (Deluxe Edition)
You Ishihara: Passivité

Looking through the credits of Akumsi's Terra Incognito, I see Sarathy is a contributor. This makes perfect sense in terms of the overlapping sounds and 'vibe' between Terra Incognito and Korwar's There Is Beauty, There Already

Mine in no order:

Beth Orton - The Ground Above
Imarhan – Essam
Kelela - new avatar
Ratboys - Singin’ to an Empty Chair
Kehlani - Kehlani
Megan Moroney - Cloud 9
Charli XCX - Wuthering Heights and MFF
Tinashe - Popstar
Jill Scott – To Whom This May Concern
Ari Lennox - Vacancy
A$AP Rocky – Don’t Be Dumb
Dry Cleaning – Secret Love
Underscores - U
Grace Ives – Girlfriend
Mr Fingers - Leev Yr Mynd
Ravyn Lenae - Blue Island
Genesis Owusu - REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE
Ashley McBryde – Wild
Isaiah Rashad – It’s Been Awful

The picks on this thread that I haven't heard of / haven't yet heard are going to keep me busy catching up until well into 2027 -- until October '27 at the earliest! Very much appreciated: these are the kind of threads that keep us lurkers lurking, taking notes, and planning for Bandcamp Friday shopping sprees.

just in chronological order of how I got them:

Searows - Death in the Business of Whaling
Earth Tongue - Dungeon Vision
Ratboys - Singin' to an Empty Chair
Worm - Necropalace
Converge - Love is Not Enough/Hum of Hurt
Cryptic Shift - Overspace & Supertime
Bill Callahan - My Days of 58
Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds - Mutiny After Midnight
Weedpecker - V
Ovven - Gnawing at the Cord
Sunn O))) - Sunn O)))
Sluice - Companion
Brown Horse - Total Dive
MEMORIALS - All Clouds Bring Not Rain
My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe
National Photo Committee - Red Hot Photo Committee
Setting - Setting
Primitive Ring - Primitive Ring
Kevin Morby - Little Wide Open
Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - Happy Today
Elder - Through Zero
Boards of Canada - Inferno
Neurosis - An Undying Love for a Burning World
Slift - Fantasia
Panopticon - Det hjemsokte hjertet
Gun Outfit - Process and Reality
Ahmed - Play Monk
Basic - Basic
Stormkeep - The Nocturnes of Iswlym
Wendy Eisenberg - Wendy Eisenberg
Horse Lords - Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive
Vorhex Angel - Drain
Panda Bear & Sonic Boom - A ? of When
Ultra Lights - Pleasure's All Yours
Eartball - Actual Earth Music: Volume 3 & 4
Beth Orton - The Ground Above
Swapmeet - Mount Zero
Parts & Labor - Set of All Sets
John R. Miller - The Great Unknowing
Rezn - Cycles in the Infinite Dream
Shearwater - The New World
Ty Segall - Chrome
Giraffe - The Towering Inferno with Bongos
Wild Pink - Still Coming Down
Dinosaur Jr - There Near
Kiwi Jr. - Blowin' Up
Mastodon - Marrow Deep
Billy Strings - So Much For Goodbyes
Lily Seabird - Lightspheres on Their Way
Sigh - Goh-Ka
The Tubs - Hard Life
Chat Pile - Who Loves The Sun
Green Lung - Necroplitan
Russian Circles - Nine
Krallice - Scour Order
Oren Ambarchi - Cooked
Osees - Off Course
Rhododendron - Ascent Effort
Early Moods - Ready for the Grave
Black Bananas - Bad Bunch
Neil Young & The Chrome Hears - Second Song
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight
Westside Cowboy - It Goes On
Dungen - Vidrig Var
Dissimulator - Artifice Dissolves
The Machine - Another Sun
Protomartyr - Hotel Usona
Greg Freeman - All Set the Bone

damn, yeah, I loved a lot of stuff this year!

I never though I'd give a fuck about a Neil Young album in 2026 but y'all have got pretty persuasion.

it's so good

is neil on bandcamp (ponocamp?)

sadly not, I ripped it from Youtube

Not a big albums guy these days, but here's what I've been digging:

Maxime Denuc - Club Imperiale
Sarah Davachi - Will Of Tongues
Antropoceno - No Ritmo da Terra
Various Artists - Art Form I / Art Form II
Frankie Archer - The Dance Of Death
Cola - Cost Of Living Adjustment
QRTR - ONDAS
Hatchback - Phaser For The Ocean, Chorus For The Moon
Struktur - Levitation
Stovfigur - Stovfigur
Gradient - Random Layers
ZENA - TEMESGEN
Neurosis - An Undying Love
JeGong - Gomi Kuzu Can
Remote Viewing - State Violence
Nochi - Sinergia
Tara Clerkin Trio - Somewhere Good
Boards Of Canada - Inferno
Serokolo 7 - Maramfa Musik Pro
Eric Cantona - Perfect Imperfection
Ari Bragi Karason - Unclear Family

I gotta say I'm having a hard time buying in fully with the Akusmi album, everything feels a bit too on-the-nose, on the grid, in the box.

Trá Pháidín's Cloch’s Claí is killing me this week

my current eoy shortlist

Air Vespera - Formless
Al Khair - Oman Bagpipe Singers: Songs of returning and leaving
Alessandro Cortini - Memorie
Alex Smalley - Contrastive Canopy
Alexander Eldefors - Vivel
Almøst Silent - Kaizen
Androctonyx - AXISTE PAS
Ángeles Rojas - Open the Windows and Let the Spirits in and Out
Antropoceno - No Ritmo da Terra
Arovane,Taylor Deupree - Enth
Asha Patera - The Sacred Ground
Austin Williamson,Blanket Swimming - Horizons
Bali Gamelan Sound - Selonding, Vol. IV (Live)
Blue Chemise - Mothers of All
Bob Bellerue - Chaos Is A Law
Chantal Michelle - All Things Might Spill
Charbel Haber - May a soft sun bless your sky while you wait for the inevitable
Concepción Huerta - No Queda Nada, Todo Resuena
Concrete Gazebo - Acid Heath
Craven Faults - Sidings
Dane Law,Chants - Bonded Pairs
David Cordero - Más Allá De Las Palabras
Dialect - Full Serpent
DJ Jeff the Lastborn - KADODI SEASON
DJ Lag - Mzansi Bass
Earth Trax - Everlasting Flame
ELEH - Floating Frequencies/Intuitive Synthesis 1
Evil Graham Lee - I Think I'm Alone Now
Fennesz - The Last Days of May
Giulio Aldinucci - Materia
Heathered Pearls - Window
Hipwell - Culte Voyeuriste
Janel Leppin - Slowly Melting
JC Leisure - Low Tide, Hi Grypus!
Joel Noct Brinson - the politics of being
John Beltran,Placid Angles - Canada
Khun Narin - III
KMRU - Kin
Le Motel,Arthur Brouns - Music for Runways
Leila Bordreuil,Kali Malone - Music for Intersecting Planes
Luigi Tozzi - Deep Blue: Volume 4
Lukas Harding - greenhouse glassceiling
Lusine - Melting Days
LXV - Colloidal
Marta Salogni & Stefano Pilia - Phren
Matti Bye - The Sea
Max Corbacho - The Gentle Continuum
Max Kutner - Rogue Lash
Maxime Denuc - Club Imperiale
Miriam Adefris - Eleven Harps
miska lamberg - Evening, window
Mondoriviera - La Laguna Dei Bei Sogni
Music Within - abstractions
Nathan Dawidowicz - FLUFF
Nicolini - Quita Maldicion
Ocoeur - Greener grass, clearer water
Olivier Alary - Vestiges
Ondness - I Can Only Put So Much Into A Song
Or Sobre Blau,Ubaldo,Kiran Leonard - Making Friends
Pallette - Singapore Changi Airport
Pan-American - Fly the Ocean in a Silver Plane
Pharoah Chrome - Chronicles from the Arab Cold War
PT Musik - Consumação
Pullman - III
Rafael Anton Irisarri - Points of Inaccessibility
rat - Home
Resavoir - Themes for Dreams
Robert Henke - Signal To Noise, Vol. II
Rosenau & Sanborn - Two
Rump State - Psychic Sidekick
Saba Alizadeh - Rituals of the Last Dawn
Salamanda - Music To Watch Seeds Grow By 008: Salamanda (Basil)
Sarah Davachi - The Will of Tongues
Schatterau - Wir gingen durch leere Stunden
SML - Spontaneous Music Live
Spyros Polychronopoulos,Nikos Veliotis - Position
Stephen Holliger - Fives and Sixes
Stephen O'Malley - Spheres Collapser
sunn O))) - sunn O)))
Tape Loop Orchestra - Slow, Slow Spectres
The Field - Now You Exist
The Sprigs - For Red Riverbank
Tomasz Bednarczyk - Catbient 2026, Pt. 1
Turning Jewels Into Water - Morning Birds and Distant Drums
Wil Bolton - Concrete Botany
xàr num - Remember The Garden
zakè - Cantus for Winter in Six Parts
zakè - HH
Zoltan Fecso,Anna Morley - Desire Path

Charlotte Cornfield - Hurts Like Hell

No dud tracks. Great songwriting. Beautifully produced with some excellent musicians involved (including Adam Brisbin who plays guitar on Cassandra Jenkins' records).

I was unaware of her previous albums until this one. But it's blown me away.

Good to see a few mentions of Antropoceno ITT. Sounds like nothing I could conceive in my mind until I hear it

Space Ghost - Back to Reality

glad to see another FLUFF fan, amazing record. lotsa other stuff in your list i wanna check out, nxd!

one more for the Akusmi (new to me). lovely freely. i can hear the lizards ref, too

marina herlop, wow. admiring more than enjoying, wow tho

Charlotte Cornfield - Hurts Like Hell

this is great, thanks!

good list, jon

Right now my top 3 is

Angine de Poitrine
Neurosis
Florian Hecker

and the rest is kind of a crapshoot

Oh man, I totally meant to include Charlotte Cornfield on my list, love that record.

xp - thanks!

Wild Pink - Still Coming Down

this is a pretty fantastic guitar album. it and the new dino jr. have been my go-tos when i want to hear some indie shredding

Top albums by artists over seventy:

* Chip Taylor: Words from Holy Gardens [died in March, age 86]. No “Wild Thing” here. Stark and bleak acoustic home recording created at the end of Taylor and his wife’s lives.
* Hawkwind: Psychedelic Selection [with Dave Brock, 85].
* Marty Wilde: Let’s Rock This Place [87]. Rock & roll.
* Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts: Second Song [80].
* Peter Hammill: Tears in Time [77].
* Richard Thompson: Hippies, Thugs and Heroes [77].
* Ringo Starr: Long Long Road [Ringo, 86, and T-Bone Burnett, 78].
* Sparks: Live On the Moon [Ron, 81, and Russell, 77]. Live album with a full band.
* The Residents: Eskimo Folk Tales (2026 ep) [The Singing Resident, possibly 81].
* The Third Mind: Spellbinder! [with Dave Alvin, 70]. Psychedelic guitar rock.
* Van Morrison: Somebody Tried to Sell Me a Bridge [81]. Blues.
* Willie Nelson: Dream Chaser [93].

TAGABOW - KOOL FAITH / LOOSIES II
God of War - molly picture
GENA - The Pleasure is Yours
L'Rain - fata morgana
Lee Scratch Perry and Mouse on Mars - Spatial No Problem
Boards of Canada - Inferno
Autechre in Liege if that counts

The new TAGABOW stuff is my favorite of the year and it just came out yesterday. It's a junked-up grungy shoegaze mixtape that sounds like it comes from the Interzone. Almost every song is a collaboration with another band from the Philly scene which gives the album's 29 songs a good deal of variety. Can't stop playing it rn.

Not sure if we can count Autechre's most recent performances since they haven't been released on AE_2022 yet, but their Liege set brings to the fore all my favorite things about them. Moments of crepuscular synth beauty and an all-out percussive assault, though this performance is a lot more rhythmically pleasing to me.

how are you hearing the autechre set?

Adding Jorge Drexler - Taraca to my list.

Drexler combines Afro-Uruguayan candombe rhythms with Spanish language indie-rock & pop & some Brazilan samba influences on his latest album. Back in 2005 his song "Al Otro Lado del Río" from the movie The Motorcycle Diaries won the Academy Award for Best Original Song

xpost downloaded of slsk.

It's also up on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDeeHcX8-F8

cool thx

Cheers m8

This Spike Fuck album on Sacred Bones is getting under my skin. Who knew I was craving late 70s NYC roots punk like Robert Gordon? A real sense of tragedy and hard knocks coming through in their singing. Like with Twisted Teens, I'm surprised how much basic r'n'r albums are resonating with me this year. Or slightly askew basic rock 'n' roll? Or it is roots music that's reanimating the askewness that made r'n'r invigorating in the first place?

sounds great to my ears too

i enjoy the person clapping along at the very beginning as if they're expecting Ae to burst in with "We Will Rock You"

Fine - Jazz Dreams

Obsessed with this. I adored Rocky Top Ballads but this record feels like a huge leap forward.

Fontaines DC - Dopamine Chamber

Took my time with this but it's sucked me in. The Rosalía duet is monumental.

And I'll echo the shout for Trá Pháidin, Cloch 's Claí. A vital, angry take on Ireland in 2026.

First half of the Raye album is sensational and I can’t believe more people on here aren’t talking about it.

lol at mine as I'm so unhip.

Not in order outside #1:

Ratboys - Singin' to an Empty Chair

Jessie Ware - Superbloom
Tove Lo - Estrus
Olivia Rodrigo - you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love
Arab Strap - Half-Told Tales
Blondshell - Violins
Shearwater - The New World
Olof Dreijer - Loud Bloom
Carly Rae Jepsen • DAY and NIGHT
Death Cab for Cutie - I Built You a Tower

Charli XCX - Music, Fashion, Film

Not sure about the other one tho

really digging this album

Asa Tone - Mutualkind

https://asatone.bandcamp.com/album/mutualkind

@ - Autosmile is really moving up my list, what a beautiful, slightly psychey indie folk album

First half of the Raye album is sensational and I can’t believe more people on here aren’t talking about it.

― piscesx, Monday, 26 October 2026 2:18 AM (nineteen hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I like the raye album a lot, but I'm not really surprised that it doesn't get much traction, here or elsewhere: (a) it's exhausting; and (b) its ambition (roughly, one part neneh cherry, two parts musical theatre) is the wrong kind of ambition, the effort is so clearly etched into every bar that it is liable to inspire contempt in many listeners.

I thought imago seeking to uplift slayyyter by trashing raye on the worst girl in america thread was instructive: people often react negatively to music which they think other listeners (who they consider to be less thoughtful/enlightened than they) would consider ambitious and skilful. Under this worldview, ambition, to be worthy of respect, should appear to code as simply incomprehensible to the chud (whether or not it in fact does so).

TLDR: I think a lot of listeners will, at some default level, conclude that music like raye's is a simple-minded music fan's idea of ambitious pop music, a la Trump being a poor person's idea of a rich person, etc.

Caroline Rose - Gentling the Horse at the Walt Whitman Mall

A friend recommended me Zoh Amba and it’s blowing my mind right now. They sound a lot like Big Thief (vocal wise if I told you it’s a new Lenker solo album you’d believe it), Blueberry Thorn is particularly on point and a highlight of the album for me so far, but there’s also songs that sound like The Shaggs (thousand years, pg tips) and some noisy sections that manage to sound warm… don’t know… I’m liking it a lot.

Will need far more listens to be confident in my judgement but the Wow Scenario's Stand In The Star: A Verse And A Chorus is v much kicking my ass today.

that zoh amba is the kinda thing o’ which i’m pretty skeptical usually, but the core drone and background reverb is killin me 3 songs in. it’s like a combo of vibe and voice that works at at first impression so well. on me i want to say it feels novel, but i don’t even know enough to say so.

Oh I didn't know there was a new Caroline Rose. Will investigte.