12 best new Milwaukee music releases to check out for February 2026

The latest batch of top music releases from Milwaukee artists includes one rapper’s debut track for the massive record label behind Taylor Swift.

Here are 11 new songs, EPs and albums from Milwaukee artists to check out in February, listed in alphabetical order.

“Crazy Sexy Waterbed,” Full Nude

Proceed with caution when searching for this Milwaukee band online, but by all means proceed. Sophomore album “Crazy Sexy Waterbed” is a fun collection of raw and rowdy punk – the anticipatory guitar strokes alone in the first seconds of opener “Dominatrix Picnic” will get the heart racing – with some retro, surf-rock-adjacent flair to be found in tracks like “D52” and “No Name.”

Angelica went the straightforward route in naming their first EP “EP1,” but this collection of six shaggy, satisfying lo-fi rockers still has loads of creativity, from the dreamy spaciness of “Less Live” to the avant-garde weirdness of “Cat Hair.”

After supplying marimba, among other contributions, for Milwaukee’s superb tropical pop project L’Resorts, Stephanie Lippert emerges with her own act: The SLP, aka The Steph Lippert Project. These two singles are a sublime introduction, with a jazzy vibe supplied by Lippert’s croon and soft keys on “Here Again,” and “Somebody Else” offering a refreshing, matter-of-fact take on the aftermath of a relationship.

“I Sleep Alone Too,” Alex Lutze

The Menomonee Falls native (now based in Denver) first started writing music in Eau Claire, and the influence of that Wisconsin city’s most accomplished music export Justin Vernon is all over Lutze’s debut album “I Sleep Alone Too.” Similar to Bon Iver, there’s an ethereal quality to Lutze’s gentle folk pop songs like “Stay With Me” and “When The Ice Melts,” the latter a reflection on climate change – but the album is also grounded and intimate.

The prolific and acclaimed Milwaukee rapper makes the leap to one of the world’s biggest labels – Universal Music Group’s Republic Records (home to Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Morgan Wallen and other superstars) – with this glitchy hyperpop-infused banger reinforcing that he is among hip-hop’s most creative forces right now.

Betty Mauritz reflects on a past relationship on “Mirrored Souls,” Gold Steps’ latest single that invites soul-searching without sacrificing the pop-punk band’s signature, instantly infectious hooks.

Nick Stadler on vocals and guitar, Joe Widen on drums and Dan Schmidt on bass are a formidable trio on the towering psychedelic metal band’s debut album. Opener “In Darkness” has some early Black Sabbath vibes, “Grim Reputation” picks up the tempo with devil-may-care attitude, only for third track “Mara” to mix some sticky sludge with Ghost-style sweetness. The six songs that follow are every bit as riveting.

Slade continues the soul-piercing clarity of last year’s album “Brain Fog” on his follow-up five-song EP, manifested once more through gentle, dreamy folk-pop. “I finally knew/the true depth of my blue,” he sings movingly on “Rumination” standout “Deep Blue.” “When the chaos subsides/The silence forces me to face it.”

“The Shotgun Theory,” Lunde

The band’s namesake drummer Jeremiah Lunde is also the band’s producer, and in that role, he brings a fitting, nostalgic warmth to an album that draws inspiration across the decades, from The Beach Boys to Radiohead. It’s all in service to the quietly stirring songwriting of Lunde’s cousin, frontman Nate Uhrich, best expressed on “Hide Away” and understated album-closing epic “Take It Slow Pts. One and Two.”

They want blood alright, and in this self-titled album from new bandmates and Milwaukee music scene veterans Mad Static and Tron Jovi, they draw it. This is a cutting collection of unfiltered and outraged hip-hop – no surprise given their catalogues (including producer Jovi’s work with the brazen, political Guerrilla Ghost) – with capitalism-fueled cruelty and our current president among their targets.

“Must-Hear Milwaukee Music” runs on or around the first of every month in the Journal Sentinel and at jsonline.com. If you have a new album, EP or song coming out, contact Piet Levy at [email protected] for review consideration. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.