{"id":11600,"date":"2026-11-03T15:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T20:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=11600"},"modified":"2026-11-03T15:52:11","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T20:52:11","slug":"music-update-october-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2026\/11\/03\/music-update-october-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Music update, October 2026."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Big month with five Fridays of new releases, including a couple of albums I\u2019ve been waiting months to hear (like the first three artists below). As always, if you can\u2019t see the widget below you can access the playlist on <a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/us\/playlist\/klaws-october-2026-music-update\/pl.u-jV89DmNC1gg0m\">Apple Music<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/playlist\/5HxW2gNCUCQOV7DRoAntWQ?si=3ff697cb18144c1e\">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-october-2026-music-update\/pl.u-jV89DmNC1gg0m\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Wishy \u2013 Covergirl.<\/strong> <em>Nature\u2019s Pill<\/em> came out at the top of the month and is easily a top 5 album for me this year, with a ridiculous number of highly catchy power-pop tracks. My favorites are still \u201cLovesick\u201d and \u201cAll the Rage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Moses Boyd feat. Shant\u00e9h \u2013 More to Life.<\/strong> <em>Songs for Sinners<\/em>, Boyd\u2019s second true solo album, came out on Friday; it\u2019s Boyd\u2019s fusion of the sounds of gospel music he grew up hearing with the jazz and soul that have become his trademark sound. I haven\u2019t heard anything yet to rival \u201cShades of You,\u201d my #1 song of 2020, but there are some strong tracks here powered by his always-interesting drumwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Olivia Trevor Control \u2013 Timewaster.<\/strong> OTC\u2019s final, posthumous album <em>The Same Place<\/em> came out last week, and it\u2019s a monster, with 27 tracks and about 70 minutes of music. Much of the album was recorded in the 2010-12 period, before Bill Doss, one of the two guitarist-vocalist-songwriters at the head of the collective, died of an aneurysm; Will Cullen Hart, the other g-v-s in OTC, died of multiple sclerosis in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Brigitte Calls Me Baby \u2013 Altitude.<\/strong> This B-side from the <em>Irreversible<\/em> sessions would have been a top five song on the album for me, after the first two singles, which were both outstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Tubs \u2013 Hard Life.<\/strong> The title track and opening single from this Welsh jangle-rock band, which features two former members of Joanna Gruesome, is a great example of the way they blend that mid-80s sound with somewhat harder rock edges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Slow Pulp \u2013 Melodie.<\/strong> I was hoping for a little more of this from Slow Pulp\u2019s latest album, also called <em>Melodie<\/em>, as the rest of the album is a mixed bag with some slower and less hooky tracks. I don\u2019t know what I expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>World News \u2013 Frog.<\/strong> ThisLondon indie-rock quartet finally released its first LP, <em>In Purgatory<\/em>, in October, with the two standout singles from 2025 (\u201cDon\u2019t Want to Know\u201d and \u201cEverything is Coming Up <s>Milhouse<\/s> Roses\u201d) as well as \u201cThe Way It Goes,\u201d \u201cSidestep,\u201d \u201cVinegar Swimming Pool,\u201d and this rousing opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>girl in red \u2013 blue.<\/strong> I\u2019ve never been a huge girl in red fan; her earnest bedroom-pop was usually a little twee for me, although she\u2019s a big deal in her native Norway. This song has a lovely build to it and highly introspective lyrics that elevate it above other songs of hers I\u2019ve heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bluegirl \u2013 Look at All the Happy People.<\/strong> Bluegirl is Phoebe Xenofontos, a producer and songwriter who just released this single, her first, which has a strong bedroom-pop feel and got the seal of approval from Courtney Love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Heartworms \u2013 Guess I\u2019m Stuck in the Dark.<\/strong> Heartworms\u2019 first new music since last year\u2019s <em>Glutton for Punishment<\/em> gets most of its energy from Jojo Orme\u2019s swirling, angsty vocals, with less of the electronic elements that boosted her amazing debut album. This seems to be either a one-off single or a lead track from a new unannounced album, which would be great news for 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>@ \u2013 Bird.<\/strong> Yes, the band is named @, which predisposes me to dislike them, because that\u2019s extremely pretentious in a way Brooklyn Coffee Shop would gleefully satirize. The music is pretty good, unfortunately; they\u2019re a folk duo who draw on psycheledic music and chamber-folk with a darker sound particularly evident on this track. Their second album, <em>Autosmile<\/em>, has earned rave reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>San Cisco \u2013 Miles Away.<\/strong> The Australian indie-pop trio returns with their first new song since 2024\u2019s <em>Under the Light<\/em> and it\u2019s one of their better singles of the last ten years or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Pardoner \u2013 Don\u2019t Slouch.<\/strong> Pardoner is an indie-rock quartet from San Francisco whose music reminds me a good bit of Wishy \u2013 it\u2019s power pop, but more punk-influenced. Their fifth album <em>Target Practice<\/em> came out last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dummy \u2013 Full Spectrum Dominance.<\/strong> I wanted the whole Dummy album <em>do you love the color of the sky<\/em> to be made of this spacey, epic-feeling track that reminded me of sounds from just about every decade of my life, although the 1990s alternative-radio vibe was the strongest part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>They are gutting a body of water feat. Horse Jumper of Love \u2013 charter spec.<\/strong> This Philly shoegaze band released a new mixtape \u2013 don\u2019t ask me how this differs from an album, I am too old to care \u2013 called <em>Kool Faith\/Loosies II<\/em>, with a guest appearance by Boston-area shoegazers Horse Jumper of Love on this track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Exploding Flowers \u2013 Information Dark Age.<\/strong> Rough-edged power pop with a good dose of Parquet Courts. Their fourth album, <em>Alphabet Window<\/em>, came out last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dazy \u2013 Ugly.<\/strong> Dazy is James Goodson, but more to the point here, this song reminds me a ton of Hotline TNT with less distortion. Goodson released the second Dazy album\/compliation, <em>MAXIMUMBLASTSUPERLOUD Vol. 2<\/em>, on October 23<sup>rd<\/sup>, his first full-length anything since 2022\u2019s <em>Out of Body<\/em>. Uh oh y&#8217;all it&#8217;s gettin kinda dazy\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Automatic \u2013 Shadowplay.<\/strong> Idon\u2019t include a lot of covers here, but Automatic\u2019s version of Joy Division\u2019s \u201cShadowplay\u201d is good enough to make my cut, capturing the hypnotic, gothic sound of the original, leaning more into the subsequent new wave atmosphere than the post-punk vibe of Joy Division\u2019s <em>Unknown Pleasures<\/em>. Also, I learned when writing this that Automatic is now a duo, as drummer Lola Domp\u00e9 (daughter of Kevin Haskins, the drummer for Bauhaus) seems to have quit the band in the last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Do Nothing \u2013 Smile.<\/strong> This is not the first Do Nothing track to make me think they\u2019re Wild Beasts disciples, and that\u2019s a damn good thing. I can\u2019t believe <em>Boy King<\/em> came out ten years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CHVRCHES \u2013 Overthinker.<\/strong> Not as strong as the first single (\u201cRoses\u201d) from their upcoming album, <em>All the King\u2019s Men<\/em>, due out on January 22<sup>nd<\/sup>, although this time it\u2019s the vocals rather than the music that falls a little short. I\u2019m choosing to remain optimistic that the album will draw more on their earliest work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>BODEGA \u2013 Slow Train.<\/strong> I\u2019ve had one BODEGA song on a playlist before, back in 2024, but generally have been lukewarm on their stuff. This track, off their new album <em>All Inside Aquarium<\/em>, veers into post-hardcore territory, with a chorus that seems to draw on Quicksand\/Thrice, and way better guitar work throughout the song than most of their stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Post Animal \u2013 Wings on the Ground.<\/strong> Post Animal was Joe Keery\u2019s original band, which he left for some time (he was busy) before rejoining for their 2025 album <em>Iron<\/em>, which is relevant because this song originated in the sessions for their 2014 debut album <em>When I Think of You in a Castle<\/em>, with the music recorded along with that album but the vocals recorded fresh for this release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ugly \u2013 In Samphedoo.<\/strong> Ugly\u2019s debut album <em>The South Fa\u00e7ade<\/em> represents a musical shift for them \u2013 they\u2019ve been around for ten years but their longest releases were a six-song EP in 2022 and a nine-track compilation of singles from 2017-19. Their earlier stuff was post-punk\/art-rock, while this new record is extremely proggy, with jazz and folk influences, definitely the kind of songs where you wouldn\u2019t be surprised if someone showed up with a Chapman stick or a theremin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Shabazz Palaces \u2013 Heliocentric Immortality Manifesto H.I.M.<\/strong> Shabazz Palaces is now an extended solo project by Ishmael Butler, perhaps better known as Butterfly of Digable Planets (who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5gfWGZUOS3k\">appeared on Cadillac Chronicles<\/a> last December). His latest album, <em>It\u2019s a Style Sport<\/em>, is more structured and focused than 2024\u2019s <em>Exotic Birds of Prey<\/em>, although I\u2019d still call it experimental \u2013 at least, there\u2019s no one else in hip-hop who sounds anything like this. The other track I considered for the playlist was \u201cAhh World (I Won the Alpha Bet).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sampa the Great \u2013 Location.<\/strong> The Zambian rap star\u2019s latest album <em>Nu Zamrock<\/em> is her first since returning to the country of her birth after spending time in Botswana and starting her music career while living in Australia (where she won multiple ARIA awards). It features multiple appearances by her uncle, George \u201cGroovy Joe\u201d Kunda, one of the founding members of the band WITCH, the originators of the Zamrock sound, and that musical theme is present throughout the record, which blends Zambian and other African genres with western hip-hop and psychedelic rock. \u201cCan\u2019t Hold Us,\u201d featuring her sister Mwanje, is the best track, although I regret to inform you that Sia makes a guest appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ghost Funk Orchestra \u2013 Leave Me Alone.<\/strong> GFO is Seth Applebaum\u2019s project, so, yes, another white man making distinctly Black music, which \u2026 where are the Black artists in this space? Applebaum does a pretty good facsimile of 1970s funk\/soul, kind of the other side of the coin from Jungle (two white men making distinctly Black music), who also mine 1970s soul but from the disco side of things. I happen to really like this song, but the broader trend here makes me uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Prince \u2013 Prince and the Band.<\/strong> The Prince estate\u2019s decision to spike Ezra Edelman\u2019s Netflix documentary about Prince\u2019s life and career \u2013 which was because they didn\u2019t want the truth about how Prince treated people, especially young women, to get out there, which seems absurd given how a biopic about a guy accused of molesting young boys just made a billion dollars worldwide \u2013 meant that the estate regained the rights to release music from Prince\u2019s extensive vault. They released a compilation album called <em>Timeless<\/em> in August, featuring the song \u201cCalabama,\u201d and then in October released a four-song EP called <em>Calabama<\/em> that included a raw version of the original without the overdubbed horns (added for <em>Timeless<\/em>) along with two versions of \u201cPrince and the Band,\u201d which he played live but never released on any record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Caspian \u2013 Hiraeth.<\/strong> I like Caspian, an instrumental, vaguely-progressive rock band, but them using a Welsh word meaning \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wales.com\/about\/history-and-heritage\/welsh-traditions-myths-and-legends\/hiraeth\">that sense of incompleteness you feel when you\u2019re acutely aware of something missing in your life<\/a>,\u201d particularly for something that is no longer there. You\u2019ll also see it as described as a Welsh person\u2019s longing for Wales. Anyway, this is a lovely song with Celtic folk-like strings over the sparse guitar lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Evil Invaders \u2013 D.S.S. (Death Strikes Suddenly).<\/strong> This Belgian thrash band is a complete throwback, almost to the point of parody, but I do love the commitment to the riff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Forbidden \u2013 Flower of Life.<\/strong> This nine-minute closer from Forbidden\u2019s self-titled album, their first new LP in 16 years, is a strong showcase of this classic Bay Area thrash band\u2019s brand of metal, which bridges the (possibly nonexistent) gap between thrash and speed metal. The new album is their first without original lead singer Russ Anderson but does feature original guitarist Craig Locicero and bassist Matt Camacho.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Big month with five Fridays of new releases, including a couple of albums I\u2019ve been waiting months to hear (like the first three artists below). As always, if you can\u2019t see the widget below you can access the playlist on Apple Music or Spotify. Wishy \u2013 Covergirl. Nature\u2019s Pill came out at the top of [&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":[1495,359,1191,167,1127,757,852,787,1114],"class_list":["post-11600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-2026-in-music","tag-alternative","tag-hip-hop-2","tag-indie","tag-jazz","tag-metal","tag-music","tag-progressive-metal","tag-thrash","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11600","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=11600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11601,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11600\/revisions\/11601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}