Time flies when there\u2019s so much good music to get stuck into, so it\u2019s no wonder the first half of 2026 has whizzed past. Along the way, we\u2019ve had headline-grabbing comebacks, experimental debuts and surprise resurgences from stars that might otherwise have been written off \u2013 and that\u2019s just when it comes to albums.<\/p>\n
Has the sweeping beauty of My New Band Believe<\/a> had you in a headlock, or the souful stirrings of Elmiene<\/a> won your heart? Maybe BTS\u2019<\/a> long-awaited return gave you your fix of bops, or Slayyyter\u2019s<\/a> new sound and story captured your imagination. Whatever it is, there\u2019s been a lot going on. Before we get stuck into all the action the rest of the year promises, remind yourself of some of the gems of the last six months with NME\u2019s 25 best albums of 2026 so far, presented in alphabetical order.<\/p>\n Aldous Harding \u2013 \u2018Train On The Island\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: A cryptic conundrum of an album that takes delight in not giving away all its answers.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cProvocative songwriting [and] the subtle ways Harding<\/a> introduces new ideas and rewrites her own rulebook elevate \u2018Train On The Island\u2019 to the level of other recent highlights of genuinely artful pop<\/a> music.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018One Stop\u2019<\/p>\n BTS \u2013 \u2018Arirang\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The biggest boyband in the world return from mandatory military service by tackling the tensions of love and fame.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cAn apt characterisation of what they\u2019ve always done \u2013 mixing the cultural heritage of their home country with global influences [\u2026] BTS are back doing what they do best.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Body To Body\u2019<\/p>\n Chalk \u2013 \u2018Crystalpunk\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: Belfast duo<\/a> grapple with identity and conflict as they reach their latest sonic evolution<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cA knockout collection of arresting dance-punk [\u2026] in \u2018Crystalpunk\u2019, there is something to believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018B\u00e9al Feirste\u2019<\/p>\n Dua Saleh \u2013 \u2018Of Earth & Wires\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The Sudanese-American star\u2019s experience of migration fuels their accomplished, ambitious second album.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cSaleh<\/a> reveals a new resoluteness as a singer-songwriter, fully embracing pop but without abandoning their experimental curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018All Is Love\u2019<\/p>\n Ecca Vandal \u2013 \u2018Looking For People To Unfollow\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: Nine years after she made big strides with her debut, the South African-born punk<\/a> reminds us of her power.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cAlthough firepower and sonic versatility existed on her debut, a newfound ruthless streak makes \u2018Looking For People To Unfollow\u2019 a potent reintroduction.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Bleed But Never Die\u2019<\/p>\n Elmiene \u2013 \u2018Sounds For Someone\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The Oxford-born singer debuts with an impressive collection of cinematic soul and R&B.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cElmiene has had the talent since his first viral moment, but \u2018Sounds For Someone\u2019 marks the arrival of soul\u2019s newest custodian, one who\u2019ll no doubt create classic Sunday songs that will be played for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Special\u2019<\/p>\n Genesis Owusu \u2013 \u2018Redstar Wu & The Worldwide Scourge\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: Unpredictability is the order of the day on the Australian\u2019s fearless, genre-hopping third album.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cYou can\u2019t fault Owusu\u2019s<\/a> ambition, nor his ability to translate his furies and fears into a response that feels genuinely reactive and urgent [\u2026] A truly modern version of a protest record.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Most Normal American Voter\u2019<\/p>\n Hemlocke Springs \u2013 \u2018The Apple Tree Under The Sea\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The North Carolina alt-pop artist<\/a> dissects her experiences with religion through a fully conceptualised storyline.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cWorth the wait [\u2026] One of the most flamboyant and honest artists in the pop space right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Set Me Free\u2019<\/p>\n Isaiah Rashad \u2013 \u2018It\u2019s Been Awful\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: After rehab, relapses and invasions of privacy, the rapper refuses to let the cards life has dealt him keep him down.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cWoozy, wounded and bruisingly honest [\u2026] The Chattanooga rapper<\/a> shows that even when life gets in the way, his talents still shine through.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Same Sh!t\u2019<\/p>\n Kacey Musgraves \u2013 \u2018Middle Of Nowhere\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: Country\u2019s crossover queen<\/a> journeys back to her roots.<\/p>\n What NME said<\/a>: \u201cAt a time of maximalism and hyperactivity in music, this grounded, assured commitment to songs that sway rather than stomp feels quietly radical.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Back On The Wagon\u2019<\/p>\n Kneecap \u2013 \u2018Fenian\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The headline-grabbing trio reclaim the narrative and get personal on their party-starting second album.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cA spraypainted brick wall of consistency, amplifying the adventure of The Prodigy<\/a> and Burial<\/a>, seamlessly but tastefully hopping genres while keeping the vibe up to retain Kneecap\u2019s<\/a> knack for having a good time to illuminate the hard times.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Liar\u2019s Tale\u2019<\/p>\n Lime Garden \u2013 \u2018Maybe Not Tonight\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The Brighton band work through the messiness of your twenties in real time, to a soundtrack of wonky indie sleaze.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cThere\u2019s a hedonistic, \u2018fuck it\u2019 energy to the first half of \u2018Maybe Not Tonight\u2019 that practically fizzes out of the speakers. Lime Garden\u2019s<\/a> playfulness has always led to their best work, but here they sound fully unleashed.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Maybe Not Tonight\u2019<\/p>\n Lip Critic \u2013 \u2018Theft World\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The New Yorkers spin gold out of a very real case of identity theft.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cLip Critic<\/a> take the horror of Bret Kaser\u2019s very personal trauma into something strangely communal and alive.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Legs In A Snare\u2019<\/p>\n Mitski \u2013 \u2018Nothing\u2019s About To Happen To Me\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The indie darling<\/a> confronts her position as viral success on a record that longs to disconnect.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cThis is, without question, the most musically ambitious album of her career, on which the tranquil Americana that defined \u2018The Land Is Inhospitable\u2026\u2019<\/a> is routinely upended by reinventions both subtle and furious, with thrashing guitar breakdowns that recall 2014\u2019s \u2018Bury Me At Makeout Creek\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018That White Cat\u2019<\/p>\n My New Band Believe \u2013 \u2018My New Band Believe\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: Driven by the former bassist of Black Midi<\/a>, this new collective create a masterpiece.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cA staggering, sprawling masterpiece from the mind of Cameron Picton [\u2026] A mishmash of grand romantic sweeps and fragmented breakdowns, pianos, strings, woodwind, harpsichords and guitars that slam against each other constantly to keep momentum shifting.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Actress\u2019<\/p>\n Olivia Rodrigo \u2013 \u2018You Look Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: A generational talent turns her lens to her first adult relationship, with devastating results.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cHere is a major popstar who is not afraid to get weirder and more wonderful, to give even more of themselves over in their art. \u2018You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love\u2019 is undeniable evidence of Rodrigo\u2019s<\/a> growth: as a songwriter, composer, and as a human being.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Maggots For Brains\u2019<\/p>\n RAYE \u2013 \u2018This Music May Contain Hope\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The south Londoner\u2019s second album doesn\u2019t hold back on the grandeur and glamour.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201c\u2018This Music May Contain Hope\u2019 is RAYE<\/a> firing on all cylinders \u2013 and then some. It\u2019s showstopping musical maximalism at its grandest, while still being grounded in relatable experiences and unbridled emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018I Hate The Way I Look Today\u2019<\/p>\n Robyn \u2013 \u2018Sexistential\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: With her tongue fully in cheek, Sweden\u2019s pop superstar takes us on a thrilling ride through love, life, sexuality and motherhood.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201c\u2018Sexistential\u2019 sometimes feels like a time-travelling whistle-stop tour through Robyn\u2019s different eras [\u2026] But nothing here feels ill-fitting, which is testament to the steady, seasoned collaboration between Robyn<\/a> and Klas \u00c5hlund, as well as \u2018Sexistential\u2019\u2019s capacious vision.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Sexistential\u2019<\/p>\n Slayyyter \u2013 \u2018Wor$t Girl In America\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: A star is born from her new world of trailer trash and hedonistic excess on this lurid, triumphant comeback.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cChasing the highs of her Tumblr-addled youth, Slayyyter<\/a> finds her sound in a new strain of brash, sleazy pop, [which] finds salvation in the underbelly of American cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Crank\u2019<\/p>\n Static Dress \u2013 \u2018Injury Episode\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The second album from the Leeds band<\/a> ups the intensity \u2013 and the ambition.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cAn unapologetic collection of screamed vocals, crushing riffs and chaotic energy that couldn\u2019t care less about daytime radio playlists or TikTok<\/a> virality.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Nostalgia Kills\u2019<\/p>\n The Itch \u2013 \u2018It\u2019s The Hope That Kills You\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: An invitation to a banging party that will make you think.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cOn their debut album, the Luton duo<\/a> push back against everyday rage, disillusionment and frustration with party-starting electro-punk.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Pirate Studios\u2019<\/p>\n Underscores \u2013 \u2018U\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: Hyperpop\u2019s future leader<\/a> cements her place in the genre with a masterful third album.<\/p>\n What NME said<\/a>: \u201cMore Black Mirror<\/a> than Twin Peaks<\/a>, \u2018U\u2019 is an intimate hyperpop record portraying snowballing isolation, a digital-age pop star\u2019s yearning under the limelight of the techno-infused Anthropocene.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Do It\u2019<\/p>\n Vince Staples \u2013 \u2018Cry Baby\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: Now independent, the Long Beach rapper doesn\u2019t hold back as he addresses racial and political tensions in the US.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201c[The record\u2019s] messages are elevated by its coherent punkishness; it carries a sense of rough anti-establishment energy and passionate political expression that most rappers of Staples\u2019<\/a> position would struggle to authentically muster.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018The Running Man\u2019<\/p>\n Waterbaby \u2013 \u2018Memory Be A Blade\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The past becomes fuel for the Stockholm bedroom-pop star\u2019s creative fire on a refreshingly personal debut.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201cWaterbaby\u2019s<\/a> voice remains the record\u2019s standout \u2013 a singular combination of gentle and deadpan, intriguing in texture and punctuated by a curious diction that makes the album\u2019s heavier themes land all the more strikingly.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Memory Be A Blade\u2019<\/p>\n Xaviersobased \u2013 \u2018Xavier\u2019<\/p>\n In a nutshell: The New Yorker maintains his experimental approach on this brilliantly chaotic first full-length album.<\/p>\n What NME said:<\/a> \u201c\u2018Xavier\u2019 works best as an introduction into this innovative rapper-producer\u2019s world, an accessible encapsulation of Xaviersobased<\/a> and of the new NYC underground he\u2019s helped build.\u201d<\/p>\n Key track: \u2018Heartfelt\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Time flies when there\u2019s so much good music to get stuck into, so it\u2019s no wonder the first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":["post-495377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}