Half of 2026 is now over. Many records from the year so far have been praised. But some records have not been praised enough. Here are 10 worthy releases from the first six months of 2026 that are worth checking out if you missed them upon release.
Jim E. Brown – Dirt
The year’s funniest indie album, bar none. A self-described “19-year-old boy who suffers from various degenerative conditions and alcoholism,” Jim E. Brown may or may not be the stage name of Philadelphia musician and filmmaker Max Margulies, who makes hilariously deadpan talk-singing post-punk songs with titles like “Ryan Adams Unfollowed Me On Instagram” and “I Am The Fattest Man In The World.” His accent is hard to place — it’s sort of English, I think? — his demeanor is often disgruntled, and his music is extremely basic (the keyboard parts sound like Casio presets). And yet there’s a certain stealth genius going on here.
Cardinals – Masquerade
The members of this young English band were in pre-school during the prime of mid-aughts indie rock. But on their debut album Masquerade, they sound uncannily like a band that would have toured with Spoon or The Walkmen in 2005. The tempos lurch from stately to furious, and the guitars can turn quickly from soothing to scathing. But it’s all presented in a series of compact (and combustible) packages that deliver just the right amount of sugar and vinegar.
Cola – Cost Of Living Adjustment
This Montreal band evolved out of the late, great 2010s era band Ought, who put out several well-regarded albums that unfortunately did better with critics than a general audience. In Cola, they pick up where Ought left off, refining that previous band’s mix of post-punk aggression and art-rock thoughtfulness on a set of songs that evince serious pop appeal. These guys still have plenty of ideas, but they’re also now coming up with more hooks than ever.
Charlotte Cornfield – Hurts Like Hell
It’s hard to make the case this album is under the radar in Cornfield’s home country of Canada — it’s among the year’s releases nominated for the prestigious Polaris Prize. But here in the States, Cornfield’s affecting story songs could use some extra shine. Fans of Waxahatchee will want to pay extra close attention, as Hurts Like Hell unfolds like a series of Carver-esque short stories set to country-rock soundtracks, with Cornfield acting as our empathetic and wry narrator.
Thomas Dollbaum – Birds Of Paradise
This New Orleans-based singer-songwriter made a solid first impression with his 2022 Wellswood, demonstrating an old-school way with narrative songwriting that recalls the best of John Prine and Warren Zevon balanced with more indie leanings inspired by Damian Jurado and Jason Molina. But then a record label dispute delayed the release of his follow-up album Birds Of Paradise by three years. Alas, the wait was worth it for this winning country-indie winner, which features backing from Dollbaum’s pal MJ Lenderman.
Daughn Gibson – Lake Mary Not Mysterious
Back in the 2010s, Daughn Gibson made music for the dark places of the soul — back alleys, haunted amusement parks, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, things of that nature. But after indelibly noirish releases like 2012’s All Hell and 2013’s Me Moan, he seemingly disappeared into the ether, for reasons that are perhaps best left the indie world, for reasons unexplained. (He probably just had a life to live, though I prefer to believe that he holed up in a foreboding cabin somewhere.)
Mildred – Fenceline
In the past few years, David Berman has been one of the most oft-referenced influences in all of indie. So much so that a certain fatigue might be setting in for emerging artists pointing to the late, great Silver Jews singer-songwriter as a north star. But then there’s the Bay Area band Mildred, whose debut Fenceline is one of the best examples of an indie act working in the Berman style. It helps that Mildred is a true band, in which all four members sing and write songs. Even better, they operate more like a co-op than a competitive scrum, and that buddy-buddy vibe makes Fenceline feel like a great hang as much as a great record.
Ovven – Gnawing At The Cord
For his first album as Ovven, Nashville singer-songwriter Owen Burton traveled to North Carolina to work with producer and engineer Alex Farrar, who made his name working with MJ Lenderman and Wednesday. So, it makes sense that Gnawing At The Cord functions as a kind of homage to the indie music that’s come out of that region in the 2020s, specifically Lenderman’s Manning Fireworks and Wild Pink’s Dulling The Horns. Though Burton’s knack for barbecue-friendly guitar jams proves he’s no mere interloper. Few indie albums released this year are as immediately appealing as Gnawing At The Cord.
Sunday Mourners – A-Rhythm Absolute
If you listen to this album without knowing anything about the band, you might assume that Sunday Mourners hail from New York City. And you might also surmise that they put out A-Rhythm Absolute in 1979. Or possibly 2001. But you would be wrong on all counts. Sunday Mourners actually hail from Los Angeles, and A-Rhythm Mourners is one of 2026’s best guitar-rock indie releases. This band excels at punchy street-level anthems that don’t skimp on attitude or bored-sounding insouciance, but they also can go long with solos-heavy jamming in a manner that will make you strain for an original way of saying “this reminds me of Marquee Moon.”
Westside Cowboy – So Much Country ‘Till We Get There
This English band will be releasing their full-length debut It Goes On in August, but in the meantime it’s worth shouting out the EP they put out in January. As the title suggests, So Much Country ‘Till We Get There has some country and folk elements, but it’s filtered through a flinty garage-rock sensibility as well as the endearingly youthful exuberance this quartet brings to their spirited live performances. Westside Cowboy play every song like it has the potential to be the greatest music you ever heard. Even when they don’t quite deliver on such lofty promises, they still manage to light a fire in the soul.
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