05.07.2026-YONAKA Don't Wait 'Til Tomorrow (Asyulum,2019)

 

ALTERNATIVE ROCK

   Yonaka really zeroes in on love as an emotion in particular. Throughout the album you are reminded that life isn’t a fairytale but hope is there to get through it and inspire you. It’s the reality check we all need. It’s almost a reminder to stop striving for perfection because it doesn’t exist. However there is something beautiful within the cracks of daily life, and if you spend too much time focussing on the bad you’ll miss them. Similar to the intention of Japanese art, Yonaka is filling the cracks of the mundane with gold, because imperfections are beautiful. You’re not worth any less for your past. It’s given you experience and made you stronger. This album acts as the quintessential open letter to all. Ultimately, this is an album which warps everything which you thought you believed. It forces you to undertake a rollercoaster of emotional turmoil and is full of surprises led through the changing tempo each track has to offer. Desperation leads to hope, as we are reminded that fundamentally, we will survive. 

https://www.sendspace.com/file/5qdoa7

02.07.2026-JESCA HOOP Stonechild (Memphis industries,2019)

 

ALTERNATIVE FOLK

   He does a fine job with ‘Stonechild’, but truthfully, all of the triumphs here are Jesca’s own and a long time in the making. It’s less a case of being in a comfort zone than it is being supremely confident in a musical identity that she’s spent years carving out for herself. It means that there’s room for new, handsome flourishes, like the choir bursting forth on ‘Red White and Black’, or inviting new collaborators like Lucious, Rozi Plain and This Is the Kit to back her on the choruses throughout. The latter two come to the fore on the sumptuous ‘Outside of Eden’, a sharp deconstruction of the burgeoning reliance of children on smartphones. In fact, Jesca tackles politics with quiet incision throughout, particularly when she needles the dying patriarchy on ‘Old Fear of Father’. ‘Stonechild’ is an exercise in top-level songwriting, stately and intelligent.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/qyrj2i

30.06.2026-MAISIE PETERS You Signed Up For This (Gingerbread Man, 2021)

 

INDIE POP

   On 'You Signed Up For This', Peters displays a singular vision: pop. She mostly lets go of the snappy guitar acoustics that shaped her past sound and in doing so drops the first half of her “folk-pop” descriptor. Instead, synth-filled melodies and springy beats demand bedroom dancing and hairbrush singing. There is nothing childish about this album, though; in fact, the singer is assured in her sound, the music grounded in its self-conscious melodrama.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/9p7ws1

26.06.2026 - FAMILY OF THE YEAR Family Of The Year (Nettwerk,2015)

 

FOLK POP

   Breezy folk-pop that's fun to listen to but could use more emotional depth.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/sngmyt

22.06.2026-PICTURE PARLOUR The Parlour (EMI,2025)

 

INDIE ROCK

   Moulded around the fluid concept of ‘The Parlour’, the former NME Cover stars present their ambitious debut album on a tightrope between youthful flair and rock’n’roll.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/2ont5p

19.06.2026-DEADLETTER Hysterical Strength (So Recordings,2024)

 

INDIE ROCK

   ‘Hysterical Strength’ is dark and foreboding and it’s irresistible and fun. It confronts the daily struggle of our shared society and forces us to smile about it. Deadletter might only be getting started, but with a record as accomplished as ‘Hysterical Strength’, it already feels like they’ve been here for quite a while.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/tivkl7

17.06.2026-ICEAGE You're Nothing (Matador,2013)

 

PUNK ROCK

   The Danish hardcore kids in Iceage make an emotionally intense racket, with that rare mix of aggression and delicacy. Even on their raw 2011 debut, Iceage knew how to sculpt the noise into songs, but You’re Nothing is a huge jump forward. Although the lyrics are mostly in English, singer-guitarist Elias Rønnenfelt growls them as guttural cries of pain, especially in the high-velocity heartbreak of “Burning Hand” and “Ecstasy.” “Morals” breaks new ground for Iceage, with poignant piano under the guitars. You could even call it a ballad, if that’s a fair way to describe a song that feels like a leather boot leaving bloody footprints all over your skull.

https://www.sendspace.com/file/rxa79z