Indiecast - Our Favorite Albums Of 2026 So Far

Episode Date: June 12, 2026

The guys begin with a quick Sportscast about the NBA Finals (2:02) before diving into the "no phone" discourse about Phoebe Bridgers' upcoming tour (9:22). Then they talk about Ian's interview with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie that's now up on Amazon Music (19:43) and the week's big new releases (24:28). Finally, they discuss their favorite albums of the year so far (33:43). See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Indycast is presented by Amazon Music. Hello everyone and welcome to Indycast. On this show, we talk about the biggest indie news of the week, we review albums, and we hash out trends. In this episode, we talk about our favorite albums of 2026 so far. My name is Stephen Hayden, and I'm joined by my friend and co-host. He's already up by 29 points, but he's not going to choke away this episode. Ian Cohen.

Ian, how are you? So I know you don't watch a lot of college basketball because you're not the degenerate gambler, at least I'm like fairly certain of that. You haven't really brought it up. That's one vice I don't indulgent, yes. Yeah. And so when you watch college basketball sometimes, you'll be a guy who's like six nine, like 220 pounds, going to be a top five NBA pick. And then you see the camera on them at the free throw line and realize, oh, this person's 19 years old. There's still a child. And that is really what stood out to me about the Spurs game last night because they're obviously super, super young. And when I watched that game, I wasn't thinking of a talented team blowing a,

the biggest lead in the NBA finals history. I'm watching this, thinking about being 19 or 20 and every job interview I blew because I showed up hung over to it or, you know, every like girl I went on a date on and I completely misread the singles and didn't think they, signals and didn't think they liked me or, you know, every test, like, every time I like switch majors in college, like I was just watching a metaphor for all the dumb things that you do in life between the ages of 18 and 22 you just have to go through to come out the other side. So that's why I can't completely revel in the spurs just completely tanking and subjecting us to New York homerism for the next however long.

Okay. And by the way, we're doing a quick sports cast here in case you have already caught on. Deerrin Fox is 28. Okay. So he doesn't fall in your 18 to 22 college basketball. We're just kids out there and we're going to make mistakes. Deer and Fox, one of the biggest, you know, turkeys, I guess, in a sporting event that I've seen in a long time. You take the guy off the Sacramento Kings, but you can't take the Sacramento Kings out of the guy. I mean, just unbelievable. Like at the end of the game where you get the ball and you don't just try to dribble it out, like try to run out the clock or get a fire. foul, you know, you run right to the hoop to get a layup that gets blocked by, uh, by OG who makes the shot at the end of the game. I, I don't know. It's unbelievable game. NBA finals, spurs up by 29

at halftime. They blow it to the Knicks. And, uh, I mean, I was enjoying the first half, you know, Wembe talking smack. I'm in your head, bro. That whole, that whole thing. Knicks fans just complaining about everything, just constant bitching about the reps, which is always a terrible sign. Yeah. And then it's just an unbelievable vibe chip. Amazing that Trump was at game three and he's falling asleep next to James Dolan. And then the next game is, you know, what?

The greatest game in Nick's postseason history, I guess other than like the Willis Reed game. me, but I mean, that was game seven with Willis Reed. So that's probably still number one, but assuming that the Knicks win this, which if they don't win it, then they're the biggest choke artist of all time. But they will win, I would think. On the college basketball front, I will say if we do have any Spurs fans, I went to the University of Virginia and I watched them be the first number one seed to lose to a 16 seed. And they lost by like 20.

next year they come back and win the championship. You keep circling, you keep trying to redirect this to college basketball at this point. It's very funny to me. Let's keep it on the Knicks here, though, for a sec, because I just, I'm trying not to be grumpy about this. I feel like I have voiced, and we both have done this, about, you know, New York teams and New York fan bases being very loud. Obviously, there's a lot of media there, so you feel like anything that happens in New York just gets amplified 10 times. I do want to think about the Knicks fans in our audience, the regular people, the ones who have been suffering for a long time, and what they must be feeling right now. Look, if you have hung in with this team year in and year out and now you get to enjoy this magical postseason run, again, assuming that they win this all.

I mean, the next game is Saturday night. I feel like the series is over. But maybe the Spurs will win game five. I don't know. I feel like it's done. I feel like they're either going to like win the series or lose this next game by 30. Right, right, exactly. But so, you know, praise to you, awesome for you.

I do have to say, though, that the celebs on the, you know, sitting court side dancing, you know, like Taylor Swift dancing. with Taylor Swift, by the way, has she ever pulled for an underdog? Because I guess the Knicks aren't underdogs. I guess they are, they don't have home court advantage in this series. So I guess technically the Spurs would be favored. But I don't know. Like she's obviously cheering for the Chiefs.

Now she's with the Knicks. She's probably going to be sitting courtside when SpaceX goes live for the IPO. She just loves to cheer for winners. I wanted to ask you this because you're in California. You're not in Los Angeles, but maybe you have more of a perspective on this than I do. Taylor Swift, she was sitting courtside with two sisters from Hym. I think it was, it was Est, and it was Alana. I think Danielle was, I don't know where she was.

Alana Hame and Esthame were hanging out with Taylor Swift, courtside. When I think of Hime, I think of Los Angeles. are one of the most L.A. coded bands in modern history. Is there etiquette in terms of like L.A. people switching this quickly to a New York team? I mean, the Lakers and the NICs aren't rivals, so there's no issue there. But I just feel like it's a little weird to me that you would sit court side at a NICs game when you're so of Los Angeles. But maybe it's like an Illuminati thing, like where If you're rich and famous and you live in one of the two big coastal cities that you're just assumed to be on the same team no matter what. So maybe there's not an issue.

But as a sports fan, I would say I was taking exception a little bit to that. Do you have a take on that? Yeah, what I'll say is that Haim is like very L.A., but they're also extremely Jewish. So I'm going to allow it. I do think you're right in that New York and L.A. don't really have much of a sports rivalry. I guess you could say maybe the Dodgers and the Yankees because, you know, they're too often like the best teams, but that's never the case with other sports. Also, with most L.A. sports, L.A. people really don't care that much unless it's like the Lakers and the Dodgers.

Well, yeah, exactly. The Lakers are huge. And I would, you know, maybe they're Clippers fans. I don't know. But, like, if you're a Lakers fan, I feel like sitting courtside with a Nick shirt on, I feel like that would be verboten. But again, maybe I'm wrong on that. Yeah, I think with the Knicks, it's just, I think it's like a celebrity team. I think unless you're, you've completely thrown your lot in with one of the teams like your Spike Lee or Jack Nicholson and you're very much associated with that. But, I mean, you talk about the Illuminati. I like, you know, as annoying as the dancing is, at very least game four had, you know,

Hyam and Taylor Swift, whereas, like, game three was like Donald Trump. Robert Kraft, I mean, that's a Boston. guy going to New York and a bunch of other like random Epstein files dudes like David Haslam or yeah I love how the Nick did you mean David Zazloff you're talking about Zazlov yeah he was courtside with Larry David I saw that and uh he had the backward hat on Zazlop did and I'm like dude if you make a bill at least you are out of the backward hat club I think you you you lose your backward hat privileges if you are if because he's like a A multi-billionaire, I would think at this point.

Like, real evil. Like, straight. Although, I think if you're a billionaire, but you're also evil, then the backwards hat is kind of an acceptable accessory. I guess. It's like that other guy, like the Goldman Sachs guy, I think he is who does, like, DJ work. I can't remember this guy's name. I think he did it at, like, some, I think it's like a pen graduation or something. Yeah, let's not give him the attention.

We're not going to name that guy. He's just the sleaze bag that is a Goldmanman. sex guy. Let's talk about Phoebe Bridgers here for a minute, which thank goodness Phoebe Bridgers is back. Phoebe Bridgers and Geese, the two most reliable drivers of discourse in Indy Rock. We talked about this last week. It's been a little thin this year in terms of big name stars doing things. And you and I are pros. We can come up with content no matter what. But sometimes it's nice not to have to work so hard. So Phoebe Bridgers being back in the conversation is a godsend for us. And she was at Madison Square Garden recently.

She played a show where she charged a dollar for tickets, which you think would be the headline of this show. But what people talked about instead was that Phoebe didn't allow phones at this show. She made everyone put it in what's called a yonder pouch. And I don't know if you have any first-hand experience with this Ian, Basically, it's like a little bag that someone hands you as you walk into a venue. You put your phone in it. They seal it and then you put it in your pocket. And then at the end of the night, as you're walking out, there's all these people waiting.

They open your bag. They take the pouch and then you can be on your way. And Phoebe's going to be doing her entire tour like this. No phones. I guess like at the MSG show, she also wasn't allowing pen and paper. So I get, so because she didn't want anyone writing down lyrics. apparently. So there were a bunch of people who wrote about the show, and they couldn't even take old school notes in a notepad or something. I don't think that's going to carry over to the tour,

but who knows? She hasn't announced an album yet either. Presumably that's coming. I'm sorry, the tour is called The Lost Tour, and maybe that's a play on whatever this album will be called once it's announced. But, you know, Phoebe has a very young fan base, and they're flipping about no phones that shows. You got people on here calling your ableist, because what if you have some sort of diabetic condition and you need your blood sugar measured on your phone? What are you going to do?

What if there's a terrorist attack, Ian, or some other cataclysmic disaster? What are you going to do without your phone? People are flipping out. I don't know if you have any firsthand experience with this. You know, Bob Dylan has been doing this. for years on the Rough and Rady Ways Tour. Jack White has done it as well. So I've been to shows where I'm like a yonder pouch veteran really at this point.

So if you have any questions about it, I can answer it. But I don't know, do you have a take on this? Are you happy that she's doing this? Are you annoyed by phones? Or do you feel like this is going to be a potential tragedy in the midst because people won't be able to tweet out a distress signal if there's like a James Bond villain who takes over the venue. Yeah, Hank Scorpio in the mix, MSG. What's the diehard rip-off at a hockey arena?

You know, there's one where... Yes, I know. I'm thinking of our last action hero or something like that. No, that's not it. That's a short game. Movie cast, I'm failing. Sudden death. Okay.

Yeah, it's Jean-Claude Van Damme. And Powers Booth is the bad guy. I got to see that movie. I bet that'd be good. So, like, if there's a sudden death-type scenario where you're Jean-Claude Van Dam and Powers Booth comes in and takes over the arena, you can't do anything. You're powerless because your phone is on lockdown. Anyway, what are your feelings on this, Ian?

Yeah, I've never been to a yonder pouch thing. I know they're big in, like, jam bands, and I'm not saying these two things are equal, but I hear about this at jam bands, but also like Louis C.K. Or Dave Chappelle stand up. I don't like jam bands. I've never been to a jam band show where you couldn't bring your phone.

Yeah, that would actually be the opposite probably. Again, it was Bob Dylan's been doing this, rough and ready ways for several years now. And Jack White, who you would expect. Yeah, absolutely. The famous Luddite at his shows. But I don't think it's widespread, really. Although I wonder, I mean, Phoebe is the biggest contemporary star

to do it so far. And I think for an artist of her generation, I could see it being really appealing just because, you know, these young people, if I can be smirch, the younger generation, who I love generally. But, you know, the younger generation, sometimes they don't know how to act at these shows.

You know, they make animal noises at artists. They, you know, do various TikTok-inspired gimmicks or whatever. There's been stories about people throwing their phones at artists, which you could still do with the yonder pouch because it will be in your pocket. But yeah, I don't know. Phoebe wants to get people an old school experience apparently on this tour. Yeah, my brother last night sent me the Instagram story that my 15-year-old niece posted saying just got Phoebe Bridgers tickets, which means I'm better than most of the population.

So we'll have boots on the ground reporting on what happens in Philadelphia. But, yeah, I will say that, In addition to the phone ban and the $1 ticket, kind of burying the lead for somewhat of my interest. Because Isaac Wood is one of the openers. I thought this guy would just be on some Jeff Mangum shit for the rest of his life after leaving Black Country New Road. But now he's back and opening for Phoebe Bridgers and arenas. Yeah. Can't wait to hear.

Like the European leg, I guess he's going to be opening. And I forget who the American. Alex G. Alex G. Which is a fascinating situation. You know, Alex G just went to a major label And now he's supporting Phoebe I mean, it's a big tour for him

I guess that's not a step down to be an opener for Phoebe is it? Not at all It feels a little weird because it feels like maybe He would have wanted to be the headliner in a situation like this But I don't know, maybe it felt a little like a step down to me when I saw it But maybe I'm over reading that Yeah, I mean, I saw Afghan Whigs a few weeks back And they made an announcement

like on the PA to put away your phones and if you do need to have your phone like don't take flash photography and then uh Greg Dooley just proceeded to harangue this one guy up front who was on his phone uh yeah like Greg Dooley was doing a little bit of a heck like reverse heckling crowd work and you know what I'm okay with that because if an artist asks you not to bring your phone like we've we've dealt with it before we know how to do it and um what however annoying you think an artist is about things that they're requiring at their shows, the crowd stuff is so much more annoying. Like, I would love for more musicians that tell the crowd to knock that shit off. Maybe more like, hey, don't say, don't ask questions, like in between songs.

I think that's the one that annoys me more than, you know, so unless you're like recording the entire thing, putting your hands over your head, like that, you know, that gets on my nerves. But beyond that, I think the biggest scourge of modern concert going are the people who talk to the artist on stage. Yeah. That's like a forever phenomenon. I mean, people who want to be a part of the show. There's always a couple of those people who think, oh, I will interject myself into this situation. It'll make this a better show.

That's what the show is missing is me, you know, interacting with the artist. On a personal level, like, phones don't really bother me. I guess I'm so used to phones being everywhere that I don't even notice it. Unless, like you said, someone is holding their phone above their head in front of me, like, filming multiple songs. And then so like, but if the phone isn't like literally in my face, then I find that I don't even notice it. I will say, though, again, I've gone to several shows with the yonder pouch in my pocket. in my pocket. And there is something liberating

about someone forcibly taking your phone from you. So you don't have the option to text or to tweet or to take photos or whatever busy work that you do with your phone that you do compulsively because we're just trained to touch our phones once every 90 seconds without thinking about it. And we think we're doing something important, but it's just a manifestation of this compulsory.

that's been bred into us. And when someone actually says, no, you can't access it. And look, I guarantee you'll go to these shows. The phone will be in your pocket. You will reach for it instinctively, forgetting that it's in the pouch. And you'll do it three or four times.

And each time you do it, you'll notice that you're doing it. And then you'll stop doing it. Because it's like someone calling attention to this tick that you have. And then you just settle in and watch. the show and like I said it's it's actually a relief someone's saying to you hey I'm gonna release you from this addiction that you have for an hour and a half two hours and you can just watch the show you can live in the moment and it's gonna be great and look

if you have to be on your phone all the shows I've ever been to there's these designated areas in the arena that you can go to and look at your phone they're like like off, almost like smoking areas, you know, but they're inside the arena. So you have to leave your seat. But if you have to look at your phone or you have an emergency, you can go and you can do that. But I don't know. These people who are freaking out, I would just say, go to the show, experience it. And I think you'll be surprised by how normal and refreshing it is to have someone forcibly take away your phone for a few hours. And it'll be a good experience. I promise you. It's really fun.

So that's my PSA about the Yonder Pouch. Yonder Pouch, one of our sponsors, I think, for this episode. Maybe not. Speaking of sponsors of this episode, we have a bonus episode exclusive to Amazon music up this week. It's an interview that Ian Cohen, Indicast's own, did with Ben Gibbard of Death Cat for Cutie. We talked about this a little last week. It's up on the Indicast feed on Amazon music right now. along with video.

I got to say it looks great Ian. I think he did a great job. I have instant feedback, actually, for you. From a listener, Peter in Providence, Rhode Island, he wrote in, he said, Ian Cohen is a national treasure. I just finished listening to his interview with Ben Gibbard, and I was blown away. I'd always known Ian was talented from his reviews, but his questions had banter in this interview put him on another level. Jesus Christ, Christ, Ian.

Peter can't get enough of you. These are rave reviews. For your interview, I couldn't agree more. So definitely go check that out. I mean, there's a million Ben Gibbard interviews on this cycle. I mean, I looked the other day. He did an interview with, you know, my neighbor, I think, on his front porch to talk about the Death Cat for Cutie album.

But yours is the best, Ian. It's the Frost Nixon of Emo, the top journalists, one of the top musicians. It's fantastic. Yeah, the only thing, you know, The only response I got back was like someone commenting on my body. So, you know, I appreciate one that speak to my banter. You know, it's all been honed over the past six years here.

Who said that? Who made that comment? Was this someone on Twitter? No, it was positive. But it's like, yeah, it's like I'm being objectified, you know, like love me for my banter, not for, you know, anything else. If you're making comments about bodies, you've got to post your photo. I'm just saying that right now

you can't be lurking in the shadows you've got to post your own photo and then you can comment on someone else's appearance but anyway it was positive I'm just saying though but yeah either way though I know like when I was in when I've been in documentaries

people make comments about how you look it really does reiterate like oh wow I'm never going to comment on how anyone looks again because it is so, it makes you feel so self-conscious. Even when they say something positive, it's like a very kind of weirdly traumatic thing. Anyway, maybe this is my only issue. This is my issue.

Back to what you were saying. Yeah. By the way, like, before I did this interview, I was worried about am I going to reiterate the same interviews, the same talking points that Ben's done in the 12,000 interviews he's done? Now it's like, man, did I dress right for this? occasion. I'm seeing like all these other music critics dressed like way more music critic coated, but I'm just wearing like a t-shirt because it was hot in that studio. Look, if you happen to work in Shippon...

What do you mean by music critic? Do you mean like are they wearing the hat and like the... Yeah. In the glasses like that thing, like the middle-aged music critic costume? Yeah, they got the hat, they got the plaid, they got the... Right. You know, the fuller beard, you know what I'm saying? Like you're dressed like Elvis Costello's bass player, you know? I feel like every critic has to start dressing like that.

I've thought about this myself once I turn 50 if I have to start dressing like a Mumford and Son or something. But you look great. You looked at fantastic. Great wardrobe pick. Yeah, but by the way, if there are any like representatives of the Sid Mashburn brand listening, I know you guys just mostly play like William Owen,

you bore vials in your stores, but I am down to do a brand partnership, ready to build. Maybe you're like the one guy who works there who bumps Wu life. But yeah, I'm really proud of the interview. You know, I was wondering, is there going to be too much light shining off my head? Am I going to need to get powder done? Which I've done before.

But yeah, if you like what we do here and have thought, man, I wish Ian and Steve would talk more about DOS effects and, you know, the WMBA and emo. Well, you know what? Here's your chance to see what that's like. Give it a test run. Yes, definitely check that out. And, you know, if people go to Amazon music, they might keep us around another year. Just saying, you know, don't want to turn this into a ransom situation or a blackmail situation that, you know, watch that video or nobody gets hurt. It's not like that.

But, you know, I'm just saying it's a way to support the show if you want to check it out. And you will get a great hour of your life listening and watching that. All right, well, let's do a quick. quick rundown of the week's new releases here, because we do want to get to our list of the favorite albums for both of us of 2026. But just want to look quickly at some of the big releases. The big album that's out this week, not so much in the indie world, but we'll mention it here anyway, because she's definitely name checks a lot of indie people, certainly contemporary, but also historical. She's maybe dating Cameron Winter.

We're not sure on that. Maybe we'll find out more as this album cycle unfolds. But I'm talking, of course, about Olivia Rodriguez, her new album. You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl. So in Love is out today. We talked last week about how 2026 hasn't had a ton of big consensus-type records. Olivia Rodriguez is sweeping in right now saying, hold my beer with this album.

This is definitely one of the bigger albums to come out this year so far. Yeah, I think that it's still no reviews are up yet, but I imagine like this is going to give you a first half of the Spurs Knicks game type lead in our fantasy draft. This one does

feature Robert Smith on it. She's pulling a Blink 182 like they did on their self-titled album or Crystal Castles as well. So, you know, pretty strong tradition going on there, but I can't imagine this being anything other than, like five stars in Rolling Stone,

like number one in most of the mainstream pubs at the end of the year. I haven't heard it yet, but I can't imagine this being anything than a massive smash. And also, at least until Phoebe drops the central node of music, you know, year-end lists. Yeah, you know, Olivia Rodriguez to me, is extremely likable as a person. Whenever I see her, whether she's in an interview or SNL,

I'm like, I really like her. She seems like a cool person. You know, I'd want my daughter to hang out with her when she's like a little bit older. Her music to me doesn't quite go to the place that I wanted to go, especially in terms of the artist that she name checks as references. You know, you mentioned Robert Smith,

who by the way is also on the new role. Stone's album. Oh. He sings backup on a song. So Robert Smith, making the rounds in 2026. But, you know, I like her when she's going in the pop punk mode, but like when she is in the driver's license power ballad thing, which is still a pretty big part of her music, that stuff leaves me cold.

Like, I always want her to rock as much as she talks about wanting to rock. she hasn't quite gotten there yet. Maybe this will be the album that does it. But the singles to me have been a little bit of a mixed bag. And I don't know. She's just not doing... I wanted her to go to the full pop punk. And she is holding back a little bit.

I feel like she still has one foot in like the Taylor Swift, Gracie Adams, ballad, singer-songwriter, Lane, that I'm just really tired of. And I don't find as interesting. but like the brady, you know, rock and roll young woman thing, I love. So I hope there's more of that on this record, in less of the driver's license ballet stuff. So, I don't know.

I mean, we'll find out. A Robert Smith cameo signified at least a temporary switch from Blink 182 out of that to kind of a more mature artist thing. But, yeah, I agree. But like, again, this is, you know, it's sort of, in a similar language, with like Billy Eilish where it's like I can appreciate that stuff from a distance but I'll never fully be able to understand it as like part of my everyday life in the way that people who are like 10 to 15 or even 20 years younger than us or 30 years younger than us would you know or well that or 39 year old

women yeah you know I feel like 39 year old women or like 15 year old girls it is the audience for that kind of music so uh which we are neither one of those but there's I'm sure you're sure many people like that in our audience. Horse Lords have a new record out today called Demand to Be Demand to Be Taken to Heaven Alive. I wrote about this album on my on my substack this week. An indie jam band from Baltimore, I'm sure has no crossover with your interest, Ian. I think I've heard some of their stuff in the past and enjoyed it.

It's a name that's not particularly distinct, but I've listened to some Horse Lord stuff in the past and enjoyed it. Yeah, I think they're a good band. There's a new record from YHWH Nailgun called Magazine. This is, are they British? No, they're from New York City. Oh, they're from New York. Okay, I figured they're either from New York City or from London.

I knew there was one of those. And they are like an art punk band, post-punk band, very critically acclaimed. I haven't gone deep on them. I dabbled in their last record a little bit, which was, I think, very high on the pitchfork list. Yeah. I don't know. Do you, do you, do you F with that? this band Ian? I mean, their new album is 11 minutes long. It's 10 songs, 11 minutes long.

The previous, but it gets rid of the rototoms, which as someone who will stump for Suppletor's roots at any possible opportunity, I miss the rototoms. Yeah, I like this band. I think that the, they don't quite get to where I want them to go. People bring up, you know, like lightning bolt and battles as their comparative points. I don't think it quite gets there. I think I think those sort of band that would be way better to see Lye, but it seems a little thin and not quite as muscle band as I would hope

on the record. And I think it's important that they're from New York because if they were from London that, I don't think they'd get anywhere near as much hype as they've gotten. You know, I'm interested in them, but I don't think they quite get there for me. Yeah, the battles comparison, they don't seem physical enough for that.

You know, like the physicality of their battles or lightning bolt to me, is what jumps out. Very visceral sounding music. I didn't get that as much from YHWH Nailgun, but again, maybe that comes through more live. There's a new sublime record out Ian,

until the sun explodes. Great sublime album title. This is sublime, not with Rome. Rome got kicked to the curb. They're sublime without Rome now, I guess, is what you would call them. It's Bradley-Nole's son, I think. is the lead singer.

Yeah. Now it's sublime. And I don't know. I have nothing else to say about this album. Yeah. I mean, like they are sublime is just in the way that like Olivia Rodriguez might just be in the set like the ambient. Just they are ambient to someone who is like 15 or 18 years old. I live in San Diego.

Even though sublime is from Long Beach. Like you never are two. You're never more than five minutes away from hearing a sublime song in public. Yeah, sounds like a nightmare to me. John Spencer. Remember John Spencer? Of the blues explosion, who I saw at First Avenue,

Jesus, a long time ago. Oh, and Alex Chilton, the great leader of Big Star, he was the opening act. And we were all just praying to hear all these glorious big star songs, and he comes out and starts singing Valé and all these old songs. standards, very Alex Chilton move.

Anyway, John Spencer, he has a new album out called Songs of Personal Loss and Protest, which I feel like it tells you what the album is right in the title, very convenient of John Spencer. Yeah, I've never listened to a John, I don't think John Spencer makes music I'd be interested in. And all I knew, for years, the only thing I knew about John Spencer is that he would just say, in between songs, blues explosion. Yes. Yeah, so for those who don't know, John Sonson,

Blue's Explosion, they were banned in the 90s doing a lo-fi blues punk type sound before Jack White and the White Stripes. Jack White really market corrected, I think, John Spencer Blues Explosion in a lot of ways. Even though they were a trio and White Stripes obviously a duo, I think they're a good band. They have a record called Orange that I like a lot. I think if you wanted to check them out, that would be the album to listen to. I have not heard this new album. It definitely appears to be both a personal and political type record. But the personal is political, at least for John Spencer, that is.

I find that the political is better when it's leavened by the personal. Or maybe when the personal is leavened by the political, because the personal is political, and the political is personal. Let's get to our list here. We tease this at the top of the episode. We're going to be talking about our favorite album. of 2026 so far. Teased this a little bit last week,

talking about how it feels like there's not a ton of maybe big ticket consensus albums. I will say that for me, there's a lot of music out this year that I like quite a bit. If you go to my substack, evil speakers, I wrote about 35 albums that I like quite a bit. 25 of them I listed in alphabetical order.

The final 10 I listed in preferential. order, I rank that list. I'm not going to rank it here. I have five albums. I don't know if you ranked your list Ian. I haven't seen your list. I'm just going to read my list in alphabetical order because I do want you to go to my substack if you care about the rankings, trying to get some more subscriptions, put some monies, put some monies, put some monies, put some shekels in my bin here so I can keep living and feeding my kids. But you have five albums. I have five albums. I haven't seen your list. You haven't seen mine. I'm going to go an alphabetical order. Did you rank your list?

I actually did rank my list. Okay, you can rank your list. That'll be interesting. So yours is ranked. Mine is not. Why don't you start? What is your number five album of the year so far? Yeah.

Before I get to my number five, I just want to kind of give a shout to my, like, vote splitting, you know, almost there, like honorable mention. I would have put either Death Cap for Cutie or American Football in there

as the emo legends make a divorce album and get a lot of press. So boat split, neither of them made it. American football is on my extended list. Got you. Not in my top 10, but they are on my extended list. Yeah, I'll put bass victims question mark and the fields now you exist as the EPs, which are really LP length and would have got more attention if they were, you know, marketed as LPs.

And Rock Marciano 656 and Joyce Madders, I used to go to this bar as bands are artists that make the same album pretty much every single time. But this one just so happens to be the best one they made in like a dad. So those are the honorable mention slash vote splitting ones. I'll just say too. Can I say quick? Joyce Manor also on my list. I like that record. And I would push back a little bit.

I think it's a mature Joyce Manor. It feels a little more grown up. But I'm with you in terms of it not being a huge departure, but a really good record anyway. Gotcha. As you're saying, your number five album. My number five album. So this is kind of like a recency bias one.

and it's all my fault. It's lip critics theft world. So not like three or four weeks ago you'd brought them up in our new album releases. And I'm like, this is like a cheek face type band, isn't it? And this is a guide on how to pitch music to me. Because all I would hear is like they make these sardonic songs about late capitalism, I mean, which they do. And, you know, there was this whole narrative behind it about the elite singer getting their identity stolen.

and it's very convoluted and really interesting. But the way to pitch this album to me is, what if the faint had a second drummer or, you know, you like Gilliband, you like MS. Paine and you're waiting for them out to make albums? What if they just combined to make one? This album bangs really, really hard in a way that I am surprised by. It's got like they're like metal vocals but also kind of rapping vocals along with the kind of British sneering post-punk vocals.

vocals. It's been very hard to find an album that's both, that's abrasive, um, and also like, just kind of like from the punk realm and also has like hooks, but to have all three, like, lip critic does that. I'm imagining I'm going to be listening to this album a lot, uh, throughout the year. So yeah, shout to me for missing out on it when it was actually out. I have to say, I have not gone deep on this album yet. So you talking about it makes me want to give it a second look. It has gotten a lot of acclaim, I feel like, in the indie world. Although it's not, I don't know if I've seen it on a ton of list. I haven't looked at a bunch of lists, but it's not coming up a tonne,

but I know it has a good constituency. So, yeah, it's a good pick. I like that. I want to check that out. Okay, so my next album, again, this is not an alphabetical order. I'm going, I'm sorry, it's not a chronological order. I'm going in alphabetical order. If you want the chronological order, please go to my substack, evil speakers.

But in the alphabetical order, my top 10, I'm going to go with a band from Norwich, UK, called Brown Horse. Now, a lot of horse bands this year, a lot of horse bands on my list. We just talked about horse lords a few minutes ago. There's a band from New Zealand called Fazed on a Pony that I'm into. And then you have this band from the UK Brown Horse, who, If you didn't know that they were from the UK, you would probably assume that they were from Illinois or from Missouri or from Ohio. Because they have just a dyed in the wool, alt country sound, sludgy guitars reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr. Laced with these piercing pedal steel guitar licks.

If you are looking for an homage to Uncle Tupelo in 2026, you have to go to England to get it. But you are going to get a really strong one from this band. Their record, by the way, is called Total Dive. It's their third album. Third album in three years, actually. Very prolific band. But they're just, if you like this kind of music, this record is a slow pitch down the middle.

It is not reinventing the wheel by any means, but it is executing the genre, I think, with extreme high quality. And I saw them live last month. They're a great live band, very endearing. They seem really happy just to be on the road in America, which I imagine for them is like being a band from America that just worships British bands, you know,

that worships the Beatles, a total anglophile. Like, these are British people who are Americanophiles, if that's such a thing. But it's such a great record. Hasn't gotten a ton of attention, but I do think that, again, for people who are into this kind of music, It's an incredibly appealing record, very strong songwriting, very immediate, very catchy. It's just such a likable record.

And I feel really good about putting in my top five. So again, the band is called Brown Horse. And the record is called Total Dive. All right. So for me at number four, I didn't think about the horse of it all, like the horse core of 26, you know, along with Horse Girl with two eyes and Horse Girl, the band from Chicago. My number four is feeble little horse. Their new album, Bit Not. And there, I think it was three years ago, they put out a record, a girl with fish that, you know, got a good bit of attention.

And it didn't really do a ton for me. I put them in the same sort of realm, if not sonically, at least spiritually, as like Spirit of the Beehive and they're gutting a body of water. These bands who I know a lot of people who are into the same stuff as me, but are maybe 10, 15, 20 years younger, are super into it. And maybe if I were that age and that was like the first experience I had with indie rock bands, they be my type of band. This new record really surprised me though because it took what it was doing before and added, I think like a really interesting studio deconstruction element.

I think the word laptop twee gets thrown around a lot. And they do what a lot of, I guess that I'd call my just missed albums that came out this year it did like cootty catcher and robber robber or ear you know i i guess describe as like stereo gum album the weak core uh but this one really compresses everything into a i think it's like 26 minutes uh of an album that is it rocks with like very uh very much like 90s indie rock riffs but kind of a modern uh pro over overuse of pro tool sort of thing and lyrics that reflect a uh uh state of mine which I really connect with, which is that, man, everything kind of sucks, but what are you going to do? Like, I'm part of this. So, very interesting band. I'm not sure if they're touring.

I think they kind of went on hiatus for a bit, so I thought they were broken up. But, yeah, they dropped this album without much notice. Maybe it's a reflection of my, where my life's at, where I don't really get more than 30 minutes at a time to listen to a record. So if you're doing it 28 minutes, I'm going to give it a shot. I really like this record. And I think it's gotten a good bit of praise, but I would say that it deserves more. This album is also on my list. It didn't make the top 10, but it's on the extended list. I like this record a lot as well. One of the founding members recently departed the band, which I think is why they went on hiatus for a while. And like you said, I feel like the record was, I don't know if it was a surprise released, but it did feel like

it was announced and then it came up pretty soon after that. So it feels like a record. I know it's been written about it a bit, but it feels like it could maybe get lost in the shuffle a bit. But I feel like this is going to be a record that could have some legs and end up on a lot of year endless as well. Definitely one of the better pure indie rock records that have come out this year so far. So big fan of this album as well.

Another horse band. So we have a stable full of records so far. my next album again i'm doing i'm going alphabetically on my list is thomas dolebaum's birds of paradise and thomas dolebaum is a singer-songwriter from florida who now lives in new orleans and his latest record was recorded actually three years ago sat in the vault for a while he had to figure out his record label situation he ended up on deer life records which has become one of the leading labels for country-leaning indie rock

Fust is on that label as well as Flory and Dolbom definitely fits in that camp probably the promotional hook for this record is the fact that M.J. Lenderman plays on the album. He actually plays drums on the record, not so much guitar. Although you hear his backing vocals

on several songs, which are used really well. When I wrote about this record recently, I likened it to Adam Duritz appearing on the Wallflower's record because you could totally recognize his voice, and it helped lift up the wallflowers and give them attention,

and it was a great counterpoint to Jacob Dillon's vocals. And I think there's a similar thing on the Dolebaum record. But Dolebaum, even without that, I think this record would be a total standout. He's a great songwriter, definitely in the classic mold of songwriters who write really great story songs. He's really good at writing songs set in Florida,

these sort of down-and-out characters. existing on the fringes of Florida. And I mean, Florida is one of the great fringes-type places in America. So there are definitely songs that put you in a time and place. And he marries it to this really, you know, broad-shouldered, briskly strummed, hearty, heartland rock-type sound, lots of big choruses. You feel like you're singing along to this record by the end of your first listen. Just a great combination of lyrical specificity.

and big time sort of broad musical hooks. Definitely one of my favorite albums of the year. And a record that I think is going to be catching on with more people as they hear about it. It feels like a slow burn to me for sure. So again, the record is Birds of Paradise, Thomas Dolebaum, one of my favorite albums of the year. So for me at number three, because I contain multitudes, I'm going to veer away from what I just said, like two minutes ago about only having 30 minutes at a time to listen to an album. that was not true a couple weeks ago when I was flying to and from Tennessee and just had to drive around town without much to do.

And that gave me an opportunity to really immerse myself in the new Boards of Canada album, Inferno. This is, it's about as long as like, I would say, three other records on this, my list combined. And, you know, it's their first album since Tomorrow's Harvest. And it became this, like, kind of weird flashpoint on Twitter. for a certain segment of Twitter. I think there was like a younger generation of electronic music fans that think they're like just completely whack

and just for like 40-something people who aren't into, I guess what the new generation of Warpacks might be. But this one, yeah, it does remind me of Geogadi. Their 2002, a follow-up to music has the right children. Where it's darker, there's more samples from the occult. I think they do some really cool things where they chop up, like, vocal samples and play it, like, on an MPC. And it's just a good old-fashioned put on your headphones and, like, do nothing for 70 minutes if you're, like, making dinner or just, like, driving around town.

It feels, like, a very unique, big album in a year where there've been, I think a lot of, like, really good albums and, like, a lot of albums that, you know, are solid, but haven't really captured the imagination. we're about a month away from the new EA college football dropping. So this is definitely going to be an album that I am going to do spin while I get into Dynasty mode. Really a big fan of it. And it's also, I was not a huge fan of Tomorrow's Harvest, the one that came out in 2013. This one is, I guess you would call it a return to form, but not in a way that feels like, I only like this because it sounds like music I like when I was 20. I think they push things enough where it's like the last AFX twin album, Sayero, where it's clearly them, but they're doing things that are, they wouldn't do in 2002.

Yeah, the generational divide on boards of Canada is really interesting to me. Just seeing people talk about this online, older people who are maybe into it and younger people who are not. And I don't know if like with the younger generation, if it's not brain-rotty enough for them. It doesn't sound like 10 YouTube tabs playing at once. So that makes it whack or something. I don't know. They've mastered their album. So that's why it's not catching on with the younger people.

So the next album on my list, again going in alphabetical order, is a band from Northern California called Mildred. This is their debut record. It's called Fence Line. And this is a record that I've written about, this record, I think it's one of the years real sleepers. And we have a disintegrating music media landscape right now. And it's hard to know exactly where websites are and what they're reviewing and what they're paying attention to. This is a record that I feel like has totally slipped

through the cracks. And I really do think it's an outstanding record that once people discover it, I think they're going to really love it. The thing I love about this band is that you have four members in all of them sing and all of them write songs. So they are a band in the true sense of the word. I've interviewed two of the members, and it really is striking like how there's not a lot of ego in this band, it seems like. They're all very open.

It seems like a true democracy. There is no leader. In that sense, it does remind me of what the band was like early on, at least before Robbie Robertson became the guy who was going to be the clear songwriter and making all the money. and then that's when you start having dissension in the ranks. But this band, they're just four guys who apparently loved hanging out with each other,

you know, starting with the pandemic. They love listening to like the Silver Jews together. They love drinking beer together. And then they'd pick up instruments and start playing. And, you know, in most instances, that kind of record would probably sound horrible. But with these guys, they're all really talented. And these hangout sessions, these jam sessions, just created these songs that I think

feel so lived in and so stitched together in a very kind of perfect way without ever seeming fussy. It's the kind of record that you can enjoy from a craftsman level because I think the songwriting is really excellent, but it's almost more of like a hangout record. Like this is a record you want to put on

and just be in its presence because it's such a good vibe. And it's an album that I never tire, of whenever I'm hearing it. I saw this band recently live as well and they're a great live band. So get on board with this band. I think that they're going places. They're called Mildred and the record is called Fence Line. All right. So for my number two, I am going with Grace Ives girlfriend. This is an artist that I've been interested in for quite a while. I think 2019 when they first came in my radar. And the way they've been framed with, I believe, their 2000.

19. Now it was called 2. 2022, they came out with Jankees Star, which was still on an indie, but I think, you know, Justin Raisin or something like, like one of those guys was on it. So it was like kind of quasi major label. And the way she's been portrayed is less, the comparisons are less musical and more like she reminds me of like a character from the show Girls or Broad City because there was a really outstanding pop craftsmanship. But the, the, the component of it. It's like more not I'm trying to be relatable. It's I am relatable because a lot of my songs about romantic failure and just like hanging around the apartment and smoking weed and falling down drunk. And you know, well that's, you know, that was really, that really was effective on the past two albums. I led me to wonder like, well, what happens if they try to make a serious album or they lose that element where they're just talking about, oh, look at me like I'm smoking weed again. And I think that kind of happened with this record. I believe they signed to a major.

And it is a more serious album. It's more like ballad heavy, less kind of those chinty electronic production touches that were happening before. And yet it is still like a satisfying pop record. That fits, it doesn't quite fit into the main narratives that are happening with like, I guess you would call it indie coded pop where there are things that are, either seen as like post-brat or post-PC music.

This is, how do I say this in a way that makes sense to people who aren't inundated with promo records? But there are a ton of post-Feeby Bridgers, singer, songwriters trying to make their electronic pop album and it's just, it just kind of goes to show, yeah, pop music, melody, that's not your strong suit. What if they were all really, really good? That's what Grace Ives' girlfriend does. It is great on its own, but it's also great when you think about the artists that have not been able to pull this off.

So that's my number two. So next on my list, again going in alphabetical order, I'm going to go with a band or more of a project really called Oven. The record is called Nying at the Cord. This is a record I've talked quite a bit about. I'm the show, but more so on my substack. And if you look at my list, the album's at the top of the list anyway, a lot of them are of a similar character, definitely leaning more into the twangy indie rock, the 2020s old country sound. My list overall isn't like that, but certainly at the top that's been dominating my listening. And I justified that by saying that I just think that we're in the middle of a wave right now where there's like a lot of good people making that kind of music.

And that probably isn't going to exist in a year or two. But we just have these bubbles sometimes where certain kinds of things are just working really well. And I think there's a lot of good music in this vein right now. What's interesting about gnawing at the chord to me is that it's a mid-2020s indie rock record. I think really, I'm going to call it a great mid-2020s indie rock record. But it's influenced by like slightly earlier 2020s indie rock music. Speaking specifically of MJ Lenderman's Manning Fireworks. And I would also say Wild Pinks Dulling the Horns, which just generally speaking, I think, is more of a stealth influence on a lot of records I'm hearing.

That album is much bigger, I think, than what maybe writers or critics give it credit for. And then as well as the two hotline T&T records that have come out recently. All those albums are produced by Alex Farrar out in Asheville, North Carolina. He also, not coincidentally, also produced gnawing at the chord. So it definitely is rooted in that recent sound, but I think what sets it apart, what makes it a great record to me is that the songwriting is consistently extremely catchy. I mean, this is like a country grunge record essentially, and it's just one banger after another. Extremely catchy, very well-written songs. If this were a bigger scene, if this were the 90s, I think this band would be like Stone Temple Pilots.

You know, like where they come along and maybe you say, oh, their derivative of other. other bands that have come around at the same time, but then you're like, but they write such good songs that work on the radio. And that would be the analogy I would make with this record. I just think it's an incredibly likable record. It might be derivative, but I don't really care about that. I still think that songwriting matters, and I think songwriting is hard to pull off, and this album nails it. So that's one of my favorite albums of the year. Oven, gnawing at the chord. Yeah, I've never thought about the possibility of aligning like silver Jews with interstate love song, but there's, that's a, that is a lane for people. Yeah, exactly.

Like, because there's so many people working in that lane, but they don't have the, the pop element to it that I think that record has. Like, you can tell Owen Burton is the songwriter's name. He's been working in Nashville for a long time doing more of an Americana thing. But you can tell that he has the chops instrumentally and as a songwriter and now he's applying it to this kind of indie rock. And I think for some people with this record, that's a turnoff. But I don't know. I love Stone Temple Pilots. Like I love that iteration of like taking something that's maybe in the underground and then making it like a more catchy polished version of it. I think once you get to the third or fourth iteration of that, then it starts to get stale. But I, on this record, it totally works for me.

Yeah, we have not reached the seethe of, uh, right, exactly. And I'm referring to the South African band, not the Avrucassault song. Right, exactly. Yeah. So my number one, and I think this is as close as you can get to a, like a top five album starter kit type, type thing in 2026, which is underscores album, you. Um, you know, what I said before about like post brat, post PC music. This, uh, artist is, uh, someone who's, um, which is, uh, someone who's,

been around for a little bit. Their album from 2023, I think it was called Wall Sockets, was one of those that, like, didn't get reviewed at many places. I remember she did an interview with Pitchfork. She's like, yo, review my album. And so I think there was a little bit of a makeup call that was inevitable from this, but this is a really, really, really fascinating pop record. It's brash, but not really playing a character.

It's very clear this person loves the be. online and it kind of toes the line between trying to do like a post-brat thing but also like a super like two online sort of thing and the music itself is um it reminds me of sleigh bells not because it's like guitar based or it's more just when you put it on it is very brash it is very in your face and loud at all times it just bangs even when there's like quasi ballads and um it sounds like this is just like an artist who I would love to hear them produce other artists as well. Like I think their vocals are great. I think their lyrics are great, but they have such a distinct production style and way of thinking about music where you hear a song, you hear

these ideas and it's like I've never heard something quite like this before. And the songs themselves have a huge hook at all times, but then they'll go somewhere else in the second half. There are really cool bridges. There are really cool, like, beat switches happening. And, yeah, I didn't expect to like this album as much as I do. And I imagine this will be in just about every single top 10. And I also think that this is going to be a situation with, like, OK Lou from last year where I think we're seeing the actual, like, in real life popularity take place now. I think even with, like, the big records, it's more of a slow burn to see the in real life impact.

And I think that's going to be the case with this one. So underscores you. That's my number one of 2026 so far. Yeah, I need to catch up with this record. I was going to mention OK Liu actually as a comparison because it feels like that to me. What that record was the 2025, feels like this is the 2026, the indie pop album that a lot of people get behind. And I haven't listened to it myself, but I've seen a lot of people. that I respect, rave about this record, our friend Larry Fitzmaurice, he was talking about,

I think that this is his favorite album of the year too, so you're two people that I respect and whose tastes I trust, so I'm definitely going to dig into this album. It looks really, from what you're describing, it sounds like it would be at my alley. So I'm going to check that out. My last record, again, going in alphabetical order, is a record called Companion by a band from Asheville, North Carolina, or not Asheville, I think they're from Raleigh, North Carolina, actually, called Sleuze. And, you know, I brought this up when I was talking about Oven, that at the top of my list,

there is a gaggle of bands that are making this twangy indie rock, an updated old country for the 2020s. And Slewes definitely falls in that lane of artists that have put out records in recent years. Ryan Davis and Rodehouse Band and Friendship in particular, who are, are masters at this style of songwriting, again, very David Berman indebted, where the singers sing in like a David Berman type voice. And this might be a sound that if you follow this show or you follow indie rock, you might be a little tired of, or you might feel like, well, maybe that's been exhausted.

But again, I would say that this record, which is in that style, I think it shows that would you have a really good songwriter working in this vein? I think there's still a lot of gold to be mined from this. And Sleu's, it should be pointed out, isn't some Johnny Come Lately. They put out a record a few years ago called Radio Gate, came out in 2023 that I was a big fan of. So they've been building to this. I do think that this is their best record. And one of the things I like about it is that along with being very lyrically clever

and there's a lot of dudes rock references to things like Wilco and Zeppelin and The Wire, all those sorts of things, things that would probably appeal to listeners of this show. But I also feel like there is a sense of experimentation going on with this band. There's a noisiness, I think, to this band that less things get too down home or twangy. They will go on like an eight or nine minute drone rock type tip in a way that does remind me of pavement in the mid-90s when they were doing Waui Zowie. and flirting with country-sounding music themselves. It's just a really good singer-songwriter album, an album that, again, if you are into Ryan Davis' friendship,

and you're looking for this year's iteration of that, I think Companion delivers that in spades, and it's just a really strong record. And they're also a band that I've seen live recently, and they're also quite good live as well, if they come to your town. So that does it for our list. That's 10 records from both of us.

No overlaps. Which is amazing. So 10 different records for you to check out this weekend. They're all great. You'll all enjoy them. Definitely check out Ian's interview with Ben Gibbard on Amazon Music. And otherwise, we'll be back with next week with more news and hashing out trends. See you then.