Happy New Year! Having put 2025 to bed (check out our lists here) we’re anxious to see what 2026 brings us. Music-wise, at least. We put together this list of 94 albums that have already been announced (including a few we’ve already heard) or strongly hinted at, and a few that we’re hoping will finally materialize. Not on this list are a few that have been rumored for years like Chappell Roan, Rihanna, Frank Ocean, Sky Ferreira, Michael Stipe, Down, D’Angelo, and King Diamond / Mercyful Fate.
You can hear BV staffers Dave, Andrew, Amanda and Bill talk about a few of the albums on this list on the most recent episode of BV Weekly which is available wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to that, and check out our full list of anticipated albums, below.
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96 Albums We’re Anticipating in 2026
Aldous Harding
It’s been four years since Aldous Harding released Poor Chris and two years since she’s played a show. We haven’t heard anything concrete about a new record, but Aldous has 2026 tour dates on the books so let’s hope one thing follows the other. Meanwhile, you can hear her on the new Sleaford Mods album that’s out in January.
American Football
We’ve heard rumblings of American Football’s LP4 for a minute now and our fingers are crossed that 2026 is the year. 2019’s LP3 is arguably their best yet, so the anticipation is high.
Angel Du$t – Cold 2 The Touch
due 2/13 via Run For Cover
Angel Du$t reunited with producer Brian McTernan (who helmed their 2014 debut LP A.D.) for their Run For Cover debut Cold 2 The Touch, and so far all the lead singles find them putting a new spin on the energy of their beloved A.D. / Rock the Fuck On Forever era.
Arctic Monkeys
Rumor has it that a followup to 2022’s The Car is on the way. As for what direction this shapeshifting band will go in next, your guess is as good as ours.
A$AP Rocky – Don’t Be Dumb
dude 1/16 via ASAP Worldwide/Polo Grounds/RCA
After lots of delays and several (possibly non-album) singles, A$AP Rocky’s long-awaited new album Don’t Be Dumb is finally set to arrive on January 16. His last album was the psychedelic, divisive Testing.
At The Gates
When At The Gates vocalist Tomas Lindberg sadly passed away from cancer in September, his bandmates revealed that all of his vocals for their upcoming album were already recorded. They said they “have now decided to not wait any longer to release this new album,” so presumably that means it’s coming this year.
Basement
UK post-hardcore heroes Basement returned from hibernation for select live shows a few years ago, and in December they posted a video from the studio. Is their first album since 2018’s Beside Myself finally coming?
The Bevis Frond – Horrorful Heights
due 4/3 via Fire
“As usual, it’s a collection of what I thought were my best songs of the last couple of years,” says indie rock cult legend Nick Saloman of his 27th album as The Bevis Frond. “I just sit down and write stuff when the muse hits (which is pretty frequently), but somehow this time I felt there was a slightly different feel to the songs. Nothing very different, you understand, but perhaps just a bit more commercial. It wasn’t intentional — it never is — I just write, and what comes out is what you get.”
Beyoncé – Act III
Beyoncé’s dance-oriented Renaissance and country-oriented Cowboy Carter were parts one and two of a planned trilogy, in which each album focuses on a different genre of music. No word on when Act III is coming or what genre it will focus on, but the first two were two years apart so 2026 seems very possible.
Björk
Björk is collaborating with visual artist James Merry (of Biophilia) on a new exhibit for Reykjavík Art Festival in May. Part of the project includes a “new work based on music from her forthcoming album, currently in development.” Hopefully that means more details on the follow-up to 2022’s fungi-obsessed Fossora will come sooner than later.
Buck Meek
Big Thief returned in 2025 with their great new album Double Infinity, and in 2026 it’ll be guitarist Buck Meek’s turn to release his first solo album since 2023.
Cardinals – Masquerade
due 2/13 via So Young
Hailing from Cork, Ireland, five-piece Cardinals mix indie rock, punk, and traditional Celtic music into a distinctive sound. Following a string of singles and an EP, the band are ready to release their debut album, made with producer Shrink. “Something the record looks at is peeling back the ‘masquerade,’ or the façade we all put up,” says frontman Euan Manning. “The curtain is pulled and cynicism takes its place — it’s really easy to be cynical and far harder to be hopeful and genuine. Stripping it back is painful; you can find things you’re not proud of, but it also leads to a kind of acceptance you can’t reach without vulnerability.”
Cast – Yeah Yeah Yeah
due 1/30 via Scruff of the Neck
Former The La’s bassist John Power has led Cast since the early ’90s with their own brand of Merseybeat power pop. In 2025, the band enjoyed their highest-profile year in decades thanks to a support slot on Oasis’ reunion tour in the UK (as well as NYC and LA), giving them momentum heading into their eighth studio album and follow-up to 2024’s excellent Love Is the Call. Recorded in Spain with Killing Joke’s Youth producing, Power says, “It was more than just trying to capture a vibe — it was about recording something majestic.”
Charli XCX – Wuthering Heights Soundtrack
due 2/13 via Atlantic
Charli will be keeping busy with film projects this year, and one of those is the soundtrack to Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. The two songs we’ve heard so far couldn’t be more different and are both fantastic — the John Cale-featuring “House,” and “Chains of Love,” a dramatic ballad.
Chat Pile
Chat Pile are fresh off releasing their collaborative album with Hayden Pedigo, In the Earth Again, and now they tell Decibel that they’re gearing up to release the third proper Chat Pile album this fall. “We’re really trying to indulge our more evil musical tendencies with this one,” the band said. “We have a couple jams that are defying standard song structures. But who knows what the hell the final thing will actually sound like–that tends to reveal itself way later in the process.”
Coalesce
In 2025, mathcore pioneers Coalesce reunited for live shows while vocalist Sean Ingram released the debut album by a new project called Idle Heirs. And then in an interview with Decibel, the band said a new Coalesce album produced by Scott Evans is coming “sometime in 2026.” It’ll be their first since 2009’s Ox, and guitarist Jes Steineger called it “the most listenable album in our catalog.”
Converge – Love Is Not Enough
due 2/13 via Deathwish/Epitaph
Converge are gearing up to return with their first proper album in nine years (also following their 2021 Bloodmoon album with Chelsea Wolfe), and lead single/opening track “Love Is Not Enough” is two minutes and 22 seconds of classic Converge intensity. According to vocalist J Bannon, the album is intentionally sequenced in a way that’s meant to get even more intense with each passing song.
Courtney Barnett
Courtney Barnett recently returned with “Stay In Your Lane,” one of her most fiery, upbeat singles since her early days. In a recent interview, she said her whole upcoming album is more upbeat and “bigger… more guitars and more volume.”
The Cribs – Selling a Vibe
due 1/9 via PIAS
The Cribs’ Jarman brothers (Gary, Ryan, and Ross) have been through it all — indie sleaze, a stint with Johnny Marr as a second guitarist, and plenty of record-label nonsense. Selling a Vibe is the band’s first album since the pandemic and was made with Chairlift’s Patrick Wimberly producing. “As time has gone by our albums have become more open,” says Ryan Jarman. “As a result, these songs feel very personal. It can be nerve-wracking releasing them, but ultimately, that’s the only thing that matters.”
Crooked Fingers – Swet Deth
due 2/27 via Merge
Eric Bachmann has been busy with the Archers of Loaf reunion, but he’s reactivated Crooked Fingers for their first album in 15 years. “What I was writing wasn’t mellow like a solo album,” Bachmann says. “It was heavy, and it made me wish I had a band.” The album features contributions from Matt Berninger, Sharon Van Etten, and Superchunk frontman (and Merge boss) Mac McCaughan. The album title and artwork, meanwhile, came from Bachmann’s young son.
Crooked Man – Crooked Stile
due 1/16 via Vicious Charm Recordings
Richard Barratt — the Sheffield DJ and producer also known as DJ Parrot — returns with his first Crooked Man album in eight years. (He also produced Róisín Murphy’s 2020 album Róisín Machine.) The record includes transformative banger covers of Thelma Houston’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way” and Jarvis Cocker’s “Running the World,” while “Projection” features guest vocals from Murphy herself.
The Cure
Will we get a new Cure album this year? Robert Smith has said the band were this close to finishing the follow-up to 2024’s Songs of a Lost World, and the band’s official site recently noted: “In March 2025 the band went back into Rockfield Studios to record 13 more songs for a follow-up album.” Here’s hoping we get more concrete news before the band’s tour kicks off in June.
Danny L Harle – Cerulean
due 2/13 via XL
The producer and PC Music co-founder is calling Cerulean his “debut album,” and for it he said he was looking for “the best melodies sung by the best voices.” The stacked list of collaborators he’s lined up for it, most of whom he’s worked with before, is pretty damn exciting, and includes Caroline Polachek, PinkPantheress, Clairo, oklou, MNEK, Julia Michaels, and Kacha.
Daphni – Butterfly
due 2/7 via Jiaolong
The line between Dan Snaith’s two projects — the song-based Caribou and club-focused Daphni — has been blurring lately, and Butterfly leans into that ambiguity. One standout, “Waiting So Long,” is listed as “featuring Caribou.” Snaith says don’t sweat the details: “On a practical level, it just felt like a track that fans of both might want to hear.”
Death Grips
In early 2025, news circulated that Death Grips’ Andy Morin said the group was over. Then in November, Stefan “MC Ride” Burnett and Zach Hill said, “The Writing and recording of our next album is underway. We’re looking forward to the new Death Grips record.”
Dirt Buyer – Dirt Buyer III
due 2/6 via Bayonet
Dirt Buyer, the Brooklyn project of Joe Sutkowski (who also plays in This Is Lorelei’s live band), will be releasing his third album this February. Recent single “Get To Choose” finds him jumping from the lo-fi slacker rock of his first two albums into something a little more hi-fi.
Doechii
Doechii’s breakthrough 2024 project Alligator Bites Never Heal was technically considered a “mixtape” and she had said in interviews that her “debut studio album” was still on the way. It was expected in 2025, which didn’t happen, but she did release the new SZA collab “Girl, Get Up” at the very tail-end of last year. Maybe the album will finally drop in 2026.
Drop Nineteens
Hard Light, the OG shoegazers’ first album in over three decades, was one of 2023’s most pleasant surprises. Since then, Drop Nineteens spent much of 2025 “holed up in the studio” working on its follow-up. Details remain scarce, but first taste “Fools” is louder and more aggressive than anything on Hard Light. So much for mellowing with age.
Dry Cleaning – Secret Love
due 1/9 via 4AD
For their third album, Dry Cleaning traveled to the Loire Valley in France with producer Cate Le Bon. “Being in a room with them and hearing that vitality is such a unique expression,” Le Bon says. Secret Love is the band’s most sonically varied album yet, with Florence Shaw occasionally stepping beyond her signature sprechgesang into full-on singing.
Erykah Badu & The Alchemist – Abi & Alan
Eryakh Badu’s highly anticipated, long-awaited new album, entirely produced by The Alchemist, was supposed to come out on August 29 but Erykah pushed the album back on the eve of its release and we haven’t heard any updates since. Hopefully that changes soon.
Evil Island (The Blood Brothers)
The Blood Brothers have played reunion shows over the years but they haven’t released a new album since 2006. However, three members of the band–vocalist Johnny Whitney, guitarist Cody Votolato, and drummer Mark Gajadhar–have new music on the way with their new project Evil Island, which also includes bassist Autry René Fulbright (Off!, …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead). Judging by the teaser video, Blood Brothers fans should be very excited about this.
Exek – Prove the Mountains Move
due 2/27 via DFA
After a decade of taut, paranoid post-punk on labels like Castle Face and W.25th, Australia’s Exek land on DFA for their seventh album. “This record is experimental in its craft,” says Albert Wolski, “but it may not necessarily sound experimental.” First single “Sidestepping” is among their poppiest to date — without sacrificing unease.
Floating Points
Floating Points returned to the dancefloor for 2024’s Cascade but recent single “Corner of My Eye” finds him leaning back into his jazz side. Is it a sign that he’ll be doing more of this on a new album? Let’s hope.
Fcukers
After swimming in the indie rock pool for years, Shanny Wise and Jackson Walker Lewis formed this duo, taking cues from turn-of-the-millennium club culture — from playful house and techno to electrolash and dubstep — for a sound that feels like it could’ve come straight out of the LES/Williamsburg in 2001. They’ve earned nods from LCD Soundsystem and Tame Impala, both of whom asked Fcukers to open for them, and after a string of infectious bangers and an EP, the time feels right for their debut album. Their two 2025 singles, “Play Me” and “I Like It Like That,” were both produced by Kenny Beats (Geese, Idles) — will he be behind their first full-length?
GENA (Liv.e & Karriem Riggins) – (Liv.e & Karriem Riggins) – The Pleasure Is Yours
due 2/27 via Lex
New-gen neo-soul great Liv.e and veteran jazz/hip hop drummer Karriem Riggins have teamed up as GENA, and their debut album The Pleasure Is Yours arrives this February. Karriem has worked with greats like Erykah Badu and The Roots, and it’s no surprise that he sees something similar in Liv.e. Judging by the singles, these two make a great pair.
Gorguts
Gorguts’ 2013 technical death metal opus Colored Sands is widely considered one of the best metal comebacks of the 2010s, and though they did release the one-track, 33-minute Pleiades’ Dust EP in 2016, it’s otherwise been even longer without a proper new Gorguts album than it was when Colored Sands came out. Bandleader Luc Lemay told Decibel that that will change in “2026 for sure.” Luc also seemed to suggest that he’s revisiting some of the style from Gorguts’ 1991 debut LP Considered Dead on this new album–a very interesting prospect.
Haircut 100 – Boxing the Compass
due 3/20 via Map of England
Sophistipop favorites Haircut 100 reunited after decades apart and now return with their first new album since 1982’s Pelican West. “‘Boxing the compass’ is the traditional way of finding where you are using the compass rose,” says Nick Heyward. “We’re arriving back at the port we left 43 years ago, with a log of songs from our travels.”
Heavenly
due February via Skep Wax
UK twee icons Heavenly — led by Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey — reformed a few years back, and it’s gone so well they’ve made a new album. Details are scarce, but last year’s single “Portland Town” proves they haven’t lost a step.
hemlocke springs – the apple tree under the sea
due 2/13 via AWAL
After a series of addictive alt-pop singles and shows supporting Chappell Roan, hemlocke springs has announced her debut album. “I grew up very religiously—Christianity is very pertinent in Nigerian culture and the Black community—and I was also obedient to my elders,” she says. “This album starts with a character going through the desert who says, ‘I’m going to do your will.’ They could be saying it to God or a man, but then they come across the apple. It’s about me being in this bubble, and realizing that being in that bubble was tougher than I thought, and then finally getting out and exploring who I really am.”
I Promised the World – I Promised the World EP
due 1/16 via Rise
Between their music, their album artwork, and their fashion sense, I Promised the World (fka Sinema) have the sound and aesthetic of early 2000s post-hardcore/metalcore bands like Poison The Well, Hopesfall, Alexisonfire, et al. down pat. Their upcoming Rise debut has been stirring up a lot of buzz for good reason.
Immolation – Descent
New York death metal veterans Immolation are set to follow 2022’s great Acts of God with a new album this spring via Nuclear Blast, and it represents some change for them. The band revealed in an interview with Decibel that it was produced by Noah Buchanan and Justin Passamonte instead of longtime producer Paul Orofino, and it “marks the first time in Immolation’s history that [they] didn’t collectively get together at one studio for the session,” said bassist/vocalist Ross Dolan. Guitarist Bob Vigna added, “It’s very powerful, dark and sinister, even somewhat ambient at times. It has all the Immolation elements with a few new twists.”
Jenny on Holiday – Quicksand Heart
due 1/9 via Transgressive
One half of Let’s Eat Grandma, Jenny Hollingsworth, has been previewing her debut solo album as Jenny on Holiday with sparkling art pop and indie pop that should appeal to fans of her band. “I’m so excited by the pop format—to be able to put something emotionally complex into this simple, accessible form,” she says.
Jill Scott – To Whom This May Concern
due 2/13 via Blues Babe
R&B/neo-soul great Jill Scott is finally set to return with her first album in 11 years with To Whom This May Concern, the followup to 2015’s Woman. It features Ab-Soul, J.I.D., Tierra Whack, and Too $hort, along with production from DJ Premier, Trombone Shorty, Om’Mas Keith, and others, and lead single “Beautiful People” is a great reminder that Jill Scott is a master of classic, timeless soul.
Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom debuted an album’s worth of new songs at a surprise opening set for Fleet Foxes in early 2023. We’re coming up on three years since that night, and still no album. Will 2026 finally be the year it happens?
Joyce Manor – I Used To Go To This Bar
due 1/30 via Epitaph
Joyce Manor’s singles from their upcoming seventh album have them embracing cowpunk (“All My Friends Are So Depressed”) and RHCP-y California rock (“Well, Whatever It Was”), while still sounding like no other band in the world.
We’ve also got an exclusive “frosted orange” vinyl variant of this one up for pre-order.
Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore – Tragic Magic
due 1/16 via InFiné
For their first collaborative album, ambient artist Julianna Barwick and harpist Mary Lattimore were given access to the Philharmonie de Paris’ Musée de la Musique’s collection of rare instruments, in partnership with InFiné. “We were so lucky to have access to this experience,” Lattimore says. “There was a lot of reverence, working with people with such warmth and enthusiasm, bringing these instruments into a modern context, literally taken off the shelves of the museum.” Barwick adds, “We wanted to honor the past while making music that we feel is a true expression of ourselves.”
Kate Bush
In October of 2024, Kate Bush said she was “very keen to start working on a new album.” No updates since, but our fingers are crossed that we get to hear the fruits of her labor this year.
King Crimson
King Crimson confirmed in the summer of 2025 that they’ve been recording new music, and they said, “Whether it is an album, whether it sees the light of day, whether it is something else is unknown. As is the outcome of any creative process. So yes, recordings have taken place. Getting excited about the possibility of a new album, as has apparently been happening, is somewhat premature. Carts before horses.” Given that quote, we’re not holding our breath, but even the chance of hearing something new from these one-of-a-kind prog lifers is enough to feel excited.
Knocked Loose
Knocked Loose spent all of 2025 riding high off the strength of 2024’s game-changing You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, and it sounds like they’re hard at work on a followup. In November, Bryan Garris and Isaac Hale simultaneously teased on Instagram that they were “writing,” so maybe we’ll get to hear what they come up with soon.
Ladytron – Paradises
due 3/20 via Nettwerk
“There’s an itch we never scratched,” Ladytron’s Hunt says of the Liverpool electro vets’ upcoming eighth album. “Despite our origins in the DJ world, we never actually made a ‘disco’ record. Albeit, ‘disco’ in our context has a somewhat different meaning.” The album’s first single, “Kingdom Undersea,” adds a little Madchester/baggy house to Ladytron’s signature icy sound.
Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey’s long anticipated “country” album has previously been known as Lasso and The Right Person Will Stay, but since then she’s added six songs that were “more autobiographical” than she thought they’d be, and according to her most recent update, the album is now called Stove. She also said it “will likely be released at the end of January,” so we should know for sure very soon either way.
Lande Hekt – Lucky Now
due 1/30 via Tapete
This will be the former Muncie Girls singer-guitarist’s third solo album, and she made it with producer Matthew Simms of MEMORIALS and Wire. “I’m not as concerned about how I’m presenting myself,” she says. “I’ve tried to think less about how things are coming across, and just write songs that make me feel connected to myself and what I value.”
LCD Soundsystem
After quietly releasing “X-Ray Eyes” via an old-school MP3 link on their website, reports of a new LCD Soundsystem album briefly surfaced — and were quickly walked back. James Murphy later confirmed it’s “shaping up to be a new album,” but offered no timeline. If it arrives in 2026, it’ll be their first in nine years — which is two years longer than the time between Sound of Silver and comeback American Dream, and five years longer than their mid-2010s breakup.
Lucinda Williams – World’s Gone Wrong
due 1/23 via Highway 20
The type of alt-country that’s been infiltrating indie rock lately wouldn’t exist without the influence of Lucinda Williams, and she’s also a lifer whose new music is always worth hearing. Her first LP in three years arrives soon.
Madonna – Confessions Of A Dance Floor Part 2
Madonna has been planning a dancey sequel to 2005’s beloved Confessions on a Dance Floor (home of the world-conquering “Hung Up”), and our bodies are ready.
Makthaverskan – Glass and Bones
due 4/3 via Welfare Sounds
The Swedish post-punks will release their first album since 2021 in April, and the driving, soaring first single “Pity Party” is extremely promising.
Mandy, Indiana – URGH
due 2/6 via Sacred Bones
The Manchester, UK-based band has signed to Sacred Bones for their new album, the follow-up to their striking, intense 2023 debut, and it features billy woods. They’re not holding back on the visceral first single, “Magazine,” a call for retribution from vocalist Valentine Caulfield after surviving sexual assault.
Massive Attack
Massive Attack have confirmed they’ll be releasing something in the near future — just not what. The Bristol legends say the work will arrive via a new label and notably will not stream on Spotify. Guest vocalists remain a mystery. Who might they get this time? Grian Chatten? Little Simz? We can’t wait to find out.
Mastodon
2025 saw Mastodon parting ways with co-founding guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, who shockingly and tragically died in a motorcycle crash months later, leaving the band “devastated and crushed to lose him and to be able to never have him back again.” They pushed forward with new guitarist Nick Johnston, and they recently confirmed that Nick is writing and recording with the band for their next album.
Mitski
We’re still waiting for official word on the follow-up to 2023’s The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We, our favorite album of that year, but it seems pretty likely it’s coming soon. She teased it in a post-credits scene in her 2025 concert film, where a person off camera says, “So I heard you’re putting out an album?,” and she replies, “Album? What album?” The unseen person says, “the one that’s coming out in the winter, right?,” to which Mitski says, “Did I forget something? Did I forget something?” Stay tuned.
My Bloody Valentine
It’s been 13 years since My Bloody Valentine surprise-released their first album since Loveless. With the band back on stage and signed to Domino, hopes are high that 2026 might finally bring new music — though we’d gladly settle for a North American tour.
Noname – Cartoon Radio
After seeming like she might leave music behind, jazz-rapper Noname released the stunning new single “Hundred Acres” (accompanied by her first-ever music video) and confirmed the title of her next project, Cartoon Radio. Release date and most other details TBA, so hopefully we learn more soon.
Nothing – A Short History of Decay
due 2/27 via Run For Cover
Not only are Philly shoegazers Nothing celebrating the 10th anniversary of Tired of Tomorrow at their own Slide Away festivals (which feature Hum and Chapterhouse reunions) in 2026, they’re also releasing their fifth album, A Short History of Decay. Lead single “Cannibal World” is the most MBV-ish Nothing have ever sounded, while second single “Purple Strings” is an acoustic ballad (with Mary Lattimore on harp).
We’ve also got an exclusive “sour apple glitter” vinyl variant of the album that comes housed in green PVC bag with Nothing’s logo screenprinted on the front. Pre-order that in the BV shop.
The Notwist – News From Planet Zombie
due 3/3 via Morr Music
News From Planet Zombie marks The Notwist’s first album since 1995’s 12 featuring their expanded 11-piece live lineup. First single “X-Ray” is rawer and noisier than anything they’ve done since Neon Golden, while still retaining their melodic core.
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo had a very eventful 2025 that included on-stage collaborations with The Cure’s Robert Smith, Talking Heads’ David Byrne, and Weezer, plus a Fontaines D.C. cover, and now she seems to be teasing her third album.
Paula Kelley (Drop Nineteens) – Blinking As the Starlight Burns Out
due 3/27 via Wharf Cat
While details on Drop Nineteens’ next album remain forthcoming (see elsewhere on this list), singer-guitarist Paula Kelley will release her first solo album in 20 years this March. She produced and arranged the album herself and first single “Party Line” is terrific.
Peaches – No Lube So Rude
due 2/20 via Kill Rock Stars
With the mid-2000s back in fashion, now is a great time for Peaches to release her first album in a decade, and an upcoming tour with Model/Actriz feels like a perfect pairing.
Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers season approaches? There’s been no official word, but the signs are looking good for a new album from her this year. Her last solo album was 2020’s fantastic Punisher, and her mom recently reshared Rolling Stones‘ Instagram story predicting a new album from Phoebe in 2026.
PJ Harvey
In a late December social media update, PJ Harvey said that since wrapping up her I Inside the Old Year Dying tour, she’s “been writing songs for my next album and poems for my next book, which is a process that always surprises and challenges me, but one I realise I am committed to and love.” Hopefully we’ll hear more about those soon.
Plantoid – Flare
due 1/30 via Bella Union
UK trio Plantoid follow their heady debut Terrapath with an album that expands their sonic palette. “Our sound has always been erratic,” says drummer Louis Bradshaw. “With Flare, we wanted to redefine things slightly while keeping our character intact.”
Poison The Well
Shapeshifting melodic metalcore pioneers Poison The Well returned last year with their first new song in over 15 years, and they more recently confirmed their new album is coming in 2026. The new single captured just about everything that PTW proved to be capable of during their initial run, so it already seems like the possibilities for this new album are endless.
Ratboys – Singin’ to an Empty Chair
due 2/6 via New West
Ratboys’ fantastic 2023 album The Window was produced by Chris Walla (formerly of Death Cab for Cutie), and they worked with him again for its follow-up, Singin’ to an Empty Chair. The singles we’ve heard so far have our hopes for it very high: they’re warm, country-tinged, and some of the biggest, most appealing songs they’ve released yet.
Remember Sports – The Refrigerator
due 2/13 via Get Better Records
From the grungy alt-country of “Across the Line” to the punky “Bug,” it looks like Remember Sports’ next album is gonna have a lot of range and we’re very excited to hear what else it has in store.
Robbie Williams – Britpop
due 2/6 via Island
Following his surprisingly great biopic Better Man (yes, he’s played by a CGI monkey), Robbie Williams returns with his first studio album in a decade. It includes a track titled “Morrissey,” which alone has us intrigued.
Robyn – Sexistential
due 3/27 via Young
Robyn returned in November with her first new single in 7 years, the euphoric “Dopamine,” and followed it with her first full shows in 6 years, where she debuted even more new music. She’s now officially announced Sexistential, and says, “Exploring my sensual life is the same feeling as when I make a good song. It’s such a beautiful kind of sensitive vibration that takes so much work to keep afloat. I feel like the purpose of my life is to stay horny – it doesn’t even have to be about sex, but it’s feeling sensual and attracted to things that I enjoy, and not letting anything take over that.”
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones’ 2023 album Hackney Diamonds (their first album of original music in 18 years) was way better than we ever expected it to be, and it sounds like there’s already more where that came from. They recently confirmed they have another new album with the same producer (Andrew Watt) expected in 2026.
Tori Amos – In Times of Dragons
due 5/1 via Univeral/Fontana
We’re still awaiting more details on Tori Amos’ eighteenth album, but she’s described it as “a metaphorical story about the fight for Democracy over Tyranny, reflecting the current abhorrent non accidental burning down of democracy in real time by the ‘Dictator believing Lizard Demons’ in their usurpation of America.”
Shudder to Think
After intimate reunion shows in 2025, DC/NYC post-hardcore greats Shudder to Think released a strong new single via Dischord. Frontman Craig Wedren, who spends most of his time these days scoring movies and TV, says it’s “the first of a trove of new songs.” 2026 could be their biggest year yet.
Sleaford Mods – The Demise of Planet X
due 1/16 via Rough Trade
Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn are stepping it up for Sleaford Mods’ 13th album. They recorded The Demise of Planet X at Abbey Road and it features some impressive guests, including actress Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, Severance), Aldous Harding, and Life Without Buildings singer Sue Tompkins. “The Demise of Planet X represents a life lived under immense uncertainty,” says Williamson of the album’s themes. “It feels like we’re living among the ruins.”
Speed
Speed are one of the best, most interesting, and fastest-growing hardcore bands around. When we spoke to them in April, they said LP2 was “on the horizon” with an EP in between, and we got that EP (All My Angels) in October. About LP2, vocalist Jem Siow said, “We love everything we’ve done, but I think we can scratch a little bit deeper.”
Spoon
Britt Daniel and the rest of Spoon spent a good chunk of 2025 in the studio working on their 11th album and follow-up to 2022’s Lucifer on the Sofa. We’re still waiting for the official announce, but the band gave us a taste of what’s to come with terrific two-track single back in August that has the lean punch of Kill the Moonlight.
Squeeze – Trixies
due 3/16 via Love Records / BMG
Squeeze’s debut album was released in 1978 but frontmen Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook’s creative partnership goes back much further, and for Trixies they’ve unearthed songs from the very beginning of their songwriting. In fact, this is a shelved concept album about a fictitious club and its inhabitants that Difford and Tilbrook deemed too ambitious at the time. “These are very much the same songs that we wrote then,” Tilbrook says. “The only difference is that now I can teach the songs to the rest of the band. Back then, I didn’t even know what the names of the chords were!”
Stove God Cooks – GOAT Stamp
due 2/27
Stove God Cooks is one of the staples of the East Coast boom bap revival that’s been surging these past few years, but unlike most of his peers and collaborators, he’s actually not very prolific. He hasn’t released an album since his 2020 Roc Marciano-produced debut LP Reasonable Drought, so the anticipation is especially high that he’s finally releasing his second LP. Appearing on last year’s Clipse album helps stir up the excitement too.
Sugar
In a year full of surprise reunions, one of the most exciting was Bob Mould’s announcement that his short-lived, amazing early-’90s trio Sugar were getting back together for their first shows in three decades. Even more surprising: the announcement came with a new song (well a recording of an old song). So far there are just NYC and London shows but a full tour seems likely, could a new album be too?
Sweet Pill – Still There’s A Glow
due 3/13 via Hopeless
Sweet Pill have quickly become one of the most exciting newer emo bands around, and they keep branching out into new territory. The slower, indie rock-oriented “No Control” from their upcoming sophomore album Still There’s A Glow is another appealing shift.
Terror – Still Suffer
due spring via Flatspot
Nobody does it like hardcore lifers Terror, whose latest LP (2022’s Pain Into Power) is at this point a huge fan favorite. They’re now signed to the great Flatspot Records with plans to release their next LP this spring.
Thursday
Thursday released three new singles between April 2024 and January 2025 that found the 2000s-era post-hardcore veterans sounding as hungry and inventive as they did two decades earlier. It seemed like they were building towards an album, so here’s to hoping that is in fact the case.
Tigers Jaw – Lost On You
due 3/27 via Hopeless
Tigers Jaw’s very good 2021 album I Won’t Care How You Remember Me was their sixth, but also the first that Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins made with their current rhythm section of drummer Teddy Roberts and bassist Colin Gorman. Now also joined by second guitarist Mark Lebiecki, that lineup is about to return with Lost On You, and lead single “Head is Like a Sinking Stone” picks up right where the previous LP left off.
We’ve also got an exclusive blue & green swirl vinyl variant of this one up for pre-order.
Ulrika Spacek – EXPO
due 2/6 via Full Time Hobby
Following 2023’s fantastic Compact Trauma, London/Stockholm group Ulrika Spacek have once again dismantled and rebuilt themselves. Literally. “Our music has always been a collage – a bit patchwork, sonically – but what makes this album a landmark for us is that we went one step further and made our own sound bank and essentially sampled ourselves,” the band said of EXPO‘s creation. The songs released so far crackle with creative energy while retaining their signature sound.
Undeath
Undeath jumped from murky old school-style death metal revival to something a little sharper and harder to pigeonhole on 2024’s great More Insane, and now they tell Decibel that their fourth album is coming in “2026–as soon as it’s ready!” Vocalist Alexander Sason adds, “The faster stuff is faster, the slower stuff is slower, and everything is shaping up to be our most crushing and dynamic record yet.”
Voxtrot – Dreamers in Exile
due 2/27 via Cult Hero Records
Austin indie vets Voxtrot have been back since 2022 but apart from a couple new singles have not rushed to make a follow-up to their 2007 self-titled debut. “In the green room before the last show of the reunion tour, we decided to make a new album,” says frontman Ramesh Srivastava. “There’s so much optimism on this record. We approached it by bringing the energy we wanted into the room. When you lead with enthusiasm, it’s magnetic, because it’s absolutely real.”
Weyes Blood
Weyes Blood previously said her next album would come in 2025. It didn’t, but 2025 was a busy year for her that included contributing to Daniel Lopatin’s Marty Supreme soundtrack, covering Neil Diamond for Hulu’s Good American Family, and collaborating with Drugdealer and SPELLLING. Now 2026 is the year that hopefully marks Weyes Blood’s proper return.
Whitelands – Sunlight Echoes
due 1/30 via Sonic Cathedral
While often grouped with the new shoegaze wave, Whitelands stretch beyond genre on their second album. Rooted in hypnagogic pop and free from easy categorization, the three singles released so far soar.
Worm – Necropalace
due 2/13 via Century Media
The ever-changing, ever-ambitious death metal band Worm are now signed to Century Media and they’ve shared two lengthy singles from their next album, both of which suggest this band is only getting delightfully weirder and weirder.
The xx
The xx told NME back in January 2024 that they were back in the studio and working on a new album, and 2026 has the band returning to the stage at Coachella, Primavera Sound, Kilby Block Party, and more, so it seems likely that we might finally be getting their new music too. Their last album was 2017’s I See You.
Zach Bryan – With Heaven On Top
due 1/9
Zach Bryan is one of the biggest country stars in the world but he also loves indie, as he most recently reminded us by booking MJ Lenderman, Dijon, and Alabama Shakes as openers on his 2026 tour. By the time that tour begins, we’ll have a whole new Zach Bryan album, his first since 2024’s very good The Great American Bar Scene.