Gorillaz travel to India with The Mountain, their ninth studio album. It's a transportive, immersive experience that excites and surprises, making it their best release in over fifteen years. Kong - 2026 Gorillaz, the virtual project of Blur's Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, took to India for their new album, The Mountain. Before the making of their ninth studio album, the duo each lost their fathers and were looking for enlightenment and a way to grieve their los

Wak'a is a smart, gorgeous addition to the duo's debut album from last year. Continuing to preserve the Aymara history through their music, Los Thuthanaka are still making incredible music that's not like anything you've ever heard. Los Thuthanaka - 2026 There's nothing else like last year's release of Los Thuthanaka, a record that's so chocked full of different sound effects, layers, and compressed to oblivion that it's hard to decipher what's going on even on the tenth

Fifteen years later, Manchester's WU LYF return with a second album. A Wave That Will Never Break is anthemic, triumphant, moving, and one of the year's best releases. WU LYF - 2026 "World Unite Lucifer Youth Foundation" is what the acronym of the Manchester-based musical group, WU LYF, translates to. Pronounced "woo life," WU LYF magically appeared and dissipated both within a short span of time. Initially formed in 2008, the band seemed to appear out of nowhere years l

On Play Me, Kim Gordon's third solo album and collaboration with Justin Raisen, Gordon's bold direction with hip hop beats, sample heavy instrumentation and industrial noise is pushed even further and has become even more solidified. Matador - 2026 Kim Gordon is one of the most celebrated and notable guitar shredders, poets, and fashion icons to come out of the 1980's and 1990's with her major contributions to Sonic Youth. Since Sonic Youth's disbandment in 2011, Gordon

The Tuareg group's new tenth album, Hoggar, continues to be a delightful collaborative effort that highlights what makes the Tinariwen still so great and essential. Guest contributors include Sweden's José Gonzalez and Sudan's Sulafa Elyes, among others. Wedge - 2026 The musical collective known as Tinariwen originated from parts of Mali and Algeria almost fifty years ago and are still cranking out fantastic records to this day. They first started releasing studio albums

Needle Guy is a clubby highlight reel of Dylan Brady's abilities to make oddball bangers, more or less. It's a fun hang. Dog Show - 2026 When it comes to all things hyperpop or anything remotely interesting within the realm of electronic, hip hop, and pop music, Dylan Brady might be involved in some capacity. He formed the duo 100 gecs with Laura Les in 2015, popularizing the hyperpop genre. They released albums like 1,000 gecs and arguably the best album of the decade s

20 years later, Nate Ruess and Sam Means reignite The Format with Boycott Heaven . The songs are punchy, larger than life, and instantly fun. Vanity Label - 2026 The Format are a duo consisting of multi-instrumentalists and songwriters Sam Means and Nate Ruess. They initially started in the early 2000's, making power pop and indie rock music with sharp aims towards the strife and unfairness within music industry, hence The Format's name and their first single, titled "Th

On his fourth studio album, the electronica and dance tropes that Harry Styles pulls from come off as both watered down and dull, lacking punch or vibrancy. Columbia - 2026 Harry Styles, the British singer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist and fashion icon, has been quite the intriguing figure in pop music over the past decade. Ever since he decided to go solo due to the boy band One Direction's demise, he's been by far the most talented and successful one of the group

Pulling in Cate Le Bon as a producer, Dry Cleaning have expanded their sound by adding even more color and style into their resume. There are more infectious grooves, pretty melodic palettes, and Florence Shaw has more of an emphasis on singing this time around. 4AD - 2026 Dry Cleaning have been one of the UK's brightest, most head turning groups since the late 2010's. Their first couple EP's sparked enough buzz to get signed to acclaimed veteran indie label 4AD, where t

With his solo debut Can I Get a Pack of Camel Lights? , Animal Collective's Geologist has turned to the hurdy gurdy as his main instrument. This results in a colorful, expansive soundscape ranging from graceful beauty to an explosive ferocity. Drag City - 2026 The psychedelic, experimental Baltimore based band Animal Collective has had many offshoots over the years from their four members, but the least amount of material has to be from Brian Weitz, aka Geologist. Outsi

After 25 years, the Chicago post rock supergroup return with their third effort. III still has the quiet hypnotic approach but this time there are even more layers, flashes of brightness, noise, and rhythms than ever before. Western Vinyl - 2026 Pullman is a supergroup from the era of early post rock days in Chicago and is one full of history. The band consists of Doug McCombs and Ken Brown of Tortoise, Curtis Harvey of Rex, Chris Brokaw of Codeine and Come, and Tim Barn

Touch is a dreamlike nocturnal state of wonder and charm, where the band still seem to enjoy tinkering and playing with their sound. Though recorded remotely, Tortoise's collaborative strengths pull together so mesmerizingly that you wouldn't even notice. Nonesuch - 2025 Tortoise are the seminal Chicago-based post rock five piece who have been at it since the early 90's. If you think of the post rock genre and movement coming out of Chicago notably during the 90's, Torto

After a decade, Tobias Jesso Jr. returns to the spotlight with s h i n e. The songs sound incomplete and unfinished, like rough sketches or demos that could be more refined on a proper album. The presentation leaves a lot to be desired, making me wonder why he came back in the first place. R&R - 2025 Tobias Jesso Jr. seemingly came out of nowhere and then returned back to nowhere in an instant. A Canadian singer and songwriter, Jesso picked up the piano at a later age in

Like its predecessor, many of the moments on Geese's Getting Killed are instantly mind blowing, jaw dropping, and beyond impressive. It's such a stunning record from such a young band that I have to remind myself that the band members are barely past the legal drinking age. Getting Killed is arguably this year's best album, regardless of genre. Partisan - 2025 Geese, not to be confused with the Connecticut jam band Goose, are a NY-based band of young musicians who've b

Afie Jurvanen continues to thrive on My Second Last Album . Despite its title, I feel like he's got a lot more to offer in the future than simply one more album, since he continues to make compelling singer songwriter music that's equally memorable as it is entertaining. Brushfire - 2025 Afie Jurvanen is a singer, jokester, and songwriter based in Canada and he's been making heartful, cheeky songs under the Bahamas name for over fifteen years now. I've always found the "

Deadbeat sounds so lifeless, derivative, and void of any charm or personality. Kevin Parker's attempts at making dance music lacks the whimsy, charm, and magic that made Tame Impala such a great and interesting project in the first place. It's a vapid listening experience. Columbia - 2025 2020's The Slow Rush feels like it was released ages ago. 2015's Currents feels even more so. So when I initially heard about a new, fifth album coming down the pipe from Kevin Parker'

Cutthroat is indeed cutthroat, where its songs are about all the liars, cheats, and scum of the Earth people. The music is pummeling, full of rapid fire rockers that are all the more thrilling, making it one of shame's most enjoyable and infectious records to date. Dead Oceans - 2025 The South London post punk scene is thriving and one of its highly acclaimed bands, shame, are on another level. Their discography so far has been bulletproof with bangers and rapid fire per

The Beths pull out another solid album with Straight Line Was a Lie , their most emotionally vulnerable record to date full of catchy hooks and lyrically dense lines. Anti - 2025 Indie pop rockers The Beths hail from New Zealand and have been one of the more buzzed about bands as of late. With an ear for hooks soundtracked by lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes' self deprecating humor, The Beths have been a favorite for indie blogs and college radio alike. Their 2020 album Ju

That Wasn't a Dream is a remarkable collaboration that continues to show, if anything, that Pino Palladino and Blake Mills are up to the task at creating some beautiful and technically crafted jams. Verve - 2025 In purely technical aspects, bassist Pino Palladino and guitarist Blake Mills are the best in the game. Palladino has been around forever it seems, providing his fretless bass for artists ranging from The Who to Adele to D'Angelo (Rest In Peace!). Blake Mills ha

Inspired by Americana, Spanish and Irish folk, Geckøs is a pleasant detour for M. Ward, Howe Gelb, and McKowski, but it will simply be a...