I used to listen to a lot of music, and then life happened. I'd like to change that, so this page is where I'll keep track of each album I listen to. My goal is one new album per week, at minimum.
| Date Listened | Artist | Album | Quick Notes | Songs I Liked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 7 | Wolf Alice | The Clearing | Needs a few more listens to really sink in, but some very good harmonies that kept me intrigued. UPDATE A WEEK LATER: This album is great, actually. So lush, so delicious, stacked with bops. | Bread Butter Tea Sugar, Leaning Against the Wall, Passenger Seat |
| January 8 | Geese | Getting Killed | Woof. I tried, but I don't remotely understand the appeal of this. Caterwauling for days, no hooks to be found, jazzy (derogatory). I rushed through the final few songs because I just couldn't find a single thing to enjoy. Some days I feel like music snobs are trolling and this is one of those days. | Taxes |
| January 9 | The Verve | Urban Hymns | If this album lived up to the expectations I had of it, it very well could have saved the world. If it were made in 2025, with modern sensibilities, I think it could be revolutionary. As it is, it was made in 1997, and is a bit too samey to really stand out. | Bitter Sweet Symphony, Lucky Man |
| January 14 | Wolf Parade | Apologies to the Queen Mary | I got the Heated Rivalry brain worms, okay? And despite all my Canadian indie cred, I didn't really listen to Wolf Parade a lot. And this is absolutely one of the most influential indie rock albums of the decade; it sounds so much like the dozens of sharpie-labeled LPs I spun up at my college radio gig, but more refined. It walks right up to the line of being grating, even, but the songwriting is varied enough that the idiosyncrasies retain their charms, when they very very easily could have been annoying. I don't know if this will remain in rotation, but it will definitely be getting a few more listens so that the individual songs can stand out more. Scott + Kip 5evar. | Shine a Light, I'll Believe in Anything, We Built Another World, Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts, It's a Curse |
| January 21 | Charli XCX | XCX World (unreleased) | Instantly iconic. Such a brilliant example of SOPHIE's influence on pop music, even 9 years later. Wall to wall hooks. I don't know how things might have been different if this album had released as planned; we might not have gotten Brat summer, which would have been a shame, but also we might be in a better timeline from the strength of these bops alone. | Come to My Party, Good Girls, Down Like Woah, I Wanna Be With You, Can You Hear Me?, Waterfall |
| January 29 | Fountains of Wayne | Welcome Interstate Managers | Apologies to Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger, I was unfamiliar with the extent of your game. | Mexican Wine, Stacy's Mom, No Better Place, All Kinds of Time, Peace and Love |
| January 30 | The Format | Boycott Heaven | I'm a massive sucker for Nate Ruess, so I was always going to like this album, but it's honestly very very good. I fear everyone will have forgotten about this by the time the Best Of 2026 lists roll around, but I won't. We need albums like this right now. | No Gold At The Top, Forever, Shot in the Dark |
| February 17 | Charli XCX | Wuthering Heights | To nobody's surprise, the movie is apparently a shitshow. To nobody's surprise, the album fucking rules. Charli XCX understood the assignment: maximum drama, maximum strings, maximum gothic nonsense. | Wall of Sound, Dying For You, Chains of Love, Out Of Myself, Altars |
| February 19 | August Ponthier | Everywhere Isn't Texas | I'm sad to say I didn't adore this album as much as I hoped I would. I've loved August Ponthier for years, and their previous EPs have been some of the best music ever, but this full length album will take time to grow on me. I'll keep listening and see what sticks in the end, but I wish this had more bops. | World Famous, Handsome, Betty |
| February 24 | Hilary Duff | luck...or something | Tremendously good. This is what we could have gotten out of Taylor Swift if she went to fucking therapy and also hired Carly Rae Jepsen's producers. There's a very real anxiety and vulnerability in the songwriting, which feels genuine to the point of oversharing at some points, but it's honestly refreshing to hear from a former Disney machine kid. Some of the composition is a dead ringer for CRJ's best hits, other parts are hauntingly reminiscent of 1989. It's so Millennial-core it sometimes hurts, but as a Millennial, I appreciate the hell out of it. | Weather For Tennis, Roommates, We Don't Talk, Mature, Adult Size Medium |
| February 28 | Peaches | No Lube So Rude | Absolutely critical for the year of our awfulness 2026. Peaches heeded the call and returned when we needed her most. Unhinged, horny, delightful. | Hanging Titties, Fuck How You Wanna Fuck, Be Love |
| March 3 | Em Beihold | Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter | Part Chappell Roan, part Regina Spektor. A short but sweet collection of tracks with good hooks and insightful songwriting moments. I think I'll be returning to this one regularly, it's pretty fun. | Scared of the Dark, Brutus, Hot Goblin, Unicorn, Exorcism, Lottery, Won't Let Go |