Good morning! Need an antidote for the algorithms? Looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people? You’re in the right spot.
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing, and the playlist below is some of what’s been in heavy rotation for me.
As always, thank you to those who have recently upgraded their subscriptions. Your direct support fuels this community and makes a positive impact. Shares and reposts also help!
When you’re ready, joining them is easy. Just click here:
Each week, I try to come at this with a certain theme—or at least a nominal throughline—running through it. Sometimes that really does only go as far as “what I’ve been listening to.” There’s no deeper meaning here, no message I want people to pick up—just a snapshot of the week that was for a suburban dad living on Hoth in flyover country. Some real Occam’s Razor stuff, to be sure. And sometimes that escape or respite is just what we need—if only for a few minutes at a time.
Zooming in a bit: on Saturday, I mentioned that the Best Record of 2001 bracket would kick off soon (are you in?). There’s a couple of tracks here from records on the initial ballot (Colin Hay, The Dirtbombs, and Semisonic), a few brand-new tracks from old faves (New Pornographers, Snail Mail, Kim Gordon), and a new spin on an old favorite, with The Beaches taking on a song everyone raised on MTV will remember (h/t to Dan Pal for getting it on my radar!).
We’re also rewatching Mad Men, which led me to finally find a Decemberists song I liked. Funny how that works. Saving the best for last, we’ve also got a new one from our pal Lancelot Schaubert.
In other words, a world surrounded by sound, with tracks coming from all corners. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!
P.S. A few of you have asked whether I sequence these as an album or mixtape. The answer is always “yes.” In my head, I imagine them being played on your morning commute or road trip. I’m too old to use the word “vibes” as much as I have lately, but, well, if the shoe fits…
This week, Side A is tracks 1-14, with Side B being 15-27
Today we’re taking a quick look at some garage punk from both the Best Coast and No Coast, some no wave from Down Under, and bit of hip hop from Nottingham.
Longtime readers may recall that I reviewed 100 new (to me) records last year. Because I’m a glutton for punishment love music, I’m doing it again this year. This is the latest in the series.
Good morning!
Today we’re taking a look at the latest from Dry Cleaning, Sleaford Mods, Perfect Buzz and Wristwatch.
The boilerplate intro: Every year, I celebrate all the great music we’ve been gifted while worrying that next year will see the other shoe drop. I first did that in December 2020 and have been proven wrong every month since. Not only are there a ton of releases steadily coming out, but it also transcends genre or any other artificial guardrail we try to put up.
In other words, a ton of good stuff is still coming out, and there’s something for everyone. It’s almost overwhelming— but in all the best ways. These are another batch that caught my attention recently.
Hard to believe that it’s 2026 already, but here we are. Luckily for us, the records keep coming. Below are a few quick field reports from right between the sound machine.
Let’s get into it!
Wristwatch- III
Album art courtesy of Wristwatch
The pitch: After a 3-year layoff, Madison’s Wristwatch kicks the door in and delivers a blistering dose of garage punk.
If nothing else, the title of the band’s third album is on the nose. Know what else is on the nose? Just how well they nail down these songs. I had some knowledge of the band (translation: I knew a couple of tracks) and liked what I heard, but had never experienced a full record. Listening through the first few, it’s clear I’d been missing out. The previous records were recorded and mixed at frontman Bobby Hussy’s house. For III, the band brought in producer Beau Sorenson (Bob Mould, Superchunk) to engineer and mix the sessions. The result? Everything is leveled up (no pun intended).
III is a record that starts at 3k RPMs and never lets up. Coming apart at the seams is an occupational hazard of playing this brand of high-voltage music. That never happens here. Hussy is as theatrical as ever, but never too far gone. Ben Deidrich’s guitar work runs the gamut from bruising chords to angular riffs and back again. The rhythm section of Tyler Spatz (Geoff Palmer) and Eric Hartz (The Flavor That Kills) keeps everything in the pocket and keeps everything from spiraling off into terminal velocity.
When I do a first listen, I like to try to take note of what might be a feature track. This time around, I couldn’t narrow it down. Opener “Screwed” gives an early taste of what we’re about to get into. “Hints” does the best job of showcasing each of the four players and drives deep into post-punk territory. But really, all of ’em rip. It’s magnificent. And just the thing for right now. I’ve been listening to this on my pre-dawn commute this week, and it’s almost made me forget the subzero temps on the other side of the windshield. Get in.
The RIYL roster includes some of the usual suspects: Buzzcocks, New Bomb Turks, and to my ear, maybe even a bit of the Supersuckers.
In 2021, Dry Cleaning’s New Long Leg felt new and exciting — just the sort of thing needed to shrug off the lingering malaise of the pandemic. Florence Shaw’s writing and deadpan vocals felt like a “brand refresh” for The Fall. It might’ve been a case of putting a new spin on an old formula, but it worked. And it worked well enough that New Long Leg was my record of the year.
That year, I wrote in part:
The English post-punk band knocked it out of the park with their debut album…The musings/vocals mix well with the layered, dense soundscapes she’s talking over (but not overtaking). Dry Cleaning reminds me a bit of King Missle, except Shaw’s talking about things like lanyards and helicopters, and not detachable…organs…
In other words, Mark E. Smith and John S. Hall walked so Dry Cleaning could run.
But given the brand of music they were making, how far could they go? If I’m honest, I didn’t really want to find out. If New Long Leg was a revelation, Stumpwork was… not. And in a crowded field, it wasn’t hard to overlook it.
The nudge I need came from our pals at 3Albums6OldGuys who went in with the same reservations I had.
Dry Cleaning is, at least from a listener’s perspective (my sense is they probably don’t give a rat’s ass), a band confronting two issues: (1) they’ve really only had a singular sound, so for how long can they keep doing the same thing?; and (2) other bands have now gotten more attention with that sound, and because of those other bands (rather than them), the sound seems a bit played out. So, do they keep going, a la Guided by Voices, and just say “f it; this is who we are and what we do” and keep churning out more of the same, or do they change it up?
Things kick off with “Hit My Head All Day,” which at 6 minutes and change might be about 3 minutes and change too long for a Dry Cleaning song. But just a few seconds in, you start hearing other elements and stylistic shifts. Nothing major, just enough to think that maybe they’ve gone with mixing things up. Maybe the formula’s not as rigid as we thought?
“Cruise Ship Designer” has a bit of call-and-response, with Shaw serving a bit of an anchor while her bandmates do their thing. At 2:30, it’s the perfect length. The title track feels almost… warm? Ditto “The Cute Things.”
And are there horns here? Am I listening to the right record here?!
Dear reader, it sure sounds like it, and I am.
The band brought in Cate Le Bon to produce. Le Bon’s no stranger to this lane of no wave and art pop, and does well to bring Shaw out of her shell. Insouciance is great, but only for a few tracks. Same with bandmates Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard (bass), and Nick Buxton (drums). Shaw is still the sun they orbit around, but overall, Secret Love finds them operating more as a band than on previous records.
So yeah… a lot of leaning into familiar territory here, but also hints of evolution. Sometimes the signal’s faint, and sometimes it’s 5×5. That said, they save the loudest transmission for the end. Album closer “Joy” is, well, a joy. I’m always a sucker for a jangly guitar, but add Florence Shaw again actually singing in places, and now we’re cooking with gas. It’s all relative, but relatively speaking, it’s a sea change and a refreshing one at that. If the other elements throughout the record (e.g., brass, background choruses, etc.) were a hint, this is indisputable evidence.
Perfect Buzz- Happy Trails (EP): PDX garage/punk scene vet Petey’s (Pure Country Gold, Suicide Notes) latest project is Perfect Buzz. Happy Trails blends first-wave punk, power pop, and psych in a way that can only come out of the 503. I’ll take all of this ya got! On a side note, in their Bandcamp pic, one is wearing a Dead Moon hat, which made me irrationally happy. Incredible.
Sleaford Mods- The Demise of Planet X: One of the things I miss the most about Twitter is having a feed full of cool/interesting people. That itself was a gift. Occasionally, something like “Kebab Spider” showed up on your TL and blew your mind. It was the perfect record at the perfect time. Those days are gone, but Sleaford Mods are still at it and have delivered what might be their best work yet. The Demise of Planet X is again the perfect record for right now. Surveying the land, they pull no punches and give no Fs. At this point, that’s table stakes for the band.
In danger of becoming a one-trick pony (see also: Dry Cleaning), the duo of Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn long ago figured out that stretching the boundaries made sense. There are guest spots (Aldous Harding, Sue Tompkins, etc.), which we’ve come to expect. What I wasn’t ready for is how varied the sound itself is. Make no mistake: it’s still looping and relentless, but we’re a long way from Fearn holding up a tape recorder in the background. The end result is infectious.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on these records! Did I get it right, or am I way off the mark?
Good morning! Need an antidote for the algorithms? Looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people? You’re in the right spot.
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing, and the playlist below is some of what’s been in heavy rotation for me.
As always, thank you to those who have recently upgraded their subscriptions. Your direct support fuels this community and makes a positive impact. Shares and reposts also help!
When you’re ready, joining them is easy. Just click here:
Last week, my wife and I decided to walk up to our local high school to watch the boys’ basketball team. As we walked in, we were met with the usual sort of mild chaos these events bring. This was made worse by the fact that the school is trying to realign the kids/parents/visitors/home sections. On paper, this makes sense—they want the student section behind the bench as a sort of sixth man. I get it. That the new layout was only sorta explained and almost totally ignored is on brand. There are, of course, much, much worse things to deal with.
As we found a place to sit, I was struck with two conflicting thoughts: 1) man, I’m glad we don’t have to deal with this anymore, and 2) how lucky we are that we still get to do this.
There was a time when that was all very much in question. In 2020, we were steeped in the world of player-parenting. I’ve noted it before, but there was a years-long stretch where my car never didn’t have a pair of cleats in it (It smelled exactly they way you’re imagining it did). Losing that sports lifeline cut deeper than a lot of the other things that vanished. Again, not the biggest thing to worry about during a global pandemic, but it sure felt like it. It felt like a dark tunnel with no way out.
Then came light. A pinpoint at first, but my first inkling that it wasn’t another oncoming train came in the form of seeing people posting clips of Wilco’s “Shot in the Arm” on their social media feeds. Help was on the way in the form of a vaccine. It was, well, the boost we needed to bounce back.
2026 is off to an equally heavy start. I don’t know how we’ll know if/when we’ve turned a corner, but seeing “creative” uses of songs from Frozen being used in Minneapolis gives me the same sort of cautious optimism I felt six years ago.
This week, that Wilco song is here. So too are brand-new tracks from Autoleisureland (former members of The Kane Gang), Odd Marshall, Girl Scout, and Memorials. Minneapolis is well represented (how could they not be?!), as are a couple of old standbys. My eyes are wide open and my shoulder very much dropped, but how lucky we are to still get to do this. Let’s work to keep it that way.
Note: Qobuz is missing a couple this week. Apple is missing Autoleisureland.Now it’s your turn.
Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!
P.S. A few of you have asked if I sequence these as if they’re an album or mixtape. The answer is always “yes.” In my head, I imagine them being played on your morning commute or road trip. I’m too old to use the word “vibes” as much as I have lately, but, well, if the shoe fits…
This week, Side A is tracks 1-13, with Side B being 14-27.
P.P.S What song defined 2025 for you?Tell me about it here. Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. Please keep ‘em comin’!
Members of the band stop by to discuss their latest record and what’s next.
Photo: Katy McElroy
Good morning!
We’re in for a treat today! Members of Winged Wheel—one of my fave discoveries of the last few years stop by to chat.
The pitch: An “experimental super-band” comprised of Whitney Johnson (Matchess, Circuit des Yeux), Cory Plump (Spray Paint, co-owner of the dream venue Tubby’s), Matthew J. Rolin (solo guitar wizard and half of the Powers/Rolin Duo), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Lonnie Slack (Water Damage), and Fred Thomas (Idle Ray, Tyvek), Winged Wheel is a creatively and geographically scattered collective, with each player living in a different city and bringing their own unique element to the group’s interpersonal alchemy.
The first record (2022’s No Island) was a product of file trading, with each band member living in a different city and sending in their own part to be assembled later. The result: a record they describe as “accidentally really good” (my take: yes), with its high-voltage kosmische-meets-jam-band vibes. 2024’s Big Hotel was one of my sleeper picks for AOTY, with “Sleeptraining” easily one of my most-played tracks.
When I first heard a new record was inbound, I was excited. As each single rolled out, that excitement only grew. A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going to be obnoxious about it, but also wondered whether the record would live up to whatever bar I’d set in my head. Spoiler: it totally does. In last week’s Sound Advice column, I wrote “[where] intensity is still very much there, with layers of synths, walls of noise, and unfamiliar sounds. The band has mentioned trying to balance excitement and tension, and it shows. Things move a little slower here, and the hits come a little harder.”
I ended that piece by noting Desert So Green“is yet another evolution from a collective that has made that their stock-in-trade. It’s not always the easiest listen, but for those who make the effort, the payoff is enormous.”
Having listened to it a bunch since then, I’d only double down on that assessment.
I recently had a chance to chat with band members Fred Thomas and Matthew Rolin via email. In our wide-ranging discussion, we talked about the band’s origin story, the record, and what’s coming next. Our chat has only been lightly edited for grammar and flow.
KA—
Congrats on the new record! Can you walk us through the backstory of how this project came together?
Fred Thomas: It’s been a very unusual path! The easiest way to explain the band is as a series of unexpected outcomes. It started as a remote recording project when everyone was locked down heavy in 2020, and that unexpectedly resulted in a really interesting first album, 2022’s No Island. When shows started happening again, Cory asked Steve if he’d want to sit in with us. He said he’d be down, which was unexpected, and we all got together in person to record the jams and ideas that became 2024’s Big Hotel. I think after that recording session, none of us really expected to play live, but we quickly started touring and operating like a traditional band, even though we all live in different places and come together around the conceptual entity of Winged Wheel.
Big Hotel was the on-ramp for many people. What should they expect this time around?
FT: The only goal we had for making the new record was that it be completely different than the last. Where Big Hotel was cauterized together from hours of jams and searching, Desert So Green was collectively designed in the studio, with structure and composition playing a much larger role. It’s still the result of searching, but there’s a lot more group intention here.
Matthew Rolin: If Big Hotel was the on-ramp, then I would say Desert So Green is reaching a foreign, yet familiar, place. You’re not sure if you are close to the destination yet, but you’ve just stumbled across something that is interesting enough to stop and check out.
Desert So Green is described as an album that spends its duration struggling to balance a scale with excitement on one side and anxious tension on the other. Say more, please.
FT: Listening to the album, it might be difficult to pin down exactly how it makes you feel at any given moment. There are pretty parts, but they’re always a little bit shaky. There’s sections of peaceful drone, but fried undercurrents are always there, too. Nothing fully resolves, and it’s almost like the songs stubbornly don’t allow themselves to be just punky rippers or meditative zoners, or anything singular. Whatever dominant energy is present, its agitated foil is always nearby.
MR: That’s life (mine at least). As far as how it relates to the music, I take it as this ever-present undercurrent that gets under your skin. Even the prettiest songs on the album have some of what I’m talking about. Sometimes it’s drones, sometimes it’s sharp, unfamiliar noises, but they are always there to add to the song and maybe mess a little with expectations.
I can hear a few different artists that might’ve been an influence, and everyone here has an impressive CV. That said, were there any specific bands informing the sound?
FT: We’re all huge music listeners and absorbers, so specific influences would be next to impossible to list. That said, while we were making the record, we all noticed there were some accidental similarities to Slint’s Spiderland here and there. That wasn’t so much an intentional homage as something that showed up once the dust settled and was interesting to observe.
MR: Like what Fred said, we all listen to probably too much music, so it’s impossible to pin it even on a dozen bands/artists. That being said, this time I found our CAN-style approach to recording to be tightened up. For Big Hotel, we just hit record and let it rip. This time, various members contributed demos and ideas beforehand, so we had a skeleton to fill out while in the studio.
For anyone new to Winged Wheel, what’s the one thing you hope they walk away with?
FT: Each of our three records so far has had wildly different tonalities and sound worlds while remaining somewhat connected to a blurry type of grand vision. Desert So Green is the most restrained and layered Winged Wheel album yet, so it would be great if listeners could tune into some of the deeper waves and movement that happened in the recording this time around.
MR: I hope they can see how amazed we all are that this band even exists. We are all playing music that I don’t think anyone in the band would come up with alone. A true collaboration!
By the time people read this, you will be touring Europe. Besides Big Ears at the end of March, are there any plans for stateside shows?
FT: Things keep on coming up unexpectedly, so it’s very likely there will be more on the books soon. As of this moment, however, nothing is planned past Big Ears.
Last one, just for fun; I bump into you as you walk out of the record store. What records are you carrying?
FT: Each member of the band would be carrying a completely different selection, and it wouldn’t make even a shred of sense to anyone outside of the Winged Wheel bubble. There’d be some Cumbia records, some Bakersfield-style country, a Beatles rarities box set, some microtonal organ music, and probably a Velvet Underground bootleg as well.
MR: As someone who just moved several times in the last few years… I am carrying the money I just got from selling my entirely too large and too heavy record collection and walking straight to the chiropractor.
Listen:
Winged Wheel | Desert So Green (2026)
Right-click the record to listen via Bandcamp.
Desert so Green is out now via 12XU. You can grab your copy here.
Good morning! Need an antidote for the algorithms? Looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people? You’re in the right spot.
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing, and the playlist below is some of what’s been in heavy rotation for me.
As always, thank you to those who have recently upgraded their subscriptions. Your direct support fuels this community and makes a positive impact. Shares and reposts also help!
When you’re ready, joining them is easy. Just click here:
I hope this finds you well is the ultimate cliché when it comes to openers. But no, really—how are you? How are you holding up? Life’s never easy. But 2026 has been an 12-day pressure test. It seems weird to put out playlists and write about records in a time like this, but also completely normal. One of the foundations of this nation has always been that tomorrow will be better. That aspiration found its way into every corner of life here. It’s hard to see that as an ongoing concern—and, anecdotally, a bit bewildering to realize that life goes on. I had that revelation driving home after dropping our car off at the shop. Oil changes and interval checks? Now?! Apparently so. More importantly, as bad as things are, nothing is a foregone conclusion. There is still so much we can do.
There’s zero historical context for any of the last couple of weeks, but we’ve always leaned into music when things get sketchy. Indeed, this nation’s entire history has been soundtracked; from fifes and drums during the Revolutionary War to Woody Guthrie, to RATM during the Bush Sr. era, and on to today. It also serves as both a respite and fuels resolve. It’s always seemed like anything’s possible when you’ve got something good playing.
This week, Dan Epstein touched on that using Curtis Mayfield as an example, highlighting his 1971 track “Keep On Keeping On,” writing:
Curtis went to his untimely grave believing that, for all of humanity’s myriad faults and fuckups and self-inflicted tragedies, we still have the potential to get our collective shit together. He also knew that no one was coming to save us, and that we’d have to do it ourselves and within our own communities before we could bring about any lasting and meaningful changes at the national or global level. But he damn well believed that it was still possible.
I do too, Curtis. Even after this past week.
Same here. I went with “Move On Up,” a track that to my ear feels both impossibly sunny and makes one feel like at the sky’s the limit. Besides Curtis, we’ve got some brand new blistering hot sounds from up here in Madison, a bit of shoegaze from the Second City (at least Bears fans have a little something to celebrate?), and the usual dose of sonic comfort food. There’s also a couple of Grateful Dead tracks in the mix. RIP Bob Weir.
And for anyone that feels helpless right now and wonders what they can do, there are plenty of options for every ability and every level of risk tolerance. The only non-starter is doing nothing.
KA—
P.S. A few of you have asked if I sequence these as if they’re an album or mixtape. The answer is always “yes.” In my head, I imagine them being played on your morning commute or road trip. I’m too old to use the word “vibes” as much as I have lately, but, well, if the shoe fits…
This week, side A is tracks 1-12, with Side B being 13-27.
P.P.S What song defined 2025 for you?Tell me about it here. Thank you to everyone who has responded so far. Please keep ‘em comin’!
Good morning! Need an antidote for the algorithms? Looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people? You’re in the right spot.
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing, and the playlist below is some of what’s been in heavy rotation for me.
As always, thank you to those who have recently upgraded their subscriptions. Your direct support fuels this community and makes a positive impact. Shares and reposts also help!
When you’re ready, joining them is easy. Just click here:
I’ve mentioned it before, but before my knee decided to commit harakiri (0/10, do not recommend), I played pickup soccer every week at a local gym. Every January, the parking lot would get exponentially more crowded for a few weeks as the “new year, new me” crowd resolved to “do something,” only to lose faith, interest, whatever, a few weeks later. It went on long enough that we started betting informally on the over/under for how long it would take to get a good parking spot again. And to reiterate, we never bet on anyone specific—they could’ve easily been one of us (and occasionally were).
All of this is a long way around to say that there won’t be a sonic version of “new year, new me” here; I like what I like and am a creature of habit (exhibit A: track 10). But one of my habits is finding new music, so there’s that (exhibit B: tracks 21–22). I enjoyed Miki Berenyi’s Tripla but hadn’t really done a close listen since I reviewed it. I checked it out again and found a new appreciation for it.
This week, there are a few other faves from 2025 back in the mix. What’s the over/under on when AOTY season ends? A few new-to-me records are here, and of course a bunch of old favorites. My world looked like Hoth for a minute, and going back to/through those records is my version of hygge. We went out for an early dinner on NYE, and tracks 8–11 were heard at our fave pizza place (resolution: go there more). And we were overdue for a two-for from Trent Reznor & co.
Turnstile is a band that seemingly on everyone’s list except mine. Did I miss the boat? Sure looks like it. Might be one of those records I left on the table. I’ll resolve to find out…
KA–
P.S. A few of you have asked if I sequence these as if they’re an album or mixtape. The answer is always “yes.” In my head, I imagine them being played on your morning commute or road trip. I’m too old to use the word “vibes” as much as I have lately, but, well, if the shoe fits…
This week, side A is tracks 1-13, with Side B being 14-28.
Some thoughts on community, curation, and why indie writing matters more than ever
My dad’s last job was in what we would today call “IT.” For a while, he was on the hardware side, and our garage was full of boxes from long-lost brands like Leading Edge. While on the software side, we got to see games that today seem primitive, but back then seemed revolutionary.
LOGO? Sure, laugh now, but man, that turtle was f’ing something. Ditto the original Oregon Trail game—who knew dying of dysentery could be fun? For a minute, we had an Apple IIe. This also coincided exactly with how long I was cool at school. I’m sure it was a coincidence. His final project before he passed was a program that pulled together your frequent flier miles, applied each airline’s award rules, and showed how close you were to any given redemption—so you could book your next trip with whatever carrier made the most sense. Today, we’d call that an app, and probably one you’d learn to build in a 200-level class.
That idea—aggregating value across fragmented systems so people can make better choices—has stayed with me. Because in a small, non-technical way, that’s what this project is trying to do too.
It’s a miracle, this internet. For as much as words like doomscrolling and digital decay have now become regular parts of the discourse, nothing else has done more to slip the surly bonds of geography and let people find one another around shared interests, values, and obsessions. Yes, it’s often weaponized, but it’s just as frequently used as a force for good—whether that’s organizing pro-democracy rallies or yapping about records. All of it would look like science fiction to people just a few short years ago.
This time of year is flooded with lookbacks and lists, but if you’ll indulge me for a second, I wanted to take one last glance before we start looking ahead this Saturday.
This community continues to grow in new and exciting ways. Its success is due to readers like you. Thank you for making it what it is. Thank you for sharing it on social media and with your friends and family. If you’re sharing it with your enemies, well, thanks for that, too.
Whether you’ve been here since Day 1, just recently showed up, or this is the first post of mine you’ve ever read, I’m glad you’re here. And if you’re up at 7 AM on New Year’s Day? More power to you!
Some red meat for the data wonks:
Because of your recommendations, On Repeat Records is read in 48 states (2024 resolution: get North Dakota and Wyoming on board; 2025 resolution: try again; 2026: third time’s a charm?!) and 71 countries worldwide. There are a lot more of us here than there were a year ago at this time, but the vibe still seems to be “the coolest dinner party you’ve ever been to.” One 2026 goal: keep that goin’. These missives land in inboxes as close as literally just down the block and as far away as New Zealand. That never ceases to amaze me and is incredibly humbling.
The numbers are interesting and prove there is an appetite for sharing the music we love with people, subverting algorithms, and supporting indie music journalism. Metrics are fun to discuss, but wouldn’t mean much without engagement.
The conversations—especially the ones in the comment sections that go far off into the weeds—are a highlight of every week. Same with the stories you share directly with me. I appreciate the feedback and love hearing the role certain records have played in your life. I read every one and try to respond as quickly as possible. That door is always open. Please use it.
This was also the year that I finally got hit with a few “stick to music” responses and performative unsubscribes. So be it. It’s a reminder that there are people on both sides of the glass. Most folks are here for hot takes on cool records, but once in a while, there will be a wildcard essay from a middle-aged guy trying to make sense of the world around him (spoiler: that guy is me).
Rather than list everything month by month, here are a few moments that felt representative of the year:
We took a rocket into space and got a chance to chat with Gelli Haha, among others.
Cool people doing cool shit? Yes please! This place is bursting with incredible talent. And I’m 110% here for it. This list barely scratches the surface. We’ll be doubling down on that in ’26.
Through it all, the throughline was community.
We don’t do ads or sponsored content here. There is no media team or marketing, either. It’s just Gizmo and me spreading the word about good records (and warning you away from bad ones).
That only works because of reader support. Paid supporters have full access to the entire archive, but more importantly, that revenue is the jet fuel that keeps this project in the air. Your support, shares, and recommendations all make an immediate, positive impact and keep this place independent.
I also want to again thank every guest writer, collaborator, and co-conspirator from the past year. If you recognize yourself in that sentence, thank you for trusting me with your work. And to the few of you I got to meet in real life, know that those moments were genuine high points of the year. More of that in ’26, please!
We’ve talked about a lot of records and covered a lot of ground. I hope you’ve found a new favorite or two, and a new favorite spot on the internet. Life’s better with records in it and people to share ’em with.
2025 was a meaningful year for On Repeat Records, and 2026 is already looking bright. Thanks for being a part of it.
The Rosy Overdrive EoY reader list has become one of my year end must-reads. Maybe it will for you too? Can almost guarantee your new favorite record is waiting for you in there!
Good morning! Need an antidote for the algorithms? Looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people? You’re in the right spot.
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing, and the playlist below is some of what’s been in heavy rotation for me.
As always, thank you to those who have recently upgraded their subscriptions. Your direct support fuels this community and makes a positive impact. Shares and reposts also help!
When you’re ready, joining them is easy. Just click here:
Welcome to dead week, everyone! The liminal space where nothing really happens unless you’re in the resolution business, in which case it’s peak season. Maybe you have 1–2? I don’t, other than the boringly boilerplate ones like “eat better,” and “listen to more records.” The smart money says I’ll go 1-for-2. You can probably guess which is which. Later this week we’ll take a look both back at the decade that was 2025, and forward to 2026. In the meantime, here’s some tracks that have been in heavy rotation here at the house. Hopefully these’ll sound good on the trail or treadmill.
I was having a discussion with a friend about bands that often get lost in the discussion when talking about any given scene, and that led me down a Cabaret Voltaire rabbit hole (yes, they’re from Sheffield, yes I’m counting it as Manchester). There was also a lot of album playing over the last few days, and that’s reflected in some deeper cuts throughout the list. I feel like I missed the boat on J Brekkie this year. For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) never really landed with me, yet every time I hear a track off the record, it’s my new favorite. Guess that’s how it goes sometimes.
“Monie in the Middle” might stick out here, but is one that pops into my head every now and again and stays for a few days. The Big Audio Dynamite and Let’s Active tracks are old favorites from new (to me) records picked up last week at a benefit event for our local LW FM station, WVMO. “Stimulation” is an older track from a new (to me) band, Preoccupations. Tbh, I think they would’ve fit right in on a bill with some of the Manchester bands of old.
We spent a lot of time with Kitchens of Distinction as part of the “Best Record of 1989” bracket challenge. This one’s from ‘91, and the next bracket is for ‘01, which is a bit of a blind spot for me. Maybe that should be my resolution? We can workshop it. In the meantime, Milwaukee’s represented here with Collections of Colonies of Bees. Spotlighting more Wisco bands is definitely on order for the new year, as is finding more new-to-me stuff like Air Miami.
KA–
P.S. A few of you have asked if I sequence these as if they’re an album or mixtape. The answer is always “yes.” In my head, I imagine them being played on your morning commute or road trip. I’m too old to use the word “vibes” as much as I have lately, but, well, if the shoe fits…
This week, side A is tracks 1-16, with Side B being 17-27.
What caught your ear this week? Any new releases or tickets to shows for Christmas/Hanukkah/ Boxing Day? Do you make any end-of-year lists or resolutions? If so, please share below!
Good morning! Need an antidote for the algorithms? Looking for a place to share the music you love with like-minded people? You’re in the right spot.
For those of you who are new, we kick off every week by sharing what we’ve been playing, and the playlist below is some of what’s been in heavy rotation for me.
As always, thank you to those who have recently upgraded their subscriptions. Your direct support fuels this community and makes a positive impact. Shares and reposts also help!
When you’re ready, joining them is easy. Just click here:
One of my biggest holiday wishes for everyone is that you get a day (or 2-3) to do…well, whatever you want. Maybe that means letting the sun wake you up instead of a shrieking alarm clock. Perhaps it means declaring email bankruptcy and going nuclear on your inbox. There’s probably some coffee in there, too. I was on vacation this past week and got to enjoy several of those things. I also chipped away at my TBR pile and spun a lot of records.
It’s strange; when people hear that I work for an airline, the default assumption is that we’re always jetting off to somewhere exotic. I have plenty of ink on my passport, but the truth is that sometimes I just want to do a dry run on what retirement might look like. In other words, the other side of Madison was the farthest I ventured.
Music-wise, this list reflects hanging around the house. There’s a reason this week’s is a bit longer (and eclectic) than usual- plenty of free time and sub-zero temps mean plenty of time in front of the sound machine. There’s also a couple of best of 2025 tracks back in the mix. Last week, I mentioned hitting a wall and needing some space from the records I’d been gorging on ahead of AOTY season. That was short-lived, and I got back to enjoying them. Plenty of post-punk too. Some things never change, I guess. And there’s some New Order on here, because of course there is.
Looking over the list, I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard a few of them. “Coldsweat” sounded as good a few days ago as it did when my friend Kendra pushed a copy of Life’s Too Good in my hand a few lifetimes ago and told me I needed to hear it. I wonder if those memories would have been as strong had the algorithm fed ‘em? I doubt it. Ironically, it was my employer that tipped me off to J-Boy; I first heard it while listening to IFE on a flight as we rocketed out of Portland.
I hope you find a few new faves here and that everything on your list shows up under your tree.
KA–
P.S. A few of you have asked if I sequence these as if they’re an album or mixtape. The answer is always “yes.” In my head, I imagine them being played on your morning commute or road trip. I’m too old to use the word “vibes” as much as I have lately, but, well, if the shoe fits…Side A is tracks 1-17, with Side B being 18-35.
What caught your ear this week? Any new releases or shows you’re hoping will be under the tree? Do you make any end-of-year lists? If so, please share below!?
Kevin Sent 
Leave a comment