Some New-ish Releases

I don't think I've done any new releases updates this year, probably because, frankly, I haven't found it to be a particularly interesting or exciting year for new music so far (at least relative to 2025, which I thought was surprisingly excellent). 

Anyway, let's start things off not with new music--see, already struggling to get worked up about 2026!--but rather a new 3-CD box set collecting 80s Paisley Underground artists and other related indie music of the era. The UK label Cherry Red, continuing its pattern of fantastic retrospectives, has put together This Can't Be Today, and it's pretty terrific. Yes, I'm biased; this is the music of my college years, much of it truly life-changing and stuff I still adore for sentimental reasons. But objectively, it's pretty great. You've got all the artists within the Paisley Underground scene, or at least working that same strain of 60s-retro jangly psychedelic pop--the Rain Parade, Long Ryders, Three O'Clock, Bangles, Game Theory, Dream Syndicate, etc. Plus plenty of other music that fits in well with the overall vibe. Sure, as with any compilation, one can question some of the song choices based on personal preferences (in some cases presumably driven by licensing limitations). Plus, a lot the music here, while part of the general 80s college radio milieu, doesn't necessarily fit in perfectly (R.E.M., Husker Du, Meat Puppets, Flaming Lips) but is still obviously welcome. Anyway, you can pick it up on the Cherry Red website.

Lolly Lee, Everything Spins

Ok, this one's new (or at least new to me). Alabama-based Americana singer-songwriter Lolly Lee, according to her bio, played in a few bands before taking some time off for marriage and motherhood, then launched a solo career heavy on songs about women who have been through it. Which, actually, sounds a lot like the bio of the wonderful Amy Rigby--who, interestingly, is stylistically and vocally similar. Lee is a bit more firmly in the country world than Amy, but also rocks out on a few songs, all of it clever and with a mature, unpretentious charm, with shades of Lydia Loveless or Lucinda Williams as well. One of my favorite pick-ups of 2026. You can buy this on her website.

Fantastic Cat, Cat Out Of Hell

Third album from the NYC band, and, having really enjoyed the first pair, I'm glad that they're still going strong (and enlisting an obvious but perfect album title). Fantastic Cat offer eclectic country rock, but with some radio-friendly pop polish. I see some similarities with the UK's Gomez, concise jam-band Americana and jangly indie rock with laid-back charm. Check it out on Bandcamp.

Ratboys, Singin' To An Empty Chair

I've had this for a couple months and still enjoying it quite a bit. Julia Steiner and Ratboys, kinda like Waxahatchee before them, have pared back some of the pop-punk edge from prior records and settled into something a little more gentle and jangly but no less catchy and attention-grabbing. Though they still crank it up here and there (most notably the frenetic "Anywhere"), little jolts of energy to keep things moving right along. Check it out on Bandcamp.

Wet Tuna, Vast

Hey, let's mix it up a little! Vermont band Wet Tuna have been around a few years, playing contemporary psychedelia that draws from jam bands and electronica and soulful funk and all manner of cosmic deep-space explorations. Their latest is full of headphone-friendly grooves, perfect for the moments the gummies kick in. Check them out on Bandcamp.

The Paranoid Style, Known Associates

Figured I'd wrap this up with the latest record (a couple months old at this point) from one of my absolute favorite acts of the past decade, The Paranoid Style. As usual, they mesh the delirious wordplay of Elizabeth Nelson, one of music's greatest lyricists, with a band that's almost comically versatile, never too flashy to overshadow Nelson's astute studies in culture and history and personal observation but more than holding up their end of the bargain. Kinda tough to measure up to 2024's phenomenal The Interrogator, when they upped their game with the addition of original dB Peter Holsapple, but plenty of great songs to listen to as you scroll with fascination through the lyric sheet. (See, e.g., the honky-tonk romp "Shut Up And Deal," where lines like "Spare me your LCD and spare me your Strokes" run up against my personal favorite, "I don't hold grudges though grudges hold me"). Check it out on Bandcamp.