Now Playing #1 – February 2026
I think music in 2026 (or at least what I've been listening to in 2026) has started off really strongly! There have been some new releases that have been rocking my world, some cool recommendations that have been really intriguing, and some old classics that I never really dived into.
I've been apparently listening to a lot of rock & metal this month; you've been warned!
My Fan Favourite: Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows – Inexorable Opposites
The Jack Harlon boys have released their third studio album after touring the hell out of The Magnetic Ridge in 2021. They released a covers album inbetween which took the edge off, but they'd been patiently writing & refining these new tracks for over a year, debuting the odd track here and there in their live shows.
Harlon play some kind of stoner/desert/doom rock, cosplaying as a drug-addled cowboy that goes on acid trips and questions their reality, and flirts with the boundary between life and death. Something like that, anyway.
I headed to their album launch in Melbourne last Friday night and it was awesome to hear the whole record played start to finish. The new tracks still have all the classic components of what made them popular in the Australian stoner/doom scene: heavy riffs with plenty of fuzz & reverb – but the songwriting is clearly getting more mature and is a solid evolution from their older albums.
Standout tracks for me include the opening track 'Moss', 'Dave Is Done' and 'Junior Fiction'.
The Nerdy Project: Phantom Spell – Heather & Hearth
Progressive rock with a distinct medieval/folk tinge to it. This excerpt from the Bandcamp album description sums it up nicely:
Reports of a skulking wizard with a travelling band of roguish bards, appearing only for a fleeting moment before retiring back to the shadows of his tower. Now, the wizard returns with a new set of compositions. Hark!
A good mix of long epics with catchy melodies, pleasant vocals and all-round excellent writing & and song structure. This one takes a while to ease into but the more attention you give it, the more it'll pay you back.
The Wildcard: Angine de Poitrine – Vol. 1
Uhh, weird funky tracks with microtonal tuning, but also with wacky costumes and loop pedals?
This KEXP performance on Youtube will give you a good sense of their live personalities & their dedication to their costumes. The duo from Quebec dropped their first EP back in 2024 but all of a sudden the KEXP live set has thrust them into a bunch of new fans – including myself.
The layering of guitar & bass loops could feel formulaic but the variation of the drums almost obscure the transition from one riff to the next. There's an effortlessness in their whole approach that makes it so enjoyable to listen to.
Favourite track for me is definitely Tohogd.
The Long-Awaited: Karnivool – In Verses
I've been a longtime fan of the Perth prog-rockers, obsessing over their second full-length Sound Awake when it released in 2009 – and even though I didn't get into Asymmetry in 2013, I have such a loyalty to the Australian prog scene from my formative years that I was really excited about In Verses finally dropping.
But this album...ehh, I don't think I've enjoying it. Karnivool have matured and polished their sound so much after decades of hitting it hard that when I think about In Verses, I think about a shiny, polished, featureless sphere that looks the same no matter which angle you look at it.
Every track has a fun riff, a cool vocal harmony, a good-enough crescendo that the 'Vool are known for, but the peaks & troughs are just not big or interesting enough to make me want to come back to it. 'Animation' and the closing track 'Salva' will definitely make it into my playlists but otherwise I think this draws the curtains on my Karnivool fan era.
The Gimmicky: Uuhai – Human Herds
Metal with Mongolian instruments!! That's the gimmick!
If you're into any kind of heavy music, you'll likely enjoy a few whirls of these guys. The vocals are really fun (vocals can't be annoying if you don't know the words!) and the traditional instruments aren't overdone. You can feel like they've drawn on Rammstein's approach a lot.
The title track and 'Dracula' are the biggest bangers.
The Comfort Food: Biffy Clyro – Futique
I got into the Scottish alt-rockers only recently; I've somehow avoided them over the last decade or so despite hearing about them regularly. I'd heard about them because Oceansize's lead singer Mike Vennart is their touring guitarist (and I was a huge Oceansize fan), but I never took the plunge and gave them a proper listen.
The first thing you notice when you listen to Biffy Clyro is the soaring & elegant vocals, and the next thing you notice is the sheer variety of soft & loud moments throughout the album (Karnivool: take notice please). If you can get past the vocals with its noticeable Scottish accent, you'll be rewarded with a great mix of tracks that give you classic ballads ('Goodbye'), straight up arena rock ('Hunting Season', 'True Believe') and quirky stuff in the middle ('Dearest Amygdala').
If you can get past a singer with a slight Scottish accent, you'll find a lot of fun tracks on this album. 'Hunting Season' is the pick off the album for me.