February '26 Round Up
World War 3 is coming but hey there's riffs
Welcome to February’s round up, which drops just as the world goes to shit again for the umpteenth time this year. It feels pretty fucking impossible to find bright sides to what’s going on so I’m just doomscrolling and pretending any of this matters. Anyway here’s the music I liked the most from last month.
Uncultivates - This Will Become Clear Later, Like The French Revolution
Remember The Ongoing Concept? Because it sure sounds like Uncultivates do, or at least drink from a similar well of madcap post hardcore. Taut with a ramshackle chaos like a minecart hurtling precariously down the tracks and a tongue-in-cheek classic Western aesthetic, the best thing about This Will Become Clear Later… is just how much fun they’re having.
Converge - Love Is Not Enough
They’re the GOATs for a reason. Love Is Not Enough reacts to the post metal experimentalism of Bloodmoon I by simply being a really fucking good metalcore record; it’s just over half an hour of belligerent, but no less intense or brilliant, songwriting from the Massachusetts legends. From grindcore to flirtations with noise rock, this is Converge through and through and it fucking rocks.
Death Of Youth - Nothing Is The Same Anymore
London melodic hardcore/emo that originally started life as a bedroom project, Death Of Youth expanded to a full lineup for their debut album and it’s definitely paid off. This is also a deeply aware record, particularly of societal ills; ‘Desensitised’ tackles men’s attitudes to violence against women and ‘Fix Your Heart or Die’ is all about trans rights. All of that wrapped up in a deeply moving, heart-on-sleeve package makes this one heck of a debut.
Mothica - Somewhere In Between
True to its name, Somewhere In Between bridges the gap between Mothica’s last album Kissing Death and her promised fourth album due (presumably) later this year. While she’s no stranger to metalcore (see Nocturnal or her reimagining of BMTH’s ‘Can You Feel My Heart’), this time she embraces it more fully for the entire EP, heavier topics from personal relationships to a self-directed anger and disappointment in her relapse and subsequent stay in rehab to get clean again. If you like alt-pop that’s vulnerable, confessional and most importantly real, Mothica is the undisputed top moth.
Stressed - A World From Ashes
One word - metalcore. Stressed are Aussies, straight edge and worship at the altar of Arkangel. And if those words don’t get you feeling some type of way, I don’t know what else to tell you. It’s perfect for fist-swinging at basement shows and whaling on your mates to. Grab your Carhartt and your favourite two-stepping shoes.
Holy Dose - Sharp Decline
Melodic hardcore and like, really good. This is the first release from the outfit, featuring vocalist Cosmo from one of the sickest newer straight edge metalcore bands around, Contention. This time though, they’re doing stuff in the vein of Drug Church and others of that ilk, and they’re really fucking good at this too.
As ever, you can find my Apple Music playlist here. If the world hasn’t been engulfed in nuclear hellfire in the next few weeks, see you for the next instalment of this monthly roundup.