Here’s my third playlist of 2026 songs taking up ample real estate in my earbuds—check back in December for a definitive, cumulative year-end mix.
1. Trashcan Sinatras, “The Bitter End”: If their album of the same name ends up their final one following the death of guitarist John Douglas, they’re going out a high: this feels instantly comfortable and properly anthemic, as if Cake came out yesterday rather than decades ago.
2. 2nd Grade, “Cellophane Girls”: Jangle-pop edging closer to Fountains of Wayne than anything I’ve heard since that band’s 2011 swan song, although Peter Gill’s vocals are disarming rather than snide.
3. Meshell Ndegeocello & Cat Power, “Don’t You Want Me”: The best cover versions honor the originals while reimagining their capabilities; resetting Human League’s pioneering synth-pop to a loping, reggae beat sounds dicey on paper but works beautifully in practice.
4. Rachel Chinouriri, “One Song Away From Crying”: She evolves from a cheeky weirdo to something fuller, more mature but not lacking in perspective. This could come from the recent Arlo Parks album, which might prove encouraging (or not).
5. Kate Bollinger, “Shop Girl”: Following her credited appearance on last year’s Cut Copy jam “Belong To You”, her new EP’s title track could be from an obscure musical or a deep cut on a long lost late ‘60s baroque-pop album.
6. Sorry, “Tom Will Smack Your Ass”: The title got my attention as I’ve known a few Toms in my day; the little noise the vocalist (or is it the guitarist?) makes to approximate said smacking is perfectly centered in the mix, neither obtrusive nor lost in the shuffle.
7. Logic1000 & Christine and the Queens, “The Only One”: Previously unfamiliar with Logic1000, but CATQ’s one of my favorite artists of the past decade and this is another solid banger to hold us over until their own next album.
8. Carly Rae Jespen, “Don’t Leave Me On The Dancefloor”: Her Kylie Minogue tribute is a highlight of Day and Night and deserves to be her own “Dancing On My Own”.
9. Katie Pruitt, “Little Boxes”: She’s either becoming more country, more folk or even more difficult to categorize. Love the layered wordless vocals that seem to materialize out of thin air at the end.
10. L’Rain, “Borderline”: Falling down the rabbit hole, morphing from the R&B-inflected folk of Stevie Wonder’s “Visions” into total psychedelic splendor, it’s much like the rest of their brilliant album Fata Morgana but a teensy more pop.
11. Pond, “Roebuck Plains”: Still hard to get a handle on these Aussies but this choice cut from Terrestrials goes for that Kinks-meets-The Three O’clock-meets-Jellyfish sweet spot and of course I’m down for that.
12. This is Lorelei, “The Kid With The Crown”: I stand corrected as this is nearly as Fountains of Wayne-esque as 2ndGrade; I’m sorry I previously avoided this artist because of their inexplicable name.
13. Imperial Teen, “A Single Chair”: They’ve become dependable with their album-every-seven-years cycle but if that’s what it takes to come up with consistently great indie-pop, so be it. Hope they play this when I see them live for the first time later this week.
14. Perfume Genius, “Natural High”: Much of this is a dirge and nothing new for Mike Hadreas until it shifts dramatically a few minutes in (I won’t spoil how) and, without overstating things, achieves transcendence
15. Haute & Freddy, “Anti-Superstar”: This mostly aligns with my version of dance-pop: somewhat arch, subtly clever (say that band name out loud really fast!) and glistening with hooks.
16. The Darling Buds, “Hey Saint Jude”: They’ll never recapture the highs of their late 80s/early 90s incarnation but their second reunion effort is pleasant, agreeable stuff, especially this lead single with singer Andrea Lewis sounding as lovely as ever.
17. Troye Sivan, “Cowboy”: Our favorite musical twink is growing up and while I need to spend more time with She’s The Best, this engaging mid-tempo sigh points firmly in the right direction.
18. Orville Peck, “Too Little, Too Late”: I feared he’d be a one-album wonder but Peck’s albums keep getting better; this lead single from Pony suggests his pop sense is as stable as his rock and country senses and even better whenever he blends all of them together.
19. Sylvan Esso, “On & On”: The section at the end when the previously minor-key chorus shifts to a major key is immensely moving and encapsulates the vitality of this laptop-pop duo more than a decade after their debut.
20. The War on Drugs, “Who’s That”: Textbook for this indie-heartland rock band but at least it’s warmly familiar rather than predictable or derivative.
