The themes are well explored but it’s a bit dull compared to the previous works.

Burnside follows up last year's 'Teeth of Time' pretty quickly with a deeply personal lament following the death of a close friend. Grief permeates the entirety of the record; beautiful turns of phrase exploring that sense of loss intertwined with everyday observations set to the beautiful timbre of his Northern Irish vocals.

Where 'Teeth of Time' felt more experimental, this one is a bit more of straight bat, which is not to denigrate; the pathos lands ... read more

I love the concept of the band, the themes and concepts of this record, but I still can't get on musically with Albarn's stuff... wish I did.

A crisp EP from one of the most accomplished alternative R&B / soul producers in the UK, imo. Always so fresh.

Multi-instrumentalist and producer Momoko Gill with something fresh for the early part of the year. The production is clean, the vocals have a hazy, dream-like quality. Somewhere in the Charlotte Day Wilson, Yussef Dayes, Lianne La Havas.

Beautiful album that demands more listens. Guessing this might be a 2026 favourite.

First dabble with Blanket, second track opens and it's giving Deftones. Things progress and I hear bits of Turnstile's 2025 release. The scale of the sound is impressive.

The stripped back nature of it is a feature, rather than a bug. For me, those spaces oscillate between a delicate tension and short of ideas. Mostly the former. A sweet vocal, easy going riffs, acoustic guitar-led folksy americana.

Wintery, atmospheric sad-indie-folk. Hard to hear past the Bridgers-esque vocals, but that's no bad thing in my book.

Grown-up pop record. Warm instrumentation, likely easy to return to.

There are a few enjoyable Americana type chops here, interspersed among the orchestral-folk type of themes.

Glad 2026 has brought some exciting new music already. Scrappy, but pretty confident indie rock bubble grunge from Manchester. Looking forward to what's next from these'ns.

Feels like Bahamas projects have lost the luster of the first few in the project.

An exquisite offering from one of Belfast's best songwriters. Burnside taps into something distinctively Irish, not for nostalgia's sake, but to present a vision of life on this island in 2025. It has a brooding quality to it, but not an overbearing one - frequently uplifted by a turn of phrase, the introduction of a new musical theme or instrument. Truly gorgeous album.

fun indie rock jangle pop

There is a radiant joy listening to Parcels here. Take the breakdown of 'Ifyoucall', that bright yacht rock hits the nostalgia spot good and proper. The production is some of the tightest we're likely to hear from any genre in 2025, not a beat out of place. My only quibble - this would've been a lovely summertime release... but then I remember the Aussietronica boys are just about to come into Spring in the southern hemisphere, so, shame on me and my northern bias. Lovely. ... read more

I'd been looking forward to this one. Their 2022 single 'Knees Deep' has been one of my most listened to songs since its release, and I enjoyed that album a lot too.

I'm finding it hard to put my finger on it just yet... maybe that it feels less immediate than previous LPs, which isn't a bad thing. So, perhaps I shouldn't have reviewed yet. I'll stick with it a bit more and see what happens.

A resurfacing of the chorus from The Bloodhound Gang's 'The Bad Touch' was not something I had on my bingo card for 2025.

Williams is clearly one of the gifted songwriters of her generation. Some of the more pop-facing elements here in places remind of certain Paramore eras, but just as hear that it pivots and goes a new way. Speaking of ERAS, I can't be the only one that wouldn't be surprised if Love Me Different was a Taylor Swift song, and I mean that as positively ... read more

Last night I had the joy of witnessing CMAT live - what a performer. Even in a support slot (for Sam Fender), she oozes charisma and a confident, self-deprecating charm.

Don't let this deceive you - there's an eruditeness to her songwriting. The title track, 'EURO-COUNTRY' is a superb observation of growing up in the failure of the Celtic Tiger, with the political and financial elite fumbling the future of the nation. She manages to speak of lost dreams, suicides, ... read more

One of the more interesting bands I've come across recently. As mentioned elsewhere, will likely get nods to Black Country, New Road. I'm picking up some Los Campesinos! - a band I've really enjoyed in the past. Or like a Gen Z Broken Social Scene (sorry to the band members if they're not Gen Z). Really love this album. The self-titled track is superb.