Okay, hey, hi, hello everyone, Anthony Fantano here, internet's busiest music nerd! Now that the year has really started to get going, we've been getting a lot of very good quality albums that I have been giving glowing reviews to, and I know all of them you have not heard of, so I figured it would be a good time to kind of come through here and do a bit of a Great Albums as a reminder of just a bunch of records over the past month or so that have dropped that I think are really great. And very much worth your time.

Mandy, Indiana - URGH

Let's get into the list starting with the new Mandy, Indiana album, URGH. These guys create these very noisy, industrial, danceable dark room jams that are a mix of French and English. Really awesome Billy Woods feature in the midst of this record too. A lot of lyrical themes revolving around sickness, occasionally healing, but a lot of stress and just negative vibes all around, but there's a lot of visceral, ravey beats throughout this record that make it quite groovy and entertaining. Super quality, you know, I saw a lot of potential in the band's last record and just amazing to see that potential pretty much realized on this very punchy and enjoyable, but trim collection of tracks. So, you know, URGH, if you're at all a fan of bands like Liars, like their early stuff, Model/Actriz, you know, their recent material, I think there's a lot about what Mandy, Indiana does that will appeal to you. So check this album out for sure.

By Storm - My Ghosts Go Ghost

All right. Next, the new By Storm album, My Ghosts Go Ghost, formerly, for-mully, Injury Reserve, now, By Storm. This is the debut album between RiTchie and Parker Corey and they knocked it out of the park. Pretty much my album of the year so far, really an album of the year contender type record. Really amazing fragmented fusions of hip hop and a host of other things. It's very clear, it's very low key, it's very dour, it's sometimes quite, I would say, even acoustic a little bit with some of the guitar passages on this thing. But it's very passionate album, a super abstract record about kind of being haunted by experiences, some good, some bad, in your past. But kind of coming to, you know, I guess a bit of an understanding that those experiences make you who you are, essentially. You know, so, you know, running away from the challenges of life, the difficulties, the scary things, the bad things, the stuff that sometimes help makes you grow, it's definitely not the move.

This is very much a mature person's kind of album, a lot of learning and growing on this record, and just a super fragmented boundary pushing instrumentals and production, RiTchie really pushing himself vocally and lyrically on this record too. I've said this before, I'll say it again, there's not gonna be another album that sounds like this this year. Maybe it'll catch on, you'll hear another record that sounds somewhat like this down the road from somebody, maybe By Storm, who knows? But for sure you are not gonna hear another record that sounds like this in 2026.

Converge - Love Is Not Enough

All right, we have the new Converge album, Love Is Not Enough, is the name of this one. Legendary metalcore outfit is back, yes, hardcore and metalcore fans rejoice, unite. Excellent new 11th album from Converge and a kind of surprising one given that a lot of the band's more recent material, I think, has been defined by a desire, a restless desire, to experiment, to try some new things, incorporate a little post hardcore sludge metal, some slower bits, some melodies, you know, just vary things up a little bit. But this record sees the band playing things super straightforward and leaning a lot more into hardcore punk with some very kind of, dare I say, catchy riffs and choruses from front to back on the record.

A few slow moments here and there to kind of vary things up. But for the most part, this is a very kind of like, meat and potatoes kind of converge record with a lot of very bold and upfront lyrics that reflect on the current state of the world, which I think for a band as fast and as ferocious as Converge, you know, statements like that are going to be pretty punchy, pretty amped, pretty aggressive. This material is no doubt going to sound amazing in the live setting. And yeah, just another very solid album from the band with one of the best and most consistent albums in metalcore and hardcore for sure. So, Converge all the frickin way. Let's continue.

.idk. - e.t.d.s (Even The Devil Smiles)

We have also this new .idk. mixtape, Even The Devil Smiles, which a bit of an unforeseen, you know, hit kind of project for .idk., even he himself has commented on not really knowing that this little tape here was going to take off in the way that it has among his fans and, you know, the greater sort of like rap fandom across the internet. But I do think it is legitimately like his best project so far in terms of production choices, in terms of storytelling, in terms of really digging deep lyrically into a lot of personal stuff here. And best project in terms of variety and tracklist flow as well.

Really good use of some posthumous features from DMX and even MF Doom in the mix as well. Really a growth project for .idk. in a lot of ways. And from what I understand, you know, there is going to be like an album sort of like, you know, to follow at some point that, you know, this kind of tape detour type project was kind of building up to, you know, it was just gonna be like a bit of a pit stop on the way to, but whatever that album is, is sounding anywhere good as this, that record is gonna be amazing for sure. But yeah, you know, this is like a, true project for the heads, .idk. rapping his ass off and sounding fantastic in the process. Super creative record for sure.

Hemlocke Springs - the apple tree under the sea

All right, we have also the apple tree under the sea. Pretty much my pop album of the year so far from none other than Hemlocke Springs just really amazing, bright, fun, over the top, fantastical, sometimes lyrically biblical, synth pop record, indie pop record, just really great vibes all throughout this thing. It's very tight, it's very short, it's very punchy, it's very direct. It's just banger after banger after banger after banger. It's not letting up. Hemlock Springs just putting you in a headlock and just pounding you, just pounding you with one pop bop after the next, just, she don't even care. She's not giving you any room to breathe on this track list. At all.

She was also working with Matthew Burns, who's worked with artists like Lady Gaga, so on and so forth, for this project. And it's definitely made her sound a little bit punchier, a little bit brighter, a little bit more layered, which I think is great. A lot of growth in sound from the Going...Going...Gone! EP, but a lot of growth in Hemlocke Springs' pen game too, because she really does kind of like, adopt this more flowery lyrical style that plays into, you know, the almost like medieval vibes of some of the storytelling and the music videos that have kind of come out in the record's promo cycle. So it's a very interesting and cool album. I also recently had the opportunity to talk to Hemlocke Springs as well and, you know, kind of get into the nitty gritty of the record. And it's a very interesting record for sure. Definitely going to be one of the best pop projects of this year, in my opinion. And we're getting it so early. We're getting it so early in 2026.

Aliyah's Interlude - KUNTOLOGY 101

All right, a couple of shorter projects I would like to shout out before we are all finished, this new Aliyah's Interlude EP. Aliyah's Interlude, if you've been paying attention, has been dropping one banger after the next on platforms like TikTok, has finally assembled those tracks, a lot of those tracks and others on to this little EP project. And it is such a fun hip housey, slay, danceable, confident, catchy and infectious little album that, sorry again, EP, that is just fun from front to back. And yeah, I just don't really have nary a negative thing to say about it. It's just a very fun project. You know, if she can find a way to sort of like, you know, craft some of these songs into bigger moments and statements and kind of pull it together into, an album with kind of a macro picture, that would be amazing, you know? But this collection of just straight up bangers, just no muss, no fuss, is enjoyable too. So definitely check out [KUNTOLOGY]. I cannot say the title, this video will get demonetized. "See you next Tuesday, Ology," but with a K, so use your freaking imagination.

Westside Cowboy - So Much Country 'Till We Get There

And shout out to Westside Cowboy on this new EP, which will also be linked down below. These guys are kind of like a bit of a new buzz on the windmill scene as of late. And if you're looking for some good quality, straightforward indie rock that matches my shirt, I know you're looking for that, then look no further than this project over here because it's got a lot of good tracks on it and very good performances too. I'm looking forward to seeing how these kind of– how these guys grow into, you know, an album cycle.

Those are some great albums.

You guys are the best. I'll see you soon. Thank you for watching. Mwah.

Anthony Fantano, Great Albums, forever.