Best Ever Albums

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

MadhattanJack — Tue, 12 May 2026 05:09:32 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 05/12/2026 09:09

Oops, I did miss one from May 8:

Lauren Lakis, Deadlights: Ms. Lakis was living in Los Angeles and slowly building a Hollywood acting career until around 2022 or so, just as the COVID pandemic was starting to peter out. Then I guess she realized Hollywood sucks, so she up and moved to Austin, Texas (which is odd, since Texas isn't much better) to make reverb-heavy darkgaze records instead. This is her fourth, on a new label (RidingEasy), and it's the best one yet! I had practically no expectations for this record, not to mention that's a terrible cover photo (I'm actually kind of a "smile guy" myself), so it was a really pleasant surprise when I finally took a moment to listen to it earlier today. (To be fair, you don't expect someone going by the name "Lauren Lakis" to be a darkgaze act, much less a really good one.) Kind of a powerful record, actually.

There was also this album, but I don't want to offend any Swifties who might have found this page on a Google search, so I'll skip the description on it.

The 15th is shaping up to be a little better than I thought, but we'll see what happens, I guess!

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

MadhattanJack — Mon, 11 May 2026 05:11:19 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 05/11/2026 09:11

More Stuff From May 8

I didn't really miss that much this time — obviously there was the new Chris Brown surprise-drop LP, Brown (good matching color choice there), which I'm guessing will have about as much impact as the Snoop Dogg surprise-drop LP had a few weeks ago, meaning you might never hear about it again until after the 2028 election. But of course I didn't actually post the list below on May 8, I'm only doing it now, so I could easily be lying about having not missed much. Meanwhile, I still consider my two picks from Thursday to be completely defensible, but having listened to it some more, the Cola album really does deserve some love. Look at this album cover! It's like a DeChirico wallpaper catalogue!

Cola
Cost Of Living Adjustment (2026)

Cola, Cost of Living Adjustment: Cola is a Velvets-influenced post-punk trio from Montreal who have a bit of that early-80s "angular" thing going on, which nearly always means "I like them," at least coming from me. There's a fair amount of sprechgesang and bored-singer happening here too, but not all the time. (The lyrics are pretty good, so that kind of makes up for it.) Musically there's nothing fancy about these tunes, as they're all stripped down to be live-playable by just the three guys, only one of whom sings... but they still manage to do some interesting things, despite the minimalism commitment. Lots of people would probably rank this album higher than the new Haunted Youth and Asteroid No.4 albums I picked back on Thursday, to be perfectly honest. (I guess I wouldn't even blame them. Okay, maybe a little.)
Basement, WIRED: This emo-punk band from Ipswich hasn't made an album in several years, and they say they're trying to "expand their sonic palette," but they still sound American. If they just up and moved to Minneapolis, nobody would know. I do like this LP, more than most emo-punk records, but maybe that's not saying much.
Lemoncello, Perfect Place (stream not currently available on Bandcamp): I'm pretty sure these are original tunes, but they sound like 400-year-old traditional Irish/Gaelic folk songs, only they're recorded with a cello and electronics. It's a similar approach to that of Dead Can Dance, only DCD programmed their synthesizers to sound more like real instruments, and this duo doesn't do that. Probably because they just don't want to. Still, don't expect electronic music "tinged" with Irish traditional and a cello; it's the other way around.
Sissy Spacek, Geometric Reason: This is a Japanese industrial/noise dark-ambient act who named themselves after a beloved American actress because, well, that's just what you do in the industrial/noise dark-ambient genre. It's three tracks of musique concrète and abstract soundscapes, mostly using musical instruments (as opposed to nature sounds or household appliances). Total time, just under 51 minutes.
Unwed Sailor, High Remembrance: Here's an album of occasionally dreamy/gazey, but more often conventional rock instrumentals by four guys from Oklahoma. My guess is they hired a singer, or perhaps a series of singers, and they hated them all for various reasons (surely not personal ones) and just decided they couldn't take it anymore. It's too bad, really — they'd have a lot more commercial potential with a singer. (Not Eddie Vedder, though. That would be a disaster.)
Vanessa Van Basten, Yes: Sometimes bands just insist on naming themselves as deceptively as possible. This particular case-in-point is a post-rock trio from Genoa, Italy, not a well-dressed European classical violinist or opera singer as the name might suggest. They're best known on BEA for their Disintegration EP (four tracks/23 minutes of covers from The Cure's Disintegration LP); this doesn't sound much like that, though. It's... okay.
War on Women, Time Under Tension: Here's a feminist hardcore band from Baltimore (where else?), who have gotten progressively more musical over the years, to the point where some of the tracks on this LP have a more pop-music sort of feel to them. OH NO! Don't worry though, they're still on "our side." (Note that in the middle of this album is a 32-minute track called "Shapes," which is actually an episode of the Lincoln Square podcast about the state of women's rights in the USA under the current misogynist-fascist regime. After that, track 7, "Feels Good," is a live track, and that's followed by "Malevolence," the only seriously hardcore-punk track on the album. But on track 9, "Balance," we're back to the podcast audio, like "Shapes" but this one lasts less than a minute, and track 10, "The Movie Fear Starring Reese Witherspoon," is in fact the audio from a trailer for the movie Fear, starring Reese Witherspoon. Track 11, "Hunger Stones," is an audio capture from this Youtube video, which apparently has nothing to do with feminism or Reese Witherspoon. Long story short, this album has only 7 actual music tracks on it, and the non-music tracks are all Youtube audio rips. Not that I'm complaining.)
Eradescents, Before Today: Extreme-lo-fi noisy garage punk from Arcata, California. This one starts with two short/repetitive instrumental jams that I would describe as "intro music," so it's really more like a 4-song EP than an album, but regardless, I like it. I just can't explain why just yet.
Five Eight, Help a Sinner: This band of "a bit older now" punks from Athens, Georgia have been around for 38 years, and this is their 12th studio album. They seem like nice guys, and their records are lots of fun, so why hadn't I heard of them before? I don't have the "block all Athens GA bands" setting turned on in my new-releases feed, do I? Oops, dang, it looks like it was on. How did that happen... Hmm, maybe I should keep it on, just to be safe.
Cloud Houses, Cost of Conscience: A fairly conventional pop-rock album by a six-piece band from Chicago who could use a better singer, and preferably just one. I'm only mentioning them here because they have the word "cloud" in their name and some people (i.e., me) seem to think that implies a more "airy" or dreamlike sound that this band doesn't really have.
Croz Boyce, Croz Boyce: Hardly the first time two members of Animal Collective (in this case, Dave "Avey Tare" Portner and Brian "Geologist" Weitz) have released a duo-within-the-band album like this, but this might be the first time such a duo have given themselves their own band name. Usually they release stuff under their own stage names and then re-credit them to Animal Collective later, so maybe they've decided to stop doing that now. Essentially what they did here was collaborate remotely via the internet, taking a guitar lick here, a chord progression there, and then just adding layers — they didn't get together in the same room at any point to write and/or finish the songs, and you can sort of tell, to be honest. Personally, I'd say this record is nice enough, but mostly for Animal Collective completists, assuming such people exist (if they do, I feel for them, since few bands have discographies as confusing as theirs).

Next week actually looks pretty dicey, so no advance predictions for May 15th. (It might be a good week to go back and review stuff that got missed earlier in the year.) 😄

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

Tap — Fri, 8 May 2026 22:42:07 GMT

Author: Tap

Posted: 05/09/2026 02:42

This week's got some good action, there's Fire-Toolz showing up on Warp Records, أح�...د [Ahmed] beginning to tackle the discography of Thelonious Monk, Alabaster DePlume and Vladislav Delay Quintet separately being like "that's not enough, jazz fans need EVEN MORE", half an Animal Collective deciding to do something under the name Croz Boyce, and a lot of the other stuff mentioned above (I'm really curious about that Cola one).

But my big suggestion is Guttersnipe!!

There's a lot of stuff out there in the world that I've seen from people that I have not liked and that's been true for a while but it's really been getting to me lately. This kind of cosmic noise rock of shrieking guitar drum energy feels like the noise that's been in my head and it's been a relief to see it out in the world, maybe you'll feel the same!!

Guttersnipe - Extinction Burst!
https://guttersnipe.bandcamp.com/album/extinction-burst

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

MadhattanJack — Fri, 8 May 2026 01:05:45 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 05/08/2026 05:05

I guess the Big Rock Album Releases tomorrow are the new Broken Social Scene LP, Remember The Humans, and Social Distortion's new album Born to Kill? Normally they try to avoid these situations where similarly-named bands release albums on the same day, but we're fully into the TikTok Era of Modern Music now, so I guess nothing matters anymore.

There's also the new LP from Aldous Harding, Train on the Island — the album cover photo has her face hidden by blue paint, but it's on 4AD so I guess we have to give them the benefit of the doubt there. The Lemon Twigs have a new album called Look For Your Mind!, which strikes me as more of the same from them, though that's not necessarily a bad thing. And speaking of lemons, Lemoncello are releasing their second LP, Perfect Place, continuing their effort to drag Irish/Celtic folk music kicking and screaming into the synthesizer-and-beatbox era. Finally, for the geriatric set there's a new Midge Ure album, A Man of Two Worlds (no BC link yet); early-80s post-punkers The Loft are back with a second post-reunion LP, Badges, which actually sounds really good; and last but not least, Amy Grant has a new album called The Me That Remains, her first LP in 13 years. Hard to believe her first album came out almost 50 years ago! And I still haven't heard it.

Of course, all of this is of little consequence to me personally, as I'm mostly just concerned with The Asteroid No.4's new album, In Praise of Shadows, and The Haunted Youth's Boys Cry Too. Which of these is the most recommendable? Which one am I most excited about as a music listener and human torque converter? And which is likely to have the most impact on global culture and pop music history in general? (If any?)

Honestly, I think it's a toss-up in nearly every respect.

Boys Cry Too is the more immediate and ear-grabby of the two, but In Praise of Shadows (which is somewhat more subtle) will probably be more rewarding after repeat listens. Haunted Youth frontman/singer (and only stable member) Joachim Liebens has a better voice for the material than the Asteroids' Scott Vitt, but the Asteroids have always been good vocal arrangers, and Liebens, not so much. His two or three emo-screamo moments on this album are also a bit questionable in my opinion, like he's just trying too hard. The Asteroids have been around a long time and are more experienced musicians and songwriters, both in the psychedelia and shoegaze genres, and while that doesn't make them better, there's definitely more going on in there. Finally, in terms of titling and cover art, I'd have to give the nod to The Haunted Youth — neither of these album covers are spectacularly great, but the broken-heart motif has more visual impact and so does the title (even though some people will assume it's a reference to The Cure, which it probably is). Meanwhile, "In Praise of Shadows" has been used as an album title by well over a dozen bands prior to this album, whereas "Boys Cry Too" has been used by only two, maybe three others.

So... I'd have to conclude that Boys Cry Too is more recommendable to most people who are likely to have read this far, but I'll probably have In Praise of Shadows ranked higher on my 2026 year chart... eventually. Whereas if you've skipped all the explanatory material above and are just reading this one paragraph, you'll probably like the new album by Quebecois post-punk band Cola, entitled Cost of Living Adjustment. More on them in a future post, maybe! 😄

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

Repo — Thu, 7 May 2026 18:11:58 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 05/07/2026 22:11

RELEASE DAY EVE: May 8th, 2026.

Black Gaze: And the casements of the heavens were opened! ☂️

Det Hjemsokte Hjertet (2026) by Panopticon

Genesis 6:5. AND the Lord saw that the evil of the human creature was great on the earth
and that every scheme of his heart's devising was only perpetually evil.
AND the Lord regretted having made the human on earth and was grieved to the heart. (Robert Alter transl.)

Panopticon are right up there with Godspeed You! Black Emperor at constructing epic dystopian soundtracks for the fall of modern civilization. As I make like Noah and start building my own personal ark to bide out the forthcoming flood, I honestly cannot think of a better backdrop soundtrack than whatever Panopticon rains down on us tomorrow.

What May 8th, 2026 release(s) do YOU have your ears & heart set on when midnight strikes?! 🔭�'�

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

MadhattanJack — Thu, 7 May 2026 03:46:53 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 05/07/2026 07:46

Repo wrote:

How about unleashing that on Monday? 🤓

Good idea, so it's unfortunate that I ignored it and it's already Thursday. (I had to make an unforeseen out-of-town trip.) I will try to make up for it by posting this last-minute "quick list"...

Already in the BEA database, as of today:

Weird Nightmare, Hoopla: Solo power-pop guy from Toronto, a bit lo-fi and slightly chaotic in spots, but that's fine in this case. Some very catchy tunes on this record — it reminds me of those two Sharp Pins albums from last year, though it's more polished than the first one was, and not quite as exhuberant or Beatlesque. It's worth a listen, anyway.
Pope, BFM: These guys are from New Orleans, and this sort of starts out as a pop-punk record that gradually evolves/devolves (depending on your perspective) into a folk-rock, almost-Americana album over the course of 12 tracks, until it gets to the 13th when they somehow remember they're supposed to be a pop-punk band just in time for one last hurrah. The singer's voice is ideal for power-pop, but only about four tracks could be described as such. There are several good songs on this LP, but I have to admit I prefer those four, if only because the guy's voice sounds better on them. (If I had to compare his voice with someone else's, I'd probably go with Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie.) Unfortunately, "BFM" is the acronym for so many popular terms it's impossible to say what the title means.
Modern Woman: Johnny's Dreamworld: Bubbly art-pop from London. Definitely the best album cover of the bunch — it's quite appropriate too, since the image of women indulging in a violent altercation in the midst of a pastoral setting almost perfectly illustrates what this band is trying to do musically. That said, there's only one woman in the band, and she doesn't look all that modern to me.
Sub*T, How My Own Voice Sounds: I guess you could call this "grungepop," and it's not bad, but the singer's low-in-the-mix bored-whisper style just isn't appropriate for the hard-edged, guitar-oriented material. I guess that makes this the most appropriate album title of the bunch — I kept expecting her to start shouting or screaming, or doing something other than the bored whisper, but it just never happens. Some people will like it, but it just didn't quite work for me — it's sort of like what Pale Saints sounded like after Ian Masters left and Meriel Barham took over on vocals. I still bought the record, but it just wasn't them anymore.

The rest of 'em:

Goo, Oh Wow, Oh Well: Cheesy girlpunk from Keighley — not that cheesy girlpunk is necessarily bad. Keighley, I'm not so sure about.
Youth in Government, Silhouettes: DC-based self-professed somethingazer duo, but it's really just basic alt-rock with extra reverb. Nice production sound, actually.
Genre is Death, Attractive People: I agree that genre is death, that's why I'm so obsessed with what genre everything is. Anyway, this is a noisy post-punk sprechgesang band from NYC, but that doesn't mean you should drop everything and go check them out.
Blush., In The Grey: Kind of a shoegaze-pop act from Victoria, British Columbia that maybe wants to be more of a run-of-the-mill alt-rock act, but doesn't have the singer or lead guitarist they need to make the "leap." Some good moments in this one.
Mild Mannered, Living in Fear: Solo dronegazer dude from Chilliwack, British Columbia, who I like because he's apparently rather "left-leaning" and he's only asking for a dollar on Bandcamp for the whole album. Very cool-sounding. (Must be something in the air up there.)
A Lilac Decline, Eternity Bores Me: This is Cecilia Danell (it's an anagram!) who is from Sweden by way of Ireland, and is better known as a visual artist. I'm not going to say "for good reason," but I'm afraid she does paint better than she sings, and her backing band only partially makes up for it.
Cindy, Another Country: Slooooowwwww twee from San Franscisco. Not bad though, for what it is. (This is their fifth LP, so they must be doing something right.)
Above Me, Soften the Blows: Solo dreampop, male singer, also from San Francisco. (Must be something in the economy over there.) Not bad, but this guy's voice is very, very whispery, arguably too much so.

Anyway, Friday of this week, which is now tomorrow, is probably going to be the biggest release day of the year from my perspective, as it's quite possible that the two albums I'm most interested in will end up as #1 and #2 on my 2026 chart at the end of the year. Still, it's only May, so who knows. 🤔

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

Tap — Fri, 1 May 2026 21:40:03 GMT

Author: Tap

Posted: 05/02/2026 01:40

Repo wrote:

Honestly, between you & Tap, we may just have the BEST weekly roundup of new releases on the entire internet. 🥳

For real! It's great to see what you guys pull, feels like we get pretty good coverage here.

One other big rec for this week: Octo Octa - Sigils For Survival
https://octoocta.bandcamp.com/album/sigils-for-survival

Just some really great dance music here, with enough happening to keep the stationary entertained

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

Repo — Fri, 1 May 2026 07:37:42 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 05/01/2026 11:37

MadhattanJack wrote:

My problem this week is that I can't decide between my Top Three picks. I realize this is cheating, so I'm going to describe how each would be the pick-of-the-week if I had to decide based on one of three different "deciding factors" - most listenable, most interesting, and most everything else.

Nice categories! And I know you're just kidding around, but certainly NOT cheating. You're just an overachiever! I LOVE your weekly roundups! 🥰

Honestly, between you & Tap, we may just have the BEST weekly roundup of new releases on the entire internet. 🥳

MadhattanJack wrote:

So... again, sorry for cheating, but I just couldn't help myself. There were about ten more albums that were, uhh, just okay, good-but-not-great, so if anyone wants me to post those too, just say so.

How about unleashing that on Monday? 🤓

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

MadhattanJack — Fri, 1 May 2026 00:07:49 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 05/01/2026 04:07

I already mentioned the albums this week from Tori Amos, The Black Keys, Kacey Musgraves, American Football, Arcade Fire (sort of), and Super Furry Animals. I didn't mention the new one from Young The Giant because I honestly didn't think they were all that popular, but I guess I was wrong about that, sorry. As for the new Zara Larsson LP, I guess you'll just have to make up your own minds on that one...

In addition to those, for the 90's-era types out there, the Boo Radleys have a new one called In Spite of Everything. It's basically a straight-up pop album, but I like it better than their last one, which was also a straight-up pop album. And that's fine really, I just wish they would stop making straight-up pop albums. There are also new LPs by Laibach (Musick) and The Claypool-Lennon Delirium (The Great Parrot-Ox and the Golden Egg of Empathy), which I'm sure are fantastic if you like those bands. (I don't dislike them, personally... they just don't quite do it for me.)

My problem this week is that I can't decide between my Top Three picks. I realize this is cheating, so I'm going to describe how each would be the pick-of-the-week if I had to decide based on one of three different "deciding factors" - most listenable, most interesting, and most everything else.

Most Listenable: White Flowers, Dreams For Somebody Else. Normally this would be the easy #1 choice, except that this album isn't as good as their last one (Day by Day), so that's disappointing, but it's still pretty darn good. They're a male-female dreampop/trip-hop duo from Preston in the UK, and she's got one of those soft, breathy, waifish voices, but it doesn't sound totally like Portishead — more like Still Corners, or (if you must) Alvvays. I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, and I know it, so I won't be miffed if nobody else likes it. (Okay, maybe a little.)

Most Interesting: Kind of unexpected, but there's another duo (who were apparently a trio until recently) called "youbet" who have a new self-titled LP, but it's not their debut, it's actually their third album. And yes, it's a terrible band name, since it doesn't just sound like an online betting platform, it is in fact an online betting platform. But the album is really cool, and very musical and clever — not quite early-XTC-style clever, but still pretty darn clever. According to Rolling Stone (paywalled), both band-members are music teachers, and one of their students went on to be a member of Geese, though I guess you'll have to be a Rolling Stone subscriber to find out which member of Geese it was and what they were supposed to be teaching them. Also, I'm pretty sure both members of youbet are trans/non-binary people, which I think makes them my all-time favorite trans/non-binary band ever (beating out Disiniblud by just a scoche). But maybe that only makes it all the more important that they get a better band name...?

Most Everything Else: Noveller, I Am the Weather. Sarah "Noveller" Lipstate hasn't made an album since 2021's Aphantasia, because she's been playing guitar in Iggy Pop's backing band and also doing soundtrack-type work, which has apparently allowed her to upgrade her home recording studio quite substantially. Her music is usually described as "effectronica," since she does it by manipulating dozens of guitar effects pedals, which (to me at least) makes her the Coolest Active Musician Today. Word is that this album is going to be less ambient and more "cinematic" and neo-classical, with percussion and even piano on some of the tracks. The only preview track, "The Girl Who Was Death," features Iggy on vocals — the first and only vocal ever to be heard on a Noveller album, and it's Iggy! Those of you who are into offbeat 60's British TV might also recognize that song title as having been the name of an episode of The Prisoner, and it's clearly intentional because there's another track on the LP called "Portmeirion," which is the name of the Welsh resort where The Prisoner was filmed. So, extra points for that.

So... again, sorry for cheating, but I just couldn't help myself. There were about ten more albums that were, uhh, just okay, good-but-not-great, so if anyone wants me to post those too, just say so. (This post is already way too long.) And next week will be even more problematic — new albums from two of my current-favorite bands in the world, The Asteroid No.4 and The Haunted Youth! How to choose between those two? It may be impossible.

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

MadhattanJack — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 22:01:09 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 05/01/2026 02:01

Repo wrote:

Quique is better than Loveless. Whew. That feels so good to get off my chest. I think I've been holding that in since 1993. Alright. Let's build some momentum on this ...

Honestly, I actually like Polyfusia more than Quique. And as for Loveless, I used to think it was overrated... but I kind of changed my mind later. (Probably because I learned what "overrated" really means!)

And if I were to be "brutally" honest (hopefully not to the point of offending you or anyone else), what I've heard of Sol.Hz sounds more like ambient dub to me than shoegaze, and you could probably say the same for some of their earlier stuff too. I like them, but compared to Jetman Jet Team... well, nobody really compares to Jetman Jet Team. What am I saying.

Tap wrote:

Ben Vida - Oblivion Seekers

Everyone knows I like anything with a 100% textual album cover, especially when it's a typewriter-style typeface... though I prefer it when the text is descriptive rather than just a lyric sheet. This record could also replace my hypnotherapist, which would save me quite a bit of money. I'll add it to my list! 😄

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

Repo — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:19:34 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 05/01/2026 00:19

Tap wrote:

My "suggestion" is that you should listen to

Ben Vida - Oblivion Seekers

And I put suggestion in quotes because it is not a suggestion, it is mandatory. Ben Vida's shift from weird psychoacoustic electronic headfuck activity into some really weird almost POP type of stuff is truly incredible and its some of the best stuff happening and everyone must listen because I have made it mandatory

https://benvida.bandcamp.com/album/oblivion-seekers

Ha! I'm on it! 🙌 😊

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

Tap — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:02:52 GMT

Author: Tap

Posted: 05/01/2026 00:02

Repo wrote:

RELEASE DAY EVE: May 1st, 2026.

Exhale & Let it All Out! 😮‍�'�

Sol.Hz (2026) by Seefeel

Deep breaths. Ok. I’m ready. Here goes…

Quique is better than Loveless. Whew. That feels so good to get off my chest. I think I've been holding that in since 1993. Alright. Let's build some momentum on this ...

Quique is better than Loveless!
Quique is better than Loveless!
Quique is better than Loveless!
Quique is better than Loveless!
Quique is better than Loveless!

So here's hoping to Seefeel dropping something even half as good tomorrow! 😇🙏 AND, just in case anyone is wondering, I actually prefer Isn't Anything and that You Made Me Realize EP over Loveless as well. Not that I don't love Loveless. I just love Loveless a little less.

What May 1st, 2026 release do YOU have your ears & heart set on when midnight strikes?! 🔭�'�

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

Repo — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:16:27 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 04/30/2026 22:16

RELEASE DAY EVE: May 1st, 2026.

Exhale & Let it All Out! 😮‍�'�

Sol.Hz (2026) by Seefeel

Deep breaths. Ok. I’m ready. Here goes…

Quique is better than Loveless. Whew. That feels so good to get off my chest. I think I've been holding that in since 1993. Alright. Let's build some momentum on this ...

Quique is better than Loveless!
Quique is better than Loveless!
Quique is better than Loveless!
Quique is better than Loveless!
Quique is better than Loveless!

So here's hoping to Seefeel dropping something even half as good tomorrow! 😇🙏 AND, just in case anyone is wondering, I actually prefer Isn't Anything and that You Made Me Realize EP over Loveless as well. Not that I don't love Loveless. I just love Loveless a little less.

What May 1st, 2026 release(s) do YOU have your ears & heart set on when midnight strikes?! 🔭�'�

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

MadhattanJack — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 22:55:22 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 04/30/2026 02:55

imacgill wrote:

Also, if I remember reading correctly they named their band after Echo & The Bunnymen's debut album which also does not have an image of a crocodile on it's cover.

I looked into this...

Most people wouldn't, of course, but this is just sort of "what I do." As it turns out, there are roughly a hundred recording artists on Discogs whose names contain the word "crocodile" in some way, shape, or form, and practically none of them have made albums with cover art featuring one or more crocodiles, or again, lizards of any kind.

I don't mean to derail the thread or anything, but honestly, I was astonished by this. What is it about crocodiles that causes bands to put the word in their band names but not images of them on album covers? And is this common for bands that name themselves after other animals? Or is it crocodile-specific?

If I had to some up with a theory, I'd say maybe the answer involves the process most bands go through in choosing a name. In my own experience, usually there's a meeting, often more than one, and some sort of list is produced, and the band members take names off the list in a process of elimination. So you don't necessarily end up with the best name, you end up with the one that nobody objects to, or that everyone objects to the least. You could easily end up being called "Crocodiles" if the people in the band keep suggesting names like "The Shite-Munching Morons" or "Holeface" and just won't stop. But with album covers, it's a completely different story — there's a lot of real work involved, which often costs real money, and it has to look good, so a lot of bands choose a more conservative approach and just use a group photo or something conventionally representational and, again, inoffensive.

I still don't like it, but I guess I shouldn't complain.

Anyway, I've been looking for surprise drops and other stuff that I missed from last week, at least among things that I personally might want to listen to, and surprisingly I haven't found any. There was a pretty decent album released yesterday by a (Canadian!) band, Ace of Wands, called Future Wave — it's sort of not-quite-prog, not-quite-post-punk, maybe a little 70s AOR, very nice recording, kinda-sorta quirky, but not really my thing genre-wise. Still, some people should like it. It's their third LP, though the previous two haven't made it into the BEA database, at least not yet. (It's probably the vocals, as is often the case - their singer doesn't seem to emote much.)

The big pop/rock releases this week will be the new albums from Tori Amos, The Black Keys, Kacey Musgraves, and American Football. Also, the "reimagined" version of Arcade Fire's Pink Elephant goes into general release, and there's a rarities album coming from Super Furry Animals. I'm not so interested in any of these, though word is that the Tori Amos album, In Times of Dragons, is one of her "weirder ones," and it appears to be some sort of long-form metaphor for the US political situation to boot. So I'll probably give that a listen at least. 😄

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

imacgill — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 23:00:08 GMT

Author: imacgill

Posted: 04/25/2026 03:00

[*]Crocodiles, Greetings From Hell: A long-running garage-punk duo from San Diego, Crocodiles have now made 9 albums and have yet to put an image of a crocodile — or any other lizard — on an album cover, or even a single or EP cover. C'mon guys, your records are a lot of fun and you sound pretty good, but put your money where your mouth is for once!

When I saw earlier today that this band is still together and releasing a new album I was surprised. I own a couple of their albums and saw them play live in 2011 when they opened for Dum Dum Girls (At the time Crocodiles singer Brandon Welchez was married to Dum Dum Girls Dee Dee Penny-since divorced). They had a real J&MC vibe going on in both their style and noise pop sound. Might check this album out now that I know they didn't drop pff the face of the earth. Also, if I remember reading correctly they named their band after Echo & The Bunnymen's debut album which also does not have an image of a crocodile on it's cover.

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

Tap — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:09:14 GMT

Author: Tap

Posted: 04/24/2026 04:09

Oh I forgot there's also Carla dal Forno and the OOIOO / Lightning Bolt split

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

MadhattanJack — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 23:53:29 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 04/24/2026 03:53

There's lots of good stuff this week, but right now I'm not hearing one particular great thing. That could change, but for the moment at least I'm sticking with my initial reactions, or whatever you'd call 'em. (Impulses? Gut feelings? Overweening tendencies?)

Tokyo Shoegazer, Remains: Look, they're shoegazers from Tokyo. It's right there in the name. No false advertising here, folks! This is my Pick of the Week, but just barely.
Sloome, Blue Fire Doom: Sloome is a shoegaze-pop band from Modesto, CA, and when I use the term "shoegaze pop," of course that's supposed to mean they're more shoegaze than pop. Otherwise, they'd be "popgaze." This band is right on the line between the two, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, for now. They're really more like a "shoegaze power-pop" band, but you can't call them that because then you'd have to call some bands "power-popgaze" or even "powergaze," and that would just be silly. Another problem is that I just recently listened to the band Shoes, because of that new Gary Klebe album, so when I heard this Sloome LP it struck me as sounding a lot like what Shoes would have sounded like if they'd been a shoegaze band, but then people would insist on calling them "shoesgaze" just to be clever. So at some point, you really have to say enough is enough.
Misty Coast, Always Sun: Here's a nice dreampop (with just a touch of trip-hop) duo from Bergen, Norway, who were once in a band called The Megaphonic Thrift. This is their fifth album, and at this point I'd have to say they've surpassed both the Megaphonic Thrift and the Polyphonic Spree in terms of output quality.
Crocodiles, Greetings From Hell: A long-running garage-punk duo from San Diego, Crocodiles have now made 9 albums and have yet to put an image of a crocodile — or any other lizard — on an album cover, or even a single or EP cover. C'mon guys, your records are a lot of fun and you sound pretty good, but put your money where your mouth is for once!
Tempers, Delusion: This is a solo darkwave artist from NYC who sounds like she wanted to make a goth record, but her vocal tone lacks the necessary menace and "growl factor" for that, so she's calling it "low-lit poetic synth-pop." The important thing is that she tried, I guess... It's a pretty good album, and she even reminds me of Shana Falana a little bit, which is good... but for the next one I'd suggest she avoid self-labeling altogether.
Zin, Levitation Frequency: This is a stoner/grungegazey kinda band (duo?) from Pittsburgh, who sound like they might have been a screamo band at one point and the singer just couldn't take it anymore, so now he sounds like he's being slowly strangled over the course of the LP. They sound great, but if you have any empathy at all for people suffering from serious pain in the ol' larynx, it could be triggering for you.
Boy With Apple, Navigation: These folks bill themselves as Sweden's answer to My Bloody Valentine, which probably isn't a good idea marketing-wise because they don't really sound like My Bloody Valentine at all, and Sweden already has Makthaverskan, whom most MBV fans would probably prefer over these folks. Still, I like it!

There are a few more that I'm less thrilled about, but they deserve a mention at least.

The Reds, Pinks & Purples, Acknowledge Kindness: This is a guy named Glenn Donaldson, from the San Francisco Bay area, who may be one of the most prolific recording artists of the 21st century. Discogs lists him as being a member of 30 (that's thirty) different bands, some of which are just DIY one-offs, but not all — this is the 12th album he's recorded as The Reds, Pinks & Purples in just over 6 years, and that's just one "project." As for this particular record, I'd say his vocals sound a bit over-dramatic, like he's trying to be The New Leonard Cohen or something, but otherwise it's fine. And who knows, maybe he will be The New Leonard Cohen, or... something. Someday.
TV Star, Music For Heads: A tweegaze/jangle-pop act from the Sea-Tac area. By BEA rules this would be their second album, but they're calling 2023's six-track Hallucinate Me an EP, so as far as they're concerned this is their debut LP. And it's good, I'm not saying it isn't, a little spotty maybe... the band name just seems a little presumptuous to me.
Visit Me, Daystar: Here's a kind of pastoral-folkgazey, occasionally ambient-electronica-ish trio from England, but they're not telling us what specific part of England they're from, so visiting them is going to be a bit of a problem. I'll probably try to do it anyway, but if I get arrested for stalking, it's going to be their fault.
Cabaret Voltaire, But What Time Is It Really?: It turns out this is just a live album, released for their recent 50th anniversary. Sorry if I got anyone excited...
Rachel Grimes, Waltzes & Love Songs of Henry Hart: I've always liked Rachel's, but since Rachel Grimes started making albums all by herself, I've been less enthusiastic. Also, I don't really like Henry Hart, but that whole bad business goes all the way back to elementary school, and I'd rather not talk about it now. (Okay, that might have been a different Henry Hart, but I don't like to take chances.) It's quality work, though... just not my thing, personally.

Next week: Hopefully, new stuff from White Flowers and Noveller. 😄

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

Tap — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:22:02 GMT

Author: Tap

Posted: 04/23/2026 22:22

Oh yeah, psyched to check that White Fence, seems promising. The one I'm most excited for this week is

Fatboi Sharif & Child Actor - Crayola Circles
https://fatboisharif.bandcamp.com/album/crayola-circles

I have really been loving Fatboi Sharif's stuff the past few years, just gets into weird and fucked up zones with his raps and the accompanying production that don't feel quite like anyone else.

Also this one

Matt Gold & Dustin Laurenzi - Devotional Fade
https://dustinlaurenzi.bandcamp.com/album/devotional-fade

I love Laurenzi's stuff, just so tuneful and easy to listen to without taking an easy path with it. This seems like itll be the same!

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

Repo — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:36:32 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 04/23/2026 21:36

RELEASE DAY EVE: April 24th, 2026.

Psych Pop for Now Heads

Orange (2026) by White Fence

Part of the Ty Segall garage rock universe, Tim Presley under the moniker White Fence has been releasing Psych Pop nuggets since 2010. Ty Segall produces and plays drums. Worth checking out if you have a soft spot for Syd Barrett-ish Psychedelic Pop. I'm a sucker for this particular genre. If you giggle a bit (still!) when someone coughs "420" this is the release of the week for you ( & me! 🍄).

What April 24th, 2026 release do YOU have your ears & heart set on when midnight strikes?! 🔭�'�

Re: Release Day Eve: May 8th!!! ☂️

MadhattanJack — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 21:19:33 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 04/23/2026 01:19

OK, before we get to the April 24 stuff, here are three things I missed from last week.

Eaves Wilder, Little Miss Sunshine: This was a complete surprise (though not a "surprise drop," since it was announced weeks ago) — way better than you'd expect given the name, the album title, or the album cover. It's basically a "waifgaze" album, not unlike a Hatchie or Mitski record, just more punkish, and the vocals more waifish, more like Paula Kelley (see above) or Cranes' Alison Shaw. I'd still rate the Teenage Suicide album a little higher, but it turned out to be less of a "slam-dunk" than I thought because of this record. (And who names their daughter "Eaves"? Do they have kids named "Soffits" and "Perlins" too? Jeez.)
Gary Klebe, Out Loud: If you don't remember who Gary Klebe is, don't feel bad — I didn't either! Klebe was one of the two lead singers in Shoes, the mid-70s power pop band who (along with the Plimsouls, Motors, Records, Romantics, etc.) got lumped in with the New Wave crowd and nevertheless helped popularize the power-pop genre during the 80s. I even have a copy of Present Tense, but it had been so long since that came out (almost 50 years!) I just forgot. Thankfully Klebe hasn't abandoned the genre, this album is 100% O.G. power pop, though there may be a few more acoustic guitars involved now. "Maturity doesn't have to be boring," as my elderly mom once said before falling asleep for the 300th time that day.
Shapes Like People, Under the Rainbow: Here's a nice twee-adjacent janglepop husband-and-wife duo from Kent. (She's originally from New Zealand.) Maybe I'm just misunderstanding their band name, but every time I've encountered a shape they've been really rude and inconsiderate to me, so I don't really think of them as liking anybody. Still, pretty good album.

Obviously this Friday's big release is the new Foo Fighters LP, Your Favorite Toy. I'm not seeing any toys on the album cover, but that might be a wad of Silly Putty™ on the guy's hand in the lower-right corner... There are about a dozen albums that look interesting, including a new Cabaret Voltaire album for the geriatric post-punk set (not to mention a new Ringo Starr album for the geriatric not-so-post-punk set). But I suspect my pick-of-the-week has already been released — yesterday, to be precise, with the appearance of a new 東京�...'吐座 [Tokyo Shoegazer] album, entitled "Remains." Sometimes, if you really want the good stuff, you just have to go to Japan.

Maybe I'll change my mind though, if only to be less predictable. 😜