Music highlights February 2026
Hello. A lot of cool stuff came out in February, so I thought I would post about it. Like this!
Charlotte Day Wilson, "High Road," Patchwork. Gotta love a comeback story. After 2024's pretty disappointing and forgettable Cyan Blue, Wilson is back with an album that lives up to its name. It's kind of all over the place, but every direction she sets out in with her sumptuous R&B is a good one. And the 20 minute runtime just zooms by, leaving you wanting more every time.
Puma Blue, "Desire," Croak Dream. After his solo acoustic detour on last year's antichamber, Puma Blue is back with a full band and another expansion of his dark, seductive sound. This one has a little more of a rock edge than before, but the mood remains palpable. Not since Portishead has an artist created such appealing dark alleys.
hemlocke springs, "head, shoulders, knees and ankles," the apple tree under the sea. You may recall hemlocke springs from her viral hit "girlfriend" in 2023. The EP that accompanied it was a lot of fun. This first proper album is a lot more to take in. Dark and moody, mostly full of slower and more low key pieces, it largely leaves the wacky fun her earlier material behind. Which is kind of a bummer, to me personally, but the new songs are very good. She's crazy for this one.
Converge, "Distract And Divide," Love Is Not Enough. Hardcore is a punishing genre to work in. Physically demanding to everyone in the band. For a band to not only still be doing it after 30+ years, but still be at the top of of their game is extraordinary. I genuinely don't know how they do it, but on their first proper album in 9 years, they sure do... do... it...
Worm, "Necropalace," Necropalace. I was not previously familiar with Worm, but I saw the Castlevania-lookin-ass cover of this album and thought, "I bet I know what this sounds like," and I was right on the money. Ludicrously over the top atmospheric black metal madness. Featuring the totally insane guitar player from First Fragment and a guest appearance by metal royalty Marty Friedman on the final track, even. This video is hilarious. I love it.
Domhain, "My Tomb Beneath The Tide," In Perfect Stillness. Speaking of black metal, here's another one, more or less. Domhain make "post-black metal," and since "post-" means slower and more introspective when slapped in front of a genre, the result is a much moodier experience than a band like Worm.
Baby Keem, "House Money," Ca$ino. The artist cursed to be Kendrick Lamar's cousin took an unheard-of-for-mainstream-rap-music 5 years between his first and second albums and came back a whole new person. Just 25 years old 5 years after his debut, his voice is different, his sound is different, his perspective is different on his new project. At a lean 11 tracks, Ca$ino doesn't buy into the abysmal rap trend of making a 30-track album with 1 good song to flood streaming platforms. The songs vary from intense tales of a hard upbringing to the kind of shit talkin seen above, resulting in an album that's a lot more varied and engaging than his last. A welcome surprise.
Autumn!, "Grok!," KICKOFF. A much more typical for these days 4 months after his last project, Autumn! came back with a new EP of his dreamy, pop rap. It may not be too deep, people like Lil Tecca may do this exact thing better, but it's fun!
Larry June, Curren$y & The Alchemist, "Everything Allocated," Spiral Staircases. In February of 2025, Larry June, 2 Chainz & The Alchemist released the collaborative album Life Is Beautiful. Almost exactly a year later, Larry, Curren$y & The Alchemist appeared with Spiral Staircases, another serving of Larry's luxury rap, Alchemist's signature beats, and and an OG sealing the deal. It begs the question: Who gets the middle slot next February?
Lucid Express, "Promise Me," Instant Comfort. My last offering for you is the very 90s shoegaze stylings of Hong Kong's Lucid Express. Are they bringing anything particularly original to the table? No. Am I a sucker for this kinda dreamy, reverb-soaked musical landscape? You know it! They may not be reinventing the wheel, but they take you on a smooth ride, all the same.
That's it!
