Most Anticipated Albums Of 2026
Also: Some thoughts on Oneohtrix Point Never's excellent "Marty Supreme" score
Happy New Year! Thanks again to everyone who has subscribed. That makes a real difference, and it helps get my work directly to you. Look out for the debut of Catalog Club next week.
As we roll into 2026, I want to further lay out what to expect from Evil Speakers. Every week, there will be two posts you can count on — Tuesdays are reserved for Catalog Club, and Fridays are earmarked for my weekly column devoted to new and upcoming music. The latter is where I’ll be reviewing the latest releases and offering my weekly “Recommendation Corner” picks. It’s also where I’ll be doing trend and reaction pieces to any news I find interesting, important, funny or frightening. (But enough about the gaudy streaming numbers for Sombr!)
There occasionally will be more posts outside of those entrenched features. There might be news that feels urgent enough to write about immediately rather than wait for Friday — the death of a beloved artist, for instance, or a major album or tour announcement. I might also, sometimes, run an album review outside of the Friday slot. But I don’t plan on doing that often. A luxury of doing this newsletter is feeling like I don’t have to compete for traffic here. Since I’m speaking directly to a specific audience, I can run reviews right when you are hearing the music in question, which ultimately seems best and most useful to my readers. (This is why I’m writing about the new Dry Cleaning LP next week rather than right now.)
Otherwise, I’ll try to be respectful to your inboxes. I want this newsletter to deliver on your investment — be it your time or your money — but I also don’t want it to feel like spam.
Enough housekeeping. Let’s talk most anticipated albums of 2026. What follows is a list of 10 upcoming releases. Though it’s not ranked in “anticipatory” order. I want to hear all of these albums. Some more than others, I admit. Though I think that will be conveyed by the enthusiasm of my prose rather than the integers in close proximity.
An important note before we proceed: Some of these albums have been announced, some haven’t been announced but I know they exist, and some haven’t been announced and might not exist but it’s plausible they might exist. (In certain cases I deliberately don’t distinguish which is which.)
1. This Is Lorelei
I’m calling it now: What MJ Lenderman was to 2024, and Cameron Winter was to 2025, Nate Amos of This Is Lorelei will be to 2026. The member of a respected indie band (Water From Your Eyes) who breaks out as an undeniable, stand-alone star (in the solo project This Is Lorelei). It’s not exactly a one-to-one comparison — Amos is about a decade older than Lenderman and Winter, for one. But both of those guys have covered Amos’ songs, a confirmation of his growing status as a contemporary tunesmith nonpareil. Also, his career maps out well with Lenderman’s recent trajectory — 2024’s Box For Buddy, Box For Star made him a critical favorite like Boat Songs did for Lenderman, and whatever Amos does next is poised to be the more mainstream Manning Fireworks- style breakthrough.
At this point I need to be vague. I’ll just say that in our interview last month Amos confirmed that “I have the next album of new material finished already.” He also spoke openly about his (surprising) roots in bluegrass, and hinted at how that might translate to his future music. Based on his other public comments, it’s fair to assume this might very well be his most accessible work yet. If you’re not yet on board, get prepared.
2. The War On Drugs
I wrote and talked a lot in 2025 about how the crop of 2010s era indie stars bricked hard with their latest releases. But I haven’t given up completely on the old favorites. That’s especially true of my ultimate 2010s indie era fave, The War On Drugs. I assume anyone who subscribes to this newsletter is already aware of my long-standing love affair with this band. (If not, Google my name and The War On Drugs, and disregard any Ronald Reagan-related literature.)
What is this band’s place in 2026? They’ve never been fashionable, really. In that sense, they seem perfectly suited for elder statesmen’s status. Philadelphia’s answer to Wilco, if you will. (I know Adam Granduciel has been in L.A. for years but they remain spiritually Philadelphian.) But how do zoomers see The War On Drugs? Are they Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits (eternal) or Building The Perfect Beast (a hokey insult to many though clearly not to me)? I honestly have no clue. But I suspect we’ll find out soon. It’s been over four years since their last album, 2021’s I Don’t Live Here Anymore, and they just teased two new songs during their annual run of holiday shows in Philly. Neither tune remakes the formula, though I don’t see that as a problem. War On Drugs albums come out every four or five years now, and nobody does “War On Drugs sounding music” as well as The War On Drugs, despite attempts by many other artists.
Of the new tunes, “Who’s That” (if that’s the actual title and not a taper’s guess) already sounds like a TWOD playlist lock. (The heads will want to check out this entire show, as well as my own words on the subject. As always, god bless the tapers!)
“Who’s That” (Live in Philadelphia, 12/18/25)
“Lucy” (Live in Philadelphia, 12/18/25)
