Please feel free to jam the playlist below, request reviews from staff and contributors, let us know what you’re looking forward to this week (in music or otherwise), and remember: you can’t just shoot a hole into the surface of Mars.
– List of Releases: May 15th, 2026 –
49 Winchester – Change of Plans Genre: Alt-Country / Americana Label: New West
Active Child – Active Child Genre: Art Pop / Alt-Pop Label: Masterworks
Advent Horizon – Falling Together Genre: Progressive Metal / Progressive Rock Label: Bandwagon Music
Aeons in Solitude – Black Lumina Genre: Gothic Rock / Darkwave Label: Soman
The All-American Rejects – Sandbox Genre: Power Pop / Alternative Rock Label: Slick Shoes
Atavistia – Old Gods Awaken Genre: Folk Metal / Melodic Death Metal Label: Blood Blast Distribution
Please feel free to jam the playlist below, request reviews from staff and contributors, let us know what you’re looking forward to this week (in music or otherwise), and remember: only a Sith deals in absolutes.
– List of Releases: May 8th, 2026 –
Action Bronson – Planet Frog Genre: Drumless / Abstract Hip Hop Label: Baklava
Aldous Harding – Train on the Island Genre: Avant-Folk / Art Pop Label: 4AD
Amy Grant – The Me That Remains Genre: Folk Pop / Acoustic Rock Label: Thirty Tigers
Ashley McBryde – Wild Genre: Contemporary Country / Country Pop Label: MCA Nashville
Basement – WIRED Genre: Alternative Rock / Indie Rock Label: Run for Cover
Black Milk – CEREMONIAL Genre: Conscious Hip Hop / Jazz Rap Label: Computer Ugly
Black Veil Brides – Vindicate Genre: Melodic Metalcore / Alternative Metal Label: Spinefarm
Broken Social Scene – Remember the Humans Genre: Indie Rock / Chamber Pop Label: Arts & Crafts / City Slang
Cola – Cost of Living Adjustment Genre: Post-Punk Revival / Indie Rock Label: Fire Talk
Crashdïet – Art of Chaos Genre: Glam Metal / Hard…
Please feel free to jam the playlist below, request reviews from staff and contributors, let us know what you’re looking forward to this week (in music or otherwise), and remember:
– List of Releases: May 1st, 2026 –
American Football – American Football (LP4) Genre: Post-Rock / Indie Rock Label: Polyvinyl
The Black Keys – Peaches! Genre: Blues Rock / Boogie Rock Label: Easy Eye
BLARF – Film Scores for Films That Don’t Exist Genre: Avant-Garde Metal / Orchestral Music Label: Stones Throw
Bonner Kramer & Thurston Moore – They Came Like Swallows: Seven Requiems for the Children of Gaza Genre: Experimental / Progressive Ambient Label: Silver Current
The Boo Radleys – In Spite of Everything Genre: Neo-Psychedelia / Art Rock Label: 1984 Recordings
Below is an intentionally incomplete cadre of new releases for April 24th, 2026. Feel free to jam the playlist below, request reviews from staff and contributors, let us know what you’re looking forward to this week (in music or otherwise), and remember: if you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
– List of Releases: April 24th, 2026 –
The Amity Affliction – House of Cards Genre: Metalcore / Alternative Metal Label: Pure Noise
Angelo De Augustine – Angel in Plainclothes Genre: Chamber Folk / Indie Folk Label: Asthmatic Kitty
At the Gates – The Ghost of a Future Dead Genre: Melodic Death Metal / Gothenburg Sound Label: Century Media
Atreyu – The End is Not the End Genre: Melodic Metalcore / Alternative Metal Label: Spinefarm
Body Thief – Halfway to Hallelujah Genre: Swancore / Post-Hardcore Label: [independent]
Carla dal Forno – Confession Genre: Dream Pop / Ethereal Wave Label: Kallista
CAVS – Sojourn Genre: Jazz Fusion / Spiritual Jazz Label: p(doom)
City of the Sun – Under the Moon Genre: Post-Rock / Shoegaze Label: Nettwerk
Below is a non-exhaustive list of new releases for April 17th, 2026. Feel free to jam the playlist below, request reviews from staff and contributors, let us know what you’re looking forward to this week (in music or otherwise), and remember: had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong!
– List of Releases: April 17th, 2026 –
Anitta – EquilibrIVm Genre: MPB / Funk Brasileiro Label: Republic
Arkells – Between Us Genre: Indie Rock / Pop Rock Label: [independent]
Welcome! In lieu of another list, I figured I’d try my hand at the blog again — wooo! This is normally where I’d lay out the purpose and agenda of the post, or try to lend context to some broader future series, but I’m not precisely sure where this is going yet. So just bear with me on this stream-of-consciousness journey through Q1 of 2026.
The First Album I Actually Cared About
The Format – Boycott Heaven
I came into this album with aggressively medium expectations after Nate Ruess’ long ass absence from music, and this cleared every bar imaginable. It’s basically a rockier version of Fun., sacrificing some of those all-timer pop hooks for beefier guitars and even the occasional scream (uh what). It’s also very consistent — and a grower. If you’ve got any nostalgia for early-mid 2010s indie-pop/rock, this should do something for you.
Random Indie Sleeper That I Can’t Shake
Victoryland – My Heart Is A Room With No Cameras In It
Maybe it’s just the hours I spent shoveling snow to this album after my snowblower died, but I feel a certain connection to this. It’s not a remarkable album, but it does everything well with just a hint of mystique and additional depth that I haven’t been able to fully explore yet. ‘Keep Me Around’ is a lush and eerie little gem…
Didn’t we just do one of these? Sorry about that. While you are welcome to go back in time to last week, the superior option is checking out DrGonzo’s Skinny Puppy video essay. Below is a short list of new releases for April 10th, 2026. Feel free to jam the playlist below, request reviews from staff and contributors, let us know what you’re looking forward to this week (in music or otherwise), and remember: we are so back (until we are not, but until then, we are so back).
– List of Releases: April 10th, 2026 –
808 State & Humanoid – In Place of Language [EP] Genre: Acid House / Acid Techno Label: De:tuned
Archspire – Too Fast to Die Genre: Technical Death Metal / Progressive Metal Label: [independent]
Artificial Astronaut – When the Familiar Ends Genre: Alternative Rock / Post-Rock Label: [independent]
As Everything Unfolds – Did You Ask to Be Set Free? Genre: Alternative Metal / Melodic Metalcore Label: Century Media
Bilmuri – KINDA HARD Genre: Alternative Rock / Easycore Label: Columbia
Bodysnatcher – Hell is Here, Hell is Home Genre: Downtempo Deathcore / Beatdown Hardcore Label: MNRK Heavy
Greetings music enthusiasts, I hope everything is going well for you in 2026 (I can’t believe we’re in April already!). This month’s essay is essentially the article I had written last year, narrated by yours truly, the Doctor of Sputnik, with some tasty visuals to back it up. I actually think the essay is brought to life with this video version, so I hope you enjoy it. I’m still finding my rhythm with it all, but I would definitely say this is the best essay I’ve done thus far for the YouTube channel. If you didn’t read the article back when it was first published and you don’t know the tale behind Skinny Puppy or their music, you’re in for a treat as this is a very interesting tale centred around addiction, passive aggression, torment, and unfettered artistry — an environment that created some of the greatest industrial albums ever recorded.
On a side note: My aim was to try and drop one of these essays every month, but the work involved is quite a lot more than I initially intended, so the sustainability of this goal isn’t tenable. I’m in the middle of writing a script, but I can’t guarantee it’ll be ready for May. Time will tell, but there’s a few albums out in the coming months that will use up my free time.
Watch the full video here:
Recommended albums:
Bites, 1985
– List of Releases: April 3rd, 2026 –
Angine de Poitrine – Vol.II Genre: Math Rock / Psychedelic Rock Label: [independent]
Arlo Parks – Ambiguous Desire Genre: Alt-Pop / Alternative R&B Label: Transgressive
The Bevis Frond – Horrorful Heights Genre: Psychedelic Rock / Folk Rock Label: Fire
HEY! LISTEN! Below is a beefier-than-usual, but still unfinished-by-design list of new releases for the week of March 27th, 2026. They say that there is no medicine that can cure a fool… I guess that’s true. Feel free to jam the playlist below, request reviews from staff and contributors, let us know what you’re looking forward to this week (in music or otherwise), and remember: the flow of time is always cruel.
– List of Releases: March 27th, 2026 –
The Academy Is… – Almost There Genre: Power Pop / New Wave Label: I Surrender
The way I see it, there’s two types of people: those who spend their lives trying to build a future and those who spend their lives trying to rebuild the past. Below is an intentionally incomplete list of new releases for the week of March 20th, 2026. Feel free to jam the playlist below, request reviews from staff and contributors, let us know what you’re looking forward to this week (in music or otherwise), and remember: nothing’s a cliché when it’s happening to you.
– List of Releases: March 20th, 2026 –
Alex Isley – When the City Sleeps Genre: Contemporary R&B / Neo-Soul Label: Warner
Asian Glow – Arin Cot Genre: Shoegaze / Noise Pop Label: Longinus
Assignment – With the End Comes Silence Genre: Progressive Metal / Power Metal Label: Massacre
Attila – Concrete Throne Genre: Nu Metal / Metalcore Label: [independent]
Avalon Emerson & The Charm – Written into Changes Genre: Dream Pop / Baggy Label: Dead Oceans
Hello fellow Sputters, this month is special because we have a brand new crop of contributing reviewers! Brickhed, iswimfast, ShartHarder and AlkemestRedux have prepared their favorite songs of February for us all to enjoy. Here they are!
iswimfast’s SOTM – Salva by Karnivool
“Unlike any other closer in Karnivool’s back catalog, ‘Salva’ plays like a finale. Ian Kenny glides so naturally over its build that it’s almost haunting, delivering a forlorn stare over a restless ocean. It’s subdued; built off of acceptance and hope for a questionable future. But there’s comfort, as “there ain’t no place I’d rather be”, and his bandmates are steadfast by his side. The basslines give pulse and guitar crescendos cascade, affording each other space while pulling forward and upward through foggy uncertainty. Karnivool of old would tease and disassemble, balking at the beauty of the moment, but not now. When the soaring release of the bridge hits (and the bagpipes-by-guitar burst), it lands like a true conclusion. Not just for In Verses, but for Karnivool as a project. It’s hard to not feel moved in that moment, as the band limped out this 4th record after 13 long years, and feel genuine acknowledgement that this might be the end of the road. And if it is, what an end it made.”
AlkemestRedux’s SOTM – Grace Notes by Iron and Wine
“Sam Beam’s songs keep finding their way back into my life. Listening to “Our Endless Numbered Days” now conjures…
Our actions have consequences. To be reminded of them is not punishment. Below is a non-exhaustive list of new releases for the week of March 13th, 2026. Forgiveness can be powerful, even for the unworthy. Feel free to jam the playlist below, request reviews from staff and contributors, let us know what you’re looking forward to this week (in music or otherwise), and remember: you must live with your deeds, but don’t be troubled by them.
– List of Releases: March 13th, 2026 –
A Somber Funeral – Since You Left These Shores Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal / Blackgaze Label: Fiadh
Alexis Taylor – Paris in the Spring Genre: Art Pop / Indietronica Label: Night Time Stories
Anjimile – You’re Free to Go Genre: Alt-Pop / Avant-Folk Label: 4AD
Art School Girlfriend – Lean In Genre: Glitch Pop / Indietronica Label: Fiction
The Black Crowes – A Pound of Feathers Genre: Blues Rock / Southern Rock Label: Silver Arrow
Bound in Fear – A Mind Too Sick to Heal Genre: Downtempo Deathcore / Slam Death Metal Label: Unique Leader
Brigitte Calls Me Baby – Irreversible Genre: Post-Punk Revival / Big Music Label: ATO
Cashier – The Weight [EP] Genre: Shoegaze / Noise Pop
Hello fellow Sputters, here is February’s release of the month. Unsurprisingly, Converge has won (deservedly so) and our brother jrlikestodance has prepared a blurb for us!
“At this point in their career, what does Converge have left to prove? They dominated the metalcore genre in the 2000s with groundbreaking releases then further experimented with melody to expand their sound throughout the 2010s. Starting the 2020s with a collab album as adventurous as Bloodmoon, this left fans asking, “What happens next?” With Love Is Not Enough this is a refinement of everything they’ve done in their career up to this point in a concise 31 minute package. In a way this is a “back to basics” album, but given their track record it is almost refreshing in a sense. You still have your mosh ready cuts like “Amon Amok”, “Force Meets Presence” and the title track where you can envision the pit opening in your mind. However, this is Converge and you know they will also embrace the dynamics of their sound. The band taps into their always tasty sludgy influences on “Gilded Cage” and tugs on your heartstrings with powerful songs like “Make Me Forget You” and “We Were Never the Same”. Having these cuts at the end of the album is almost like a reward for surviving the onslaught of hard riffs and breakdowns without compromising the intensity of the record. The briefness of this album has you ready to fire it up…
Oh, hi. So. How are you holding up? Because I’m a potato. Below is a smattering of new releases for the week of March 6th, 2026. Look at you. Sailing through the air majestically. Like an eagle. Piloting a blimp. Feel free to jam the playlist below, request reviews from staff and contributors, let us know what you’re looking forward to this week (in music or otherwise), and remember: the square root of rope is string.
– List of Releases: March 6th, 2026 –
Acranius – Whiteout Genre: Slam Death Metal / Deathcore Label: Blood Blast
Andrew Wasylyk – Irreparable Parables Genre: Chamber Jazz / ECM Style Jazz Label: Clay Pipe
Bitter Branches – Let’s Give the Land Back to the Animals Genre: Noise Rock / Post-Hardcore Label: Equal Vision
Black Lung – Forever Beyond Genre: Stoner Rock / Heavy Psych Label: Magnetic Eye
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – We Are Together Again Genre: Contemporary Folk / Americana Label: No Quarter
Book of Churches – Book of Churches Genre: Chamber Folk / Contemporary Folk Label: Gravity
Bosse-de-Nage – Hidden Fires Burn Hottest Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal / Post-Metal Label: The Fensler
