First Listen: New Releases for 23 October 2026
Quick Thoughts: When it was announced that the first Olivia Tremor Control album in well over 25 years was coming out, I was very excited. The Elephant Six band was probably the weirdest of the set of weird acts, and much of this album was recorded between 2002 and 2014. The untimely deaths of Bill Doss and Will Hart, however, did as much to delay this final album as it did to get it out to the masses. If there's a takeaway from this it's that The Olivia Tremor Control were a truly special act and that the direction they were heading would have been among the more interesting trajectories this side of Of Montreal. A really, realy great release on all accounts.
Songs of Note: "Begin Now!" "Timewaster," "The Same Old Place," "We Captured a Frame," "Halfway Down," "Leaf," "Garden of Light"
Album: Scheele's Green
Quick Thoughts: I've liked Art d'Ecco's work on and off for a while now, but this album really grabbed me in a way their previous ones haven't. "The Death of Indie" is a brash, angry, topical opener that sets the table to really create a compelling, sharp record. Definitely worth taking in as a complete package.
Songs of Note: "The Death of Indie," "How Real is Real?" "Scheele's Green," "Disappear Here," "Beware of Dog," "Endings for Beginners"
Album: Museums and Women
Quick Thoughts: I think my first true exposure to Josh Rouse was at the Middle East Upstairs 20-odd years ago. I can't exactly recall the context, but I do remember him playing "Directions," which was his most known song to date. He's come a long way since then, with a foray into Spanish sounds, a holiday album, and so on. One thing he's been consistent on, however, is his consistency: his albums are always polished and catchy, and he's got a clear vision and tone that few singer-songwriters achieve at the level he does. "Other Side of the Tracks" in particular feels like the quintessential Josh Rouse song, and the whole album is really worth your time.
Songs of Note: "Things Are Looking Up," "Museums and Women," "Other Side of the Tracks"
Album: Mad Flowers
Quick Thoughts: So with the caveat that the Victor Jones musical persona is not necessarily the most serious take, the fact that Mad Flowers is so catchy and compelling probably says more about Victor Jones than anything else. It's an abrasive presentation with some strong musicality behind it, but when you have songs like "Rock Hard" and "Heaven Hot Damn" next to something so seemingly earnest like "Inside the House," it's easy to let the meta questions fall aside a bit and enjoy the ride. A great listen.
Songs of Note: "Place in the Shade," "Heaven Hot Damn," "Inside the House," "Rock Hard"
Album: Ca$h Grab
Quick Thoughts: When I think of bands that are keeping the 1990s post-grunge alt-rock flame alight, one of the main go-tos in my head is Jeff the Brotherhood's Wasted on the Dream from 2015. The sort of crunchy, melodic alt-rock there would have fit right in on the stuff I loved the most on WBCN. Ca$h Grab is that album for 2026 - for example "I Doubt It" is a quick alt-rock hit, and "Fate Is" relies on a ton of distortion effects to power through. This was a truly great listen, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with it.
Songs of Note: "I Doubt It," "Fate Is," "Bury Me in Denver," "Talking to You"
Album: Gentling the Horse at the Walt Whitman Mall
Quick Thoughts: Few musicians have divided Ken and I the way Caroline Rose has. Her debut album was a very twangy affair, and "Blood on Your Bootheels" remains an all-time favorite for me. I've spent a decade-plus waiting to be captured by that moment again, while Ken has fallen for Rose's alt-adjacent turn. All this to say that Walt Whitman Mall is probably my favorite of hers since the debut, with the sort of Jack White garage blues feel to it in so many places that seem to merge what I loved and what Ken loved in a nearly perfect way. "Goddamn Train" highlights this better than most, a rollicking, half-serious song that has a neat rockabilly undertone, and "Yip Yip Yow" a tone-setting opener that is three minutes of organized chaos. A really compelling listen, and probably the album I'm most interested in getting back to this week.
Songs of Note: "Yip Yip Yow," "Goddamn Train," "Notes to Teenage Self," "Hello Again, Jim," "Calm," "Everything in its Right Place"
Of Note:
* William Basinski - Passing the Cup of Sorrows (First new piece in more than six years, and it's gorgeous.)
* Anderson .Paak and Cordae - Heavy is the Crown
* Shabazz Palaces - It's a Style Sport
* Fenne Lily - Win Win
* Tokimeki Sequencers - Räumlichkeiten und Abmessungen
* nikolaos nnt ntantalis - Schizophrenia
* George Steel - Steel Country
* Sour Widows - Sigil
* Grumpy - Unfindable Ring
* gyrofield - Great Jobs
* Huerco S. - From the Toolkit of Lovers
* The Cat's Miaow - When You Smiled and Turned Away
* Dis Fig - What to Make of These Mortal Hands
* Female Gaze - linea Nigra
* Claud - Me and the Music
* porcelain - Today's Minor Victories
* Savannah Ruth - The Baseball Diaries
* Like Roses - After It Ends
* Water Damage - Repair
* Winona Oak - Bloom
* Third Coast Percussion and Jlin - Vernacular: Jlin, David Longstreth, Philip Glass
* Fake Names - Punk Ruins
* Shallow Alcove - Pain is a Heavy Door
* Che Noir - It Takes a Village
* Clark - Steep Stims II
* Shedfromthebody - We Fly Into Windows
* Ghostemane - AM:FM
EPs:
* TELL - Things to Do When It's Dark
* girl in red - blue
* The Last Days of Our Past - Everything Changes
* DJ Python - to accomplish many things
Live Albums / Compilations / Reissues:
* Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (20th Anniversary Edition)
Also Out:
* The Sean Coleman Project - Apropos of Nothing
