While the beginning of my summer was dominated by the down-home atmosphere of Kacey Musgraves’s fantastic Middle of Nowhere, what some call a return to form, here are some other projects that have made a splash in my 2026 listening journey.

Artist: LIKA

Upon appearing ever so innocently on my YouTube homepage one early morning this July, European DJ “LIKA” has dominated my feed every day since, boasting a vast archive of premium quality recordings filmed in the classiest locations throughout Europe. Whether she’s playing in a breathtaking outdoor venue such as the the Mediterranean gem of Mykonos below, mellowing out the the morning rush at a cozy cafe, or crafting a seamless set in her own home, what makes LIKA stand out is the impeccable mastery of sight and sound she achieves in her videos, delivering reliably pleasing lighting and mise-en-scene, combined with careful considerations of her own makeup and wardrobe, all on top of the eclectic, unpredictable mixes she concocts. Not only does she surprise me with a new world music gem every time, but, on top of that, the way she arranges her sets visually is so consistently pleasing to my affinity for thoughtful set design. You can tell her camera team puts careful thought into everything from the lighting to the placement of people and objects within the frame, to LIKA’s hair and makeup choices, to even the movement of camera. It’s these latter two factors that have me wanting to watch the videos in their entirety, for the ultimate satisfaction of seeing the emotional rise and fall of the music reflected visually.

Track: ‘Falling Out of Grace’ – Pearly Drops, Namesenda, DJ_Dave

If not a fully fledged newborn, “Falling out of Grace” brings what could be an ultrasound of a musical child merging the DNA of Pearly Drops, DJ Dave–two artists featuring heavily in my nighttime dreamy-but-raveworthy rotation–and PC music act Namasenda (newly discovered for me) creating a crosssection of their collided worlds of smoothly accelerating hyperpoppy Eurotrance. Pearly Drops, especially, has steadily become a mainstay in my library for their hauntingly catchy melodies embedded in a dark, impressionistic atmosphere that is immediately, undeniably their own.

Track: ‘it’s just White Noise’ – Holly Humberstone

Ah, yes, we’ve entered into my native territory of alt-girl indie pop. One of my favorite purveyors of this style, time and time again, has been English singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone. Earlier this year, she released Cruel World, a collection of sparkly, nostalgia-tinged synthpop and slow-burn love anthems. Overall, while I marveled at the shimmering production and the crisp energy of her vocals to match, I found myself missing the moodier, folk-adjacent style of her 2020 EP Falling Asleep at the Wheel. As a caveat, I acknowledge the inherent difficulty of topping the work that made one first fall in love with an artist. In no time at all, however, as though Ms. Humberstone heard my yet-unrealized yearnings in the ether, out popped it’s a real Cruel World, a 4-track companion EP to the album that calls back to her simpler roots but with richer instrumentals as featured in the main album. Upon hearing the track I’ve included here, full of wistful violin and steel guitar reminiscent of Kacey Musgraves’s signature indie-pop-country blend, I assumed it was just a song I’d missed from her previous discography and am only now, upon writing this, aware of its newness, soaking in gratitude for her generosity in showing an ever widening range of what her raw, aching vocals can do to convey the woman, the artist that is Holly Humberstone.

Album: Music, Fashion, Film – it’s Charli, bb.

Yes, this album is just as good as they say. Clocking in at a mere 30 minutes, it’s full of subtle earworms set against stark, grating instrumentals full of the edge and little of the ethereally melodic qualities of the brand of pop she’s known for–a transition she warned us from the first single, ‘Rock Music’. For its use of electric guitars and groany vocals reminiscent of Julian Casablancas, the closest sonic companion that comes to mind is The Strokes’s album The New Abnormal, released back in 2020 when Charli was still setting the tone for the current landscape of experimental-internetcore-hyperpop with how i’m feeling now. This 2026 version of her is straightforward and unapologetic as ever. She’s shed the cutesy, fanciful insecurities of albums past, grappling with her shifting roles and identity amid marriage, industry expectations, and expanding interests, with a cheeky tone of acceptance. What results is the least ‘girlish’ collection among Charli’s body of work, but a gritty, honest portrait of how she’s feeling now that feels like an afternoon spent jamming out to a friend’s stereo in their New York apartment–humble, comforting, and far from perfect. By that token, I’ve found this album, as indicated by their singles, a grower, but one I don’t want to end. But if I had to pick favorites, they’d be ‘SS26,’ ‘2007,’ ‘Wink Wink,’ ‘No One Lasts Forever ft. David Cronenberg,’ and what I find the most distinctive, innovative track: ‘I’m Afraid.’ The best way to enjoy M, F, F? No skips–all the way through, and LOUD. Grab your best speakers or headphones and let the unexpected, seemingly flat production elements POP in their true glory and drench you in their gritty, whimsical intricacy. Such a good album for the audiophiles.