Over the past year or two, Claude McCan has been busy. In addition to releasing several singles and an album under his Claude9 moniker, he’s also gigged with Bowie tribute Supercreeps, and also worked with lounge act 35mm.
Seemingly a man who never rests, he’s now back with Xanimal, a band that blends synth elements, ambient dance sounds and a pinch of a dreampop aesthetic to create something with a huge 90s vibe.
Towards the end of 2025, singer songwriter Josaleigh Pollett released ‘Radio Player’, a complex track that took in various indie and electronica styles, along with other moods, to create a recording that felt as if it were always shifting. The fact that it never felt forced or unsettled was testament to some great hooks and a soaring vocal that contrasted the music’s more mechanical elements brilliantly.
Over the past year, one man band Tooth Gore has released some fantastic singles and a really enjoyable album. For a musician working in a DIY fashion, Kobi Joe has covered a lot of ground in a really short time, peaking with a tour of the Philippines in early 2026.
Showing no signs of slowing down, a new Tooth Gore single has just been released, and it’s one of their best tracks to date. ‘Scum of The Sea’ opens with a steady beat and a chopping guitar, initially hinting at a strong blend of power pop and surf rock, before introducing a fuzzy guitar that owes more to an old alternative rock sound. From solid foundations, a quiet verse serves up a very 60s influenced riff alongside a melodic vocal, forming one of the band’s most accessible tracks.
Mercers are a new band for 2026, but a couple of their members already have a foothold within the metal/alternative scenes. Two ex-members of nu-metal band Fony take a new musical direction here, bringing a genuine intensity to their work, and a more aggressive approach hits with a genuine immediacy on their new single ‘Cleanse/Repeat’.
Since their formation, Young Martyrs have been a reliable source for great singles. In particular, ‘Everyone Else Disappears’ presented a great radio friendly pop rock sound that provided an easy entry point into the band’s catalogue with its very melodic, chorus driven approach, while the Americana themed ‘Never Gave You The Blues’ offered a more mature angle in terms of songwriting, and the more recent ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ flaunted a more epic sound with its use of contrasting power chords and harmony driven vocals. All three of these recordings shared elements which could’ve been the work of three different bands, but in their own way, each showcased Young Martyrs as an act to keep an ear for in future.