Q#169 – August to September 2026

 

Download mix from https://www.mediafire.com/file/yi776p9y08sqd6q/Q#169.zip/file

Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM 

                            Spotify link at end of notes, follow/subscribe to playlists here  

Q's Compilations

Vol #169 – August to September 2026

It’s mid-October so as I write these notes so we’re a little late (edit, it’s late-October as I finish these notes…), and that might just be the theme for the rest of the year. I’m a little burned out at this point, which is probably reflected in these brief notes, but I have some good travel plans for the rest of the year. 

01) Parts & Labor - Haunted Limbs: Brooklyn DIY vets Parts & Labor returned in July with their first album in 14 years, Set of All Sets clocks in at 79 minutes and may well be their best album. The record features all their quirky and intense signature moves and this track in particular aces that euphoric feedback that they specialise in.

02) Culk - Twenty, Eighteen: This act is from Vienna, Austria, and just released their latest album, Smogstar at the start of September. The record popped up as a recommendation after a bandcamp purchase and I usually click through a few of those as it has a decent track record! This song in particular has a real Sonic Youth vibe to it, at least to these ears.

03) Pet Fox – Balance: I’ve used three Pet Fox songs in the past and the Boston trio are about to release new album, Balance, on the 23^rd of October, via the ever reliable Exploding In Sound Records. This title track opens the record and I’m expecting another solid collection of rockers when the album comes out.

04) Oso Oso - Know You Know Me Better: Long Island’s Oso Oso are back with new record An Exchange of Information, which is being released on Feral Twin, the new album from Hop Along drummer Mark Quinlan, as far as I can tell, they’re the only artist on the roster at present.

05) Stef Chura – Danny: Dancing Alone on the Concrete is Stef Chura’s third record and was just released on the 2^nd of October on Saddle Creek. I had to use this song because it features Mike Mills and Peter Buck of REM.

06) Squirrel Flower – Cleveland: Say a Prayer to the Gods of Getting Going is the lates album from Ella Williams aka Squirrel Flower, released on the 21^st of August via Polyvinyl and is another strong addition to her discography.

07) Scarves - Self Soothing: Strays Forever, the latest record from Seattle’s Scarves, was produced by Chris Walla, who has production credits on numerous Q-Comp bands such as Nada Surf, Ratboys and Snarls. This track opens the record and has become a bit of an earworm.

08) Guided By Voices - We Outlast Them All: At the time of writing, Crawlspace of the Pantheon is the only GBV record of 2026, but the band’s 43^rd overall. The record was produced by Travis Harrison, who also produced their previous album.

09) A Country Western - Blood Eagle: Philadelphia’s A Country Western return with new album Audition Tape on the 21^st of October. I love how the guitars are so chunky and drums hit hard but the vocal delivery is in direct contrast with a low key delivery.

10) Chat Pile - Deep Blue: I was taken aback when a work colleague recently asked if I’d heard the new Chap Pile record, not the typical office conversation I have become accustomed to! I hadn’t yet listened to Who Loves the Sun, and it turns out I had missed a couple of records since 2022’s God’s Country which I did enjoy. So here I am in 2026 with some homework to do.

11) Porcelain – Apocalypse: Porcelain’s self-titled debut from 2024 might have been my favourite record of that year, so I’m pretty stoked to hear what their follow-up, Today’s Minor Victories, sounds like when it comes out on the 10^th of October. The Unwound influences certainly haven’t gone anywhere if this lead track is any indication.

12) American Motors - No Horses: Speaking of another band that had a great record in 2024 and are about to release a follow-up… Functional Music will be released on the 6^th of November, and they once again recorded with J Robbins, who at this point must be one of my favourite producers.

13) Yoo Doo Right - Doldrums, Doldrums, Eviler Than the Devil: Montreal trio You Doo Right have appeared on Q-comes in 2022 and 2024, so their 2 year cycle is due. Thankfully new album, Build and Rest by the Shepherd’s Light is coming out on the 6^th of November, this is the lead single from the record and really locks into a head-nodding groove.  

14) Sour Widows - Blood in the Grass: This is Sour Widows 3^rd Q-Comp appearance, with their 2^nd album, Sigil, coming out on the 23^rd of October on Julia’s War Recordings. The tracks so far are a little more polished, and certainly less slow-core than previous efforts, I’m intrigued to hear the rest of the record.

15) Fish Narc - Mech Less Me: This band sounds like… Bush? Maybe the a little more pop, but the vocals definitely hit a bit like Gavin Rossdale (I don’t mean any of this as a slant, I like Bush. Razorblade Suitcase was the first album I ever bought). The band’s debut album, Uncle, just came out on the 16^th of October and admittedly I haven’t checked it out yet, but this song sounds like it would have been a good radio hit 30 years ago.

16) Megasound - Record Baby: I’m just going to copy and paste this act’s bandcamp bio because it’s pretty well written! Kerry Alexander has fronted Bad Bad Hats with Chris Hoge for more than a decade, and the duo have known Elana Carroll (Party Nails) even longer. While on tour in 2018, Carroll joined Bad Bad Hats on stage for an encore performance and a new band was sparked. Elana on vocals, Kerry on guitar, Chris on drums. One night after watching Josie & the Pussycats together, Megasound was officially born. The band’s self-titled debut was released by Don Giovanni Records and it’s just a fun indie-pop record full of hooks and catchy lyrics.

17) Mesh - Violent Peasant: Philadelphia quartet released No Fun At All back in July, five years after their debut self-titled EP which I heard because I was a subscriber to Born Yesterday Records. The album gives off some nice Parquet Courts vibes to these ears.

18) Mr Husband - Is It Real: When I heard this whimsical, Fruit Bats-esque track on bandcamp I knew it was going to sit towards the end of this mix. The drums drive the sound along nicely, the vocals soar and the whole arrangement/production is incredibly nice.

19) Tami Hart - All I Do Is Sit Here: Another Don Giovanni submission for the mix, Tami’s third solo record and first since 2002, the self-titled album is set for release on the 13^th of November and was produced by Ted Leo.

20) The Reds, Pinks & Purples – Heaven of Love (Slow Version): Another Q-Comp, another track by the Reds, Pinks & Purples. True Love Daydream is a companion EP to previous album Acknowledge Kindness, the only physical media is cassette at present which I have ordered. Perhaps more importantly, Glenn Donaldson and his band finally came over to the east coast and I felt very fortunate to see them play at Baby’s All Right.

21) Ethel Meserve - Onward Foster: Back in June I saw Jejune play at the Mercury Lounge which was an unexpected bonus of 2026. I still don’t know how Jejune managed to get so many young fans, it was a very surprising crowd. Anyway, post-hardcore emo band Ethel Meserve opened the show and I was kinda blown away by the set, so had go back and dig into the back catalogue. Their initial run as a band was quite short, from 1994-1998 but they got back together to play some more recent shows and hopefully it will signal a second wind for the band.

 As always, Peace and Love - Q

Q#168 – June to July 2026

 

Download mix from https://www.mediafire.com/file/fhr4ivgecztst5j/Q#168.zip/file

Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM 

                            Spotify link at end of notes, follow/subscribe to playlists here  

Q's Compilations

Vol #168 – June to July 2026

 Greetings to all, it is with great sadness that I write these notes after my best friend and frequent cover-star, my dog Jackson, said goodbye to the world at the age of 16. He lived an exceptional life, and I will miss him forever. It’s also a world cup year and you know what that means, a crushing experience watching England lose a knockout game. The thing about being both an Oxford United, and an England fan is that you get used to disappointment, still it’s the hope that kills you and sport doesn’t exist without losers. As usual we have mostly new releases, it’s turned out to be a pretty fun mix I have to say, the BPM is generally up on this one! I hope you’re all having as good a summer as can be. I did get to see Rush three times, so not everything is bad.

01) Spiritual Cramp - Go Back Home: I saw Bay Area punks Spiritual Cramp open for White Reaper back in 2024 and loved their debut album, but apparently didn’t use a song from that at the time. Their follow-up, Rude, was released in October 2025, so an old release for these mixes, but I just picked it up and vinyl so I’ve been listening to it more. Just a fun band, a fun record, lots of San Francisco shout outs.

02) Mrs Magician - Dead Alive: San Diego garage rockers Mrs Magician just released their first record in 10 years and they have been sorely missed. Spiritual Hangover was released on the 15^th of May and has all their signature chops, big choruses, shiny guitars and a hint of surf. I doubt anyone has been listening to these as far back as 2012 at this point, but their absolute classic tune, There Is No God, was on Q#84.

03) Perennial - What's New On the Beat Scene: I checked out this band because they headlining a show at Union Pool which featured a band I like, Oceanator, as the openers in September (Perennial’s new album, Modernism, comes out on the 17^th), the two singles so far are short, punchy affairs, and I needed a sub-2-minute track to squeeze onto the mix.

04) Angine de Poitrine – Fabienk: If you haven’t seen anything about Angine de Poitrine by now, I’m not sure how you’ve managed to avoid Khn and Klek’s polkadot costumes at the very least. Their KEXP performance has had millions of views on youtube, and tickets to see them play live are impossible to get. Aesthetic aside, it’s pleasing to see their microtonal math-rock find a mass audience, it’s fun when people like weird stuff! I have both of their records and love them. Hop on the bandwagon if you want, weird stuff deserves to be in the mainsteam. 

05) The Pretty Flowers - To Be So Cool: I can’t remember how I came across this band but their third album, Never Felt Bitter, was released on the 27^th of March and is a very fun, harmony-filled powerpop record. Shock horror they found their way onto Q-comp, huh?

06) The Mountain Goats - Charlie Sheen Reaches Out to the Feds: John Darnielle and co releases their 8,000^th record, Days, on the 7^th of August, I believe it was originally going to be a grunge-themed follow up to Goths, and then morphed a little bit. I’ll sadly miss their NYC shows at Carnegie hall but have a good excuse as I should be in the Scotland seeing Del Amitri.

07) Blondshell - Heart Has to Work So Hard: Blondshell’s third album, Violins, will be released on the 25^th of September, and another show I’ll miss (but have another good excuse!). This track sounds like it could have been on previous album If you Asked for a Picture, but given that was one of my favourite albums of 2025, that’s all good with me.

08) Julia Jacklin - Get Away From Me (I think I'll Love You Soon): Another record coming out on the 25^th of September, The Gem is Julia’s first record on 4ad and I’m always happy to see artists I like land there.

09) Shredded Sun – Skyscraper: Chicago trio Shredded Sun have been putting out since 2015 and are about to release new album Never Odd or Even on the 14^th August, this would have been a great “college radio” track in the 80s.

10) Wild Pink - Round of Applause At the End of the World: Few acts have had such a leap in quality like Wild Pink did when they released Dulling the Horns in 2024. Judging by this song alone, new album Still Coming Down looks like building on that momentum, I’m sure that signing to Fire Talk in 2024 was a bit of a catalyst for the improvement

11) Spearmint – 1986: Apparently I’ve only used Spearmint one time, on Q#139, September 2021. The band just released new album Chase Me, and I’m waiting for my vinyl to arrive before I listen to it properly, but this track has all their trademarks. I didn’t mention it back on Q#139 but despite being a British band, I’d never heard of them before until Emily introduced them to me.

12) Wishy – Lovesick: I checked out Wishy because they’re the opening band on the Beach Bunny/The Beths co-headline tour we’re traveling to Portland, Oregan to see in the middle of August. This is a single from their upcoming record, Nature’s Pill and it’s been an earworm since I first heard it.

13) Chorus Truly - Your Name: I think I must have heard this on the Rosy Overdrive blog, it sounds very much like their vibe, which obviously overlaps with my vibe a lot. The guitars have that perfect marriage of shimmer and jangle.

14) Uni Boys - You're So (Phisticated): I heard this OhMyRockness and it’s about as sun-drenched powerpop as you can get, their self-titled record was released on the 27^th of March via Curation Records.

15) Softjaw - Pleased With Me: This was definitely a discovery via Rosy Overdrive, and while I tip my hat to RO, the band tip many hats to many bands on this self-titled release. The powerpop vibes are strong on this mix.

16) Natasha Sandworms - Bird of My Life: You would be forgiven that Natasha Sandworms is a solo act, so much so that they have an EP called The Band, Not the Person. Fronted by Natasha Sandborn, this track appears on a 3-way split EP with Christina’s Trip (who featured on Q#156, and how I came to hear about this EP) and Mox, the EP is called Lucky Three and features two tracks from each artist. This song just kept getting stuck in my head while I was trying to decide which song from the release to pick.

17) Suki Waterhouse - Tiny Raisin: Suki Waterhouse is one of those artists that Spotify kept playing after it finished playing something we put on, and eventually some of those things stick! Her record Memoir of a Sparklemuffin from 2024 started getting into rotation, that record was also released on Sub Pop which will always get me interested. New album Loveland has definitely gone in a more pop direction but this song does kinda bang.

18) Spacemoth - Do We Exist?: Q-comp stans will surely remember Pipe and Pistol from Q#143, which was on debut album No Past No Future. Four years later she’s back with new album Inward Eye, and it’s another otherworldly release. This track opens the exist and just gets into a tight groove that never really lets go.

19) Future Islands - Find Love: At the time of writing, I’ve taken a single day holiday this year, and that was to pop down to Baltimore for a long weekend, somewhere neither Emily or I had been before and was easy to get to. We got into town in time to get a ticket to see Baltimore’s own Future Islands, who I hadn’t seen since 2017 (and opener Dan Deacon, who I hadn’t seen since 2012).

20) Badvril – Golden: San Francisco duo Babvril are about to release their fourth album, Lethal, on the 16^th of October via Share It Music. This isn’t going to change the world, but I love the production on this track and there’s something about the simple drum groove that locks me in.

21) Carpenter Brut - She Rules the Ruins: I went to see Health, Carpenter Brut and Desire at Brooklyn Paramount in April. I like what I’d heard of Carpenter Brut so went to the show mostly for them (I know and like Desire so that was a bonus, but didn’t really know Health, their set was fine but I felt like the vocals were a weak point), I didn’t really expect the live show to hit so hard but they were great. As the name might suggest, they are heavily influenced, almost to the point of being a tribute band, by John Carpenter’s music, just with a bit more oomph.

22) John Carpenter - Lord of the Underground: Speaking of the man himself, his new record, Cathedral is out on the 7^th of August, and is a little more guitar/riff based record and I’m here for it.

23) Les Big Byrd - Hokvnid: I heard this track from Bill Pearis’ column on Brooklyn Vegan and knew I wanted to use it, but I couldn’t quite figure out where to put it, but I’m quite happy to end the mix with a complete wigout track. Ruin Everything is the Swedish band’s fifth record and is a great and has a bit of everything from the psych cannon.

As always, Peace and Love - Q

Q#167 – April to May 2026

 

Download mix from https://www.mediafire.com/file/gtrwi9q8dxonhrq/Q#167.zip/file

Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM 

                            Spotify link at end of notes, follow/subscribe to playlists here  

Q's Compilations

Vol #167 – April to May 2026

 

Greetings! It took almost half the year but the weather started picking up, which was greatly needed because in general I’ve been pretty burned out and jaded. I took my first day off for the year at the end of May and had a nice weekend in Baltimore! As usual, most of this mix consists of entirely new songs.

01) Station Model Violence - Learn to Hate: I heard this self-titled debut back when it had just been released in February but by then all the vinyl pressings had sold out, thankfully I was able to get a new pressing in Month. This Aussie band will get some Joy Division comparisons, and the post-punk influences are fairly overt, but this might just by my favourite record of 2026 so far.

02) Sunday Mourners - Careers in Acting: LA quartet Sunday Mourners released their debut album, A-Rhythm-Absolute in January on Curation Records (who released the last Silver Synthetic record). There’s some Modern Lovers and Television influence throughout the record but despite sounding like a forgotten gem from the past, it feels fresh at the same time.

03) Helicopter Leaves - It Really Never Did: Sabrina Nickels is the second Helicopter Leaves record, and I’ve been listening to it fairly frequently since it was released at the end of March. There was something familiar that was bugging me until I realised that this is Anthony Vaccaro who plays in Beach Bunny! The record is unashamedly sugar-filled power pop, which is why it’s so good.

04) Hurry - Zoned Out: Speaking of power-pop, one of my favourite bands in the last decade is Philly’s Hurry, who I first saw opening for Nada Surf in 2016. They’re about to release a new record, Zoned Out, in July via Lame-O records.

05) Constant Greetings - Company Line: Hailing from Rothesay, New Brunswick in Canada, I was very close to using a track from this record, Good Sports, the band’s third record, on my best-of 2025 mix, since the record came out at the tail end of the year (December 19^th to be exact).

06) Snarls - No Lock, No Prayer: With Love was one of my favourite albums of 2024 (and 2020’s Burst was one of my favourites from that year). This track is from their upcoming EP In Heaven There’s Rainbows, which is coming out on the 26^th of June via Take This to Heart.

07) Rue - To Me, You Are: I don’t know a lot about Rue other than I followed a link that Asian Glow posted on their Instagram stories to the Rue bandcamp page for this EP, called Unceasing Cycle… and was immediately hooked by this track with its guitar flurries and busy drums.

08) Asian Glow - Cans in Vain: Speaking of Asian Glow, I’m looking forward to seeing him play live at Market Hotel in June. His latest record, Arin Cot is taking a bit longer to release than he originally thought so he released an EP called IIIVIII to tie us over, this track closes out the EP.  

09) Elder - Through Zero: This is the title track to Elder’s latest album, which just came out on the 29^th of May and continues their blend of progressive metal and psychedelic rock that they’ve perfected since 2015’s Lore (though I also love their earlier stoner rock too!).

10) Memorials - Cut Glass Hammer: It’s not easy to describe this duo, they sound so much bigger than two people. This tune really builds to a beautiful crescendo and the drums have this almost krautrock like shuffle at times.

11) Fruit Bats - The Landfill: After 2025’s low-key Baby Man, Fruit Bats return with a full band record called The Landfill on Merge Records, coming out on the 12^th of June. We’ll sadly miss their New York show in November as things stand. Eric Jonhson simply doesn’t write bad songs and this title-track closes out the album.

12) Charlotte Cornfield - Hurts Like Hell: Another artist on Merge, I haven’t had the chance to listen to this record, Hurts Like Hell, in full yet, but I keep coming back to this track which has become a real earworm. The album was released on the 27^th of March and is their sixth full length album (though debut for Merge).

13) The Reds, Pinks & Purples - Build Love: It’s barely a Q-comp without a new song by The Reds, Pinks & Purples. This track comes from new release Acknowledge Kindness, which came out on Fire Records (home of Memorials from track 10). Glenn Donaldson took a little more time with this record and leaned into the slower, sadder songs from his songwriting repertoire.

14) Boogarins - O Que Eles Querem: I hadn’t really thought much of Brazilian psych band Boogarins all that much since I saw them a couple of times in 2014, but they just played a show in New York which was great, and I learned that they’d also released an EP this year, which this track closes out.

15) Doe St - Figured It Out: Hailing from Rye, Australia, I used a couple of Doe St songs back in 2023 from their Stepping Stones album. Three years later their back with a four-track EP called Same Day. A little rougher around the edges, if you didn’t know any better this could pass for the greatly missed Royal Headache.

16) Yuvees - Field Mouse: I can’t quite recall how I heard of this Brooklyn band, I think it was trawling the concert listings on Oh My Rockness. This isn’t a new record, Dead Keys was released in September 2024, but this track hits hard and once I heard it I couldn’t leave it off.

17) Weird Nightmare - Forever Elsewhere: I used Might See You There on the last mix, but now Hoopla has been released I felt the need to include this track. METZ might not be around anymore but Weird Nightmare scratch a nice itch.

18) Prism Shores - I Didn't Mean to Change Your Mind: Montreal’s Prism Shores just released new album Softest Attack via Meritorio Records, following up 2025’s Out From Underneath. The band have added a fifth member on synths/organ and additional guitars and it’s given the band a nice edge compared to the previous record.

19) The Lemon Twigs - I Just Can't Get Over Losing You: Perhaps no band replicates classic 70s power pop ala The Rubinoos like The Lemon Twigs do. Their latest album, Look For Your Mind! Was released by Captured Tracks on the 8^th of May.

20) Rocketship - I Love You Like the Way That I Used To Do: We’re ending with a re-issue! Slumberland Records just re-issued Rocketship’s A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness for its 30^th anniversary. 

As always, Peace and Love - Q

Q#166 - February to March 2026

 

Download mix from https://www.mediafire.com/file/s915mt4gev512uh/Q#166.zip/file

Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM 

                            Spotify link at end of notes, follow/subscribe to playlists here  

Q's Compilations

Vol #166 – February to March 2026

It has been a busy start to the year - we endured a couple of snowstorms and a polar vortex, but hopefully spring is in the air at this point. Just about getting these notes done before the end of March which feels like a win!

01) Rocket Bureau - Don't Take Too Long: This is a one-man-band (Kyle Urban) from Madison, Wisconsin. This track closes out recent EP Maybes of Gold, which came out on the 3^rd of February. This sounds like it could have been a radio hit in the late 70s, ripping guitar solo and all.

02) R.E.M. - These Days: It’s the 40^th anniversary of Life’s Rich Pageant, which is probably my favourite REM album. Jason Narducy and Michael Shannon have been touring as a tribute band for the last few years, doing each album in turn so far. I tend to shy away from tribute bands, but the band themselves have turned up on occasion and fully endorse this project, so I figured I’d check out the show in Brooklyn. The tribute band don’t really have any right to sound as good as though do, even if they include fabulous musicians such as Jon Wurster on drums. To top it all off, Michael Stipe did turn up and sang this song (plus The Great Beyond) at the show and he sounded perfect. I did pick this song for the mix before the show for what it’s worth!

03) Gladie - Future Spring: Philadelphia’s Gladie just released new record No Need to Be Lonely on the 20^th of March. I’d previously used lead single Car Alarm on Q#164 and am looking forward to seeing the band in May. The record was produced by Jeff Rosenstock and it’s another banger.

04) Weird Nightmare - Might See You There: This is the solo venture of METZ frontman Alex Edkins, Weird Nightmare’s self-titled debut came out in 2022, but now that METZ sadly disbanded in 2024, perhaps this will be his main output. New record Hoopla will be released on the 1^st of May via Subpop and while this project has a little more pop and sunshine to it, under the hood it feels like there’s still some METZ spirit.

05) Stuck – Instakill: Having previously been signed to Born Yesterday, Chicago trio Stuck have now landed on Exploding In Sound Records for their third album, Optimizer, which just came out on March 27^th.

06) Lande Hekt - Favourite Pair of Shoes: Lucky Now is Lande Hekt’s third solo album and was released on the 30^th of January via Tapete Records. It’s a lovely record filled with wistful and jangly guitars that fans of Veronica Falls will certainly take to. This was the lead single for the album.

07) PONY - Middle of Summer: Three songs in a row that happen to be an act’s third albums… PONY put Clearly Cursed in February via Take This to Heart Records. I had a hard time picking between a few tracks on the record for this mix so I’m sure they’ll be making more appearances.

08) Cola – Hedgesitting: Tim Darcy formed Cola after Ought broke up and they are now also on their third record. Cost of Living Adjustment comes out on the 8^th of May via the ever-great Fire Talk Records and this track has really been growing on me. I like Cola but am usually left pining for Ought, but this track gives me hope that they might be coming into their own.

09) Robber Robber - The Sound it Made: Another Fire Talk artist, this track opens upcoming album Two Wheels Moves the Soul, I’d previously used lead single Talk Back on Q#164. I’ve tried a few times to come up with a way of describing them, they’re an interesting mix of krautrock/industrial/indie.

10) Mandy, Indiana - Life Hex: Formerly of Fire Talk records but now on Sacred Bones, the band’s second record, URGH, was released on the 6^th of February. The band have retained their intensity and oddity on this album. Where I’d described debut album I’ve Seen a Way as sounding like you’re on a construction site, Urgh is a bit more like an underground bunker.

11) Holy Fuck – Evie: Toronto’s Holy Fuck have been a favourite of mine since hearing their second album LP back in 2007. Event Beat is their first album in six years and they have been dearly missed, few bands create a groove quite like they do.

12) JB Dunckel & Jonathan Fitoussi - Ghost Town: You might know Jean-Benoit Dunckel better as one half of French act Air, while I’ve been a fan of Jonathan Fitoussi since hearing his wonderful record Plein Soleil in 2020. This album, Mirages II, is their second collaborative album (you’ve guessed it, the debut was called Mirages), and was released in March 2025. To tell the truth, you could be forgiven for simply thinking this was an Air track. 

13) Asian Glow - The Note: South Korean artist Asian Glow’s latest album, Arin Cot, was due to be released on bandcamp on the 27^th of March, but is still only showing 2 tracks as available. Asian Glow has appeared on numerous q-comps at this point, and I hope you’re all keeping track!

14) Langkamer - Crows: Bristol’s Langkamer released No via Breakfast Records on the 22^nd of January, the record will appeal to fans of slacker rock acts. I love how this song just chugs along and somehow manages to sound urgent and chill at the same time.

15) Place Position – Camber: Hailing from Dayton Ohio, the land of Guided By Voices, of course. Place Position are more Fugazi than GBV, however, and I think I’d purchased this album by the time I’d finished hearing this song, I love the interplay between the bass and drums throughout the record.

16) Jejune - Meteorite: Most q-comps seem to feature a recently unearthed band that the Numero Group are re-issuing, this time it’s the turn of Jejune. The label just put out their first two records, 1996’s Junk and This Afternoon’s Malady from 1998. This track opens the former.

17) Deathcrash - Stay Forever: I had the pleasure of seeing Deathcrash’s first show in North America in February when they played at Nightclub 101 to promote their new album Somersaults. The record was produced by Stanley Gravett, who has worked with the likes of Idles and High Vis, and mastered by Heba Kadry (who has worked on records by Mandy, Indian, Gorrilaz, Bjork and more).

18) Accessory - Calcium: Accessory is the solo project of Dehd’s Jason Balla, he’ll be releasing Dust on the 17^th of April. It’s hard to shake the Dehd comparisons but that’s also not a bad thing considering they’re one of my favourite bands of the last 7 years.

19) Craven Faults - Ganger: This is a new artist to me, though new album Sidings is the fifth Craven Faults full length. When it comes to ambient music I tend to know if I’m going to like something within a few seconds, and I ended up ordering this album within about 2 minutes of this 16-minute opening track.

As always, Peace and Love - Q

Q#165 - December 2025 to January 2026

Download mix from https://www.mediafire.com/file/93ar57ekuf5uw1n/Q#165.zip/file

Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT.COM 

                            Spotify link at end of notes, follow/subscribe to playlists here  

Q's Compilations

Vol #165 – December 2025 to January 2026

With 2025 behind us, it’s time for the usual “best of” the year mix in January. Musically I’d say the year was solid overall with some obvious highs. Maybe a little less weird and definitely not as heavy as previous years. Maybe that just means I mostly stuck to my comfort zone… I’ve just looked at my notes for last year and it turns out I said very similar, maybe this is what mid-40s is really like.

01) Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band - New Threats From the Soul: Coming in hot with possibly my favourite album of the year, New Threats for the Soul came out in July and it just kept growing and growing on me with every listen. It’s an album that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, a folk/Americana record consisting of seven tracks across two vinyls with prog-rock-esque song lengths. I used Better If You Make Me on Q#163

02) The Beaches - Can I Call You in the Morning: There’ll probably be a few “this might be my favourite album of 2025”, to the point of annoyance, but No Hard Feelings, The Beaches’ third album, is pretty much all killer no killer and they seem to have perfected their sound that Blame My Ex introduced. I also used Last Girls at the Party on Q#162

03) Annie DiRusso – Legs: Perhaps the song of the year was Back In Town, which I used on Q#160. Annie’s debut record, Super Pedestrian, was released in March and I saw a very triumphant Webster Hall show in May.

04) Beach Bunny - Pixie Cut: Beach Bunny’s third album, Tunnel Vision, came out in April and BB might just be the best artist/band of the last 6 years. I also used Chasm on Q#161. 

05) Freezing Cold - Half Static: It wouldn’t feel right for a best-of the year not to have any representation from Don Giovanni Records, though perhaps surprisingly Freezing Cold are the only DG band on this mix (it does feel like there’s a bit of a Screaming Females shaped hole in the roster right now). Treasure Pool was released in August and I used Backlight on Q#162.

06) Curtis Harding - True Love Can't Be Blind: Curtis Harding’s fourth record,  Departures & Arrivals: Adventures of Captain Curt, came out in September and I used There She Goes on Q#162. The record is still growing on me and I was looking forward to seeing him live this month until the show was canceled. As always, this tune has a confident swagger to it that few can pull off.

07) Joyer - Tell Me: It would be wrong to call Joyer’s latest effort, On the Other End of the Line… an upbeat record, but they’ve upped the BPM slightly and some of the guitars have been brightened up. It’s one of those albums that you can sometimes forget about and when you come back to it you forget how much you enjoy it. This track closes the record and you can also hear Cure on Q#163.

08) The Dirty Nil - I Was a Henchman: Toronto power-trio The Dirty Nil never fail to deliver on catchy riffs and anthemic choruses. Their latest album, The Lash, doesn’t reinvent their very fine wheel, and neither should they try.

09) Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Stitches: Death Hilarious was released back in April and is the band’s fifth album. To me, they’re the best stoner rock band I know of at present.

10) Wipes - Good Luck in the Future: A great sludge record that came out this year was Wipes’ second album, Don’t Tell My Parents. It’s a real tour de force and maybe my favourite angry record of 2025, and there was a lot to be angry about. I also used Bleeding Bums on Q#162.

11) FACS - Ordinary Voices: Wish Defence was released in February and has the sad honour of being the last album that the legendary Steve Albini engineered before he died in May 2004. Naturally, the album sounds incredible, although it should be said that all FACS albums do. Brian Case’s guitar adds complex texture as always and the rhythm section of Noah Leger and Jonathan Van Herik are among the most satisfying around.  

12) Squid - Building 650: Sometimes records that get released at the beginning of the year can be forgotten when it comes to these kind of exercises, Squid’s third album, Cowards, was released in February and to be honest, I did almost forget about it! Their debut, Bright Green Field, was a highlight of 2021 and whilst I enjoyed follow-up O Monolith, it didn’t quite stick, but Cowards is a return to form.

13) The Reds, Pinks & Purples - What's the Worst Thing You've Heard: It’s probably no surprise given the rate at which he releases songs, but this is the fifth year in a row that The Reds, Pinks & Purples have appeared on a “best of the year” mix. This song appears on The Past Is A Garden I Never Fed, that was released in July. I used I Only Ever Wanted To See You Fail on Q#163.

14) Blondshell – Thumbtack: I’d say the two records I just kept coming back to were Blondshell’s If You Asked for a Picture and Samia’s Bloodless. Two albums that, in all honesty, aren’t really aimed at me, but maybe that’s a testament to the strength of the songwriting.

15) Ryan Allen - Anxious All the Time: The most unabashed power-pop track on this mix, and perhaps the most unabashed power-pop record I enjoyed this year was Living On a Prayer On the Edge, made all the more impressive due to him playing every instrument on the record (save for one song featuring a Rhodes piano). I also used Lost in a Daze on Q#162.

16) Friendship - Tree of Heaven: Caveman Wakes Up is Friendship’s second album on Merge Records (but 5^th in total). The record is intoxicating, it’s ragged and you sometimes wonder if singer Dan Wriggins is going to keep it together over the course of a song. It’s often bleak but the warts and all production offers moments of beauty as well.

17) Camp Trash - Cousin Zach (Born Lucky): After finishing the initial mix I had a couple of minutes leftover which left the door open for Camp Trash, who I’d only recently discovered (Signal Them In featured on previous mix Q#164).

18) They Are Gutting a Body of Water - baeside k: The last show of 2025 I had the privilege of seeing was TAGABOW at Bowery Ballroom in support of their latest album, Lotto, that came out in October (I used Trainers on Q#164).

19) The Beths - 'Til My Heart Stops: Straight Line Was a Lie saw The Beths become a little more low-key with their songwriting, I was enjoying the record but I took a much greater appreciation of it after seeing the band perform the songs live (I think they might have played every song).

20) Tunde Adebimpe - Somebody New: I’m not sure I’ve ever done this before, but while writing these notes I realised I have actually used this song before, on Q#161. That’s not a bad track record over the course of over 22 years, but it still feels like a bit of a failure on my part! Anyway, the TV On the Radio frontman released his debut solo album, Thee Black Boltz, on Sub Pop back in April.

21) Samia - North Poles: As I mentioned earlier, Bloodless was one of the records I played the most in 2025 alongside Blondshell. Previous record Honey introduced some pop sensibilities and while it wasn’t a bad record at all, this album seems to be a continuation but ultimately much stronger. 

As always, Peace and Love, and hopefully a happy 2026 to all - Q