There’s so much music coming out all the time that it’s hard to keep track. On those days when the influx of new tracks is particularly overwhelming, we sift through the noise to bring you a curated list of the most interesting new releases (the best of which will be added to our Best New Songs playlist). Below, check out our track roundup for Thursday, July 8, 2026.
Kisser – ‘Bad Boy Mountain’ and ‘Ghostgirl’
In our recent interview, Big Thief’s Buck Meek talked about kissing as one of the inspirations behind his latest solo album and mentioned his new band, Kisser. It features several artists who contributed to that record, including Germaine Dunes, Jesse Quebbeman-Turley, and Adam Brisbin. Today, they’ve shared their first songs, the raucous ‘Bad Boy Mountain’ and the quieter ‘Ghostgirl’.
Ed O’ Brien – ‘Abbeycwmhir’
Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien has unveiled ‘Abbeycwmhir’, a beatific track from the sessions behind his recent solo album, Blue Morpho. The title translates from Welsh as “Abbey in the Long Valley.”
The Last Dinner Party – ‘Knocking at the Sky’
The Last Dinner Party have dropped a new single, ‘Knocking at the Sky’, taken from a new deluxe edition of their second LP From the Pyre. “’Knocking at the Sky’ is the final tale from The Pyre,” the band shared. “After creating an album about storytelling and worldbuilding we thought it apt to end this act with a story set in the sinister mythworld itself: Los Angeles. Hollywood is the ultimate fairytale; the stakes are at surreal heights, the landscape is unruly and plastic and its populated with a cast of Grimm characters all striving and struggling at the centre of their own hero’s journey.”
Hannah Cole – ‘MMA’
Hannah Cole has announced her debut album, Switchbacks, with the gauzy, cathartic new single ‘MMA’. She tracked the LP, which is out in September, with her longtime collaborator and partner Josef Kuhn.
Starcleaner Reunion – ‘Never Odd or Even’
New York outfit Starcleaner Reunion have announced their debut full-length, Umbrella, arriving September 25 via Take Care Records. The nervy, hypnotic new single ‘Never Odd or Even’ leads the LP. “‘Never Odd or Even’ is about the anticipation of sharing secrets,” the band explained. “Some of them can be entertaining while others could reveal dark things. This song explores the experience of a personal secret leaving that protective space in someone’s mind. The push and pull dynamic of the music, bouncing between propulsive motorik rush and 5/4 waltz, mimics that trajectory between that excitement and unimaginable darkness.”
Getdown Services – ‘Cha Cha Slide’
Getdown Services have released a dreamy, oddly nostalgic song called ‘Cha Cha Slide’, which is lifted from their upcoming album Massive Champion. “This song is about the feeling of everyone else somehow knowing what to do,” Josh Law explained. “It’s about a feeling I’d get as a child that has never quite left me; that I just don’t really know what to do at social occasions. It’s about realising that trying to connect with and understand people is a lifetime of trial and error. It’s probably the saddest song we’ve ever written.”
Sam and Louise Sullivan – ‘Love & Devotion’
Sam and Louise Sullivan have shared the title track from their forthcoming album, Love & Devotion. “People say it’s hard, but it’s easy when you got the sway,” Louise sings, and the music proves their point. Sam described it as the duo’s “folk-rock wedding song,” adding: “It’s fashionable these days to say, ‘ooh, love is so hard; we have to work on our relationship; we need to find compromise, etc.’ No. Wrong. Love should be easy and very fun.”
Theo Bleak – ‘We Will Not Be Lovers’
We haven’t heard from Theo Bleak since last December’s Bargaining, a project that held my interest during a month when us music writers don’t typically pay attention to a lot of new music. Today, the Scottish musician is back with a lovely cover of the Waterboys’ ‘We Will Not Be Lovers’, which comes with a video by Jacob Gandy.
The Mary Wallopers – ‘Landlord’s Demise’
Ireland’s The Mary Wallopers are back with ‘Landlord’s Demise’, the latest offering from their third album, Paddywhackery. “This is a song about the fall of empire in Ireland, and an expression of our disdain for the Landlord Class,” Andrew Hendy expounded. “It’s based on a true story about a Manor House falling down around its aristocratic owner, and is also inspired by Tom Barry’s book ‘Guerilla Days in Ireland’. It’s a song for all the struggling renters, in dingy flats and mould infested bathrooms, living in fear of another rent hike.”
Initiate – ‘Numb the Pain’
“We all wondered, ‘What would it sound like if Clairo wrote a Quicksand record?’” Crystal Pak, vocalist of the California hardcore outfit Initiate, said of their new single ‘Numb the Pain’. (The question is, what would Peppa Pig think of it?) The exhilarating track leads their new EP With Love // With Rage, out on August 7 via Blue Grape. It “starts off with a callback to our last single, ‘Alone At the Bottom’,” according to Pak, “showcasing the ebbs and flows that life can throw at you. Where much of hardcore leans into anthems of brotherhood and sisterhood, this track still embraces those themes, but frames them through a more introspective lens. The addition of melodic softness and acoustic elements makes it clear from the outset that this is meant to land differently — not as a rallying cry, but as something more personal and reflective. In a way, it stands apart while still feeling connected to the core of what we do — expanding our sound without losing the heart behind it, and showing that strength doesn’t always have to come through volume alone.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source ourculturemag.com ’
