By WDCE Music Directors
:: Back with a passion, the MDs bring you the freshest of the fresh and the newest of the new! Just don’t fact check that publish date…
:: September 20, 2026
:: Freak Slug — Amulet
Genre: Lo-Fi Pop
Release Type: Album
Release Date: September 18, 2026
Recommended Tracks: “Wishing Bone,” “One Trick Pony,” “Jade Green,” “Girl, Intentions”
Freak Slug’s 2025 album “I Blow Out Big Candles” quickly became one of my favorite pop releases that year. It was gloomy, nearly gothic and unabashedly erotic. The Manchester-based artist took her indie-psychedelic roots into a hauntingly pop-y direction. It hooked me and suffice it to say, I had high expectations for “Amulet.” When I popped it open and listened inside, I was met with a more reserved album. It’s a subtle mixture of her past six years of work. It locked me.
— Jonathan Sackett
Elephant Stone — ASHA
Genre: Indie-Psychadelia
Release Type: Album
Release Date: August 28, 2026
Recommended Tracks: “Everything Evil,” “I Got A Pill,” “Parallel and Contrary Motion”
Three weeks after its release, Elephant Stone’s “ASHA” has steadily risen up the ranks of the college radio charts. The gradual rise of the Montreal band’s eighth album mirrors that of the band itself. Since its debut nearly two decades ago, Elephant Stone has evolved the sound of psychedelic music through its implementation of South Asian instruments, such as the sitar, tabla and dilruba. “ASHA” is a feast for the psychedelic-ly predisposed. It’s an upbeat, sometimes frantic, but always grounded release that, to the unengaged listener, masks its salient yet slightly-sarcastic lyricism behind catchy, timeless instrumentation. Elephant Stone is a psychedelic trip loomed over by mature melancholia.
— Jonathan Sackett
Slow Pulp — Melodie
Genre: Indie Rock
Release Type: Album
Release Date: September 18, 2026
Recommended Tracks: “Red Car,” “Spill,” “Up to You”
Slow Pulp’s new album is a lovely serving of hazy ‘90s nostalgia, served up by lead singer Emily Massey. It feels like a modernized, slightly more poppy version of the Slowdive or Mazzy Star that you would’ve found in a record store in 1993. The lead single, “Better Man,” is an energetic anthem that stands out from the rest of the mostly subdued project. It’s a welcome departure from their usual sound, but the band continues to sound most at home on the softer songs about the passion and insecurity of young love. “Spill,” one of my favorites on the album, slowly builds as Massey desperately asks “Could you say that you love me?/Say it out loud, I wanna find out.” It’s safe to say that this project will fit snugly into my fall rotation for the next couple of months.
— Declan Devilbiss
Rodrigo y Gabriela — OurHome
Genre: Nuevo Flamenco
Release Type: Album
Release Date: September 18, 2026
Recommended Tracks: “OurHome,” “Somos Como Tú,” “Akatsuki,” “Is In Your Pocket”
Rodrigo y Gabriela are still at the top of their game 24 years after their debut. The Grammy-winning guitar duo from Mexico draws from Flamenco traditions, but the evolution of their sound finds them exploring jazz, classic rock, and even lo-fi. The album is mostly instrumental with the exception of “Somos Como Tú,” the duo’s first-ever song with words in it. It tackles immigration, displacement and colonialism over a Latin groove. It’s a powerful moment and the lyrics are defiant. On the rest of the album, Rodrigo y Gabriela develop a serene sound that’s clearly influenced from their recent travels in Japan – the project was self-produced in Tokyo. Their collaboration with acclaimed jazz pianist Hiromi creates a fascinating mixture of musical traditions. If you’re tired of words in your music or just want to hear some excellent guitar, you should give OurHome a spin.
— Declan Devilbiss
Beabadoobee – Pylon
Genre: Indie Pop
Release: Album
Recommended Tracks: “Sun Has Set,” “Radio,” “Powerlines”
Beabadoobee has always been a pop artist that set herself apart from the musicians she often gets grouped together with. She’s never boring, and she’s often original. I see her as a more upbeat Olivia Rodrigo, as they focus so much on instrumental production, and make their classic-rock influences very apparent. Beabadoobee has made a noticeable shift from her earlier albums and EPs, which had a soft-spoken, singer-songwriter sound. Even her poppier songs like “If You Want To” from 2018 still had a moody undertone. As her career progressed, she dived more into the indie-rock sound, switching to electric guitars and crashy drums, climaxing at her 2024 album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, which I loved. With the release of Pylon, Beabadoobee pivoted towards new, interesting, and diverse sounds for each track on the record. “Switchblade” has unique percussion and vocal tones. “Powerlines” has heightened reverb and atmospheric synths, making it a perfect fit for the Brendan Yates (Turnstile) feature. And “Radio” has an awesome emo-style guitar chorus to contrast Beabadoobee’s softer voice. As a long-time fan, Pylon is a great addition to her growing discography, but doesn’t resonate the same way with me as her previous release.
— Jacob Bennett
Beck – Ride Lonesome
Genre: Chamber Folk
Release: Album
Recommended Tracks: “Ride Lonesome,” “In The Night,” “If You Don’t Know What Love Is”
Beck has been making a similar kind of psychedelic folk music for decades now. His last album came out 7 years ago and was much more rock/electronic focused, but Ride Lonesome is a return to his folky roots. The songs on this album may start out with mellow guitars, but they almost all finish with orchestral strings and cinematic, instrumental outros. “For Your Love” could fit right into a movie soundtrack, with its long, sustained notes and dramatic tone. The next track, “Slow Canyon” brings you back to Earth with a twangy western guitar. Even though very few tracks stand out and provide a unique or experimental shift in sound, the album functions fine together as mellow, calming folk. Maybe it’s not my genre, but I would have liked more drum and bass action or an accelerating tempo as tracks went on.
— Jacob Bennett
The Linda Lindas – GOTTA GET OUT
Genre: Pop Punk
Release Type: Album
Recommended Tracks: 2, 4, 12
The Linda Lindas set the scene for what “GOTTA GET OUT” would be like when they released the album’s single with Hayley Wililams “Closer.” The pop-punk textures and riffs echoes William’s early discography, especially the album’s last track which is appropriately titled “See You Next Time.” There are times where the album doesn’t fully commit to the early 2000’s Paramore style, like in the opening track “Gotta Get Out,” which I would be interested in seeing the band explore further in future albums. The band’s music has been previously featured in Inside Out 2, which I could see happening again once I heard “High Horse.” Picture here, “High Horse” as a soundtrack to a montage of the main character of a children’s movie finding confidence after dealing with bullies. The album was overall upbeat and mostly leaning towards the “pop” side of pop-punk, with some tracks like “Blood On Our Hands” that serve as a reminder that the band is intending to make an emo staple with this release.
—Marcela Pizzato
Post Sex Nachos – Big Bad
Genre: Indie Rock
Release: September 18, 2026
Recommended Tracks: 2, 4, 10
I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, and a band by its name, but Post Sex Nachos just does not sound appealing as a concept and thus not appealing when I first opened the album. I did not know what to expect when I started the album, but I was presently surprised. I like it when singers mention a person’s name on a song, as Post Sex Nachos does with the opening track “Living a Lie,” it adds a layer of curiosity. The lead singer Sammy Elfanbaum said, “most of the songs are about the late-stage capitalism that’s ruining our country and the rest of the world.” I heavily disagree with this statement. The song which most fits the “late-stage capitalist is ruining the world” would be “Pop-Tarts,” which even then, would not be in my protest songs playlist. I liked the use of synths throughout the album, Elfanbaum’s voice was enhanced whenever a song leaned into funkier sounds, especially “Comin’ On Back.”
—Marcela Pizzato
::Music Directors
The Music Directors here at WDCE are an elite strike force, one that is perpetually locked onto the pulse of global music and sound. What’s hip? What’s groovy? What do you need to know to sound indie, alt, and well-informed? Well our MDs have you covered.
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