26 October 2026 - Mallrat - Hideaway

I've thought about doing a Down Under month like I do for Canada. 

Because right now, Australian music is among the best in the world. 

Take Mallrat and her 2025 album Light hit my face like a straight right.  That was the best hyperpop album of 2025 and still spins on heavy rotation for me in 2026. This song, the fifth single from the album, has been on really heavy rotation for me lately.  The frenetic pace of the song - which is at its core a love song - grabs the listener and does not let go.  Co written by Grace Shaw (who is Mallrat), Styalz Fuego and Gab Strum (the later two who produced the album), it is absolutely brilliant. 

Mallrat opened for Tove Lo last month on some dates of her tour - and here she is playing this song to an arena crowd.  She's already commanding the stage, so I see great things coming. 

23 October 2026 - Rosalía - SAOKO

We haven't actually gotten here yet, and I'm a little surprise.

Rosalía released one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2025 with Lux, which was three years in the making.  It was an excellent album, too - a real breakthough for the Spanish artist who does perform in several languages.

My first introduction to her was her 2022 album Motomami. This song - which takes its name from a Puerto Rican slang term for outstanding rhythm - combines reggaton and electronic worlds to make a fusion that is unique and personal. 

The song would become a huge hit in Spain and on the US Latin charts.

This is a song that has been performed live a LOT. It is high energy and the performance reflects that.

And yes, of course she opened her Coachella set with the song. 

Even these gringo fans knew the lyrics. 

22 October 2026 - Georgia Knight - Desire

I haven't been talking about Australian music much lately.  So, let's do that. 

You see, last week, the Australian Music Prize announced their nine album shortlist for their $50,000 prize.  I did have a bit of a prediction list, and I have to say I think I guessed 6 of the 9 ahead of time.  My real wild card pick was Beanpole by Georgia Knight. 

Imagine my surprise when I was right about this one.  And, to her credit, so was Georgia Knight.

"I’m very pleased to be shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize. I hadn’t thought of this album as being musically competitive, so that’s surprising. It hasn’t really sunk in. Fifty thousand is exactly what I need to make the next album." - Georgia Knight

I don't know how the hell she didn't think Beanpole was competitive, because it is sincerely among my favorite albums of 2026 and one that I am really rooting for to win the prize.

"Desire" was the first single and it is an excellent, sexy song. Check it out!

21 October 2026 - Helena Gao ft. Shushu - lao wai 老外

Danish-Chinese isn't the ethnic combination I thought I needed, but I was wrong. 

Best known thus far as a songwriter on Zara Larsson's hit "Midnight Sun" (and in fact on most of the album), she is a musician in her own right.  She just released her EP Gao Dan Dan and it is a hyperpop masterpiece.  With seven songs in 15 minutes, it is packed TIGHTLY and doesn't let the listener settle from beginning to end. 

Born and raised in Aarhus, Denmark - a place not known for diversity - Gao grew up largely embracing the Danish side of her heritage but not the Chinese.  With this EP, she embraces the Chinese. 

Anyway, this is my favorite song from the EP and you should be checking it out. 

20 October 2026 - Adèle Castillon - C'est tout moi

Here we go again.

Adèle Castillon has a new album coming in November and I am expecting it's going to be really good.

The album will be called (Re)belle.  She released the 2nd single last week, alongside a video, and it is really bright and cheery - the best she's sounded yet. I am genuinely looking forward to this album. 

I hope you enjoy this video, which runs through the artist's life so far. 

19 October 2026 - Kavinsky - Nightcall

In 2010, French electronic artist Kavinsky teamed with Lovefoxxx from CSS to make a single that would end up being used in a 2011 movie called Drive.  The song ended up being a hit in France (#10) and Belgium - hitting the charts in both Flanders and Wallonia.  

Here is the song with a fan-made video.  The song is deep and cool and brooding, and Lovefoxxx's unique vocals blend well with the music. 

The song would be Kavinsky's 1st Top 10 hit and it was his first single.

Kavinsky passed away in 2026, which is terribly sad. 

He did end up having one more top 10 hit in France, and it was a bigger hit, reaching #3.  It would reach #4 in Wallonia and be the biggest hit he would ever had - in 2024.

You see, in 2024, Paris hosted the Olympic Games, and at the closing ceremony, well-known French band Phoenix performed their song "Liztomania". Then, they invited a guest to the stage - Kavinsky - to perform "Nightcall". 

When it came time for the female part, it wasn't Lovefoxxx that came out, but rather Belgian superstar Angèle.  

They would go on to release this song as a single, and it would become Kavinsky's biggest and final hit.

7 October 2026 - Throwing Muses - Soul Soldier

I've been busy doing other stuff, so I have not posted here like I should.

But also, I was absolutely in a rut.  I had a TON of new music to share, and I will still be doing that. 

But today, I decided to reconnect with my classic favorite band, Throwing Muses.  This was the first music video of these I ever saw - from a show called The Cutting Edge. This version of the song seems to be from their 1986 self-titled debut album, but an extended version - for which this video was actually made - appears on their 1987 EP The Fat Skier - but only on the Sire Records release in the US. 

In my humble opinion, this song better illustrates the real harmonies that Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly were actually capable of than any other. 

When they performed the song back then, you could certainly still hear that harmony as the song went up and down.