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.

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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.

 

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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 that is the perfect gateway to this.

 

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Easy AOTY Contender If I Actually Had Good Taste

Ronker – Respect The Hustle, I Won’t Be Your Dog Forever

Ronker is the kind of band that barges into your life unannounced, unexpectedly, but exactly when you need them. The vocalist is incredibly unique as he screeches, snarls, and barks his way through this emotionally cathartic wrecking ball, and the album is – IMO of course – at its absolute best when the band slow builds to his unhinged eruptions. There’s no better example than ‘Snuff’, with its crushingly frustrated lyrics and the way it then bleeds effortlessly into ‘Where The Dogs Sleep’. This is a strong 4 for me that might be a 5 by the time I’m done typing this sentence.

 

 

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Folk Breakthrough That Temporarily Made Other Albums Irrelevant

Annabelle Dinda – Some Things Never Leave

Some Things Never Leave hit me harder than any album of this ilk since Waxahatchee’s Tigers Blood in 2024. It is brimming with subtle, heartfelt verses that will occasionally soar into hugely affecting choruses — and when they do, it always feel earned. Dinda has a firm grip on her music and there’s a sense of presence and purpose to every single moment. Nothing beats this when you want to be alone with your thoughts for a bit.

 

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Album That Obliterated Me And Then Kinda Fell Off

 Ratboys – Singin’ To An Empty Chair

In theory – and mostly in reality too – I love everything about Singin’ To An Empty Chair. The beautiful artwork whose meaning is open to interpretation. The huge melodies but raw indie-rock feel. The country overtones. The depth of the lyrics. It all hit me like a freight train and I was ready to insta-5 the thing. It’s definitely still excellent, and will undoubtedly land on my final 2026 list somewhere, but I just haven’t felt the need to play it on repeat like I have some other stuff this year. Regardless, have an almost 9 minute long folk-country epic:

 

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 Obligatory Sowingcore Mention

Silversun Pickups – Tenterhooks

Silversun Pickups release a very SSPU-y album. Not much to see here, but do know that while this record might seem like a mild disappointment on the surface, it’s definitely got some layers and will sound better the more you listen to it. None of these songs are their very best, but none are in the bottom half of their career output either. Interrobang bangs:

 

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 Hooly Shit Converge

Converge – Love Is Not Enough

Count me among Converge’s fair weather fans I guess, because while I mostly love their entire discography, I did completely check out for the better part of 9 years after The Dusk In Us, which bored me to tears. Bloodmoon I still doesn’t feel like it ever happened. But with Love Is Not Enough we are eating again. This album is refined and mature but no less brutal than in their heyday. The riffs are prominent and infectious, and the pain is palpable throughout this entire record. It’s already a top-3 Converge record for me, and they have another album coming out in June.

 

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 Album You Probably Overlooked Because You Already Know What The Artist Is About

Iron & Wine – Hen’s Teeth

Listen, I get it – how many slow, pretty, acoustically-driven albums can a man churn out before people kind of just…stop caring? I think I fell into that lull from 2013’s Ghost on Ghost through 2017’s Beast Epic, but Hen’s Teeth has me thinking I should probably revisit those records after the fact on account of just how breathtaking it is. The songs take time to unravel, but this thing is just a blissful walk in the park. There’s elegant pianos, flourishing strings, carefree whistling — and somehow it all just blends into this distillation of utter peace; in a world increasingly devoid of anything resembling it.

 

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Random Bandcamp Find

Joseph Bradshaw – They’ll Know We Are Singers By Our Vests

Kind of irritating title aside, this album is pretty much exactly what I look for in acoustic singer-songwriter folk. It’s a little Kevin Devine, a little Tigers on Trains. A lot of these songs feel like they could have benefited from lyrics that hit a bit harder, but all in all I’m really vibing with his entire approach. Interestingly, the song linked below is the original composition that was adopted and repurposed for a Human Surfers live performance (Brand New revival act), but I actually think I prefer Bradshaw’s original blueprints.

  

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Country AOTY So Far

Flatland Cavalry – Work of Heart

I ultimately prefer when country artists get a little weird, but for as far as the conventional mainstream approach goes, it doesn’t get a whole lot better than this within the country-sphere. This album aches with longing and purpose, swells with beautiful strings, and is packed to the brim with wistful melodies.

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Non Sequitur: Listen To This Song Featuring Nickelback LOL