In May of this year, it will mark the 30th anniversary of one of my all-time favourite albums, from one of my all-time favourite artists. For those unfamiliar with George Michael’s work and think of the upbeat popstar in Wham!, Older is actually a very dark and bleak record wrought by tragedy, suffering, and depression. However, what makes it so special, in spite of the sombre tone the album operates on, is the glimmers of optimism and hope nestled within the messaging. It’s a deeply personal album that has a very interesting backstory behind it, so I thought my next album analysis would look into this spectacular record for its 30th birthday.
Watch the full video here:
Stream the album here:
Recommended Tracks:
“Jesus to a Child”
“Fastlove”
“You Have Been Loved”
A boatload more content is going to be coming onto the YouTube channel in 2026, so consider subscribing so you don’t miss any of it:
You’ve been a good friend to me. That means something. Below is a sample of new releases for the week of February 27th, 2026. A NEW HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON! 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: there are so few pleasures in life as fine as your company.
– List of Releases: February 27th, 2026 –
A Wilhelm Scream – Cheap Heat Genre: Melodic Hardcore / Skate Punk Label: Creator-Destructor
And Also the Trees – The Devil’s Door Genre: Art Rock / Gothic Rock Label: And Also the Trees
Archive – Glass Minds Genre: Art Rock / Ambient Pop Label: Dangervisit
Bill Callahan – My Days of 58 Genre: Chamber Folk / Indie Rock Label: Drag City
Black Swan – Paralyzed Genre: Hard Rock / Glam Metal Label: Frontiers
After a a long holiday break, we are finally back with another edition of our contributors’ songs of the month! Let’s see what JoyfulPlatypus and Futures had to say about their favorite tunes from January!
JoyfulPlatypus’ SOTM: Grey Guitar by Joyce Manor
“Joyce Manor’s latest album, I Used To Go To This Bar, is a very early contender for album of the year. One of the LP’s biggest highlights is its masterpiece of a closer, “Grey Guitar”. As is the case with pretty much every other Joyce Manor track, it’s short, sweet, and to the point. I’m not often someone who delves into lyrics and tries to seek their meaning, but this is a song whose lyrical content stood out to be from the very beginning. The song’s lyrics, much like other songs, are of course open to interpretation, but they appear to tell the story of a man who’s either struggling with mental health issues or longing for a long-lost friend/lover – pondering whether they’re even alive anymore. Even aside from the captivating lyrics, the track is an absolute earworm, with a chorus that has remained stuck in my head on-and-off ever since I first heard it. Of course I wish it were longer, but as it stands, it’s about as memorable and touching as songs can get, and is far-and-away the best song to release in January.”
Futures’ SOTM: The Last Note by Megadeth
“Although his guitar wizardry may lead you to believe otherwise, Dave Mustaine…
Some gentle housekeeping: there seems to be a resurgence of phobic and/or ableist slurs of late and this must cease, please. When the trash takes itself out like lemmings, there’s no need to regress into edgelord posturing. Give a man a little power, and he falls in all kinds of love with himself. Also, the 2025 staff list is appreciably similar to the community list — who else was going to put Deafheaven at #1 along with The Callous Daoboys and Ethel Cain in the Top 5? One fun fact is that Oklou made its way high up in the 30-11 tier. Love is a chemical; we give it meaning by choice. Whether you are a daily presence (hi!), took a short break (welcome back!), or are returning after a long respite (samesies!), we love you, even if we don’t love the site “randomly” timing out. Below is a small batch of new releases for the week of February 20th to continue placating the one person who thinks these get posted too late in the week. We all make choices, but in the end, our choices make us. 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 yes, congratulations, you’ve won a battle of wits with a home appliance!
Hello, my lovelies: below is a not-thorough list of new releases for the week of February 13th to pacify the one person who thinks these get posted too late in the week. 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: Valentine’s Day is this weekend, and you choo-choo-choose us anyway. Yay!
– List of Releases: February 13th, 2026 –
Angel Du$t – Cold 2 the Touch Genre: Hardcore Punk / Melodic Hardcore Label: Run for Cover
Ásgeir – Julia Genre: Folk Pop / Indie Folk Label: One Little Independent
Ashbringer – Subglacial Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal / Blackgaze Label: nothingspace
Bloodred – Colours of Pain Genre: Melodic Black Metal / Melodic Death Metal Label: Massacre
Howdy, y’all — below is a short list of new releases for February 6th, 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 have a stupendous Super Bowl weekend.
– List of Releases: February 6th, 2026 –
Alice Costelloe – Move On With the Year Genre: Art Pop / Indie Folk Label: Moshi Moshi
Assignment – With the End Comes Silence Genre: Progressive Metal / Power Metal Label: Massacre
Before I Turn – Immoral and Malevolent Happenings Genre: Metalcore / Djent Label: Breakthrough
Beverly Glenn-Copeland – Laughter in Summer Genre: Chamber Pop / Progressive Soul Label: Transgressive
Big Big Train – Woodcut Genre: Progressive Rock / Rock Opera Label: InsideOut
Boris – Journey [Live Album] Genre: Noise Rock / Psychedelic Rock Label: [bandcamp exclusive]
Daphni – Butterfly Genre: Progressive House / Funky House Label: Jiaolong
Dream Nails – You Wish Genre: Post-Punk / Garage Rock Label: Marshall
Ella Mai – Do You Still Love Me? Genre: Contemporary R&B / Chipmunk Soul Label: 10 Summers
Another month, another release to blow us away….well, most of us hopefully! This month’s winner is Dreamcrush by Mol and here’s a blurb brought to us courtesy of lucazade22!
Whilst Mol’s earlier work drew endless comparisons to Deafheaven, this latest record finds them branching out and carving their own path. It remains blackgaze at heart, but now incorporates a variety of different genres, including elements of prog and dream pop. The end result is an incredibly fun, varied, and engaging album that never fails to surprise. Despite the evolution in their sound, thankfully some things remain the same. Mol has always had an uncanny ability to craft the catchiest, most euphoric choruses in the genre, and this album is no exception. The lead single, “Garland”, is so addictive it should come with a health warning, while “Dissonance” and “Young” boast some irresistible, melodic leads. All of it comes neatly packaged in a 42-minute runtime that never outstays its welcome. The perfect tonic to a bleak and dreary month, Mol have delivered another fantastic album to add to their impressive back catalogue. Just a note to existing fans don’t come into this expecting Mol of the same!
Welcome, denizens of Sputnik, to my first-ever video essay! I’ve never done anything like this before, so I hope you enjoy it. I’ve wanted to do a review or an in-depth deep dive into not only one of my favourite soundtracks of all time, but one of my favourite albums, period, for a while now. I never get bored of listening to Human Revolution, so I thought I’d do a video that looks into the history of Michael McCann, the mindset behind the record, and then my personal opinion on why I love it. Let me know what you think, and if you want more content like this in the future, let me know.
Watch the full video here:
Stream the album here:
Recommended Tracks:
“Icarus”
“The Hive”
“Endings”
A boatload more content is going to be coming onto the YouTube channel in 2026, so consider subscribing so you don’t miss any of it:
No snappy intro this week as we ease back into remembering how to Google stuff. We’re happy to know tens of you look forward to this every week! Below is a consolidated list of new releases for January 30th, 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 we’ll catch you all soon. Besides reviews, stay tuned for even more interviews, essays, contests, and other fun! Countdown starts in 3… 2… 1…
– List of Releases: January 30th, 2026 –
A.G. Cook – The Moment (The Score) Genre: Electro House / Bubblegum Bass Label: A24
Arcane Roots – A Wave, Across the Sea Genre: Art Rock / Post-Hardcore Label: Big Scary Monsters
Blackwater Holylight – Not Here Not Gone Genre: Doomgaze / Heavy Psych Label: Suicide Squeeze
Buzzcocks – Attitude Adjustment Genre: Post-Punk / New Wave Label: Cherry Red
By Storm – My Ghosts Go Ghost Genre: Experimental Hip-Hop / Folktronica x Neo-Psychedelia Label: deadAir
Cast – Yeah Yeah Yeah Genre: Britpop / Power-Pop Label: Scruff of the Neck
Course of Fate – Behind the Eclipse Genre: Progressive Metal / Art…
You can read the full review I did for HumaningHERE.
After being on a decade-long hiatus, Earshot finally teased their return with a new line-up of members and a couple of singles to warm up with just before and during the Covid period. Yet, it was in 2025 where the band finally made their glorious return, dropping their first new album in 17 years and doing a 30+ date tour with Saliva to grease the engine and get things moving in a big way again. Simon (Dr.Gonzo) had an extensive discussion with Wil earlier last year to talk about the band’s history and their subsequent return, which you can watch here, however, in this new interview Gonzo catches up with Earshot to talk about Humaning at length, as well as the Spotify boycott, Lars v Napster, funny tour stories, new material in 2026, and much, much more in this monster discussion.
Alright everyone, it’s about that time! The last release of the month for 2025 is Dove Ellis’ Blizzard! Our very own mkmusic1995 has prepared a very nice blurb for us all to enjoy!
“Dove Ellis waited till the last minute to unleash his debut record which also happens to be one of the most complete and exciting singer-songwriter records of 2025. Highlighted by lush instrumentation and soul-baring lyricism, Ellis conjures one beautiful track after another while channeling the vocal stylings of artists like Jeff Buckley and Thom Yorke. Ellis’ voice certainly retains elements of those artists with his range and the melodic tremble in his delivery, but his artistry is completely his own mixing elements of chamber pop, jangle rock, indie folk amongst others to invite a sense of nostalgia while breaking new, interesting sonic ground. There’s a lot to chew on with these rather breezy tunes, but the more time spent equals more respect, more enjoyment and simply more excitement for what this artist has yet to deliver. Each song feels a bit different whether it contains some horns and resembles something you’d hear from modern windmill-scene bands or is just a stripped back ballad with guitars or piano and Ellis’ touching voice; it all packs such a punch and makes such an impact in the tracklist.
It must be such a daunting task to create a debut record and to get so much buzz around it only to be in a position where…
You can read the full review I did for Requiem HERE.
Primarily known for his dark folk project, Thurnin, Jurre Timmer is a no-nonsense solo artists with a wealth of talent under his belt. Coming off the back of last year’s fantastic third Thurnin album, Harmr, Jurre has resurrected his old melodeath project I, Forlorn 9 years after the release of his debut album, My Kingdom Eclipsed. This brand new 5-track EP, titled Requiem, is an appetiser for a full release later this year and can be listened to right now. With that in mind, Simon (Dr.Gonzo) recently had a chat with Jurre to discuss both I, Forlorn and Thurnin, as well as a soundtrack he has lined up for 2026, slop social media, mental health, and reflecting on Harmr nearly one year on from its release.
Ryan (Hawks) and Simon (Dr.Gonzo) recently caught up with David Moody and Chris Sheppard, the duo behind some of the most interesting black/death metal on the market today, to talk about Veilburner’s latest album, Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy, as well as a load of interesting subjects including world-building, playing live, influences, and a candid look at how the sausage is made in the Veilburner camp.
In the ’60s, figures like Les Baxter and Martin Denny gifted their audiences the illusion of sounds from another world: aural experiences that seemed to unravel mysteries from the darkest corners of the Earth, from outer space, from uncharted realms altogether. I often wonder how the godfathers of Exotica would react to Imperial Triumphant.
There are no secrets anymore. How could there be, when anything and everything is a click away? We’ve been brutalized into the hive mind, anesthetized by sheer opulence. It’s gross, decadent; the act of consuming art has become a monster devouring itself in denial. That is exactly what Imperial Triumphant sound like.
That Goldstar is their most accessible album says everything. It’s grotesque and relentless, save for the occasional jazzy detour or skeletal intro, but at heart it’s still a quasi-death metal spawn packed into nine tracks of absolute madness, wrapped in an art deco package for your visual pleasure.
The New York triumvirate have had quite a year. They’ve released one of their most brilliant works to date, toured the world treating the masses to a spectacle of champagne and laser beams, all while playing like a well-oiled bulldozer. Reading the media call this “catchy” is almost funny — and deeply unsettling. What the hell have we become?
Racing Mount Pleasant’s self-titled debut feels like an album that time-traveled to us from the indie revival of the late ’00s and early ’10s. Swept up in grandiose and often romantic gestures, the record constantly feels like it is levitating. Jazzy chords and wispy strings give way to momentous orchestral flourishes – subtlety be damned – because the feeling with which everything is performed is too profound to not metaphorically scream it from the mountain tops. If you want to experience Racing Mount Pleasant in one representative capsule, you might turn your attention to “Emily” – one of the most damn impressive and heartfelt songs I’ve heard all year long – and feel it tug at your heartstrings as the instrumentation swells over the refrain: “We only danced behind closed doors / And the kiss from your lips on my forehead, it burns / The scorching cold of that November night will be forevermore.” It’s one of those moments that so perfectly distills desperate longing that in just under six minutes, you’ll relive every lingering memory of love and loss from your youth. Racing Mount Pleasant has that same sense of urgency throughout its runtime, rounding up all its passion and pain and performing them to the stars. It’s a little bit indie-folk, a little bit post-rock – call it whatever you want, it’s absolutely brimming…
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