Dent May
The Big One
Released August 14th, 2026 on Carpark Records
Per Spectrum Culture:
Continue readingSometimes Dent May gets a bit precious, but for the most part The Big One succeeds as a throwback pop nugget.
Dent May – The Big One
rock
Dinosaur Jr. – There Near
Dinosaur Jr.
There Near
Released August 28th, 2026 on Jagjaguwar
Per Spectrum Culture:
Continue readingThere Near is a very solid entry in Dinosaur Jr.’s discography and a stormier guitar record than most anything else released this year.
BIG|BRAVE – in grief or in hope
BIG|BRAVE
in grief or in hope
Released June 12th, 2026 on Thrill Jockey
Per Spectrum Culture:
Continue readingThe hidden inner landscape of Montreal’s BIG|BRAVE, an overgrown piece of Eden soaked in quicksilver moonlight, has never felt closer than it does on their latest record.
Jesus Christ Taxi Driver – Taxi The Rich
Jesus Christ Taxi Driver
Taxi the Rich
Released April 24th, 2026 on Midtopia
Per Spectrum Culture:
Continue readingTaxi the Rich is an amalgam of 1982, a truce struck between caveman rock aesthetics and the quirky, funky stuff that was even then eating the former’s lunch.
The Paranoid Style – Known Associates
The Paranoid Style
Known Associates
Released February 13th, 2026 on Bar/None Records
Per Spectrum Culture:
Continue readingThe Paranoid Style’s fifth full-length album defines the warm embrace of imperfection, a welcome relief in a music climate that can be too obsessed with exact details.
Puscifer – Normal Isn’t
Puscifer
Normal Isn’t
Released February 6th, 2026 on Alchemy/BMG
Per Spectrum Culture:
Continue readingNormal Isn’t delves into early-’80s goth and post-punk, a sharp turn from Puscifer’s former electronic and industrial-tinged hard rock sound.
Mandy, Indiana – URGH
Mandy, Indiana
URGH
Released February 6th, 2026 on Sacred Bones
As per Spectrum Culture:
Continue readingBy cleaving closer to the bone of what they’re about, Mandy, Indiana avoid the too-clever, angular detached observational style that might have sunk their sophomore effort quickly.
Joyce Manor – I Used to Go to This Bar
Joyce Manor
I Used to Go to This Bar
Released January 30th, 2026 on Epitaph Records
From Spectrum Culture:
Continue readingIn a scant 19 minutes, I Used to Go to This Bar taps into the allure and the danger of living in the past, as well as the runaway joy and fear of living in the present.
The 100 Best Albums of 2024
My yearly collection playlist always has a name, and this year was obviously “2024 Sucks OK.” Which, obviously, it did. Every year sucks in its own way, but man, was 2024 a doozy. Disappointment, the realization that stasis of post-pandemic living, awful politics, genocides, unending wars. Your idols are dead and your enemies are in power. Everything feels too Weimar for its own good.
Still, there were good parts to the year, as there always are. Great books, great movies, some stellar albums. There were a lot of great records this year, actually. I could have done 200 for this entry if that weren’t such obvious overkill. I managed to know 40 entries on the Quietus’ year-end list. Usually I only know single digits – This despite listening to an average of 1100 albums a year.
Also I managed to get six short stories published this year, which is pretty good if you ask me.
Here are the 100 albums that best exemplify this year, this moment, this lifetime.
Continue readingMount Eerie – Night Palace
