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Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds  Mutiny After Midnight

The second album under his alter ego finds Simpson howling about sex in glorious detail Rolling Stone

Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds  Mutiny After Midnight

The project is messy and intentional and overflowing with stimulation. The record doesn’t care if you can’t keep up with its whiplash, because Simpson couldn’t slow down long enough to wait for you Consequence Of Sound

Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds  Mutiny After Midnight

The outrageous and funky new album from the artist formerly known as Sturgill Simpson raises a simple question: What if we could fuck our way to a better world? Pitchfork

Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds  Mutiny After Midnight

Sturgill Simpson’s second Johnny Blue Skies album is a drug-induced, nude-romp riot taking place at the collapse of American democracy Paste Magazine

Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds  Mutiny After Midnight

This record’s full engagement with its modern moment refuses to engage on that moment’s terms, instead offering its own blissful, unified escape. Print edition only Uncut

The Orielles  Only You Left

The band deserve all kinds of praise for pulling off the somewhat rare feat of being both musically adventurous and emotionally gripping on Only You Left; it feels like the destination to which all their previous excursions were leading and is a fine example of indie rock at its all-around best All Music

The Orielles  Only You Left

A circle completed? Not quite - The Orielles have never dealt in such concise shapes DIY

The Orielles  Only You Left

It is worth the four-year wait, showing their evolution as a group in that time, building on existing sounds and incorporating an array of different genres while still feeling familiar. There is plenty to enjoy even for newcomers to the band’s work Clash

The Orielles  Only You Left

It feels almost improvised half the time, but there's a quiet, escalating intrigue to their murmurings. Print edition only Record Collector

The Orielles  Only You Left

On this outing it sounds more like step-by-step calculation than natural evolution. Print edition only Uncut

The Orielles  Only You Left

It's to the band's credit, then, that Only You Left spins in its own unpredictable orbit, pulling out new mysteries from their off-centre helix of goth, shoegazing and post-punk. Print edition only Mojo

Kim Gordon  Play Me

Kim Gordon proves herself again as a worthy spokesperson on the plight of modern-day life through her own unending experimentation. For a 2026 experimental capitalist-critique, dedicate half an hour of your time to this album. You won’t regret it Clash

James Blake  Trying Times

‘Trying Times’ doesn’t offer answers so much as companionship in uncertainty. Blake has long been fascinated by the fragile spaces between people. Here, he suggests that love isn’t what rescues us from those moments; it’s what convinces us to stay a little longer Clash

Kim Gordon  Play Me

Kim Gordon’s third solo album is the most populist and literalist music of her career. Her sharp style and wit remain, but absurdity and ambiguity are missed Pitchfork

James Blake  Trying Times

On his first self-released album, the producer and songwriter draws from pop music and classic R&B for a pleasantly all-over-the-place set about love and existential dread Pitchfork