Alternative Rock

New album: Anytime Cowboy || Gone By Now

Get lost in the world of Anytime Cowboy

By / / Alternative Rock, Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

Second wantlist appearance by Anytime Cowboy this year, and it totally makes sense. Clearly, illustrator Reuben Sawyer is in an inspired mood, and not just in his illustrations. On Slab Songs, which came out in the first week of 2026, he blended slack rock, outsider country, and dark post-punk into something that feels slightly off-kilter in all the right ways.

The new 18-song Gone By Now continues that trajectory. It is full of 90-second songs where the juxtaposition between the slack-ish low-pitched vocals and the punk-rock urgency of the music is my favorite thing about the record. The sequencing is another thing, because Gone By Now pulls you in and out like you’re a puppet in the artist’s play. And while I care deeply about my autonomy, I don’t mind getting lost in the world of Anytime Cowboy at all.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Sunken Planes || In Due Time

Wistful melodies wrapped in jangly guitars

By / / Alternative Rock, Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

“Let’s take a little ride, a little ride to the sun.” These are the telling first words of the title track that opens In Due Time, the debut full-length from Sunken Planes. This name probably needs some introduction: it concerns a Minneapolis-based alternative rock quartet following in the footsteps of bands like Buffalo Tom, Sugar, R.E.M. and Teenage Fanclub. Closing track To the Sun neatly circles back to the opener, but there’s no shortage of hooks and memorable lines in between.

Chiming guitars, driving rhythms, sharply crafted melodies and enigmatic vocals give thee eight 3-minute songs an aura of cathartic energy and catchy warmth that feels less ubiquitous these days than in the nineties, but is more than welcome. This sound is earnest and unpretentious, quite aptly self-described as jangle-gaze.



In Due Time, engineered and mixed by Nick Tveitbakk, is out digitally via Poor L’amour Records. Featuring Michael Banning (vocals, guitar, piano), Jake Poling (guitars), Joel Almberg (bass, background vocals), and Nick Blake (drums, electronics).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Weak Hands || We Can’t!

Nat Manzocco has found her voice

By / / Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Punk / Leave a Comment

The new (mini)album from Toronto’s Weak Hands is right up my alley. Catchy, high-energy indie punk anthems with relatable lyrics and a kickass singer. While listening to opener Massey Sign, a song that uses the sing-your-heart-out-over-a-guitar-riff-only-then-let-the-rest-of-the-band-kick-in approach very effectively, I had to check if Weak Hands wasn’t a new band from Stella Maxwell of Cruiserweight. Nope, Nat Manzocco just has an uncanny similarity. To my ears, at least.

Right before turning thirty, Manzocco started taking songwriting seriously, and based on Massey Sign and the rest of the material on We Can’t!, she has become seriously good at it. Take a song like Grow A Spine. Manzocco delivers the opening verse with an almost ’60s pop sensibility, but the words could hardly be more 2026:

You can call me whenever
Cause my phone’s always on
I stare at it forever
Fry my eyes until dawn
Nothing’s lost, gained or ventured
When you’re very online
It’s much easier than having to grow a spine

And then the song turns into a punky alt-pop hit, and it is far from the only great moment on We Can’t. Throughout the record, Manzocco draws inspiration from a broken relationship, studying it from every angle and writing anthems for all of us to enjoy the mess.

Out now on cassette!


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of August 2026

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Power Pop, Psych, Punk, Surf / Leave a Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, e.g. as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range (only if supported by the artist, so no live videos filmed by the audience or anything like that), here are—in a kind of random order—a bunch of successful covers from last month.

Are You Sure (first performed by Tammy Grimes, later also recorded by Aretha Franklin) by Tami Neilson — from Songs from the Motion Picture “Holy Days” soundtrack (Outside Music)

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC) by City Kings — from Chainsaw EP

I Wanna Be Sedated (Ramones) by The Offspring — digital track (Concord Records)

…

Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of August 2026Read More »

The Loose Ends || August 2026

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk, Surf / Leave a Comment

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, and a link to add it to your shelves.

ABAOAQU || BUDDHOD
Noisy, subtly mathy yet melodic indie rock from France. Consider us intrigued.

The Afghan Whigs || Soft Control
With visceral guitars, soulful intensity, and hard-won wisdom, these ten new songs find strength in embracing both the darkness and the light without losing sight of the absurdity in between.

Apes of the State || Nothing Makes Sense Anymore
Blending biting political rage, personal turmoil, dark humour, and genuine solidarity, these ten folk-punk songs turn a dysfunctional world into a surprisingly life-affirming celebration of resistance, friendship, and simply making it through another day.

…

The Loose Ends || August 2026Read More »

New album: Dynamite Shakers || Marilyn

Distorted guitars and dueling vocals, produced by Lionel from The Limiñanas

By / / Alternative Rock, Garage Rock / Leave a Comment

Dynamite Shakers waste little time making their intentions clear: their sophomore full-length album, Marilyn, comes charging through the door in a storm of distorted guitars, pogo-ready rhythms, and chants that sound like they’re having as much fun as the listener. After debuting in English on 2024’s Don’t Be Boring LP, the young Vendée quartet switches mostly to French here, giving the music a more personal bite without losing any of its visceral rock ‘n’ roll energy and coolness.

The voices of Lila-Rose Attard and Elouan Davy trade blows across fourteen solid tracks that ricochet between punk fury, garage grit and shimmering pop, built for sweaty rooms and battered amplifiers, although they occasionally show a more atmospheric side. Smoke, sweat and shadow hang over the record like the aftermath of a night that refuses to end: “Tu m’invites à boire // Allure de dandy, façon Doherty // Un vinyle tourne, la nuit s’effile” (from Nightclub). How could anyone resist?


Marilyn—produced by Lionel Limiñana—is out streaming, on CD and vinyl LP, through Barclay. Featuring Lila-Rose Attard (vocals, bass), Elouan Davy (vocals, guitar), Calvin Tulet (guitar, backing vocals), and François Rocheteau (drums).

Add to wantlist: Dynamite Shakers

New album: Tan LeRacoon || We Didn’t Come Here Just To Be Nice

Enter the strange, anarchist glamster world of &Racoonery

By / / Alternative Rock, Funk & Soul, Glam Rock / Leave a Comment

Hamburg-based singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tan LeRacoon (aka Tanju Boerue) returns with a clear message: We Didn’t Come Here Just To Be Nice. The plural form reveals that we are dealing with a band effort here (namely &Racoonery), also featuring punk veterans Rudi Raschberger (guitar), Malte Mertz (bass), and Michael “Meng” Staats (drums). The nine songs they present are fueled by teenage angst, nihilistic anger, and activism, while gleefully refusing to stay inside any genre-shaped box.

Expect wonderfully unruly music that just as easily expands guitars and drums with horns, as it unites psychedelic punk rock with jazz or rhythm & blues influences, always energetic and imaginative. Closing track Needle Time Run needs just 28 seconds to cause trouble, while the almost 18-minute See Us All Rise (UP!) wanders towards the artist’s utopian Anarkopia, a self-proclaimed state of mind. In between, he hisses, growls, croons, and rants his way through stories of anger, loss, alienation, and societal decay, while searching for something better.

Glam, gloom, and glorious trouble, everything but just being nice. Quite right.



&Racoonery’s We Didn’t Come Here Just To Be Nice is out digitally and on vinyl LP through Tan U Sound / La Pochette Surprise.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || La Pochette Surprise

New album: Babyccino || Green Light Turned Red

An intimate world of fractured thoughts

By / / Alternative Rock, Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

Five years after their debut EP Stomach Bug, Melbourne/Naarm alt-rock quartet Babyccino launched their first full-length album, Green Light Turned Red. It unfolds across eight lo-fi tracks that we should probably categorize as shoegazey indie-rock, but which defy simplistic interpretation, although we can safely label them idiosyncratic and restless.

The hard-hitting lyrics of frontwoman Alannah Sawyer revolve around anxiety, grief, emotional dependency and the claustrophobia of relationships, with memories and imagined threats repeatedly blurring the line between what is happening and what is feared. There is a persistent sense of being trapped inside one’s own mind, while longing for connection, fear of abandonment and unresolved trauma turn intimacy into something both comforting and suffocating: “I lie in the bedroom, tears soaking my bed // Are you running late, has the green light turned red // The door opens slightly, no policeman there // You are still breathing, it was all just in my head // Thought you could be dead” (from the title track).

With vocals that turn every word into something tangible, the music feels both deeply personal and remarkably open. Its unexpected turns and flashes of saxophone make for a record that leaves a lasting impression.



Green Light Turned Red, recorded with Elvis Walsh, is out digitally and on CD (self-released). Featuring Alannah Sawyer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, alto saxophone), Harry Green (lead guitar), Cecilia Carrasco (bass), and Jezabel Furlong (drums).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Grandmas House || Baby You’re A Winner

A rough-edged sound with a surprisingly tender core

By / / Alternative Rock / Leave a Comment

Five and a half years have flown by since we first wrote about Grandmas House—the early days of our little blog, nice to look back—and a few posts later, the first full-lengther is finally here (the band does everything together as four best friends, and a lot has happened in the meantime: “Out of the dust of that experience this album was born, and it wouldn’t be what it is without it. We have poured our literal whole souls into every single song and we are so proud of ourselves”).

Across Baby You’re A Winner, the Bristol quartet turn the rasping, unmistakable vocals of Yasmin Berndt loose on a sound that still carries the effervescence of their noisy beginnings but has learned to breathe. Heavy guitars and basslines collide with harmonies, quieter passages and unexpected details, giving the twelve tracks a sense of wisdom, sophistication and vulnerability. Love, loneliness and grief may be the raw materials, but what comes out is anything but defeated.



Baby You’re A Winner—produced by Ali Chant—is out digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Brace Yourself Records. Featuring Yasmin Berndt (vocals, guitar), Poppy Dodgson (vocals, drums), Zoe Zinsmeister (bass, backing vocals), and Polly Jessett (guitar).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Ädwud || Mellow

Escaping a world that seems increasingly absurd

By / / Alternative Rock, Indie Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

Let me introduce you to Ädwud (pronounced Ed Wood, after Tim Burton’s 1994 biopic), the solo home recording project of German music freak Jannis Friede. Last May he released the hard rock album Universe 25, which is now followed by a worthy full-lengther with guitar pop, appropriately titled Mellow. When asked, the artist explains that its twelve tracks came about in a rush after a three-year period of hardship and misery had come to an end with the previous release.

Influenced by The Band’s Music from Big Pink, Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood and Bo Burnham’s Inside, this new work is about someone looking for something to hold on to in an estranged and ever-changing world. In the lyrics you feel alienation and disillusionment, but beneath the darkness runs a stubborn desire to escape, reconnect and find moments of beauty, love or freedom amid the noise and decay: “And we walk among the flowers ’til we bleed // And we try to give each other what we need // And we never mind the mess beneath our feet” (from Flowers).

The DIY approach gives the record an intimate charm, but musically it never sounds small: imaginative arrangements, bright guitars, inviting vocals and shimmering melodies keep the songs buoyant and full of life. Lo-Fi R’n’R All Nyte, what’s not to like?



Mellow—written, performed and recorded by Ädwud—is out digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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