Next Week in Music | February 16-22 • The Short List: 21 Titles You Want to Hear (Part 1)
By Darryl Sterdan - 2026-02-15
It has been one of those days when nothing works right. Not my fingers; not my brain; not my laptop; not the Internet. So screw it; I give up. But somehow, despite all the roadblocks and setbacks and dumbassery, I have still managed to put together this list of worthwhile music. Here are your plays of the week:
Alexsucks
Autopilot
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Autopilot is yet another reason to run, not walk, to the nearest Alexsucks gig. Opening on a jagged guitar riff, the title track from their new album quickly explodes into a breakneck pace driven by thrumming bass and drums that pop like firecrackers. Harnessing both slacker cool and fiery emotion, frontman Alex Alvarez sings from the POV of someone who’s lost without their other half — who doesn’t yet understand why it’s over or who’s to blame: “If I’m the one that holds the gun / Then tell me why am I bleeding? I’m bleeding / Well so what, we lost control / Autopilot, I need ya, I need ya. ” Alex adds simply, “If you don’t wanna shoot yourself in the foot, then don’t. ” It’s all part of a wild run that finds the band continuing to solidify themselves as the new faces of modern rock.”
Altin Gün
Garip
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Altın Gün, the Grammy-nominated Turkish psych-groove quintet from Amsterdam, return with their sixth studio album Garip — their most ambitious and diverse release to date, and a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Turkish folk bard Neşet Ertaş. Neşet Ertaş (1938–2012) was a beloved icon of Anatolian music; a gifted singer, lyricist, and bağlama virtuoso who carried the spirit of the ashik folk tradition into the modern era. Garip (Strange in English) features ten of his compositions, each reimagined and richly expanded through Altın Gün’s distinctive lens. An electrifying live band with an ever-growing global following, Altın Gün push their sonic boundaries even further on Garip — weaving in lush Arabesque string arrangements, bursts of saxophone, glimmering synth balladry, and a fresh surge of tightly wound rock ’n’ roll.”
The Band of Heathens
Country Sides
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Self-produced with longtime collaborator Jim Vollentine, The Band of Heathens’ landmark new album Country Sides delivers a freewheeling, greasy guitar filled collection of roots-rock packed with barroom piano rockers and soulful swaggering anthems. Long hailed as one of the most fiercely independent bands in rock and roll, the group has built a career outside the traditional music industry and achieved platinum level success doing so. Founded 20 years ago by Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist, their enduring creative partnership evokes the timeless chemistry of Jagger and Richards or Garcia and Weir, built on grit, trust and an unbreakable musical bond. Tracked in just over a week at the band’s studio, The Finishing School, these songs stand among their best yet. The album celebrates self-reliance and life on the margins, underscoring the idea that what’s crafted with care at the edges often outshines what’s mass produced at the center.”
Beggar Weeds
Tragedy in U.S. History
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Formed in Jacksonville, in the mid-1980s, Beggar Weeds were a trio who chased the offbeat — driving miles out of their way on tour to visit strange museums and roadside oddities. Their music reflected that same fascination with the eccentric: a jangly mix of R.E.M., the almost-falling-apart-ness of The Replacements, and the rumbling melodicism of Hüsker Dü, filtered through Southern folk and punk grit. Their lone 1988 EP, Sure Pants Alot, captured their raw, fast, and fiercely melodic sound — equal parts humor, heartbreak, and rural storytelling. Michael Stipe became an early fan, co-producing unreleased sessions that now appear on their career retrospective Tragedy in U.S. History. Their inclusion marks the first time these songs have been officially compiled, making the release a crucial document of Southern indie rock. Tragedy in U.S. History stands as a unique fusion of sounds and personalities — the missing link between the 1980s underground and the alt-country movement of the 1990s. Though they split in 1992, the Beggar Weeds’ blend of punk energy, country heart, and oddball vision remains a hidden cornerstone of Southern indie rock.”
Bobo & Behaja
Aia Haja?
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Isolated from the rest of the group at the front of the plane taking us from Budapest to Zurich, Behaja left without waiting for us, confidently following a group of travellers who had gone to catch their connecting flight. Lost in Switzerland’s largest airport, he had no phone and he speaks neither French, English nor German. After an hour and a half of searching and several public announcements to the thousands of travellers, the airport police, initially uncooperative, finally found him at the end of a corridor. Finally reunited, We managed to catch the transfer to paris at the last minute, but some of the suitcases — checked in hastily — were loaded into the hold of a different plane. A few days later, we set off to record our first album, deprived of much of our equipment — horn loudspeakers, karaoke amplifiers and homemade effects pedals that reproduce the sonorities of the “bal-poussière” ceremonies of south-western madagascar — which the airline sent us after a week’s wait. So it was only during the last two days in the studio that the conditions were right for recording the tracks for this album. The repertoire, largely created in Madagascar and then performed on stage during a European tour of some 30 concerts, is based on the new rhythms, structures, instrumental and vocal techniques of contemporary tsapiky, of which behaja is one of the most emblematic musicians.”
Liz Cooper
New Day
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The thing about finding yourself is there’s always another corner to turn. Vermont singer-songwriter Liz Cooper made her third album during a period of intense self-discovery and reinvention. She moved to New York for the first time, weathered a pandemic, came out to herself after falling in love with a friend, and experienced her first queer relationship and breakup, all in the course of a few years. New Day marks both a personal and a musical revolution for Cooper — a plunge into psychedelic pop depths and a fullhearted reflection of a whirlwind chapter in her life. These songs scintillate with the kind of self-confidence that only beams through after you’ve aimed a sharp gaze inward and realized that whatever you see will always keep darting ahead of you. In making New Day, Cooper radically overturned her habitual approaches to making music. Rather than writing with a full band behind her, she recorded demos alone in her apartment, learning day by day to trust herself as she forged her new sound. “I needed to show up for myself to finish writing something that felt impossible,” Cooper says. “New York really challenged me to become a better writer, artist, and person. Living there made me ask myself, why am I making this? Why am I doing any of this? What’s the point? I was tired of being pigeonholed as a guitar player and Americana artist. I needed to follow my own creative bliss.”
The Enemy
Social Disguises
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Enemy have announced their first album in more than a decade. The Coventry trio’s long-awaited fourth studio album Social Disguises is their first full-length project since 2015’s It’s Automatic. For fans of their blistering debut We’ll Live And Die In These Towns, this new chapter promises a return to form with fresh emotional depth. Reuniting in 2022 with their original lineup — Tom Clarke (vocals/guitar), Andy Hopkins (bass) and Liam Watts (drums) — The Enemy have spent the past few years reigniting their live firepower with sold-out headline shows, festival slots, and a run on the Indie Til I Die tour alongside The Subways and The Holloways. Behind the scenes, they were crafting Social Disguises, a record designed to recapture the raw energy and youthful urgency of their early days, while reflecting the hard-earned wisdom of a band that’s weathered the industry’s highs and lows. Produced by longtime collaborator Matt Terry — who previously helmed fan favourite 40 Days and 40 Nights and the Top 20 hit No Time For Tears — the album is the result of two years of intense creative work.”
Ally Evenson
Speed Kills
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Over the course of 14 tracks, Ally Evenson’s forthcoming album Speed Kills sees her process the aftershocks of a breakup: the ensuing anxiety, profound sadness, newfound confidence, and ultimately, self-actualization. Co-producing with longtime collaborator and trusted musical confidant nydge, she’s in the driver’s seat on Speed Kills. She sums it up best, “All of these songs are about me and my life. You’re getting who I am on Speed Kills. This is a study of myself. ” Evenson has garnered both critical acclaim and a rapidly growing fanbase with her potent alt-pop songcraft, fueled by equal parts emotional introspection and intellectual bite. Now, she continues her already remarkable knack for self-aware songwriting and sharp-edged reflection, paving the way for an exciting body of work to come.”
Brian James
Kicks And Diabolik Licks
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The final album by music legend Brian James (founding member and songwriter of both The Damned and Lords Of The New Church and writer of the first British punk single New Rose), who sadly passed away earlier this year. Guest vocalists include Dirty Al from The Dirty Strangers and Ramona from The Mo-Dettes.”
Laughing Hyenas
That Girl: Live Recordings 1986-1994
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Third Man Records is proud to announce the first-ever live anthology from Ann Arbor noise-rock legends Laughing Hyenas. That Girl: Live Recordings 1986-1994 collects 18 ferocious tracks — painstakingly compiled by founding member John Brannon from his personal archive of cassette tapes and then transferred, mixed, and mastered by Grammy-winning producer Bobby Emmett (Sturgill Simpson, Jack White) — that showcase the band’s full-on sonic groove assault in its purest, most unadulterated and gloriously abrasive form. With their roots firmly planted in Detroit’s punk and hardcore scene of the early ’80s, Brannon (Negative Approach) and Larissa Strickland (L-Seven), along with the locked-in rhythm section of bassist Kevin Strickland and drummer Jim Kimball (and later, former Necros bassist Ron Sakowski and drummer Todd Swalla), Laughing Hyenas took aggressive rock ’n’ roll to a completely different plane.”
