This website just turned 16 years old this month and back then it was born out of and into a very dynamic ecosystem of blogs and people html-curating a MySpace page and sharing music on it to their “top friends”. It was the early days of social media! One of the spiritual beacons of this time was Blackbird Blackbird whose unique way of sampling and use of synths and other electronic techniques inspired many people, myself included, and contributed chiefly to the rise of the Chillwave genre.

Anyway, much like this poultry-adjacent media outlet, Blackbird Blackbird is still at it in 2026 and he just released a new studio album, his fifth, titled Dreamstuck. He wrote, mixed and mastered the 22 songs by himself, in his home studio in California. Listening to this feels like looking back in time but through the lens of today: his sound undeniably carries the trademark Blackbird Blackbird touch of tempo and mixing on the vocals, while feeling all the way 2026 at the same time, bridging the gap between hazy nostalgia and maintaining a positive outlook. The whole album is a great listen throughout, find Two Peas In A Pod attached below, one of the quieter tracks on there.

Elia Casu here is a guitar player by craft, having contributed to more than two dozen musical projects over the years and also making his own electronic music. Chopping and screwing from his Sardinia home, he just released an EP titled Lo-Fi Songs on Bandcamp. A three song hoo-rah of somewhat dreamy soundscapes and a keen sense for melodies.

Attached below is A Train, neatly showcasing his ability to layer up harmonies and forming a coherent narrative, like the snowflakes dancing in a snow storm. No words as of yet about him taking these tunes on tour but keep your eyes open.

You can also find this track – and many more – on the frequently updated Poule d’Or playlist – available on Apple Music and Spotify.

2025 feels like quite a good year for people listening to music and new music especially. Even if the economics of the industry continue to seem awkwardly tilted in a way that is slowly draining the supply side, some indie labels seem to be able to live off their steaming revenues. Only for now though, while AI bots, songs and playlists are lurking around like that raclette cheese smell.

Musically though, the album album made a bit of a return in 2025. Topping most lists were Rosalía and her 12 language kaleidoscope of styles, and Geese delivering not only a chaotic indie rock album but also a rising cultural monument in Cameron Winter’s Carnegie Hall solo performance in December. Then there were Bad Bunny‘s bomba bouquet, Wednesday‘s small town romance rock, Patrick Watson losing and finding his voice, Turnstile fan-faring through Europe, and Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga of course.

Somewhat overlooked – the mighty Wu-Tang Clan released a new album in April: Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman produced by RZA and Mathematics and it is actually quite a fantastic listen! Wet Leg followed up their phenomenal debut with moisturizer which also went down smoothly. John Glacier released Like A Ribbon, a truly wonderful album album all the way.

Household names, that left their mark. Naturally Team Poule’s focus rested somewhat off the beaten tracks, and there were quite a few great albums by artists without churning marketing machines behind them that gave direction to the twelve calendar months of 2025 and will continue to guide beyond.

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Yuuf here found each other in the gritty music cosmos of London and quickly moved on together into the wilderness, to produce a refined modern blend of somewhat jazzy ambient songs. They meld influences from all hemispheres to create a soothing ode to nature and its beauties. Somewhat driven by guitars and riffs, they wrap rocky surfaces and windy shapes into nuanced melodies and carefully created sounds, mimicking the four elements.

Attached below is Night Aïr off their new EP titled Mt. Sava that came out in October via Ninja Tune’s Technicolour. The quartet is touring Germany and Denmark next week: Monday Dec 1st in Berlin at Gretchen, Dec 2nd at Haldern Pop Bar, Dec 3rd in Cologne at Bumann & Sohn before heading to Hamburg to play the lovely stage at Aalhaus, on Thursday Dec 4th. Saturday Dec 6th they play in Aarhus, and Copenhagen’s Rust on Sunday 7th. Find all dates, nicely listed here.

Photo credits go to the wonderful cinematographer Constantin Widauer.

Three powerful days of Left of the Dial in Rotterdam have come to a vibrant close. A phenomenal lineup of 150+ mostly new and young bands played 300+ shows in around 20 venues in the center of this major Dutch and European port city.

The festival leaned heavily on 3-to-5 men/women-strong, mostly post punk ish, and mostly English bands that seemed to have taken the ferry together across the Channel to play out the Guitar World Cup 2025. 

It really was amazing to see so many exciting varieties of the classic indie band setup! And what’s great about Left of the Dial too is that every band plays two or three shows. This creates a cool sense of community among the festival’s supply and demand sides – both finding their equilibria many times over.

Logistically, it also adds another very interesting layer to the optimization process of coming up with your own festival schedule. But most importantly this setup ensures that you will get to see your favorites and you might also spot other bands in the audience. 

One of the finest shows then was put on by Irish outfit Search Results. They play a refreshing kind of indie rock carried by flawless songwriting and presented their works both ecstatically and effortlessly. They released a new album in May on Knob Polish (sic) that quickly rose into top of the year status. Their latest single Excruciating Heights is attached below – dive in.

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