OG Quick-ish Re-Takes: 10 Recent Albums to Check Out

Catching Up during the Dog Days, mainly with debut records

The World Cup is over and FIFA back to being more connected to corruption than competition, it’s going to be over 110 degrees here in Tucson today, and I haven’t caught Spider-Man fever (like a true Old Guy, I highly recommend The Invite). And sadly the music calendar for this week had very few new releases. Although I imagine 3A6OG readers may be on the edge of their seats to hear our take on the new Shaboozey, we’ll have to disappoint this once (don’t worry, OG Brian has a very special treat review coming in a couple weeks that will fill the void).

So what else to do but catch up on (mostly) recent releases that have gotten me increasingly excited about the prospects for music in 2026? These 10 records, largely indie rock but with some soul, desert blues, and hip-hop thrown in, are all worth a spin or three over the next month before the September release calendar heats up. Some very quick takes below but hopefully enough to get you as excited as I am, especially given how many of these are debut records. One note is that I am not including here the second excellent new record of the year from Twisted Teens, Florida Water Blues, both because I am trying to focus on bands I’ve not talked about before (and I wrote a lengthy post about their earlier 2026 record Blame the Clown here) and also because I hope to devote more time to it in another post.

(And because I’m feeling generous, making this “Quick-ish Take” post open to everyone; if you’d like to keep up with our weekly-ish Quick Takes, please do consider subscribing. Either way, please share and spread the word about 3A6OG.)

1 - Ultra Lights — Pleasure’s All Yours - I haven’t listened to an indie rock album on repeat as much as this one all year, and this debut record from the Atlanta band has quickly worked its way to the top of my list. I’m not sure I can remember a band channeling Pavement as overtly, down to the vocal tone and styling that made me think this was Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks when I first heard it, but not making me yawn with how derivative it is. As they say, this band actually has the songs to back up the sound they’re drawing on. The opening/title track connects back to “Stereo” for me, and after a few solid tracks, the record kicks into another gear with the run of “Nostalgia,” “Just Like You Want,” “Diamond Dreams,” and “Nightmares.” Opening verses like “Didn’t do anything wrong/But the day goes by lights on and on/And out west they’re all dust/It starts to feel so dangerous like you want” in “Just Like You Want” draw you in but keep you guessing and scratching your head. Each track combines the lackadaisical/devil-may-care lyrical approach (though definitely missing the occasional nonsensical element that Pavement brought) with musical textures that also bring in The Strokes and The Walkmen. Totally infectious.

2 - MESH — No Fun at All - Another debut record, this one from Philly band MESH and released on the incredible, though largely-Cincinnati-focused label Feel It Records, and once you listen, this combination makes perfect sense. Several Feel It bands, especially Maraudeur, Lung, and Choncy, specialize in that particular form of indie/post-punk that critics like to call “angular.” Lots of tempo changes, quick transitions, but all with a catchy and driving beat underneath. As such, MESH feels to me much more of a Cincy (or Melbourne) band than a Philly one. This quartet takes their sound in a range of directions, with some slower and even slightly country-ish tones finding their way in. To me, the songs when Allison Durham takes lead vocals stand out and make the band feel freer, especially on “Sign” and “Atrophy.”

3 - The Womack Sisters — The Womack Sisters - This album - yet another debut - isn’t even out yet, and I can’t get enough of the singles, so I have to include it. Not much to say: a trio of sisters from the venerable Womack clan putting out a soul/R&B record on Daptone records that sounds as fresh as ever and like it’s a rediscovered classic from 1966. Incredible vibe.

4 - TV Star — Music for Heads - Whaddyaknow? A debut full-length. This one came out in April but crossed my path in a recent playlist from the excellent Kevin Alexander and his On Repeat Substack. This Seattle quartet has put out a few EPs, including a split EP with another favorite Seattle band of mine, Spiral XP (which made the upper echelon of my Best of 2024 list), but this record brings everything together beautifully. Singer Ashlyn Nagel steals the show for me, with a smooth, gorgeous, and emotional-yet-not-fragile vocal style that fits into the louder/grungier moments as well as the jangle and the ballads. They bring together a range of indie rock styles in a way that feels ob every track like you may be hearing a cover but instead it’s just a perfect re-imagining of older styles. Hard to argue with their Bandcamp page liner notes: “With Music For Heads, they’re not just tapping into music of the past, they’re pushing a new wave of it forward.”

5 - Liquid Cross — Hateful EP - I only just heard this record (their second EP, arguably leaving them in debut album territory) from the Eugene, OR punks yesterday when it was included in a Bandcamp article. I mean, how could I not want to listen after reading this: “Is this music aggressive? Yes. Does it make you want to drink 5000 beers while chanting along in drunken ecstasy? Yes. But the songwriting is genuinely good, too. Hateful EP has that Let It Be The Replacements-era indescribable pop magic that makes this EP a smash hit.”

This EP clocks in at a whopping 11 minutes, nearly half of it from the closing combo track, but somehow you feel like you’ve gone on an exhilarating ride. The opening track brings to mind not only early Replacements (and a bit of “Tim”) but also the riffs and energy of the earliest releases from Titus Andronicus and the Hold Steady. The lyrics don’t break new ground - in fact, they quite overtly bring to mind punk anthems of yore, such as with “The news they feed me takes my mind away/And now I don’t have to try/Compensate because your time’s a waste/And now I don’t even try/So shut down” from “So Shut Down,” but you nevertheless fall back into waving your fists in the air. One of the more exciting and energizing records of the year, and I desperately hope they tour (and end up in slightly larger venues than this recent show).

6 - Phosphene — Velveteen - Staying in Oregon (Portland this time), Phosphene is a duo that we discovered when they sent a note to us, highlighting the record (which is not their debut). I’ll admit I was thrown off a bit by the album cover and the reference to “piano pop” in the Bandcamp tags, expecting something wispier and less direct than I am feeling these days. And to be sure, there are a few tracks, especially across the middle of the record that are beautiful piano-based ballads but not really where my interests lie these days. But when this band plugs in and combines their intense lyrics with a driving rock sound, infused with as many elements of shoegaze and dreampop as an underlying blues-y drive, they connect for me on all cylinders.

I reference The Spinanes from time to time on this site, so it’s hard not to bring them up again in reference to a duo of a man playing drums and a woman singing and playing intricate guitar lines from Portland, and when they connect on all cylinders - “Heaven,” “Black Ring,” and album closer “Everyone” - that’s immediately where my heart and ears go. Plenty of distinctions between the two, but the core emotiveness of the lyrics, the honesty of Rachel Frankel’s lyrics, and the drive of Matt Hemerich’s drums bring to mind the best that band had to offer. Really hope Phosphene grows their listener base and continues to expand the scope of their sound.

7 - Amanar del Kidal — Kel Temasheq - One more, sorta, for Oregon, via the incredible Sahel Sounds label based in Portland. Their latest release is from this Malian band that combines the classic desert blues sounds of Tinariwen, Etran de l’Air, Etran Finatawa, etc but on most of the tracks, takes a slower and even more psychedelic approach than, say, Mdou Moctar or Bombino. It’s groovy and soulful, yet not as stripped down as the latest from Tinariwen.

8 - Swapmeet — Mount Zero - Guess what? Here’s a debut record. This one comes from Adelaide, Australia and, somewhat like TV Star, is hard for me to say much more about other than it’s just a great indie rock record (helpful, I know). Has moments channeling Flying Nun (I know, that’s New Zealand, but hey, I just watched America’s Sweethearts with my wife, and Faith has made it clear you can combine the two if you’re from ‘merica), others more techno/synth-heavy, and others more hushed. OG Dave’s recent review of Sydney’s Body Type got me hooked on that record, but this one is also a fascinating listen, and Swapmeet is perhaps the hardest band of the ones whose debuts I’ve talked about to figure out what their sophomore release will sound like.

9 - Skyzoo — Peddler Themes - I wish I was connecting more with hip-hop these days. So of course, when I got finally super excited about a rap record -- this single “Bamboo” is as old school as it gets with its beat, saxophone overlay in the chorus, “Fight the Power” hat, Fab 5 Freddy reference, and boom-bap vocal flow — I realized it was actually a re-issue of a record from 2017 (when I was connecting way more with hip-hop). Skyzoo is new to me, though, so I am counting this as new for 3A6OG, and it’s been keeping me grounded and connected in straightahead rap while I wait for some others to kick in.

10 - Victoryland — My Heart is a Room with No Cameras In It - Okay, this one isn’t nine years old like Skyzoo, but it did come out in January. I remember being excited about it, then I forgot about it. Recently the opening track, which has such a great Wolf Parade texture and combines with Will-Toledo-at-his-best vocal, came back across my radar and instantly reconnected. The album veers at times into more indiepop and dance than I might prefer, but it’s worth a listen for the ride it takes you on. (Brad)