There are more wantlist-worthy releases than time to cover them all. Starting this year, Loose Ends is our monthly fix for the great records that slipped through the cracks. Expect a key track and quick take on each release (35 this month!), and a link to add it to your shelves.
Gomez Addams || Let’s Blow Up The World
Fun album title, fun album art! Gomez Addams make their dystopian indie rock sound surprisingly jangly and upbeat on their latest.
Angine de Poitrine || Vol. II
It is incredible how things have exploded for the mantra rock duo from Saguenay, Quebec, since their KEXP performance. Yes, that has a lot to do with their disguise, but it only works because their King Gizzard-esque madness is so damn good and precise. Better believe the hype.
Annual Leaf || Short Songs of Longing
Slacker jangle pop out of Melbourne. We can’t get enough of the 150-second bliss of Dip Your Headlights.
Be Afraid || Working
Alt-pop leaning indie punk from Vancouver that’s kinda slack and instantly appealing.
BEACH BØNES || Reckless
This London quartet likes their music highly energetic and hooky, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from their video for the title track of their fun new Reckless EP.
Beached Out || Average Weekends
Beached Out (Ontario) clearly intend to bring early ’10s surfy garage pop back in style in the early ’10s. Based on the songs on Average Weekends, they may actually pull it off. RIYL Jaill, Terry Malts, Surfer Blood.
Billiam || Open Comma Vault
A whole lotta odds and ends out of the Billiam multiverse are now compiled on one sweet compilation.
Choncy || Trademark
Cincinnati’s Choncy grab your ears and give your brain a proper shake with their idiosyncratic take on post-punk. Their latest on Feel It Records is another sharp, wired batch.
Chorus Truly || Is As Real As You Are
Kudos to the band name, kudos to this band’s latest EP of fine alt pop tunes.
Circles || In Defense of Lost Causes
Nantes-based Circles play like they are auditioning for Dischord Records. This is passionate, melodic hardcore played like there is something on the line. Their 2024 LP still. found its way into my collection, and their new EP is just as worthy of a spot.
Collaps || Getting Used to the Dirt
This German band plays the kind of street punk that hardcore kids can get behind too. Tight, angry, and catchy. Don’t be surprised if this shows up on plenty of best punk of 2026 lists.
Croutons || Croutons
This debut album from Seattle trio Croutons on Lost Sound Tapes is totally twee, jangly and easy to fall for. They sure like their double tap snare taps, and so do we.
Down and Outs || Disconnect
Signing off with their sixth and final album, out on Brassneck and Dead Broke if you need more convincing, these melodic punk rockers go out on a high note.
Jane Jaguar || Cassingle
Put this Leipzig act on your bands-to-watch list, because based on this teaser two-song cassingle, their upcoming debut album will be essential listening for fans of lo-fi garage pop.
Janus 4-14 || All the Kids Are Doing It
Two previous EPs brought together on one vinyl LP deliver a punchy indie rock set that captures the raw, DIY spirit of a band that thrives on both reckless energy and meticulous craft. Expect guitar-driven 90s college radio nostalgia.
Jump Ball || Demo
Old school hardcore, ’88 style from Louisville. Love it.
L.A. Sagne || Good Company
Comparisons to Amyl and the Sniffers are easily made with Dutch punk band L.A. Sagne and the powerhouse frontwoman Tara Wilts. But listen closely to their new (critically acclaimed) LP, and you find a band carving their own niche.
The Lords of Altamont || Forever Loaded
You really have to see (or hear) these guys live, but their latest studio album comes close to that feeling. In their own words: “Ten tracks to take you on a trip through vice enhanced heights and dive bar depths.”
Media Puzzle || New Racehorse
Keeping that racehorse pedigree intact, Melbourne’s Media Puzzle stay quirky and entertaining on their ones-and-zeros post-punk. Off-kilter, playful, and never sitting still.
Mindrace || Mindrace
A Melbourne hardcore band drawing inspiration from Turning Point, In My Eyes, Side by Side and Bold? COUNT ME IN!
Onlooker || Cleveland
Serial Bowl Record knows how to find the coolest of the coolest. Onlooker play post punk for hardcore kids, or vice versa. Bottom line: we all win.
Otoliths || Lithos
New Oakland-based band fronted by Tom Smith (Mazes, Social Studies). This debut lands with a set of sweet, slightly fuzzy tunes that tap into that early 2000s indie rock sweet spot without getting stuck there.
Poison Ruïn || Hymns From The Hills
A fine new LP by these axe-slinging, sythe-wielding punks from Philadelphia. Lily Of The Valley may be the catchiest they have ever sounded.
Radio Weekend || Circles
A power pop quartet that clearly loves The Cars as much as Ramones. No surprise it sounds this big and hooky.
Shapes Like People || Under The Rainbow
On their confident and cohesive sophomore album (a co-release by Jangleshop Records and Subjangle), husband and wife Carl and Kat Mann blend jangly hooks with dreamy shoegaze textures and dark emotional depth.
Shaved Ape || Loveletter to Hardcore
With this band name, and this album title, you should know this is going to be quick and ferocious. IT RIPS! Out on 12″on Sorry State Records, but I bet these songs could’ve fit on a 7″as well.
Snüff || Silly Not Silly
If you like what we normally write about, there is a strong chance you find some hits to add to your playlist on this record that is out now on Wild Honey records. If not Ghost, then I’ll Be Around or Be Cool.
Sourpunch || Shake Them Bones
Sourpunch play old school pop punk that draws as much inspiration from classic rock-‘n’-roll as from bands like Groovie Ghoulies. The EP has five scrappy and catchy originals and an in-your-face cover of Going Up The Country.
Swash || Powers of Ten
This Copenhagen quartet sure cover a lot of bases of ’90s (and contemporary) indie rock an alt rock on their latest LP, and we’re here for it! Buy the tape at Hidden Bay Records.
Swedish Magazines || Laughing Problem
Weird name for a musical collective from Austin and L.A.. But their brand of psychedelic rock sure demands attention.
Waylon Thornton || Thee United States Of Smithereens
Latest batch of lo-fi Thornton goodness, this time recorded in the woods somewhere in North Florida. I sure hope no animals were harmed in the recording, but this is fun stuff.
Marc Valentine || Uncommon Side Effects
The road-hardened UK power-pop craftsman delivers a vibrant, melody-packed blast of timeless rock ’n’ roll, brimming with infectious hooks, high-energy swagger, and the confident spark of an artist hitting his stride.
White Fence || Orange
Tim Presley is back with a sharp, shimmering set of jangling pop-rock songs surges with eerie emotion, crisp production (by Ty Segall), and unsettled lyrical introspection, turning vintage guitar sparkle into something both haunted and irresistible.
The Wulongs || FACH
The second LP from The Wulongs (Japan) packs ten concise indie tunes that blur the lines between alt-pop, twee, and shoegaze with easy charm.
The Yum Yum Tree || Turn Down the Noise
A weathered, melody-rich indie rock set trades volume for perspective, pairing unvarnished reflections on responsibility and connection with a restrained, confident sound that lets its emotional weight land without forcing it.
Thanks for including Janus 4-14 in this month’s Loose Ends. We appreciate it!