Singles Only: February 2026

Hello and bienvenidos. If you're reading this that means the sheer quantity of music releasing every month has yet to crush me. We're warming up here in February, both literally and figuratively in the quantity and notoriety of new music. If you've read any of these before you know the deal, I'm going to bring together what I think are the best new singles this month.

But first I'll briefly take a look back to my favourite full-length LPs released throughout this month.

• I included "We Were Never the Same" for SO: Janaury, so I have to mention that the new Converge album is everything you'd expect from the band: tight, stylistically varied, and hectic metallic hardcore. Love Is Not Enough isn't so much a progression of the band's sound as much as it is a refinement and simplification back down to their core.

• The new Worm record is fantastically theatric twist in genre and full of over-the-top guitar solos via new guitarist Philippe Tougas (of Chthe'ilist, Atramentus, VoidCeremony, and Exxûl to name a few of his bands).

• Croak Dream by Puma Blue is also a pretty fantastic record, blending nocturnal Portishead style trip hop with slick R&B and alt-pop.

• I'll also give an out-of-order shoutout to the new Dealers of God album Bushranger (Act 1) which released shortly before I put out SO: January but which passed me over on release, it is simultaneously hilarious and narratively distinct with some awesome experimental trip hop bangers to boot.

Hellripper - "Coronach"

from Coronach out March 27th

James McBain's Hellripper are coming off the breakout success of 2023's Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags which cemented him as the new front-runner of blackened speed metal, so expectation is high for this follow up. I'm happy to report that our latest look into Coronach is a good sign indeed. The title track "Coronach" will serve as the album's final track and I can't wait to witness the song as the epic climax that it's clearly built to be.

"Coronach" has every element of Hellripper's music working in tandem: dark and brooding tremolo sections inflected with a melodicism and swagger derived from the world of black 'n' roll all recontextualized by the doubled-up neoclassical solos which bridge the songs' structure. McBain's vocals are also top-notch, with a variety of styles from deep growls, traditional black metal rasps, and distant Bathory-esque shouts.

Green Carnation - "Sanguis"

from A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis out April 3rd

Last year's A Part Poem, Pt. 1 was a surprising favourite of mine, probably the band's best and most confident offering since 2001's incredible Light of Day, Day of Darkness. "Sanguis" is our first look at A Dark Poem, Part II and while I'm not totally in love, I'm happy enough with it.

"Sanguis" is strongly defined by its melodic and moody lead vocals, driving the track forward across it's chugging riffs and stabbing keys. This is a pretty traditional sounding prog/gothic metal track, dominated by simple rhyming vocals and perfunctory riffs, focused on building atmosphere and feeling rather than acting as hooks in-and-of themselves.

The Black Keys - "You Got to Lose"

from Peaches! out May 1st

The Black Keys have been on a largely unbroken run of mediocre and disappointing projects since their 2019 return from hiatus. It didn't seem like the band knew how to write songs which really sounded like themselves any more. "You Got to Lose" isn't necessarily a great track either, but it is such an excellent step in the right direction that I can't help but hope that Dan and Pat have finally figured things out. This track is simple, short, and poorly produced; it's garage blues rock in it's most basic form: bouncy riffs interlocking with noodling blues licks and Pat's distinctly out-of-the-pocket playing. This track has a pulse and I can't imagine it soundtracking a Ford commercial, so we'll call this one a win.

Joje - "Agobio, Perfecta*"

Stand-alone Single

Joje is a Peruvian producer who, as far as I can tell, has only put out a few tracks in various underground styles of experimental electronica. This 9 minute track though is something pretty special: mixing delicate and uncertain instrumentation with harsh and overpowering footwork EDM. What really makes it work though is the tracks' progression, it doesn't stay still for more than a few moments and can largely be split into two very different pieces.

The first 5 minutes of the track is forceful and driving, featuring a bright melodic line soaring far above the fat bass and clanking drum production. Then very suddenly the track shudders to a halt and fills out the remaining 4 minutes with a sparse, synth-led and hypnotic folk passage. I've found myself coming back to this track over and over again this month, and I really look forward to seeing what Joje might have in store next.

All Them Witches - "Red Rocking Chair"

Stand-alone Single

All Them Witches are a favourite of mine and I've been eager to hear where the band will go next after 2020's Nothing as the Ideal and 2022's "Bakers Dozen" project where the band put out 13 singles throughout the year.

"Red Rocking Chair" brings out the doomy, heavy elements of the band that have largely laid dormant for years. The bluesy trad-doom of this track draws easy comparison to Black Sabbath, and it's actually pretty refreshing to hear such a vibrant take on that style. I adore the moment about half-way through the track when the drums start to pick up in tempo and the lead guitar gets to let loose over shimmering organ notes and low-volume stoner metal riffs. Overall, I'm really happy with this track, and while ATW haven't specified when their next LP is coming I can't imagine it's too far out.

Isobel - "Undercover"

from Scarlet out Spring/Summer 2026

Grand Rapid's Isobel actually had a track in SO: January, "Limn", but I'm happy to give her another shout out for her latest track "Undercover". This track has a great mix of swirling strings and cello alongside a lightly effect-laden acoustic guitar to accompany Isobel's rapidly delivered and beautifully enunciated vocals. The super-upfront drums are also a plus in my eyes. "Undercover" is stylistically quite different from the waltzing Chamber Pop of "Limn" from last month, and is a more representative example of Isobel's sound.

-Paul Taylor

(Assistant News Director at WXOU)