{"id":11163,"date":"2026-04-11T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=11163"},"modified":"2026-04-10T22:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:39:15","slug":"music-update-march-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/11\/music-update-march-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Music update, March 2026."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>March ended with a rush of new releases and I\u2019m still working my way through them, on top of the LPs that have already come out in April \u2013 this feels like the first big release period of 2026, with Arlo Parks, Angine de Poitrine, Snail Mail, The Twilight Sad, Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Courtney Barnett, deary, Flea, Butler Blake &amp; Grant, Neurosis, and Avalon Emerson putting out albums in the last month that I need to listen to or that were on my to-do list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As always, if you can\u2019t see the widget below, the playlist is available on <a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/us\/playlist\/klaws-march-2026-new-music-update\/pl.u-KVXBvzJFRyyNG\">Apple Music<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/playlist\/62fTzi9etIIhSZfYfzFuTa?si=7ab96c6b64b142dd\">Spotify<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe allow=\"autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *; clipboard-write\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"450\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;border-radius:10px;\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.music.apple.com\/us\/playlist\/klaws-march-2026-new-music-update\/pl.u-KVXBvzJFRyyNG\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Young Fathers \u2013 Don\u2019t Fight the Young.<\/strong> The latest War Child Records album <em>HELP(2)<\/em> has an incredible roster of names, but most of the songs are clearly throwaways for the artists who wrote and recorded them, a marked step down from their usual material. Young Fathers\u2019 contribution, however, is on par with some of their best work, and more importantly, it sounds exactly like their usual stuff. They actually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/features\/music-interviews\/young-fathers-war-child-help2-dont-fight-the-young-interview-3932233\">wrote several songs for the project<\/a>, and if this is any indication, I hope the others show up on a future album or EP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Snail Mail \u2013 Tractor Beam. <\/strong>Snail Mail is Lindsey Jordan, whose third album <em>Richochet<\/em> came out at the end of March. This single is more polished and better produced than her earlier stuff, giving her guitar a richer texture, although her vocals are still quite clear.I\u2019ve only listened to about half of the album so far, but it\u2019s my favorite by her to date \u2013 the stronger production values help her vocals quite a bit, and I\u2019m getting some Velocity Girl vibes from her melodies now that they\u2019re cleaner and more forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Julia Cumming \u2013 Please Let Me Remember This.<\/strong> Cumming is the lead singer and bassist for Sunflower Bean; her first solo album<em> Julia<\/em> is out on the 24<sup>th<\/sup>. The first single, \u201cMy Life,\u201d was fine, but this one is eight levels higher, especially musically, as there are layers and layers here, not just of different instruments but of varying beats and rhythms that tap into some 1970s pop and even light jazz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Brigitte Calls Me Baby \u2013 I Can Take the Sun Right Out of the Sky. <\/strong>I adored the first two singles from BCMB\u2019s sophomore album <em>Irreversible<\/em>, while this third one is more solid than plus for me, getting them a little too far into Smiths homage territory. The first half of the album is much stronger than the second, with the first two singles as well as \u201cThe Pit\u201d and \u201cTruth is Stranger Than Fiction,\u201d while the back half started to lose some steam and felt slightly more derivative of the \u201880s new wave sounds that inspire so much of their music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Spencer Thomas \u2013 The World is Fucked and I Love You.<\/strong> Thomas is a multi-instrumentalist from Mississippi who seems to be able to write songs in any genre you\u2019d like; here he goes hard into synth-pop, sounding like Heaven 17 with a Morrissey guest vocal (1980s Moz, not the current shithead version). I really love <a href=\"https:\/\/spencerthomassongs.bandcamp.com\/album\/cynical-vision\">the cover<\/a> of his new album <em>Cynical Vision<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pond \u2013 Terrestrials.<\/strong> Like most great Pond songs, this one starts out in an inauspicious fashion and then blossoms into a bigger sound when it hits the chorus. It\u2019s not quite \u201cAmerica\u2019s Cup\u201d or \u201cNeon River,\u201d but it\u2019s a strong lead single for this Aussie psychedelic-rock band\u2019s upcoming album, also called <em>Terrestrials<\/em>, due out June 19<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Twilight Sad \u2013 Attempt a Crash Landing. <\/strong>I need to get to their latest album, <em>It\u2019s the Long Goodbye<\/em>, but the tracks I\u2019ve heard so far have been some of my favorites ever by them. I think I\u2019d been too skeptical of them based on the name, but their music over the last decade or so has blended gloom with richly textured guitars and even some hints of industrial music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SPRINTS \u2013 Trickle Down.<\/strong> A solid punk song of protest against late-stage capitalism and the lie of trickle-down economics (which is the disgraced philosophy behind both of Trump\u2019s major tax cuts). Maybe not as immediate as SPRINTS\u2019 best stuff, but still good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Afghan Whigs \u2013 House of I.<\/strong> Not sure if this is a one-off track or if it heralds another new album, but Greg Dulli \u2013 who still sounds fantastic \u2013 called it a \u201cbanger\u201d and I think he\u2019s right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tigers Jaw \u2013 Primary Colors.<\/strong> I see Tigers Jaw called emo and punk-pop, but I don\u2019t know that either fits \u2013 here they\u2019ve got classic pop melodies over a heavier guitar track that draws on post-hardcore. The contrast is the real hook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>TVAM \u2013 Love Like Glue.<\/strong> TVAM\u2019s debut album, <em>Psychic Data<\/em>, was #2 on my list of the best albums of 2018, but I missed his 2022 album <em>High Art Life<\/em> completely and would have missed his latest, <em>Ruins<\/em>, if one of you hadn\u2019t pointed me to it. I still prefer his first LP, which was more melodic and immediate, but <em>Ruins <\/em>is strong enough and really brings me back to the late goth\/new wave sound; this track sounds like it came from somewhere in between Ministry\u2019s shift from \u201cEvery Day Is Halloween\u201d to the industrial sound of <em>The Land of Rape and Honey<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Trashcan Sinatras \u2013 Bad Husband.<\/strong> This new track from these Scottish folk-rockers features Tracyanne Campbell, lead singer and co-founder of Camera Obscura; it\u2019s the second single so far from their new album <em>Ever the Optimist<\/em>, due out on July 31<sup>st<\/sup>. I\u2019ll forever be grateful to <em>Beavis &amp; Butthead<\/em> for introducing me to them via their mockery of the video for \u201cHayfever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Courtney Barnett \u2013 One Thing at a Time. <\/strong>Barnett\u2019s first album in five years, <em>Creature of Habit<\/em>, came out on March 26<sup>th<\/sup>; the three singles all point to a return to the more uptempo indie rock of her earliest work (her double EP and then her debut album). Her collaboration with Waxahatchee, \u201cSite Unseen,\u201d is the best track on the new album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Metric \u2013 Time is a Bomb.<\/strong> I remember Metric\u2019s first album and how XM\u2019s Alt Nation overplayed the pretentious song \u201cSuccexy;\u201d that was 23 years ago, and now their tenth LP, <em>Romanticize the Dive<\/em>, is coming out on the 24<sup>th<\/sup>. I\u2019ve come around on Metric as they\u2019ve also shifted their sound slightly more towards mainstream alternative, although I think Emily Haines is a better singer than lyricist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jessie Ware \u2013 Automatic. <\/strong>Ware might be my favorite straight-up pop singer right now, as her current style, dating at least back to <em>What\u2019s Your Pleasure?<\/em>, blends disco, funk, and \u201870s pop, mixed with some great hooks, enough to overcome the occasional lyrical clunker. This is the third single from her album <em>Superbloom<\/em>, due out on the 17<sup>th<\/sup>. It reminds me of a specific track from the 1970s, but I can\u2019t put my finger on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jorja Smith \u2013 The Price of It All. <\/strong>This soaring ballad comes from the soundtrack to the limited series <em>Bait<\/em>, created by and starring Riz Ahmed, so why exactly have I not heard of this before? Someone\u2019s done a piss-poor job of marketing it. Anyway, Smith remains one of my favorite vocalists, and I especially love when her voice isn\u2019t competing with a drum machine that drowns her out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arlo Parks \u2013 Get Go. <\/strong>A small departure for Parks, with a twee-pop backing track and notably upbeat melodies in the vocals. Her third album <em>Ambiguous Desire<\/em> came out on the 3<sup>rd<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Maria BC \u2013 Channels.<\/strong> This track is barely over a minute but gives me a chance to recommend their new album <em>Marathon<\/em>, which is definitely more of a single document than a set of tracks, with their voice still reminding me a ton of Alejandra Deheza of School of Seven Bells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Miki Berenyi Trio \u2013 Island of One.<\/strong> Berenyi was the lead singer\/guitarist for the shoegaze legends Lush, who took a sharp turn into alt-pop with their final album <em>Lovelife<\/em> and called it a day. Her latest band includes her partner Kevin McKillop, with their debut album dropping last year; it was more shoegaze-light, with her voice still a highlight. This is apparently a standalone single ahead of a new tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pye Corner Audio feat. Andy Bell \u2013 Cycle.<\/strong> This popped up on my Release Radar because of the presence of Bell, founding guitarist of Ride and current bassist for Oasis. This track, from PCA\u2019s upcoming album <em>More Songs About the Sun<\/em>, is shoegazey electronica; Bell contributes guitar and vocals, and he\u2019s apparently on three other songs on the record as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Soft Cell feat. Nona Hendryx \u2013 Out Come the Freaks.<\/strong> Soft Cell was Marc Almond and David Ball, best known for their cover of \u201cTainted Love,\u201d and they had reunited after a twenty-year hiatus in 2022, recording three albums before Ball\u2019s death last year. That third record, <em>Danceteria<\/em>, comes out at some point this year, with a tour to follow, but it\u2019ll be the last new music under the Soft Cell name according to Almond. Oh, as for Nona Hendryx, you know her, too: She was one-third of Labelle, best known for \u201cLady Marmalade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Les Big Byrd \u2013 H\u00f6kvind. <\/strong>I wasn\u2019t familiar with this Swedish psychedelic rock band before stumbling on this homage to space-rock pioneers Hawkwind. It\u2019s bottom-heavy and intricate with a real groove to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Black Crowes \u2013 Profane Prophecy.<\/strong> Definitely the Crowes\u2019 first appearance on one of my playlists. I\u2019m one of the basic Black Crowes fans: I had the first album before they got famous, loved the bluesier stuff and hated \u201cShe Talks to Angels,\u201d played the shit out of \u201cRemedy\u201d when that came out, and pretty much gave up on them around the release of <em>Amorica<\/em> (with the manufactured controversy over its album cover convincing me they were a joke). I happened to see a positive review of <em>A Pound of Feathers<\/em>, their newest album, and thought, \u201chow bad could it be?\u201d It\u2019s fine, not as good as their first two albums, but it\u2019s got a few memorable numbers, led by this uptempo song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jehnny Beth feat. Mike Patton \u2013 Look at Me.<\/strong> The great Jehnny Beth of Savages and <em>Anatomy of a Fall<\/em> pairs up here with the Faith No More\/Mr. Bungle lead singer Mike Patton on a weird, experimental noise-rock track with an interesting video that seems to show Beth cracking up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Armored Saint \u2013 Close to the Bone.<\/strong> Armored Saint is still around! I had no idea. Granted, I was never as big a fan of their heyday, as the tracks I heard were not their best (like \u201cChemical Euphoria,\u201d played to death on <em>Headbanger\u2019s Ball<\/em>). They\u2019re still going, singer John Bush still sounds good, and their ninth album, <em>Emotion Factory Reset<\/em>, drops on May 22<sup>nd<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The HU \u2013 The Men.<\/strong> This Mongolian folk-metal band has released two new tracks this year, and they\u2019re openers on two different tours in the U.S. later in 2026 (one of which includes Marilyn Manson, unfortunately) so I assume an album is coming. Their cover of Iron Maiden\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2WrvFUZgHro\">The Trooper<\/a>\u201d, translated into their native language, from a year or so ago is pretty badass, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sepultura \u2013 The Place.<\/strong> Sepultura are calling it a career, releasing a four-song EP called <em>The Cloud of Unknowing<\/em> later this month that includes this crunchy, almost groove-metal track along with the mellower \u201cBeyond the Dream.\u201d Bassist Paulo Jr. is the only remaining original member, and I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve really been the same band \u2013 not worse, just different \u2013 since singer\/guitarist Max Cavalera left in 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cruel Force \u2013 Whips-a-Swinging. <\/strong>ThisGerman band started out as yet another blackened speed metal band<strong>, <\/strong>but morphed into a more old-school speed metal\/early thrash sound in the late 2010s. They\u2019re back with a new album, <em>Haneda<\/em>, that sounds very 1982ish, like a band that might have inspired Kreator rather than one that was inspired by them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>March ended with a rush of new releases and I\u2019m still working my way through them, on top of the LPs that have already come out in April \u2013 this feels like the first big release period of 2026, with Arlo Parks, Angine de Poitrine, Snail Mail, The Twilight Sad, Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Courtney [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1495,359,1235,167,852,1114],"class_list":["post-11163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-2026-in-music","tag-alternative","tag-experimental-music","tag-indie","tag-music","tag-thrash","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11163"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11164,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11163\/revisions\/11164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}