There’s a particular kind of artist who only finds their voice once they step away from the noise, away from the scenes, the cities, the expectations. For Canadian-born songwriter and producer Joel Durksen, better known as Spouses, that moment arrived not in a studio, nor on a stage, but on a remote horse-breeding farm in southern Iceland. It’s here, in a loft above a stable, that I Could Be Your Dog was born, a stark, intimate, quietly radical alt‑folk record shaped by isolation, reinvention, and a refusal to compromise.

Everyone Says Hi are easing into the year with a warm, woozy slice of psyche‑indie goodness. The indie‑pop supergroup, featuring members of Kaiser Chiefs, The Kooks, The Dead 60s and Howling Bells, have dropped their new single “Just Like That”, the first taste of their upcoming sophomore album due later in 2026.

Just three days after the release of their latest EP, Wake Up, Sleepyhead, Colour TV are back with a bang, delivering their latest high-energy gig at the newly renovated Barbican Theatre. 

On Sunday 27th September, The Lemonheads roll into ARENA in Torquay, giving you a perfect excuse to dive back into Evan Dando’s bittersweet universe of slacker romance, self‑sabotage and accidental pop perfection.

Here’s a curated top 10 song by song, album by album, digging into where each track came from and what’s really going on under those jangling guitars.

Kiefer Sutherland has always lived in two worlds, the Hollywood icon with a face everyone knows, and the songwriter who slips into dimly lit venues to tell stories that feel far more personal than any script. With his new single “Goodbye California”, he leans fully into the latter, delivering a warm, wistful farewell to the place that shaped him.

Antony Szmierek has never been one to stand still. Eighteen months on from his breakout debut, the Manchester-born poet‑turned‑producer returns with Decoding Birdsong, a second album that pushes his sound into widescreen territory while keeping his trademark lyrical precision razor sharp. The record lands 21st August via Mushroom Music / Virgin Music Group and arrives with a cast of collaborators that reflects just how far his world has expanded: Pretty Girl, Los Bitchos, 1‑800 GIRLS, Imogen and the Knife, and rising indie-pop star Ellur all feature.

Fresh from firing up 50,000 fans at Coventry City’s WE ARE BACK: LIVE promotion party in War Memorial Park, The Enemy have revealed plans for a celebration of their own, and it’s a big one. The Coventry trio will mark 20 years of their landmark debut album We’ll Live And Die In These Towns with a massive hometown headline show at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Saturday 20th March 2027.

Scottish avant‑pop maverick Gurry Wurry – the wonderfully off‑kilter project of Dave King – is back with another slice of crooked, colourful pop in the form of new single ‘The Gun Was A Quaker’, landing 29th May. It’s the first taste of his third album Glue, a record that wrestles with the art of breaking things and the impossible task of putting them back together again.

Taunton is gearing up for a serious dose of nostalgia‑fuelled euphoria this August as Electric Summer, a brand‑new festival for the South West, prepares to roll out the neon carpet for three of the 80s’ most enduring icons: Howard Jones, Heaven 17, and Blancmange.

Essex punk duo The Meffs are not here to make anyone comfortable — and their new single ‘Disorder (Wake Up)’ proves it. Dropping as the second preview of their upcoming album Business (out 11th September via FLG), the track is a razor‑edged call to arms aimed squarely at the systems that divide us.

Abrasive Trees have always occupied the shadowy edges of the UK’s experimental underground, a band drawn to tension, texture and the emotional weight that sits between silence and eruption. But with their debut full‑length album Light Remaining, released 29 May via Argonauta Records, the trio step into a new phase: bolder, heavier, more expansive, and unmistakably their own.

After a whirlwind 18 months that’s seen them sell out headline tours, storm festival stages and earn praise from every corner of the music press, Manchester five‑piece The Guest List have announced their long‑awaited debut album Something Real, landing August 28th.

More than three decades into a career defined by fearlessness, reinvention and emotional precision, Tori Amos has released her 18th studio album, In Times of Dragons — a sweeping, allegorical work that blends political urgency with the mythic storytelling that has long made her one of modern music’s most singular voices.

Pigeon have never been a band to colour inside the lines. The Margate‑rooted psychedelic five‑piece — a collision of cosmic groove, West African vocal tradition and free‑flowing improvisation — release their long‑awaited debut album OUTTANATIONAL today via Memphis Industries, alongside a brand‑new single, the punk‑funk‑charged “Future Country”.

With a string of award nominations and a reputation as one of the UK’s most reliable purveyors of high‑octane rhythm and blues, The Milk Men are gearing up for a huge 2026. They recently announced the release of their brand‑new single ‘Waiting For Some Rock’n’Roll’, available across all major platforms.

After three decades of carving out their own lane in progressive, story‑driven rock, Little King hit the road this March for their Lente Viviente Tour — a run that took them across New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and even over the border for a surprise pop‑up show in Mexico. Now, the Phoenix‑based trio are giving fans a deeper look at the chaos, camaraderie and creativity that fuelled the journey.

Southern California’s electronic provocateurs NORMANS have announced their debut album Faust Demonica, arriving 5th June 2026 on Solid Brass, and if their early output hinted at confrontation, this record makes it explicit. The trio of Matthew Reid, Michael Perry Rudes, and Kyle Souza have spent the past three years forging a sound that sits somewhere between post‑punk, industrial discipline and noise‑driven physicality. With Faust Demonica, they push that tension into its most deliberate and refined form yet.

Two of Britain’s most enduring and influential bands, Manic Street Preachers and Suede, are joining forces for a major co‑headline arena tour this autumn, marking one of the biggest alternative‑rock pairings the UK has seen in years. The run kicks off at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on 28 October before rolling through Leeds, Manchester’s new Co‑op Live, a two‑night stand in Cardiff, London’s O2, Birmingham, Nottingham and Bournemouth.

Shambala Festival has dropped a major new wave of programming for 2026 — its first edition since becoming the UK’s first employee‑owned festival — and it’s a monster. More than 80 new artists join the bill, alongside heavyweight speakers, political fire‑starters and a UK‑exclusive residency from the world‑leading science laboratory CERN.

Swedish Earth Music artist Gaeya has announced her new EP Growth, arriving June 19th 2026 to coincide with the Midsummer celebrations, a moment of light, renewal and ritual that aligns perfectly with the record’s themes. To mark the announcement, she has released her powerful new single ‘Higher Ground’, a soaring, elemental track that blends ethereal synths, tribal percussion and Gaeya’s unmistakably expansive vocals.