2026: Reviews of albums

2026 Reviews of albums (small ones) I have heard so far this year that will just be for quick thoughts on what I am listening to. These are not full reviews and many will be below a 75% rating, and some will be expanded along their own pages later.

Andrews, Courtney Marie – Valentine – 62%

It’s too bad nothing really stands out on this record, as Andrews is a promising Americana influenced singer-songwriter based on previous albums. Though her voice is solid throughout, not many songs really distinguish themselves and though it sounds well made and pretty, beyond “Only the Best for Baby”, “Everyone Wants to Feel Like You Do” and “Little Picture of a Butterfly” nothing sticks with me. Not awful, just a bit too normal.

Callahan, Bill – My Days of 58 – 55%

Tempted to rate it a “58” haah, it doesn’t quite get that high due to the fact that this album is too long and too samey throughout. Ol’ Smog can’t seem to hum the great melodies he used to, as many of things song barely have anything going on. “Lonely City” and “Pathol O.G.” manage to rekindle some of the old magic, but rarely have I cared less about an album by this great songwriter.

Dalek – Brilliance of a Falling Moon – 60%

Endangered Philosophies (2017) was probably the last great album by Dalek, a group that raps but constantly resists convention making their songs more like industrial collages than hip hop rhyming beats. They succeed when the music is great, but here is sort of all blurs together. “Knowledge” is probably the standout, its dark and weird but its just not memorable.

Mclusky – I Sure am Getting Sick of this Bowling Alley EP – 88%

A nice companion to their blistering return last year (The World is Still Here and So Are We (2025) ), this EP is six songs of pure punky silly joy. The best two songs are first, the descending riff of the spastic “I am Computer” and one of the best songs they ever did in “Had a Dad” with the insanely catchy chorus of “In the Piranha was another piranha!” But the charm of bassist Damien Sayell’s “Hi, Were’ on Strike!” and the calmest ballad they have ever done “That Was My Brain On Elves” are also successes, proving the band’s return to form was not a fluke but a resurgence.

Sallis, Richard – Casino – 73%

Since his last record was just about my favorite rock record of 2025, I had big expectations and this album seemed like a step backwards. Then I read in an interview that this was actually an old 2010 or so group of ideas Sallis had for songs and he wanted to release something between Felix (2025) and his next big emotional attempt (unnamed project). Ah, makes more sense now. Well, there still are some amazing tunes especially the complex hard rock of “Mandolin gun” and ballad “Contact Hours”, but it feels a bit lazy and undercooked for a ‘follow up’ to Felix.

Underscores – U – 48%

Unfortunately, Underscores did not go off the promise of the brilliant moments of their 2023 record Wallsocket. All of the fury and innovation has been replaced with a sort of laid back, electro pop with annoying auto tuned vocals. I guess she is trying to appeal to the teenage crowd, but there is a way to do that and still have decent music. Beyond “Do It” which is objectively a better song than the others to me, I can’t latch on to much here.