As most would have expected, 2026 feels no different to 2025, as the world continues to spiral out of control. At this point, we’re merely hoping that this little corner of the Internet proves as a temporary escape route from the morbid realities that seem to find new shades of darkness each day.
Our first Albums Quarter of the year has been later than expected, and it’s not by design. The site faced some of its biggest challenges throughout February. Malicious traffic from nefarious forces, which gave us no choice but to change some things behind the scenes.
While we’ve been dealing with these issues over the last several months, it was red-zone-bad two weeks ago. Suffice to say, these issues have taken far too much of our time (particularly when we’re novices in most things IT-related).
Readers would have noticed some image glitches throughout some pages over the last two weeks. For this, we do apologise. At times, trying to identify then rectify these issues has been like using a Queen-sized duvet on a King-sized bed. But, touch wood, things seem back on track, and with that, hopefully we can concentrate on the task at hand.
Starting with this latest AQ. Not limited to the fine new releases from Crooked Fingers, Bill Callahan, Pullman and Winged Wheel (review / interview links below), it’s been an interesting start to the year, and while I had an introduction exploring this, our tech struggles ended up taking precedent. So, until the next edition…
For now, though, here’s what else has been on the decks over the last eight weeks, including several releases from the late part of 2025.
From All Ways: In Conversation with Crooked Fingers’ Eric Bachmann
A-Sun Amissa & Lauren Mason: Water Scores
Gizeh Records
It didn’t feel like a collaboration was far away from Glossop’s finest experimental band, A-Sun Amissa, and we didn’t have to wait long in 2026 for it to happen.
Featuring Lauren Mason (formerly of much-loved doom giants TORPOR), Water Scores is a harrowing communication between noise and spoken word. As Mason explores corporate extraction and pollution on our planet’s water, through tone and texture, A-Sun Amissa’s brutal beddings of sound match the subject. This collaboration, galvanising as a long-form protest song.
Not in its directness, though. Water Scores is more of a mediation. Mason’s words, a clarion call, and together with A-Sun Amissa’s hypnotic soundscapes, they light up a path that lead us to a brutal reality that urgently needs addressing.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Aidan Baker, Tim Wyskida, Daron Beck: Trzecia (Drugi)
Cruel Nature Records
The first of several releases that slipped the net in 2025 was Trzecia (Drugi). Following their excellent Trzecia collaboration album as a part of the Trio Not Trio / Gizeh Records series, Aidan Baker, Daron Beck (Pinkish Black), and Tim Wyskida (Khanate) had some unfinished business by way of a second recording of improvisations.
Before the final mixes of Trzecia (Drugi) could be completed, sadly, Beck passed away (R.I.P, Daron). In his tribute, these recordings saw the light of day.
Once again, these broodingly fragmented pieces are like exploring an upside down world. Intoxicating, synth-laden doom that is like a cold wind surging through vortex. It’s music for these times.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Arüspex: The Death Instinct
Fellowship of Enemies / Fiadh Productions
Neo-crust punk exponents, Arüspex were the earliest new find in 2026. Their latest cut, The Death Instinct, merging the punk and metal communities for something vibrant and immediate.
While punk and metal are ever growing landscapes where most will struggle to cover every blade of grass, on The Death Instinct, the California five-piece build a bridge that connects the two.
With flanged guitars, pummelling blast beats and primal vocals, The Death Instinct sees Arüspex creating an eruption of sound akin to world exploding. “The age of affluence”? Indeed.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Blackwater Holylight: Not Here Not Gone
Suicide Squeeze
Not many would have forecasted the echoes of doom and ecstatic black metal infiltrating the BBC 6 Music airwaves. But such as the lack of vibrant new guitar acts across the U.K., it’s created a vacuum, and Blackwater Holylight to fill.
On their fourth release, Not Here Not Gone, the Portland, Oregon act flourish with a series of protracted psych dirges that wash over you. It’s solid stuff that many of their contemporaries could learn a thing or two from. Including the bearded psych masses churning out riffs that feel more tailored for Guitar Hero than any whiskey-drenched, weed-filled rock bars.
Again, a vacuum has been created, and on Not Here Not Gone, taking the ideas of Kylesa’s Ultraviolet and burning off the hard edges, Blackwater Holylight fill it.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Bloody Head: Bend Down and Kiss the Ground
Wrong Speed Records
Following their 2024 dispatch, Perpetual Eden, Nottingham’s Bloody Head return for another dose of psych-doom wig-outs, with Bend Down and Kiss the Ground.
There’s a bit of everything here. These four long-form jams, seeing the band stray from folklore in favour of some anger and energy more designed for us street-level urchins.
While their label mates Hey Colossus aren’t too far away as kindred spirits, Bloody Head are more in arms reach of the bong instead of the bar. If McClusky ever entered the portals of doom, then they probably would’ve sounded something like this.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Matt Christensen: Time to Collect
Self-released
After a year off into the wilderness (it was a bit more than that, actually), one of the best surprises so far this year has been the resumption of Matt Christensen’s beautiful journey in music.
One of three releases already in 2026, Time to Collect follows from the pulsating mediations of Talk About It. Here Christensen gives the kind of wonky, dream-pop laments that skirt close to the avant-garde.
There’s a bit of everything on Time to Collect, and for those attuned to his ocean-sized body of the work, I’m sure they’ll agree. For those who aren’t, here is the perfect place to start.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Jana Horn: Jana Horn
No Quarter Records
If ever there was a modern-day artist that created sonic backdrops to your dreams, then it’s Jana Horn.
The Austin, Texas songwriter’s new self-titled album (her third), takes the gloomy essence of slowcore and guides it through the lens of folk. The results, exquisite, sleepy-eyed serenades. Horn’s gentle brushes across the strings evoke the image of an artist wandering across America’s vast lands, playing these songs in bars littered with lonely hearts.
It’s the modesty of these songs that draw you in. Horn writes the songs that you want to write. It makes them sink deeper into the mind, forever occupying it.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Markus Guentner: On Brutal Soil, We Grow
Affin Records
While last year, German producer, Markus Guentner, took his sharpest pivot with the Black Dahlia LP, with On Brutal Soil, We Grow, he returns with his most inward release yet.
This is ambient music for the heavens. Deep textures that oscillate between dark and light, it’s the kind of contrast that taps into the different emotions we experience throughout each day.
It’s where deep-listening and ambient composition intersect. The more time spent with On Brutal Soil, We Grow, the more it becomes an essential part of the day. It’s soothing, cinematic and filled with an emotional intensity that slowly creeps up on you, reaching a crescendo on the final frontier, Wall of Thorns.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Helicon / Al Lover: Arise
Fuzz Club
In a bid to take alt-rock into the future, Glasgow’s Helicon and Los Angeles-based producer, Al Lover, join forces for something that is well on its way there with Arise.
Said to confront “a culture of individualism at the mercy of opportunistic grifters,” according to frontman John-Paul Hughes, Arise sees Helicon and Al Lover pulling the best parts from shoegaze and baggy to deliver something that takes rock music to the frontiers of maximalism.
It’s loose, it’s atmospheric, and it gets you to a place that challenges and soothes the ears at the same time. This is coming to a town near you sooner rather than later, and I personally hope Arise is just the start of an alliance that fits like a glove.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Hey Colossus: Heaven Was Wild
Wrong Speed Records
DIY stalwarts, Hey Colossus, have defied the odds just by existing for as long as they have.
Dotted all throughout the U.K., most wouldn’t begrudge them if their stride became a bit more of a limp, but on Heaven Was Wild, it’s actually not the case. The band aren’t as ball-tearingly loud as they once were, but what of it? Retreading past glories is like the death knell, and Hey Colossus are far from that moment.
So… Heaven Was Wild? It sees the collective unleash the kind of chiming blues-rock that underlines the camaraderie that has kept them together for so long. It’s a feat, and in DIY culture, it’d be lessoned without Hey Colossus in it.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Middleman: Following the Ghost
Evil Speaker Records
Following their two EPs – their first, Cut Out the Middleman one the best from these shores in this era – London’s Middleman unveil their debut LP, Following the Ghost.
It’s a band that’s always possessed deep record collections, and following their excellent homage to Wipers and Mission of Burma, on Following the Ghost, Middleman get a little more breezy. Think sunny skies and open roads, led by the excellent Dinosaur Jr. nod on Morning all the Time.
It’s Middleman reaching for new heights, and on the back of Following the Ghost, they find it. Their hard work, paying off with something that is destined to reach wider places. – Hayley Burton
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Joyce Manor: I Used to Go to This Bar
Epitaph
Not a band I’ve ever gravitated towards, but as they say, it helps to keep an open mind. And Joyce Manor’s latest, I Used to Go to This Bar, makes everything oddly line up.
Nine songs at just under 20 minutes, the Los Angeles band don’t outstay their welcome. These songs, like seamless pop-punk that form as a bridge to bigger things.
Despite reservations on the current state of guitar music, the flipside is that it’s left room for bands with a bit more panache and melody to thrive. And led by the excellent opener, I Know Where Mark Chen Lives, Joyce Manor do just that with songs that we all need from time to time. – Hayley Burton
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Lande Hekt: Lucky Now
Tapete Records
For all your jangle-pop needs, I think it’s fair to say that no one touches The Bats. However, Lande Hekt’s latest, Lucky Now, is just about the perfect homage to them.
Recorded with Matthew Simms (Wire, Memorials), Lucky Now comes on strong. The Bristol-based artist, the architect of effortless songcraft, muddling jangle with the best kind of bedroom pop. (The latter something that’s become far too same-y during this decade.)
Lande Hekt is at the arc of it, though, whereby you don’t really need to search for anything else in this sound world. Lucky Now, a radiant journey where Hekt blows all the competition away. Listen on repeat and be the judge yourself.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Natural Magic: II
Optimo Music
Despite looking more like a Drive By Truckers album cover, Natural Magic are worlds away from their southern rock contemporaries.
The Portland, Oregon duo of Michael McKinnon and Matthew Quiet make the kind of motorik jams designed for cinema. Think Brian Eno chewing the fat with Can over some cigs and a few beers as Jason Spaceman gives a furtive glance from the bar, and you’re probably somewhere in the orbit.
Which is ultimately where Natural Magic take us on II. The aptly titled opening track, Galaxy Builder, says a lot about this album and, by extension, this musical voyage. So, step onto the ship and let Natural Magic pave the way to some aural goodness.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Neon Crabs: This Puppy Can See A Frog
Cruel Nature Records
At a glance, Neon Crabs’ This Puppy Can See A Frog tells you there’s some Big Black Songs About Fucking homage going on.
The latest from Transatlantic tag team duo, Andy Goz and Matt Nausesous, is the kind gooey, downer noise-rock that treats the world like scum on the sole of its shoe. Think later-era Iggy trading ideas over a steak and chips with Ween. Yup, it’s beautifully fucked up stuff.
There are plenty of vignettes here that focus on a regressive world. (None better than Nausesous’ words on They – “Work hate and pray and pro-create.”) It’s an indictment on the world that’s straighter down the gun barrel than, say, Sleaford Mods. And in actual fact, listening to This Puppy Can See A Frog after the latter’s latest cut (more on that in a bit) isn’t the worst shout.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Qasu: A Bleak King Cometh
Phantom Limb
Black metal has entered a new terrain and one that many probably wouldn’t have predicted. Rahsaan Sagan, Aldous Daniken and Nikhil Talwalkar don’t take the genre to new corners on Qasu’s debut LP, A Bleak King Cometh, they create new ones.
This is music for the post-apocalypse. Call it black metal, call it industrial. Whatever this is, it’s music inspired by darkest masses, and here, Qasu flirt closer to the plundering electronica of early Yves Tumor than, say, Agriculture.
With Wayne Adams at the helm tying together this beautiful bedlam, A Bleak King Cometh is wildly unhinged. Qasu, taking their audience to extreme frontiers in what is utter chaos bottled up and designed to explode.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Shaking Hand: Shaking Hand
Melodic Records
January was a great month for post-rock, with long-awaited return of Pullman illuminating the highlight reel.
Passing on the baton, and Manchester’s Shaking Hand lead the new brigade of ’90s-inspired post-rock. On the back of their self-titled debut LP, the three-piece unveil modest songcraft that scratches all the itches.
This isn’t some band wanting stardom or aspiring to support bigger bands in arenas. Shaking Hand’s approach pleasantly avoids the hollow dream, as they splice together their love of American Football with the sweet echoes of Australian underground favourites, Dappled Cities. It makes for a very pleasant concoction, indeed.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Shrube: Shrube
Self-released
From Wales to Yorkshire, this collaboration features two high school pals – one of which includes a certain Blokeacola.
The pair started off the year with their self-titled full-length, and while an EP has followed during February (grab it for free via the link below), it’s worth starting here.
As Mogwai once stated on a T-shirt: Blur are shite. Perhaps never a trurer statement. Granted, Damon Albarn probably could have written some worthy tunes if he was true to himself instead of trying to shape shift like Mick Jagger. What could have been? Shrube kind of nail it with some lovely, honest songcraft on their debut full-length.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Sleaford Mods: The Demise of Planet X
Rough Trade
On Unwrap, the closing track from Sleaford Mods’ The Demise of Planet X, Jason Williamson lays smackdown on the world. Once you break the mould and enter into the realms of the semi elite, it’s a lonely existence.
Of all the U.K. bands from the last 10 years that have moved up in stature, only Sleaford Mods are moving the needle. Always against the grain, Williamson and Andrew Fearn call bullshit on the blag (The Good Life), the hollow dream of what it is to be an artist in 2026 (Megaton), and everything in between.
The Mods go in with a heavy assault unit this time around. Guest appearances from Aldous Harding, Sue Tompkins, MC Snowy, Liam Bailey and more, seeing the duo moving their art forward. It’s not just another string to the bow for a band that has always been true to themselves. It’s Sleaford Mods reaching beyond their locale. We’re all connected, and on The Demise of Planet X, it sees the duo acknowledge that more than ever.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Spawn: Light Rite
Ramble Records / WV Sorcerer Productions
A communication that spans from Asia to Australia, Spawn delve into the past, making it pertinent in the present. And with this band in the latter, the future of psychedelia might just be okay.
Consisting of Lenz Ma (guitar, vocals, theremin), Andie Kate (bass, vocals), Madi O’Shea (guitar, vocals), Dr Sarita McHarg (sitar, vocals, percussion), Rhiannon Smith (drums) and Angelique Forsyth (keyboards), on Light Rite, the collective dispense woodsy campfire stoner doom that makes you wish that Bardo Pond would start releasing new music again.
Or not! Because this is the perfect substitute. A communion of spirited, earthy jams that free the mind of the torment that this world currently has to offer.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Swimming Pools & Movie Stars: Airspace
Subjangle
This is one that so many slept on (including ourselves!). Never mind that it was released in September last year, don’t let the artwork to Swimming Pools & Movie Stars’ Airspace fool you. These james are for all times of the year.
Once again, Subjangle scour the ends of the earth to provide the best kind of jangle-orientated goodness. And Swimming Pools & Movie Stars provide it in spates. The Los Angeles band (loving the name), creating something that feel more like early-era Charlatans getting acquainted with Pale Saints.
Where the former is concerned, following Some Friendly, and this is where they should have gone. The songs on Airspace, so wholesome, that they colonise a space in your ears.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
The Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness 30th anniversary
Valeria Vayan: The Wound
Self-released
Valeria Vayan is the purveyor of dark pop-laden sounds from the fourth world.
With layered, rich strings and subtle drones, on her debut album, The Wound, there’s something deeply cinematic at play. It’s music that moves lithely through certain spaces, and when you’re in the right frame of mind, it’s just what you need.
Those who have fallen in love with Odd Beholder’s work over the years will find Vayan’s debut just as thrilling. Her sweeping compositions, the kind that don’t outstay their welcome, and following closing piece, I Leave Without A Sound, there’s a pity there isn’t more.
Listen / Purchase from Bandcamp
Wet Tuna: Vast
Three Lobed Recordings
So far this year, there hasn’t been a more apt album title than Matt Valentine’s latest odyssey under the Wet Tuna guise.
Vast is kind of like listening to Primal Scream’s Sonic Flower Groove after a night on the shrooms. It’s soft psychedelia through vivid portals, as Valentine musters up the kind of left-field ideas that stretch beyond the left-field.
He’s always had a keen ear for this, marrying up outrageous ideas from one sound world to the next. On Vast, the execution is a new brand of psych-pop where Valentine makes it all sound so effortless. While it’ll thaw out the colder months, keep this under your hat for warmer ones ahead.
