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May 29, 2026 By Mark Redfern

Welcome to the 20th Songs of the Week of 2026. This week Andy Von Pip, Caleb Campbell, Matt the Raven, and Scotty Dransfield helped me decide the list. We considered over 40 songs and narrowed it down to a Top 14.

Last month we announced our long-awaited The ’90s Issue Part 2. Find out more about it here. Order it here.

Subscriptions are still 50% off. Find out more here.

In recent weeks we posted interviews with Julia Cumming (a digital cover story), Ladytron (a My Firsts), Kevin Morby, Eaves Wilder (a My Firsts), Broken Social Scene, Tori Amos, deary, Brown Horse, Modern Woman, American Football (a digital cover story), Kneecap (a digital cover story), Jessie Ware, Arlo Parks (a digital cover story), Miss Grit, Metric, and more.

In the last week we reviewed some albums.

To help you sort through the multitude of fresh songs released in the last week, we have picked the 13 best the last seven days had to offer, followed by some honorable mentions. Check out the full list below.

1. Cheekface: “I Don’t Work Here”

Los Angeles-based indie rock trio Cheekface are releasing a new album, Podium, July 28. This week they shared its fourth single, “I Don’t Work Here,” via a music video in which the band performs in a grocery store. Mallory Turner shot and edited the video.

Cheekface is vocalist/guitarist Greg Katz, bassist Amanda Tannen (formerly of stellastarr*), and drummer Mark “Echo” Edwards.

Podium includes “Hostile Street,” a new song they shared in February that was one of our Songs of the Week. When the album was announced they shared its second single, “Black Site,” via a music video that featured the band in prison, complete with orange jumpsuits. It was also one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared its third single, “MFT,” via a music video. It also landed on Songs of the Week.

Podium is self-released, like all their albums, and also features contributions from Teddy Roxpin (known for his work with Mac Miller), Skatune Network’s Jer Hunter, and Elise Okusami of Oceanator.

Podium is the band’s sixth album and follows Middle Spoon, a new album the band released last year that made our Top 100 Albums of 2025 list.

Cheekface surprise-released another new album, It’s Sorted, in March 2024. It was one of our Top 100 Albums of 2024.

Read our interview with Cheekface on It’s Sorted.

Read our review of It’s Sorted.

2. Wild Pink: “Round of Applause At the End of the World”

This week, Wild Pink (the band led by John Ross) announced a new album, Still Coming Down, and shared its first single, “Round of Applause At the End of the World,” via a music video. Still Coming Down is due out August 21 on Fire Talk.

Still Coming Down follows 2024’s Dulling the Horns. It was recorded across one week in Asheville, NC at the Drop of Sun studios, working with producer and engineer Alex Farrar (Bnny, Wednesday, Samia). Vocal takes were done more quickly than on previous Wild Pink albums.

“There was not a ton of overthinking,” Ross says in a press release.

The album also features longtime Wild Pink member Dan Keegan on drums, along with guests Meg Duffy (aka Hand Habits) and MJ Lenderman and his The Wind bandmates Landon George and Xandy Chelmis.

Wild Pink’s 2022 album, ILYSM, was inspired by Ross’ cancer diagnosis. Since then he’s beat cancer and become a father for the first time.

“Strangely, I feel like I’ve found my voice on this record,” he says.

3. B​oards of Canada: “Naraka”

Iconic Scottish electronic duo Boards of Canada released their first album in 13 years, Inferno, today via Warp. Stream the whole thing here and also read our review of it here.

The album was previously teased with a snippet of music, but then they shared two songs from it, “Introit” and “Prophecy At 1420 MHz.” They are the album’s first two tracks, with “Introit” being a short instrumental. Both were shared via a combined music video directed by Robert Beatty. “Prophecy At 1420 MHz” was one of our Songs of the Week.

That left plenty of tracks for us to choose from for this week’s list, with “Naraka” getting the most votes. We also really liked “Arena Americanada” and “The Word Becomes Flesh.”

“Inferno is yet another piece of the puzzle by the ever confounding Scottish brothers. A million questions are raised here and as time marches onwards you can be sure there will be attempts to unpack every vocal sample, every possible mystery,” writes Tobias Furlong in his review of the album.

Boards of Canada are brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin. Their last album was 2013’s Tomorrow’s Harvest.

Read our review of Tomorrow’s Harvest.

4. Gilla Band: “Giraffe”

This week, Dublin four-piece Gilla Band shared a new song, “Giraffe,” their first in almost four years, and have announced some new tour dates, including some fall North American tour dates.

“Giraffe” is also available as a limited edition picture disc 7-inch on Rough Trade Records.

Gilla Band were formerly known as Girl Band, but changed their name in 2021. The band features vocalist Dara Kiely, guitarist Alan Duggan Borges, bassist Daniel Fox, and drummer Adam Faulkner.

Kiely had this to say about the single in a press release, in relation to what goes on inside his head: “It can be a very scattered and sometimes lonely place. Feeling unloved and finding it difficult to articulate what I’m actually thinking. The song’s outro indirectly details a kind of confirmation that affection toward me does exist. While I appreciate it, I still find that hard to believe.”

The band’s last album was 2022’s Most Normal. Read our review of it here.

5. IAN SWEET: “Jilian”

IAN SWEET (the project of Jilian Medford) is releasing a new album, Shiverstruck, on July 24 via Polyvinyl. This week she shared its second single, “Jilian.”

Medford had this to say about the song in a press release: “‘Jilian’ is about the small mistakes that somehow make life feel both cruel and hilarious at the same time. Over the past few years, I’ve struggled to understand who I am when everything familiar feels farther away. This song became me speaking directly to myself, calling myself out and finally saying the things out loud that I’ve been avoiding. It’s about realizing I’m still still here and there’s still so much life left to live. This song feels like hitting the reset button.”

Previously IAN SWEET shared the album’s lead single “Criminal Kissing,” which was one of our Songs of the Week.

6. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom: “A ? of WHEN”

This week, Panda Bear and Sonic Boom announced a new album, A ? of WHEN, that won’t be on any streaming sites, and shared a download of its title track. A ? of WHEN is due out July 10, via Domino.

So this is a new one for Songs of the Week, usually we can include an embed of every song from either YouTube or Bandcamp (and more rarely Spotify or Apple Music), but not this time.

Instead, you can download the song here.

Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox of Animal Collective) and Sonic Boom (aka Pete Kember, formerly of Spacemen 3) previously collaborated on the 2022 album, Reset.

A ? of WHEN will be released on vinyl, CD, cassette, and download via Domino Mart and Bandcamp, but not on any streaming platform.

The duo collectively had this to say about the decision in a press release:

“Change. Exciting & frightening at the same time. The slow slips & the big shifts. Highs & lows from the distraction of connectivity.

AI slop becomes an AI slope. Algorithm tables & algorithms tumble.

We’re taking things a little off piste.

More rock n’ roll than flick & scroll…

From here on in we’re getting back to a place of real connectivity and as you might have noticed from our new “Graveyard”/“Lucky Charm” 7” (only available from record stores) there’s no streaming, no videos, and a minimisation of online everything.

Going forward we’re looking to radio, live shows, listening parties, Q&A sessions & real life interactions to get back to a place we feel makes more sense.

To that end, we’re asking you to join us offline, outside of social media. To meet us in the real world. IRL not URL…”

Panda Bear released a new album, Sinister Grift, last year via Domino.

Read our 2019 interview with Panda Bear.

7. knitting: “I Wasn’t Fully Cooked”

8. TVOD: “Rerun”

9. Holy Wave: “s33.u.in/HAL”

10. Dead Pioneers: “The Worst Among Us”​ (Feat. Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods)

11. The Durutti Column: “Liars”

12. Lucia & The Best Boys: “Big Romance”​ (Feat. Abigail Morris of The Last Dinner Party)

13. Starcleaner Reunion: “Weather Instrument”

14. Strawberry Guy: “I’ll Never Feel That Young Again”

Honorable Mentions:

These songs almost made the Top 14. There are even more on the Spotify playlist.

Boards of Canada: “Arena Americanada” and “The Word Becomes Flesh”

Blood Orange: “Essex_Honey.mp3”

Chanel Beads: “Dust in the Wind”

Clutter: “GirlVsHeart”

Cornelius: “Aeons” (Feat. Sean Lennon)

Ebbb: “Shallow Hits”

Kristin Hersh: “Dark Eyed Junco”

jesus is the path to heaven: “The Lord Has Bled a Line”

Melaina Kol: “Lifeheart”

Man/Woman/Chainsaw: “Goddamn, Lizard Man!”

The Tallest Man On Earth: “Colors”

Patrick Wolf: “The Beast”

Here’s a handy Spotify playlist featuring the Top 13 in order, followed by all the honorable mentions and some additional songs (note that the Panda Bear & Sonic Boom song is not on the playlist, as outlined above):

Also, here is our ongoing 2026 Songs of the Week playlist, featuring each week’s main top list and select honorable mentions. (The embed cuts off after 100 songs, so go to Spotify for the full playlist.) It will be updated each week throughout the year:

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