The Nightingales have never been ones for nostalgia, but they’ve earned theirs. Formed in the embers of The Prefects, they emerged as part of the original UK punk explosion, appearing on the legendary White Riot tour in the late ’70s alongside The Slits, The Clash, and Subway Sect.
UK Punks The Mekons were born in 1976, during 1970s crisis Britain, their resistance narrative was steeped in Cultural Marxism (think Democratic Socialism in the 21st Century) and shaped by music, art and literature.
Lucy Dacus has never been one to shout. Over the course of her three previous albums, No Burden, Historian, and Home Video, she has mastered a quiet, clear-eyed form of storytelling, drawn from memories, contradictions, and restrained revelations.
For some reason I have yet to fully fathom, Dean Wareham’s music strikes me as very seasonal.
Anglebox are a new band out of Christchurch, who, having released a little ditty called Undies On The Lawn, have now graced us with an EP titled Dark Days In The Sun.
The best gifts can arrive in small packages. After seven solo albums, songwriter Charlotte Yates offers us Winter’s Eye, a sparkling EP. Replete with arresting lyrics, these songs take us places and serve as a reminder of the lyrical craft underlying the process of composition.
Since debuting in 2023 with the single Germaphobe, Mim Jensen has built a reputation for emotionally charged, lyrically introspective indie rock. Her second EP, Shadow of the Gift, is a confident and expansive release, building on the blend of raw vulnerability with moments of cathartic intensity found in 2024’s Emotional Affair.
After a 14-year hiatus, Alison Krauss & Union Station return with Arcadia, an album steeped in tradition, storytelling, and a deep sense of history.
One Is Always Heading Somewhere is a record that shimmers like light on water—fluid, reflective, and utterly immersive.
The punkier darlings of the 90’s shoegaze underground, Swervedriver, who were formed in 1989 by schoolmates Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge, split in 1998, reformed in 2008, but haven’t released anything new since 2018’s Future Ruin, have gone back to their future.