2026 - Albums
Another forum for discussion and rating albums. 2025.
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” – Harry S. Truman
2026 - Albums
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Albums 2026
| Band | Votes | 2026 Album | Connors' Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond Cruelty | 0 | Beyond Cruelty - EP | Mar26. My first album of 2026 to comment on takes us to the Netherlands. Described as hardcore punks on Bandcamp, I don't hear a lot of hardcore (except for second half of Sensibility) but they are a punk band more in line with NOFX's heavier songs. I'd say more skate punk. They share some sounds with bands like Bodyjar too - especially the guitars. Whoah, even Magic Dirt in Good For Me. The singer reminds me of another punk vocalist, but I cannot think who right now. The sound is solid, but little leaps out at me. The bass-lines in some songs like All or Nothing are good. Fav4: Solid Ground, Good for Me, Sensibility and All for Nothing. Hard to pick four when there are five actual tracks and all are good. A Good+ punk EP. 4.5/7 |
| BLVCKHELICOPTERS | 0 | By Any Means - EP | Mar26. You know when you go to a band's website and it has a manifesto that this is serious shit. The album title might also give that away and the lyrics certainly have an impact. This is electronic music I can get behind. Most songs thump along with a punk pace with yelled vocals and electronic beats. The riffing is awesome too, even if it is not real guitars (I have no idea). The punk parts reminded me of Bad Nerves which was weird. The impact of the lyrics was what really got me coming back for more. I love singing along to this and I love listening to socially aware music throwing flame on rich arseholes in charge. So spot on about how the common people need to unite instead of letting the rich media and fuckwit leaders divide us. This takes me back to how I felt when I first heard Fever 333. If you like Rage Against the Machine-level heaviness in sound and lyrics then check this out. There is also a heavy rap feel to songs - think NWA and darker side of Public Enemy. The first three tracks are absolute fire. Things drop off a bit from there and the impact is a little lost with all seven songs screaming about the same evils. I have heard other songs by BLVCKHELICOPTERS (actually the brainchild of one guy, Michael Maus) and some were not as heavy - maybe one lighter song here would have been a good breather. I'm not sure how I feel about song five, but the rest are awesome anger put to music. Fav4: Join the Cult, Propagandized, Unite Die and Misdirected Violence. If you want full on rage and want to vent, put this EP on! 5.5/7 |
| Taker | 0 | Sons & Daughters | Mar26. I have played this many times in the background whilst writing and working. This is in my alley. I guess it is Ramonescore, as a lot of it reminded me of The Methadones. Four songs stood out on all those initial plays and they were not all the ones with the most plays. It was mostly the melodies that stood out to me. Game of Pricks starts out like a The Menzingers song, but then goes all alt-rock - almost Dinosaur Jr-like. Then album closer Divider, which is a cracker boogie track actually starts with a Motley Crue riff. I am thumbing more songs on this listen. I have heard people say there is a lack of variety on here, but I hear quite a bit of change in pace and song lengths vary too. Fav4: For You, Town, Divider, and We Don't Call, but Reach Out is stiff to miss. I enjoyed this. 5.5/7 |
| New Found Glory | 0 | Listen Up! | Mar26. I have a confession to make. I don't really know any New Found Glory albums. Sure, I know a lot of their hits and everytime I hear a song (even from recent albums) they tend to go into my lists, but I have never dived deep into albums and could not even tell what album most of their big songs are from. Well, I heard 100% as a pre-release single last year and thought the same will happen again. But then I had a first listen to this album along with the Punk Rock Radar guys for something to do. Well, I thumbed every track bar one on that very first listen. Having heard a lot of these songs several times since (as they are in my very short at this time of year 2026 playlist) and most are getting better with each listen, including 100%. Unlike the Punk Rock Radar guys, I loved the "Whoooahs' in You Got This - such a catchy song. I would love to hear this live and chant along. The album starts well with Boom Roasted and its pisstake on bands just out to boost their social media profile and make money. Things stay strong with 100% into Laugh It Off with its Sum 41-like, heavier riff. Things don't let up there, either. Albums often fall-off through the middle or second side, but this one does not. A Love Song also has a great riff and is not a slow ballad and Beer and Blood Stains is an instantly likeable track with its distorted riff not a world away from bands like The Story So Far (who I am sure modelled themselves on bands like NFG). We even get some alt-rock and fantastic bass in Medicine which brings some The Offspring fun and references another band (which always gets my attention, and it is Unwritten Law again). I am just loving it more every time I hear it and keep finding new favourites. This really is one of those albums where a Fav4 is hard, but here they are today: You Got This, 100%, Laugh It Off and A Love Song, but shit, there are least three very stiff not to be in there. 6.5/7 |
| Forgetaboutit | 0 | Orchestrated World | Mar26. A few songs from this album made their way into my 2026 playlist early in the year and I have been loving them. After a few plays through the whole album I am loving them even more. This sounds like peak 1990s skate punk - the best bits. And the band is from Oslo, Norway - not my usual go-to for punk bands (unlike their neighbours). That awesome buzzsaw guitar and fantastic pace kicks off the album at a blistering pace. But they do know how to mix up the pace. Second song Dead Alive alone has several changes. What Went Wrong? and No Way Out are going straight to the top few songs of my 2026 list, but I just found out the former was released as a single at the end of 2024, so, happy for it to be in both lists. Both absolute cracker anthems about how shit humanity can be. Standing out is the change-ups in the songs and often the second half have the best bits. Reminds me of what I wrote for No Fun At All's The Big Knockover. Sure, they do straight-up skate punk, but then on songs like Still Running there is a real My Chemical Romance vibe. Disorder and Dismay has a cracking Bad Religion like finish. There are Pulley sounds: One Way Ticket reminds me of a cross of them and F.O.D.. Rise Against guitars kick off Point of No Return. The singer sometimes sounds like Feldman from Goldfinger (when that band plays heavier stuff). Not all subject matter is serious. Like the 90s punks before them, they have songs about drinking, the punk rock scene and wasting time. I was wondering whether the band could fire across a whole album, as sometimes I wish bands would put out amazing EPs instead, but that is not the case here. This album rips until the end, including the last, long track - helped by a short song prior to it. Fav4: What Went Wrong?, No Way Out, Disorder and Dismay, and One Way Ticket but just about any song here could take those last two spots, including the longer album title track. I love every song and sound on this album. Top20 album for the decade so far! 7/7 |
| Bladders | 0 | Bloody Guy - EP | Mar26. Before I start: cool name for a band and fantastic album cover. When I first heard the opening chords on this I thought I had a metal album, but they soon settle into the melodic skate punk lane - and this new to me band from Spain do it well. They approach hardcore in parts including the last track. This is a cracker of an EP. Check out that riff and pace of second song Continental Breakfast. I love the shouted and slightly husky vocals too. The title track has a cool bass intro. I love my EPs and this one has 5 songs clocking in at 10 minutes. That is awesome, but the songs are so good I was hoping for more. Fav4: Continental Breakfast, Bloody Guy, Broken Glass and Just Pray but I thumbed them all. Excellent EP. 6/7 |
| Bodyjar | 0 | R.A.R.E. - EP | - |
| Social Distortion | 0 | Born to Kill | May26. From that extended opening riff, I was all in on the title track when I first heard it. It still sits in the #1 spot on my 2026 song list. I have heard some luke-warm comments on this one, but I love it. Those opening lines say it all: "Well some people said, yeah, it couldn't be done, but revolution can sure be fun." Brilliant. Although a bit repetitive in the chorus, No Way Out has become another favourite. I must say I have really connected with Mike's lyrics on this album. Maybe it is that realisation of getting old(er). And I sure love a song that 'takes me back in time', especially to childhood and young adult memories, and The Way Things Were ticks all the boxes for me. After a song where the chorus is quite repetitve we get a song that does not have one lyrically (as some lines are changed each time), just the line "and we said goodbye to the way things were" at the end of each verse. So, three very good tunes to start an album, and it continues with the bluesy Tonight with those distinctive guitars. I could hear Johnny Cash belting this one out with Mike if he was still around. Up next is the second single, Partners in Crime. This is also a cracking tune. I love how those bridges just build, and again barely a chorus to be seen (just the 'Aahhhs') and the guitars really shred on this one. Things slow down for the honky-tonk of Crazy Dreamer. Not a favourrite, but I like it, especially the inclusion of female vocals and piano. Their cover of Wicked Game suits their style and they do a fine job but things pick back up for me with Walk Away. The chorus reminds me of popular 80s pop-rock and Never Going Back Again opens with a stomp that reminds me of the Angels. Don't Keep Me Hanging On with its sappy lyrics and repeated chorus could be the most accessible Social Distortion have sounded. Then they finish with the cool Over You that channels some 70s rock 'n' roll-influenced punk. Is that some cool boogie piano in the second half? Yeah, this is a fun end to the album. This song is stiff to miss my Fav4. Fav4: Born to Kill, Partners in Crime, No Way Out and The Way Things Were. A great first half and end to an overall very good album. Right now, it is a tad better than Very Good in fact. 5.5/7 |
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” – Harry S. Truman
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