The 20 Best Albums of 2026 So Far

New Bands for Old Heads is 2 years old 🎉 Here are some records to celebrate (and even to take home)

There’s some good news and there’s some bad news.

I’ll start with the bad news, because I don’t like to dwell. I mean, I do dwell — I constantly dwell, I’m so good at dwelling. But I don’t like to do it. And today is actually a happy occasion.

What do you think is the most casual, low-key, unobtrusively charming way of saying “my mom was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's so the rest of my life feels really unimportant in comparison and that's why my newsletter is so late”? Any ideas? I don’t know, either. It’s my latest life plot twist, and scheduling might be a little erratic while I figure things out.

We’ll move on to the good news. Today¹ marks two years since I launched New Bands for Old Heads in written form. I feel simultaneously proud and undeserving. There are almost 20,000 of you here — I want to give each of you a kiss on the forehead. Thank you, for real.

Next week, I plan on sharing something kind of neat I’ve been working on the last few months to keep this mixed emotions party going. If I did my job right, it will make it a lot easier to navigate my recommendations now that I’ve accumulated two full years of them.

But for today, my longtime friends and writing companions David Coleman and Juan Rodriguez² are joining me to share the albums we’ve been listening to the most in 2026 so far.

SKIP AROUND?

• Win some records

• Find out what other old heads are listening to

• Listen to some playlists

The 20 Best Albums of 2026 So Far

Hot take, but I think even 20 albums are too many. If you’ve been here since the start of the year, you know I’ve really been trying to hone my “deliberate listening” craft - which means curating my own curation. I’m sick of massive lists. They do nothing for overwhelm.

So as per usual, the title is misleading. I prefer to save the “objective” best (whatever that may mean) for the end of the year. In the summer, we talk about the albums we’ve listened to the most. The ones we keep coming back to even though new music Fridays are eternal and relentless. Maybe you’ll find something to obsess over, too.

I NEVER RANK. ALBUMS ARE LISTED ALPHABETICALLY BY ARTIST’S FIRST NAME. NUMBERING IS ENTIRELY FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE.

1. Cindy - Another Country

Tough Love, May 18th 🇺🇸

GENRE: Slowcore/Indie Pop
RIYL: Duster, Galaxie 500, The Velvet Underground

There is a charming paradox at the heart of Cindy’s music, elevating them above many indie pop peers. While their music is soft, it never feels weak, and while it is slow, it never feels boring. The faint echo of Americana and the barely-there melodies — like an old AM radio station whose frequency is frustratingly out of reach — make Another Country a captivating listen and a triumphant embodiment of the idea that less is so often more. (David Coleman)

Start with: “Procession”

2. deary - Birding

Bella Union, April 3rd 🇬🇧

GENRE: Dream Pop/Shoegaze
RIYL: The Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, Lush

Birding follows the Cocteau Twins template to a tee, seemingly daring listeners and critics alike to find a better descriptor than the all-too-obvious “ethereal.” But deary are smart enough to inject some variety, which they achieve by incorporating heavier, almost explosive passages. When they dip their feet into the murkier waters of shoegaze, the results evoke vaunted genre heavyweights, such as Slowdive and Lush. (David Coleman)

Start with: “Alma”

3. Eaves Wilder - Little Miss Sunshine

Secretly Canadian, April 17th 🇬🇧

GENRE: Indie Rock/Dream Pop
RIYL: Mazzy Star, Kula Shaker, The Beatles

I’m so glad that I didn’t realize until I was already months-deep into my obsession with this album that Eaves Wilder is the daughter of Caitlin Moran and Pete Paphides. I’m not immune to names tarnished by the industry plant/nepo-baby stain, either, but you should ignore it entirely for the sake of this mesmerizing, psychedelia-tinged debut. The singer takes a lot of inspiration from Wolf Alice and other sweeping, space-filling grungy art pop. You can hear the ‘60s and ‘90s battling it out for top billing — a little like Kula Shaker with Mazzy Starr’s voice.

Start with: “Daisy Chain Reaction”

4. Francis of Delirium - Run, Run Pure Beauty

Dalliance Recordings, May 28th 🇱🇺

GENRE: Chamber Pop/Grunge
RIYL: Natalie Merchant, The Cranberries

You’ll hate me for this, but my inability to get on board with Phoebe Bridgers and her entire Saddest Factory crew and various friends, compatriots, and soundalikes has pretty much culminated right here. I don’t know what to tell you except that if you love Phoebe, Mitski, Julien, et al, you’ll love Francis of Delirium (and yes, it’s weird that I do, too). It’s true, she does sound like a pastiche of ‘90s college radio just like they say, but it’s also an unfair comparison. The emotional swells will punch you in the gut. I loved her 2024 debut – this is one better. Lucy Dacus better watch her back.

Start with: “Damned”

5. The Itch - It’s The Hope That Kills You

Fiction Records, April 10th 🇬🇧

GENRE: Indie Sleaze/Dance-Punk
RIYL: Talking Heads, Daft Punk, The Rapture

I had this album playing practically on a loop when it first came out, but I might need a neutral party to tell me if it’s actually any good. The fact is that if you were going to parody almost every single one of my musical tastes in one band, you’d probably end up with The Itch. Their debut has everything: early 2000s sleaze, anxious Talking Heads rhythms, sardonic lyrics with a British accent, the danceability of Daft Punk and The Rapture but with Bloc Party’s gloom. It’s tailor made for 20-something me; let me know if it hits the spot for you, too.

Start with: “Can’t Afford This”

6. Frankie Archer - The Dance of Death

So Young Records, June 5th 🇬🇧

GENRE: Folk, Electro-Trad
RIYL: Franz Schubert, English traditional folk, St. Vincent

If you think that what’s been missing from modern music is baleful yet upsettingly catchy verse about ritualistic murder, then you’re in luck. The Dance of Death begins with the familiar crash of Death and the Maiden opening D minor chord. After that, the stage is set — you know exactly how the story will go. Frankie Archer’s songs are completely untethered, both emotionally and temporally. At times, a kind of hypnotic portal to Northumbria in the middle ages. At others, rooted to our present moment with ungrounded electricity.

Start with: “Death and the Maiden”

7. Lime Garden - Maybe Not Tonight

So Young Records, April 10th 🇬🇧

GENRE: Indie Pop/Dance-Punk
RIYL: Arctic Monkeys, LCD Soundsystem, Lily Allen

Told through a night out, the Brighton-based four-piece embrace their individuality and leave no apologies over a zippy 30 minutes that leave you wanting more. Rarely does the album let up, melding Arctic Monkeys-like swagger (“Downtown Lover”), dance-punk (“Body”), and wiry, bass-driven post-punk (“Lifestyle”). Lime Garden isn’t shy about their influences, sure, but what many of those artists lacked at the time, soaring choruses that linger for days, they deliver in spades. (Juan Rodriguez)

Start with: “Lifestyle”

8. Makthaverskan - Glass and Bones

Welfare Sounds & Records, April 3rd 🇸🇪

GENRE: Post-Punk
RIYL: Love Is All, The Smiths, Alvvays

Autocorrect-defying Gothenburg band Makthaverskan (rough translation: women holding power) are commonly described as a punk or post-punk outfit, but their sound is much harder to pin down, featuring elements of jangle, power pop, goth rock, C86, shoegaze, and dream pop. Glass and Bones’ effervescent standout “Pity Party” compresses the lot into three and a half minutes of transcendent bliss. (David Coleman)

Start with: “Pity Party”

9. Marisa Anderson - The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music

Thrill Jockey, May 22nd 🇺🇸

GENRE: Folk
RIYL: William Tyler, acoustic wizardry, global folk music

Having seized an opportunity to explore Harry Smith’s archives of ethnographic folk recordings, Portland-based guitarist Marisa Anderson set to work on The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music. The globe-trotting collection features nine interpretations of pieces from Smith’s collection, with a conscious focus on works from countries that the USA has been in conflict with since 1970. Highlights include the sprawling “Quodlibet,” based on Bābā Qerān’s dambura music, which has its roots in Afghan and Uzbek teahouses, and the ghostly drone of “Pair of Duduk,” which Anderson adapted from a 1960 recording from Turkmenistan. If you find yourself craving something a little different, this comes highly recommended. (David Coleman)

Start with: “Quodlibet”

10. media puzzle - New Racehorse

Impressed Recordings, April 17th 🇦🇺

GENRE: Egg Punk
RIYL: Devo, Beck, actual literal horses

I’m pleased to add yet another notch to my super massive, super secret playlist of Australian musicians. I can describe this record as egg punk — that frenetic brand of punk rock that sounds like Devo on adderall — and call it a day. But compared to, say, Snõõper or Prison Affair or Gee Tee, media puzzle are oddly not particularly keyed up. They also take more risks, interspersing curious samples throughout and playing with timing and song structure. Conceptually, if not sonically, it’s a bit reminiscent of Beck’s Mellow Gold.

Start with: “Knowledge”

Share this post with somebody who thinks there’s no good new music anymore.

Giveaway Intermission!

Normally, giveaways are only for paid subscribers. Today we’re celebrating, so everyone is welcome.

First up, Domino is giving away a vinyl + sticker + charm prize pack for the upcoming Panda Bear & Sonic Boom release. This album won't be available on streaming.

Next, our friends at Cherry Red Records are giving away four Dinosaur Jr. re-issues: Where You Been, Green Mind, Hand It Over, and Without A Sound. Four winners can each choose a record (Deluxe CD or color vinyl variant).

Winners announced July 10th.
Paid subscribers entries count twice!

11. MIDDLEMAN - Following the Ghost

Evil Speaker Records, February 13th 🇬🇧

GENRE: Indie Rock
RIYL: The Replacements, Dinosaur Jr.

London’s MIDDLEMAN play a brand of alternative punk better associated with ’80s US underground rock bands on their debut LP. With its tight but loose mix, Following the Ghost — led by vocalist Noah Alves’ Paul Westerberg-like snarl — balances muscular, fuzz-laden rockers (“Distractions”) and open-hearted rippers (“All But the Flame”) into a brash yet controlled sound. (Juan Rodriguez)

Start with: “All But the Flame”

12. Ora Cogan - Hard Hearted Woman

Sacred Bones, March 13th 🇺🇸

GENRE: Neo-psych/Dark Americana
RIYL: Karen Dalton, Fleetwood Mac

Blurring the lines between folk, psychedelia, and cosmic country, Hard Hearted Woman offers a powerful entry point into Cogan’s quietly bewitching world. Wrapped in her soft, wistful vocals, songs like “Limits” and “Outgrowing” have a jazzy swing to them, swaying as delicately as a passing breeze. Whereas on the strings-laced “Honey,” one of the more timely statements here, Cogan resists anti-trans legislation without resorting to preachy platitudes. (Juan Rodriguez)

Start with: “The Smoke”

13. Pigeon - OUTTANATIONAL

Copyright Control, May 1st 🇬🇧

GENRE: Afrobeat/Funk-Punk/Krautrock
RIYL: William Onyeabor, Grace Jones, Can

Led by charismatic, West African frontperson Falle Nioke, the Margate, UK band effortlessly expands their sound and vision on their genre-bending debut album. The five-piece — featuring members of SAULT and Michael Kiwanuka — rides with feel rather than thought, but that descriptor might even do a disservice to a thoughtful body of work that serves as a spiritual meditation on heritage and continuity. (Juan Rodriguez)

Start with: “Black James Dean”

14. RJD2 & Supastition - According To...

RJ’s Electrical Connections, February 27th 🇺🇸

GENRE: Hip Hop
RIYL: DJ Shadow, MF DOOM

According To… slipped under most people’s radar, but this underrated collaboration between veteran producer RJD2 and lyrical maestro Supastition is one of the strongest Hip Hop records of the year. RJD2’s production integrates classic boom bap with deft scratching and energetic breakbeats, while Supa works his magic across a series of grown-up themes that will appeal to people who remember the best days of ’90s Hip Hop with great fondness. (David Coleman)

Start with: “Carte Blanche”

15. Robber Robber - Two Wheels Move the Soul

Fire Talk, April 3rd 🇺🇸

GENRE: Post-Punk/Shoegaze
RIYL: The Prodigy, Elastica

Robber Robber has been on my personal “bands to watch” list since I snubbed them for my 2024 EOY list, so I’m thrilled to have a chance to course correct. A record like this one reveals itself more with each listen. The first time through, I could only think of contemporaries like YHWH Nailgun and Water From Your Eyes to compare them to. But from the grit and the noise emerge distinct echoes of more familiar sounds, like The Prodigy and Elastica. “New Year’s Eve,” which is currently vying for my favorite track of 2026, sounds like “Connection” having an existential crisis.

Start with: “New Year’s Eve”

16. Star Moles - Highway to Hell

New Jersey Recordings, February 26th 🇺🇸

GENRE: Indie Folk/Bedroom Pop
RIYL: Sandy Denny, Weyes Blood, Arthur Russell

Highway to Hell, the third LP Philadelphia’s Emily Moales, is the bedroom project I always dreamed of. Rooted in piano-led minimalism, Moales taps into a subconscious exploration of the everyday with her dream-like storytelling. Maybe it’s her quiet melancholia that draws me so naturally to her work, though there’s a playful whimsy here as well. (Juan Rodriguez)

Start with: “Time”

17. Suitor - Saw You Out with the Weeds

Feel It Records, March 20th 🇺🇸

GENRE: Post-Punk
RIYL: Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sonic Youth

Wait, did you say you’ve had enough post punk? Sorry, I couldn’t hear you over that muddy bass tone. Also, riddle me this: when new bands start sounding more like each other than their older influences, does that mean the sound has gotten watered down, or does it mean a dawn of a new era? Because yeah, Suitor harken back to Siouxsie and Kim Gordon, but they also spread outward to Dry Cleaning and Sweeping Promises. Discuss. Decide. I’ll be here rocking out.

Start with: “Still Life”

18. THUMPER - Sleeping With the Light On

Self-released, February 20th 🇮🇪

GENRE: Indie Rock
RIYL: The Strokes, The Stereophonics, The Dandy Warhols

THUMPER’s latest is this year’s Velveteers, at least when it comes to my own obsessive listening habits. This 50+ minute album breezes by, banger after banger, propulsive with energy as it is. Though I’ll admit my initial reaction was, “so, this is just The Strokes?”, the joke really is on me after the record easily became my most listened album of 2026 thus far. Maybe if The Stooges had been an early 2000s Britpop band, we’d have something like THUMPER — more riotous than the Dandy Warhols or Stereophonics, more punk rock than Weezer.

Start with: “Bad Mood”

19. TV Star - Music For Heads

Father/Daughter Records, April 24th 🇺🇸

GENRE: Neo-Psych/Alt Rock
RIYL: Blind Melon, The Cranberries, The Stone Roses

I don’t know how to explain it exactly, but I’m pretty sure TV Star simply traveled here from 1993. Remember the most optimistic and movie-trailer friendly of The Cranberries’ songs? Remember Blind Melon’s bee girl? Music For Heads was recorded in that same era. I can’t prove it. We don’t have the technology. But I know it to be true. (Thanks to the last week’s listening party audience for absolutely nailing the RIYL for this band!)

Start with: “Out of My Bag”

20. Vince Staples - Cry Baby

Loma Vista, June 5th 🇺🇸

GENRE: Hip Hop, Rap-Rock
RIYL: Gorillaz, N.E.R.D.

Is this a safe space to admit my age-inappropriate crush on Vince Staples? I don’t care, really. I’ve been a fan since Summer ‘06 (the album, not the year), but now he’s blending genres like an absolute pro – rock, funk, post-punk? Oh, be still my heart. I was hooked from the opening track, reminiscent as it is of the Black Eyed Peas, with its repeated pleas of “promise me you won’t gun me down” bookended with invocations to Kanye West, Dirty Diana, Prada, Gucci. On what might very well be the song of the summer, you’ll feel guilty for dancing: “Record spinning, turn up the volume/Music make you feel just like cotton…” Fucking hell. The revolution will be televised, and Vince Staples will be both VJ and MC.

Start with: “Cotton”

What new albums have you had on repeat in 2026?

Not enough?!

Fine, dammit.

What old heads are listening to this week:

Not to brag, but New Bands for Old Heads readers have pretty great music taste. And the ones who are obsessed with music enough to join the Discord server have especially amazing music taste. I joke that I made a music newsletter just to keep up with new music, but it’s about 80% true at this point.

I’d like to make this a regular feature, actually. I’m extremely nosy.

Your favorite songs of 2026:

I asked paid subscribers to share their favorite songs of the year so far… but no more than three apiece! This is the result. I made some great new discoveries here. I just sneaked my own top three in when you weren’t looking, too.

The best tracks of 2026:

I made sure to include tracks from each album in this post in my ongoing Best of 2026 playlist. Check here to get it on every platform (and to find all of my playlists, of course).

1. Or maybe it’s tomorrow?

2. The editors of No Ripcord, the magazine where I got my start, if you’ve been paying attention.