STACK #255 January 2026

MUSIC FEATURE

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Whether it’s a voyage of musical discovery or a sonic reacquaintance with a favourite band or artist, check out these fresh releases heading to JB this month. WHAT’S OUT

FRANCIS ROSSI The Accidental EARMUSIC

BEYOND THE BLACK Break the Silence NUCLEAR BLAST As Nigel said in This Is Spinal Tap ,

THE DAMNED Not Like Everybody Else EARMUSIC

EDITOR’S PICK

Status Quo singer Francis Rossi is still rocking at the age of 76. “This truly came out of nowhere,” Rossi says of The Accidental . “I spend

English punk pioneers The Damned celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2026. They have had eight Top 40 albums in the UK but are yet to have a Top

“It’s like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.” Beyond the Black is a German symphonic

my life in and out of the studio, rehearsing, tinkering, but something happened earlier this year [2025] and, before I knew it, we had created something special... it’s loud, the guitars are right to the fore, and there are some great songs there.” In the first single, Something in the Air (Stormy Weather) , Rossi asks: “Does anybody care?” The answer is a resounding yes.

metal band. Fronted by Jennifer Haben, they formed in 2014, releasing their debut album, Songs of Love and Death , in 2015. Break the Silence is their sixth album, and it explores themes of communication, inner strength, resilience and the urgent need to reconnect in a divided world. “We opened the door to new influences and collaborations,” Haben says. “From symphonic to ethnic elements and guest artists who brought their own style into the mix.” Asami from Japanese metal band Lovebites appears on the power-packed Can You Hear Me .

40 album in Australia. That might change with their 13th studio set. It’s a covers collection, dedicated to founding guitarist Brian James, who died last year. The record, with drummer Rat Scabies back in the band, sees them blazing through songs by the Stones ( The Last Time ), Pink Floyd ( See Emily Play ), The Animals ( When I Was Young ), The Lovin’ Spoonful ( Summer in the City ), The Stooges ( Gimme Danger ), and The Kinks ( I’m Not Like Everybody Else ).

THE PAPER KITES If You Go There, I Hope You Find It SONY Melbourne’s The Paper Kites follow 2023’s epic At the Roadhouse with their seventh studio album, If You Go There, I Hope You Find It . The folk rockers, led by singer Sam Bentley, have a sound that’s intimate and inviting, which has seen the band garner a big following worldwide, with more than two billion streams. Even when the songs are sad, there is magic in the melancholy. “I left things in my rear view,” Bentley sings. “Tried to kick out the Sunday blues. I can’t find no place that I can lay my pain and my troubles too.” The Paper Kites have had four Top 50 albums, and this sparkling record should be a similar success.

CAVETOWN Running with Scissors INERTIA

DE LA SOUL Cabin in the Sky ROCKET

HOLOCENE Spurr (PUBLIC OPINION)

English artist Robin Skinner records under the name of Cavetown. His sound – a charming mix of indie pop, folk and bedroom pop – has

De La Soul’s ninth studio album – their first in a decade – is a poignant release as it’s the American group’s first since the passing of

Holocene is the title of a Bon Iver song, an album by German metal band The Ocean, and the name of a nightclub in Portland, Oregon.

amassed a big audience on YouTube. After relocating to New York in 2025, Running with Scissors is his sixth album, his first since 2022’s Worm Food , which was his Top 40 breakthrough in the UK. “Every album is like a journal about what I’m navigating at that point in my life,” he says. “And this is the first time I’ve let myself love someone.” Includes the single Baby Spoon , where Skinner sings: “I’m broken and you’re super glue.” Cavetown could be your new favourite artist.

co-founder David “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur. The record features vocals he recorded before he died in 2023, aged 54. The album takes its title from the 1943 movie that featured Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington. “We’re working and working, and I come across this movie,” Kelvin “Posdnuos” Mercer explains. “And I’m like, ‘Yo, this title is crazy: Cabin in the Sky ! Immediately, I felt Dave.”

And back in the ’90s, Holocene was a much-loved Melbourne band. Spurr , their one and only album, was recorded by Shellac bass player Bob Weston, who was also the assistant engineer on Nirvana’s In Utero . The 30th anniversary edition showcases some sparkling space-age pop-rock. Check out Guitarbarella and Pop Astronauts . LUCINDA WILLIAMS World’s Gone Wrong ROCKET The title itself is a piercing piece of social commentary: World’s Gone Wrong . Lucinda Williams’ 16th studio album is a set of songs about the state of the world. “The music feels bruised,” she says, “but there’s still beauty in the bruises.” Guests include Norah Jones (the moving We’ve Come Too Far to Turn Around ) and the legendary Mavis Staples (a searing cover of Bob Marley’s So Much Trouble in the World ). And Brittney Spencer pops up on the title track. “Looking for comfort in a song,” Williams sings. And she delivers.

THE CRIBS Selling a Vibe PIAS

DRY CLEANING Secret Love 4AD

In 2023, English newspaper the Evening Standard called The Cribs

There’s no band quite like England’s Dry Cleaning. As one critic said, it’s as if “Annette Peacock is fronting The Fall or PiL or Siouxsie

one of the 20 best indie rock bands of all time. The family band, from West Yorkshire, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2026, with the release of their ninth studio album Selling a Vibe . “We don’t want this to be seen as an ‘indie rock’ record or a ‘punk’ record,” says Gary Jarman, who fronts the band with his twin brother Ryan (with their younger brother, Ross, on drums). “Our only hope is that people enjoy and connect with the songs and lyrics for what they are.” The Cribs have had four Top 10 albums in the UK. Fun fact: The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr was a member of the band from 2008 to 2011.

and the Banshees”. Fronted by Florence Shaw – who has a distinctive spoken-word delivery – Secret Love , their third album, follows 2022’s Stumpwork , which was their Australian chart debut. After being introduced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Dry Cleaning got Welsh artist Cate Le Bon to produce the album. The result is unique and strangely hypnotic.

22 JANUARY 2026

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