20 best new Milwaukee music releases to check out for May 2026

With the busy summer concert season right around the corner, there’s been a downpour of terrific new music from Milwaukee artists.

Here are 20 top new albums, EPs and songs to check out for May, listed in alphabetical order.

Perhaps the most offensive thing the Wisconsin ska-flirting punk band with Milwaukee members did was to not release any new music for the past 20 years. But what a return they make on “Almost Didn’t Make It.” The scream-your-throat-out opening punch of “Blaze It!” blasts straight to the heart-racing, ska-seasoned “Fake Work Fridays,” while the rousing “Light a Spark” and “These Streets” might have you chanting along before the end of your first listen.

A dreamy power-pop rocker with a bit of distorted bite, Jackson has another dynamic single with “American Dream” that recalls St. Vincent at her most anthemic, led by pointed lyrics like: “What part of God’s image was I made in? One nation under him making everything great again?”

“Beginning To End” feels like just the beginning for Known Moons, who across a five-song EP have crafted instantly infectious and layered indie rock that calls to mind Phoenix at their best.

Bitch Creek has made a bold debut EP by not trying to be bold at all, offering six unvarnished, intimate Americana tunes, distinguished by Liv Weiss’ subtle vocal grit and some remarkable lyrics. “Animal,” especially, is the kind of straight-for-the-throat stunner that made Zach Bryan an unexpected superstar.

The power-pop band can boast that a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is on their latest album. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, brother of the band’s guitarist, Brad Smith, is behind the kit on “Good Life,” “Shimmer” and “La De Da.” Naturally his drum work packs a punch, but it’s still in service of the feel-good power pop rockers, who still pack a punch absent a world-renowned rock star.

From one of the metalheads behind the gloriously titled 2020 Chopping Mall album “Mauled by a Magical Bear with Scalding Hot Liquid Cheese Spraying From Eyesockets” comes the more succinctly titled “Global Cataclysm” from a new project, Thunderkill. With a lift from artists in Argentina, Thunderkill’s debut album nobly carries the thrash metal torch set ablaze by Megadeth and Anthrax.

“I Can Be Your Someone,” Micah Emrich

The prolific R&B artist essentially transforms himself into a one-man boy band with this early aughts-style pop jam that would have been a massive hit if *NSync or Backstreet Boys had premiered it on “TRL.”

Nearly a decade after Richter released new music, he returns with a stirring soul rock single to usher in an overdue and welcome return.

“Mac DeMarco (I Can’t Be),” Holy Pinto

Aymen Saleh turns an amusing real-life story about being mistaken for slacker rock star Mac DeMarco by a border agent into a bedroom pop gem that glides from self-deprecating humor to thought-provoking reflections.

“Milwonkee,” Reilly

The fiddles are fired up and the bodhrán is banging on Reilly’s sixth album of warm Irish bar rockers. But Reilly doesn’t need to rely on any instrument for one of the album’s best moments, the barbershop-quartet-style “Strain The Cabbage.”

“I’ve got you in my chest,” frontman Rayven Burdette sings on Lake Drive’s latest single, a slick pop rock earworm that’s hard to shake.

“Pangea Pt. 3 (Hibernation),” Oak You

On the third installment of a planned five-part series, the dynamic duo of Liam O’Brien and The Fatty Acids’ Cole Quamme continue to reimagine folk music, beginning with the traditional-minded hymn “Red is the Rose” before swerving into the slightly glitchy and heavily ambient “3000.”

Milwaukee-born, Dallas-based rapper Lonni Monae is ready to “party on the weekend” on this short and punchy single, where the bass is blown out and the swagger is unstoppable.

The Milwaukee-born rocker with the soaring and soulful voice lives up to the title of her latest riveting retro rock single.

With an angelic wordless coo in the opening moments, the R&B artist brings vocal radiance and heart-tugging vulnerability to his latest single.

Maximiano proves that the soul-piercing and poetic folk songs found on their debut album “The Real Truth” two years back was no beginner’s luck. They return with a sophomore album whose layered instrumentation are just as ambitious (from lonesome trumpet to majestic harp to early-Dylan harmonica), but whose lyrics may be even more piercing. “Truth,” by the way, made our list of best Milwaukee albums in 2024. This year is young, but “Rokeby” is a contender for the 2026 list.

The rap veteran treats “Safe Space” as a literal safe space, revealing his truths and anxieties, rapping candidly about his mental burdens, and making a compelling song in the process.

The prolific rapper brings punch lines galore (even cartoon bullet sound effects), set to relentless lowend beats, on this carefree sugar rush of a mixtape. Bring on volume two.

“Why Do We Do What We Do?” 7000apart

The duo’s name stems from the 7,000 miles that once separated Amelie Eiding and Jonathan Kresin after the couple met at high school in Green Bay, before Eiding moved back to Sweden. Now married, they spend time in both Sweden and Milwaukee and are making beautiful pop music together on their latest album, led by Eiding’s striking voice that at times is reminiscent of Swedish pop royalty Robyn.

The rapper’s latest doesn’t even last two minutes, but with the amount of infectious energy and catchy hooks in that short runtime, it’s well-positioned to follow J.P.’s “Bad Bitty” and 414BigFrank’s “There It Is” to become this year’s Milwaukee rap song of the summer.

“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.