The Week In Listen(ed) 25/5-31/5/26
Listen(ed) playlist
Albums
Pick of the Week - World Peace - For No Man Shall See Me and Live - Powerviolence, USA, 2026
Ten songs, seven minutes. That should tell you a lot about this record from the Oakland, California based powerviolence trio. A guitar-less, dual bass set up allows this band to rip in an incredibly heavy manner, cannoning between sludgy down beat riffs right into dbeat breakdowns with a tight snare sound that makes it all the more cathartic. A brilliant record all round, and the perfect introduction to powerviolence for anyone unfamiliar with the genre.
Listen: Just listen to it all!
Super 8 - Los Planetas - Rock, Spain, 1994
Debut full length from Spanish power rock group hailing from Granada. Contains all of the sounds of 90s alternative rock one could ask for, touching into shoegaze territory with long, meandering bridges, and choruses which one can effortlessly sing along to (see: Si Esta Bien). Made for long drives on sunny days.
Listen: La Caja del Diablo
Dark Thoughts - Dark Thoughts/At Work/Must Be Nice/Highway to the End - Punk, USA, 2016-2025
Ahead of the Philadelphia-born band’s date in Galway, I took a deep dive into their four released full lengths. Great, straightforward punk in the Ramones/Screeching Weasel vein, with a darker edge to the vocals. Each record is individually tight, creating a back catalog representative of a great band.
Listen: Identity Crisis
Hang Loose! I Got Dem Ol’ Surfer Bloos… - Penza Penza - Psych, Estonia, 2025
The latest album from the Estonian outfit headed by the producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist and all-round musical virtuoso that is Misha Panfilov, Hang Loose!… is a blues and surf rock-edged psych fest which harbours the cinematic sound of much of Panfilov’s work. Does exactly what it says on the tin, another worthy addition to the pantheon of one of modern Europe’s best musicians.
Listen: Ro-Rotation
Journey in Satchidananda - Alice Coltrane - Jazz, USA, 1971
This album was released in the wake of Alice’s husband John Coltrane’s death, the album collected many musicians who worked with Alice and her husband, and the collective grief is clear throughout. Recorded shortly after Alice met the spiritual guru Swami Satchidananda Saraswati, the varied instrumentation drones and enchants its way through, setting the benchmark for spiritual jazz for decades to come.
Listen: Journey In Satchidananda
Philadelphia’s Been Good to Me - Kurt Vile - Indie/country, USA, 2026
A late entry to this list, having only been released on Friday. Nonetheless, the latest album from one of my long-time favourite artists makes it in. Characteristically laid back, Vile may not be breaking any new ground with this record, but carries off his trademark stoner-psych-Americana sound with aplomb. The lyricism has become a tad more existential as he is aging, and the addition of a sax into the final song Avalanches of Snow ends the album on a high note.
Listen: Chance to Bleed
Eclectic as ever, in this episode, members of Dry Cleaning open with some classic Americana, and go on to meander through shoegaze, black metal, art pop new wave and more. Always worth a listen, even if only for the eclecticism, and the boomeranging between genres that still somehow always works.