• Bitter Branches - Let's Give the Land Back to the Animals

I didn’t have high expectations for this week, as there weren’t many albums on my watchlist for March 6th (especially after last week was stacked), but the one I did know of met my high expectations. Then, as always, there were a couple surprises AND a couple of surprise benefit album announcements. So, it ended up being a pretty good week after all.

This week’s featured album is Let’s Give the Land Back to the Animals by Bitter Branches. Bitter Branches is a veritable 90’s hardcore supergroup, with members of Calvary, Deadguy, Lifetime, Lighten Up, Kiss It Goodbye, No Escape, Paint It Black, and Walleye.

Bitter Branches may have the 90’s hardcore background, but their sound is squarely in the Black Flag crossed with The Jesus Lizard realm of hardcore and post-hardcore. The lyrics are everything you’d expect from Tim Singer writing about our current world. It’s a powerful combination.

Anyway, head over to the full review for more.

Benefit Albums

This week was also a really good one in terms of high quality benefit albums: one a compilation and one a legendary abandoned recording session from a legendary band and producer… both releases benefiting some very worthwhile charities, so please be generous!

HELP(2) from War Child Records

→ Purchase on Bandcamp

From War Child Records:

HELP(2) is a brand new collaborative album, inspired by the landmark 1995 release ‘HELP’, which brings music lovers together in support of War Child’s vital work delivering immediate aid, education, specialist mental health support, and protection to children affected by conflict around the world.

All proceeds from album sales support War Child UK to protect, educate, and stand up for the rights of children living through conflict around the world.

HELP(2) features music by Anna Calvi, Arctic Monkeys, Arlo Parks, Arooj Aftab, Bat For Lashes, Beabadoobee, Beck, Beth Gibbons, Big Thief, Black Country, New Road, Cameron Winter, Damon Albarn, Depeche Mode, Dove Ellis, Ellie Rowsell, English Teacher, Ezra Collective, Foals, Fontaines D.C., Graham Coxon, Greentea Peng, Grian Chatten, Kae Tempest, King Krule, Nilüfer Yanya, Olivia Rodrigo, Pulp, Sampha, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg, and Young Fathers.

An impressive collection of musicians and from a couple listens, a charity album that’s worth your purchase and support.

Highlights for me include:

• “Strangers” by Black Country, New Road
• Beth Gibbons covering “Sunday Morning” by The Velvet Underground
• “Parasite” by English Teacher
• beabadoobee covering “Say Yes” by Elliott Smith
• “Obvious” by Wet Leg
• Olivia Rodrigo covering “The Book of Love” by The Magnetic Fields

Albini Sessions by Fugazi

→ Purchase on Bandcamp

Next up is Fugazi’s recording of In On The Killtaker with Steve Albini. From the band:

In the fall of 1992, the members of Fugazi were deep in the process of finishing up the songs that would eventually come out as the “In On The Killtaker” album the following year. The band had been working on the songs for a couple of years and had gotten as far as recording a few of them at Inner Ear as well as making numerous practice recordings, but by late October they seemed to have hit a bit of a wall. In an attempt to shake things up, it was decided that they would take up Steve Albini’s standing invitation to do a free recording at his Electrical Audio Studio, which at the time was located in the basement of his house on North Francisco in Chicago.

The band only planned to record a couple songs with Albini, but everything – from hanging out to the recording process – went so well, they ended up doing all of the songs.

Initial playbacks were positive, but the band (and Albini) continued to listen after the session ended and ultimately came to the same conclusion: the songs felt flat.

Fugazi ultimately went back to Inner Ear Studio to record the official In On The Killtaker with producer Ted Nicely, which was released by Dischord in June 1993.

The band on releasing the recordings now:

To honor Steve, who died in 2024, and to support the work that he and his wife, Heather Whinna, have done with the non-profit Letters Charity organization, Fugazi has decided to make Steve’s entire original mix officially available for the first time in transfers pulled directly from the master tapes.

This is a digital-only release and the band is donating its share of the proceeds to Letters Charity – a nonprofit organization on a mission to use Art as a conduit to transform passive compassion into immediate assistance through the distribution of money given, without expectation or judgment, directly to families experiencing poverty.

Honorable Mentions

HELLHOUND by VIAL

• 💿 Released: 6 March on CandyShop Recordings
• 🤘 FFO: grunge X punk, Mannequin Pussy, Hole, Nirvana, Pinkshift, Destroy Boys
• 🎧 Your first song: “IDLE HANDS”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Strictly 4 The Scythe by Denzel Curry

• 💿 Released: 6 March on Loma Vista Recordings
• 🤘 FFO: southern hip hop
• 🎧 Your first song: “THE SCYTHE (feat TiaCorine & A$AP Ferg)”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Tough Touch by Scout Gillett

• 💿 Released: 6 March on Slouch Records
• 🤘 FFO: alt country x indie rock; Bully x Lucinda Williams x Japanese Breakfast
• 🎧 Your first song: “Song Name”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

• Buck Meek - The Mirror
• Mitski - Nothing's About to Happen to Me

I’m slowly catching up on all the new music from February after re-launching the Crucial Tracks blog here on the main domain.

This week’s releases were quite stellar. I saw February 27th on the New Music Watch calendar and knew it was going to be a good one, with Mitski and Buck Meek, not to mention Iron & Wine, Nothing, and all of the other new albums that fly under the radar. (Including a very late entry courtesy of friend of Crucial Tracks, and a web zine you should be following: foofaraw)

I’m happy to report all of these albums live up to expectations, with Mitski and Buck Meek meeting my criteria for Featured status. Both are very good. Links to the full reviews can be found above!

Don’t miss the Honorable Mentions below, there are seven solid albums for you to check out!

Honorable Mentions

My Days of 58 by Bill Callahan

• 💿 Released: 27 February on Drag City Records
• 🤘 FFO: folk, lo-fi, Smog, Bonnie Prince Billy, Kevin Morby, Silver Jews
• 🎧 Your first song: “Pathol O.G.”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

The Mountain by Gorillaz

• 💿 Released: 27 February on Kong
• 🤘 FFO: Blur X Tyler
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Hen’s Teeth by Iron & Wine

• 💿 Released: 27 February on Sub Pop Records
• 🤘 FFO: folk, Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, Jose Gonzalez, Fleet Foxes, CSNY
• 🎧 Your first song: “In Your Ocean”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

a short history of decay by Nothing

• 💿 Released: 27 February on Run for Cover Records
• 🤘 FFO: My Bloody Valentine, Cloakroom, heavier shoegaze
• 🎧 Your first song: “never come never morning”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Amaro by Bibi Club

• 💿 Released: 27 February on Secret City Records
• 🤘 FFO: darkwave x avant pop
• 🎧 Your first song: “Amaro”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Highway to Heavenly by Heavenly

• 💿 Released: 27 February on Skep Wax Records
• 🤘 FFO: jangle pop, indie pop, twee, Belle & Sebastian, The Smiths, The Modern Lovers, Velocity Girl
• 🎧 Your first song: “Excuse Me”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

And the Voice Said by Tōth

• 💿 Released: 27 February on Egghunt Records
• 🤘 FFO: Rubblebucket, indie / bedroom pop, psych pop, chamber folk, Brian Wilson, Alex G
• 🎧 Your first song: “Spiraling”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

• Worry Club - I'm Freaking Out

The February 20th release week didn’t have any particular album I was looking forward to, but (as always) I found a few projects I found interesting, including I’m Freaking Out by Worry Club, which I am really enjoying. Head over to the full review, linked above.

In terms of Honorable Mentions, I’ve got 5 albums for you… everything from folk and shoegaze to hip hop, R&B, and jazzy art pop. A little something for most folks who follow this blog!

Enjoy!

Honorable Mentions

Dedication by Mirah

• 💿 Released: 20 February on Double Double Whammy
• 🤘 FFO: Thao, Cat Power, Mitski, indie pop X folk X jazz X soul
• 🎧 Your first song: “After the Rain”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Ca$ino by Baby Keem

• 💿 Released: 20 February on Columbia Records
• 🤘 FFO: Kendrick, JID, Tyler, Vince Staples
• 🎧 Your first song: “Good Flirts”

All Monsters by MX Lonely

• 💿 Released: 20 February on Julia’s War Recordings
• 🤘 FFO: TAGABOW, Prize Horse, heavy shoegaze
• 🎧 Your first song: “All Monsters Go To Heaven”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Petal Rock Black by Willow

• 💿 Released: 20 February on Three Six Zero Recordings
• 🤘 FFO: Dirty Projectors, Joni Mitchell, Alice Coltrane, Saya Gray, art pop X jazz
• 🎧 Your first song: “vegetation”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Heaven Ain’t Sold by Choker

• 💿 Released: 20 February on Jet Fuzz
• 🤘 FFO: Frank Ocean, Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, psychedelic soul/R&B
• 🎧 Your first song: “Proof”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

• PONY - Clearly Cursed
• Converge - Love Is Not Enough

What a fun week for new music! I’ve got a handful of new releases I think you should pay attention to… and I don’t think you could possibly pick two featured albums as different from each other as these two records.

Featured Picks

First up is the new PONY record, Clearly Cursed, out on Take This To Heart Records. Clearly Cursed is their third full length record, following up 2023’s Velveteen and their 2021 debut, TV Baby. Fans of indie pop like Beach Bunny, Velocity Girl, and Charly Bliss will love this record.

The second featured record is Love Is Not Enough from metalcore/mathcore legends Converge. Their 11th (!!!) full length record since 1994, it’s my favorite from them in over a decade and definitely a top 5 record in terms of their entire discography. If you love the genre, you most definitely know Converge… but don’t sleep on this release regardless.

Honorable Mentions

The Refrigerator by Remember Sports

• 💿 Released: 13 February on Get Better Records
• 🤘 FFO: alt-country x indie rock, Ratboys, Adult Mom, Cayetana
• 🎧 Your first song: “Across the Line”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Icon by Brent Faiyaz

• 💿 Released: 13 February on ISO Supremacy
• 🤘 FFO: R&B/soul, Daniel Caesar, Frank Ocean
• 🎧 Your first song: “wrong faces.”
• 💰 Support: Official Site

Buckaroo by Katzin

• 💿 Released: 13 February on Mexican Summer
• 🤘 FFO: Sword II, Dirt Buyer, Cardinals, atmospheric indie rock
• 🎧 Your first song: “Wild Horses”
• 💰 Support: Official Site

• Ratboys - Singin' to an Empty Chair

This week was a special one, with the new Ratboys immediately hitting all the right chords. Not only do I think it’s got a really good chance to be a top 10 record for the year, it was an immediate purchase on this Bandcamp Friday. (And I got the limited edition signed version!)

Beyond that top notch release, we have some experimental indie rock with Ulrika Spacek, some emo/slowcore/lofi in Dirt Buyer, and two hip hop records for you to check out this week. Enjoy!

Honorable Mentions

This month also had a few good releases worth exploring. Stay tuned for more discoveries.

Expo by Ulrika Spacek

• 💿 Released: 6 February on Full Time Hobby
• 🤘 FFO: caroline, Squid, Omni, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE
• 🎧 Your first song: “Square Root of None”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Dirt Buyer III by Dirt Buyer

• 💿 Released: 6 February on Bayonet Records
• 🤘 FFO: slowcore, emo folk, indie rock, Current Joys, Surf Curse, Horse Jumper of Love
• 🎧 Your first song: “Bullshit Fuck”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

The Fall-Off by J. Cole

• 💿 Released: 6 February on Cole World / Dreamville
• 🤘 FFO: hip hop
• 🎧 Your first song: “The Villest”
• 💰 Support: Official Site

Piss in the Wind by Joji

• 💿 Released: 6 February on Palace Creek
• 🤘 FFO: Tyler the Creator, XXXTENTACION, Frank Ocean
• 🎧 Your first song: “PIXELATED KISSES”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Just Missed

First up I have a trio of records that just missed making it into the Featured section for this issue. I suspect all three will make it into the top 50 or 60 for the year, so don’t sleep on these releases if the teasers sound good.

Death in the Business of Whaling by Searows

• 💿 Released: 23 January on Last Recordings on Earth
• 🤘 FFO: alt folk, if Phoebe Bridgers fronted a post-rock band, Soccer Mommy, Ethel Cain, Lizzy McAlpine
• 🎧 Your first song: “Dearly Missed”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp | Listen Official Website

My Heart Is A Room With No Cameras In It by Victoryland

• 💿 Released: 23 January on Good English Records
• 🤘 FFO: Animal Collective, Pavement, experimental indie rock/pop
• 🎧 Your first song: “No Cameras”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp | Listen

e.t.d.s. A Mixtape by .idk

• 💿 Released: 22 January on broke records
• 🤘 FFO: Childish Gambino, Kendrick, JID, Vince Staples, Kanye, late 90s/early 2000s hip hop
• 🎧 Your first song: “DEVIL”
• 💰 Support: Listen

Honorable Mentions

Valentine by Courtney Maria Andrews

• 💿 Released: 16 January on Loose Future
• 🤘 FFO: alt-country, folk, Fleetwood Mac, Adrianne Lenker, Cassandra Jenkins
• 🎧 Your first song: “Keeper”
• 💰 Support: Official Shop | Listen | Bandcamp

Don’t Be Dumb by A$AP Rocky

• 💿 Released: 16 January on RCA Records
• 🤘 FFO: Experimental hip hop, psychedelic
• 🎧 Your first song: “Punk Rocky”
• 💰 Support: Official Site

self-titled by Jana Horn

• 💿 Released: 16 January on Cole World / Dreamville
• 🤘 FFO: alt-folk, Florist, Naima Bock
• 🎧 Your first song: “It’s alright”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Also considered:

• Perfect by Immaterialize
• 656 by Roc Marciano
• Not Like Everybody Else by The Damned
• Visions by Alice Merton
• I Am by Lexa Gates
• The Demise of Planet X by Sleaford Mods
• Stand On My Shoulders by Ya Tseen

I’m happy to announce the first new feature of 2026: Mixtapes

Mixtapes defined an entire generation. They tell stories, they share emotion, they are little time capsules that capture the soul of the creator. How could I not add them to Crucial Tracks?

Today, you too can create and share digital mixtapes on the Crucial Tracks app.

Some tidbits:

• I took a different approach with them vs. the regular entries… all mixtapes are public, including the main feed of all mixtapes. Hopefully this helps get people interested in checking out the rest of the app.
• 10 song limit! Get creative 😄 - Side A and Side B, just like old cassette tapes
• One featured image, which shows just like the Jason Molina photo on my example below
• If you have Apple Music integrated, it creates the playlist for you… if not, there’s a place to share the URL of the playlist on another service.
• You can share to Mastodon and Bluesky just like regular entries
• Hearts! These act as both a bookmark for you and a way to show appreciation
• For a first demo mixtape, I moved my Crucial Molina playlist over to the app.

Hope you enjoy! I am really excited how it turned out. (And, as always, let me know if you run into any issues or have ideas to improve!)—

Prompts!

Also, if you are a current user I added a way to submit prompt ideas for the community to use. When logged in, click the Submit Prompt Ideas link on the dashboard… then send me your ideas. I’ve got a review tool that searches to see if any similar prompts exist. If there are no matches, I approve the prompt and it gets added to the queue for others to use. A great way to give back to the community.

• Sault - Chapter 1
• Dry Cleaning - Secret Love

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first issue of Crucial Releases for 2026. In case you missed it, we have my favorite records from 2025 and a special guest list from my part time collaborator and oldest friend, Chris.

In terms of new releases, last Friday was January 2nd so there were very few new releases for that day… making this week the first substantial release week of the new year. And we’ve got a number of records for you to check out this issue!

There’s a wide variety of genre this issue (I love when this happens)… soul/funk, alt-country, post-punk, melodic hardcore, power pop, indie rock – a little something for everyone.

Featured Picks

Let’s dive in with Sault and Chapter 1.

I was introduced to Sault by way of Cleo Sol’s solo albums (she’s the main vocalist on Sault albums) despite Sault putting out records before her solo work. Regardless of the direction or how, Sault operates in the world of alt R&B, soul, and funk that I love… such a good vibe. This record is good from top to bottom, so check out two of my favorite tracks below, then dig into the whole thing.

Dry Cleaning are a post-punk band from London and Secret Love is their third full length album and first since October 2022. This latest album was produced by Cate Le Bon, who put out a critically acclaimed album herself in 2025.

Dry Cleaning combines the angular post-punk of a band like Wire with almost spoken word poetry from vocalist Florence Shaw. Shaw excels in deadpan humor, surrealism, and commentary on mundane life. This gives the band one of the most unique sounds in punk today and when they are hitting on all cylinders, like on Secret Love, it makes for their best work to date.

Honorable Mentions

Within Dreams by Feels Like Heaven

• 💿 Released: 9 January on Scheme Records
• 🤘 FFO: melodic hardcore, Samiam, Fiddlehead, Have Heart, Anxious, Rites of Spring
• 🎧 Your first song: “World Clock”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

With Heaven on Top by Zach Bryan

• 💿 Released: 9 January on Warner Records
• 🤘 FFO: melancholy alt country
• 🎧 Your first song: “Runny Eggs”

Selling a Vibe by The Cribs

• 💿 Released: 9 January on [PIAS] Records
• 🤘 FFO: The Strokes, The Libertines, UK influenced alt rock
• 🎧 Your first song: “Dark Luck”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Below by Glom

• 💿 Released: 9 January on Nettwerk Music Group
• 🤘 FFO: lo-fi X indie rock, Alex G, Porches, oso oso, Wild Nothing
• 🎧 Your first song: “Glass”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

A Binding Life by Home Star

• 💿 Released: 21 February on Born Losers Records
• 🤘 FFO: power pop x emo, Weezer
• 🎧 Your first song: “Milk & Honey”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Anyway, thank you so much for reading, for sending in comments over email, for telling me in person how much you enjoyed an album I posted… for just using the Crucial Tracks app every day. All of it makes me so appreciative of the little community I have surrounded myself with this year. I couldn’t do any of this without you.

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2026. I wish you all the very best.

The Future

With all of that said, here’s what I came up with for the future…

Experimenting with better ways to support musicians

I’m constantly thinking about how to better support musicians in this era of streaming dominance. This has been even more true since I posted Quitting Spotify, ethics, and pay per stream.

One of the most challenging aspects I’ve been thinking about is how to do my Crucial Releases column each week without relying on streaming. There’s Bandcamp for previews, but not every artist or group has a Bandcamp page. There’s YouTube, but not every artist posts every song at release. Free streaming services are out… so, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m going to have to continue using Apple Music streaming for discovery.

What I can do beyond that is commit to buying the vinyl or MP3s of my featured releases each week, whether it real time or utilizing Bandcamp Fridays to maximize the benefit to the artist.

I’m also working on an “owned music” streaming setup with either Plex or Navidrome to stream the music I do own, which is quite extensive from my days of using eMusic or ripping the CDs I purchased over the years. So far I’ve spent the most time with Plex and I’m quite impressed at how well it works.

Of course, I’ll share my adventure in more detail as I figure things out!

Interviews

The Crucial Tracks interviews have been harder than I initially planned when I launched the site. I always have feelers out with a bunch of folks, commitments from a handful of others, and (of course) a list of dream folks I’d love to have participate. Time to turn those feelers and commitments into interviews!

In Year 1, I shared 4 total interviews (including Chris and I), so in reality just two “new” total. In Year 2 (2025) I published 6 total interviews, including 5 with folks I was not friends with before the interview. So that’s a big improvement in my opinion. For 2026, I’d love to share 10-12 interviews from a wide variety of folks. I think I can make that happen…

Other regular content

I’ve experimented with a few regular columns beyond Crucial Releases and the interview series… I’d like to continue those, as well as branch out into other areas, including guest columnists. We’ll see where that goes… but for now, expect:

• Crucial Playlists
  My first pass at something like this was Crucial Molina, where I took a look at Jason Molina’s music in a little more depth. Expect more here, including looks at record labels and music scenes.
• Operation Mainstream
  This is a series where I look at Rolling Stones latest top 500 albums and do a focused listen of albums I wasn’t entirely familiar with, to expand my musical knowledge beyond obscure indie rock, hardcore, and punk bands. 😄
• Music Book Club
  Thinking maybe once a quarter I pick a music related book to read and the community can read along and blog about their thoughts. More to come on that!

The app

The Crucial Tracks app has been wildly more successful than I ever imagined with over 220 members closing in on 4,000 posts. It’s still so fun to read how people respond to the prompts and check out the songs that are shared.

What I’d like to accomplish in 2026:

• Add support for user submitted mixtapes – I think this could be a cool, creative thing for the community, to allow folks to build themed mixes or even their own Crucial Molina type playlist. Lots of possibilities.
• Add support for Desert Island Discs. I’ve gotten a number of requests for album support and I think adding something in this area would fit the general vibe of the app.
• A way for users to submit prompt ideas – simple enough and a good way to expand the prompt options, which is currently at 160.
• Double the number of community members. I’m planning some kind of member drive in Q1 with giveaways and other perks for not only joining the app (it’s free!), but helping me cover the costs of the app and blog as we continue to grow.
• Maybe an iOS app? I think this alone would help me double members, but it’s also the most complicated thing I’ve mentioned so far…

And I’m sure there’s something cool I haven’t even thought of yet… the Crucial Tracks app wasn’t even an idea this time last year.

✌️🤘
–Jason

Regardless of any other site, I try to take my time and make sure I deliver the goods. As a one-man show and someone who listens to a LOT of records over the course of the year (840+ in the last year!) it takes a lot of work and seeing all of these other lists posted so early only adds to the stress. But I kept my blinders on and plowed through an expedited re-listen of my 60 or so finalists for the year.

The good news is my rough tracking during the year has once again provided a pretty accurate framework for this final list. A few albums, like those from Wet Leg, Bartees Strange, Spite House, and quickly, quickly ended up making a bigger jump than I expected, but all in all I was pleased at how well my original list did, considering the sheer quantity of music I consumed this year.

With all that said, I’ll get to the list. It was a pretty damn good year for music if you ask me… I hope you feel the same.

The Rest (21-60)

21. God Save the Gun by Militarie Gun (Listen)
    FFO: post-hardcore, Fiddlehead, Drug Church, High Vis
22. Let God Sort Em Out by Clipse (Listen)
    FFO: Pusha T, Nas, Freddie Gibbs, Jay Z
23. Horror by Bartees Strange (Listen)
    FFO: indie rock X bedroom pop X classic rock X hip-hop X country X electronic
24. private music by Deftones (Listen)
    FFO: shoegaze X metal X post-hardcore
25. Who Let the Dogs Out by Lambrini Girls (Listen)
    FFO: snotty funny political punk, SPRINTS, Amyl and the Sniffers, IDLES
26. Near Death Travel Services by Deadguy (Listen)
    FFO: hardcore, mathcore, Every Time I Die, Botch, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Turmoil
27. Electric Hour by Sword II (Listen)
    FFO: feeble little horse, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE, TAGABOW
28. Belong by Jay Som (Listen)
    FFO: Japanese Breakfast, Soccer Mommy, Snail Mail, Alvvays
29. Ego Death by Hayley Williams (Listen)
    FFO: Paramore
30. System by Prewn (Listen)
    FFO: noisy indie rock X orchestral pop X bedroom pop; PJ Harvey
31. Cowards by Squid (Listen)
    FFO: experimental rock, new wave, jazz, prog rock, and krautrock
32. Never Enough by Turnstile (Listen)
    FFO: post-hardcore, Angel Du$t, Drain, Trapped Under Ice, Drug Church
33. High Wallow and the Supermoon by Saintseneca (Listen)
    FFO: alt folk X indie rock
34. God Does Love Ugly by JID (Listen)
    FFO: Atlanta hip hop, Kendrick Lamar, Outkast
35. Altar by NewDad (Listen)
    FFO: The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Slow Pulp, Cherry Glazerr, 80s and 90s alt rock
36. s/t by Snocaps (Listen)
    FFO: Swearin’, Waxahatchee, P.S. Eliot
37. Cutthroat by Shame (Listen)
    FFO: Fontaines DC, The Murder Capital, IDLES, post-punk
38. Bloodless by Samia (Listen)
    FFO: Indigo De Souza, Squirrel Flower, Soccer Mommy, Gracie Abrams, Angel Olsen
39. Billboard Heart by Deep Sea Diver (Listen)
    FFO: The Shins, Sharon Van Etten, Wye Oak, and Bully
40. Bambi by Anxious (Listen)
    FFO: Fiddlehead, Samiam, Jimmy Eat World, and many other late 90s/early 2000s emo bands
41. Alfredo 2 by Freddie Gibbs and Alchemist (Listen)
    FFO: Clipse, Boldy James, Westside Gunn, Benny the Butcher
42. Caroline 2 by caroline (Listen)
    FFO: experimental rock x emo x folk, Broken Social Scene, Water From Your Eyes
43. Drive to Goldenhammer by Divorce (Listen)
    FFO: Belle & Sebastian, Arcade Fire, Los Campesinos!, Peach Pit, Frightened Rabbit, St. Vincent… along with elements of folk, alt country, prog, post-punk, and shoegaze. Wilco X ABBA?
44. Blame it on the Weather by Kerosene Heights (Listen)
    FFO: Braid, late 90s/early 2000s emo
45. Hell is an Airport by Liquid Mike (Listen)
    FFO: power pop punk, Sugar, Weezer
46. Precipice by Indigo De Souza (Listen)
    FFO: Samia, Wednesday, Soccer Mommy, Snail Mail
47. For Melancholy Brunettes by Japanese Breakfast (Listen)
    FFO: bedroom pop X folk, Snail Mail, Mitski, Soccer Mommy, Jay Som
48. Straight Line Was a Lie by The Beths (Listen)
    FFO: indie rock, power pop, Beach Bunny, Soccer Mommy, Swearin’
49. The Longer This Goes by Forth Wanderers (Listen)
    FFO: Slow Pulp, Great Grandpa, Ovlov, indie rock X emo
50. The Live You Save by Flock of Dimes (Listen)
    FFO: Wye Oak, Sylvan Esso, Madeline Kenney
51. 2 by Foxwarren (Listen)
    FFO: folk x psychedelia x indie rock, Big Thief, Kevin Morby
52. Everybody Scream by Florence + the Machine (Listen)
    FFO: Lorde, Hozier, Lana del Rey, Halsey
53. Planting By the Signs by S.G. Goodman (Listen)
    FFO: Tyler Childers, Margo Price, Waxahatchee, Plains
54. Here We Go Crazy by Bob Mould (Listen)
    FFO; Sugar, Husker Du, power pop
55. Don’t Tap That Glass by Tyler, the Creator (Listen)
    FFO: dance party Tyler
56. Blindness by The Murder Capital (Listen)
    FFO: shame, Fontaines DC, TV Priest, IDLES, Squid
57. Downpour by Charmer (Listen)
    FFO: midwest emo, Anxious, Free Throw, Hot Mulligan
58. Glory by Perfume Genius (Listen)
    FFO: bedroom pop, glam rock, piano ballads, singer-songwriter, folk and everything in between
59. Neighborhood Gods Unlimited by Open Mike Eagle (Listen)
    FFO: intelligent hip hop, billy woods, Armand Hammer
60. And Your Song is Like a Circle by Skullcrusher (Listen)
    FFO: Nick Drake, folktronica, Cranberries, singer songwriter