It’s amazing how quickly the first quarter of 2026 has flown by. However, during those weeks, we’ve been sent an absolute avalanche of new music. Although, naturally, there hasn’t been time to review all of it, we’ve covered a lot of ground already this year.
With new tracks from a couple of the indie scene’s UK/Irish leading lights and a Bristol based guitar driven band who’ve already attained cult status, this visit to the Singles Bar feels rather weighted towards jangly material and swirly shoegaze sounds, but with a very retro sounding track that fuses blues rock with prog flourishes and a dreamy number from a French singer-songwriter, there’s a sharp contrast too, helping to keep the usual love of shining a light upon the most cult of artists. Bolstered by an unexpected reissue from the 80s and a lo-fi workout that could split opinion, it’s certainly an interesting selection this time around. As always, of course, we hope you find something new to enjoy!
*
Since the release of their first full length release ‘Floating Above Everything Else’ in 2023, Keeley Moss and her eponymously named band have felt like a massively important part of the indie underground. That record’s heavy nods to a shoegaze and dreampop past ensured listeners who spent the 1990s as wide-eyed twenty somethings found an immediate connection with the KEELEY sound, while the lyrical content – heavily influenced by the narrative surrounding the murder of young traveller Inga Maria Hauser – gave some great tunes a cerebral edge. 2024’s ‘Beautiful Mysterious’ repeated the formula, but certainly didn’t sound like a band treading water. If anything, the album sounded a little more confident; richer, even, and it was clear there was certainly more of a story to be told regarding the Hauser case.
With the ongoing promotion of their ‘Beautiful Mysterious’ album, several successful live dates and a massive upturn in their online following, cult dreamgaze band KEELEY – fronted by the charismatic Keeley Moss – had a hugely successful 2025.
The beginning of 2026 will see the band going back on the road, this time to promote yet another new album, ‘Girl On The Edge of The World’. The ever-prolific Moss claims it is the first one that truly “captures the sonic swirl of [the band’s] sound, which suggests it’ll be a genuine treat for those who’ve already enjoyed ‘Floating Above Everything Else’ (2023) and the following year’s ‘Beautiful Mysterious’.
Those keeping a close ear on the indie/shoegaze scene over the past year will almost certainly have encountered KEELEY. The eponymously named band fronted by Keeley Moss have played a truckload of live dates, and shared stages with Echobelly and Terrorvision. On a great collection of recorded works, Moss and her band have created a musical legacy surrounding the murder of tourist Inga Maria Hauser, giving their work a more emotive and often cerebral quality than your average shoegaze act.