Every month, we’ll be telling you lucky bastards about the best music we’ve been listening to. It might be old, it might be new, it might be somewhere in the middle – but it will definitely be brilliant. Well, unless it’s chosen by one of those team members with terrible taste. We’ll leave it at that. Here’s the best of February 2026:
Will Collins
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have long been one of my favourite bands. Their blend of jangly, sun-drenched indie is gently hypnotic and transports the listener instantly to sunnier shores. New song Sunburned in London is more of the same, launching with motorik bass and a tight groove before guitars that call to mind 80s compatriots The Triffids and The Go-Betweens get layered over the top. The lyrics, seemingly a meditation on the transient nature of the touring life, are less sunny and introduce a slight darkness and sense of unease underneath the surface-level halcyon feeling of the song. The interplay between the two makes for a catchy and compelling song that has been getting repeat spins from me every since I first heard if.
Rick Larson
Ratboys are on a heater. The Chicago band’s 2023 album The Window was one of the best of that year. This year’s release, Singin’ to an Empty Chair, loses no momentum. The band’s welcoming blend of alt country and big shouldered rock hits just right. The band alternately smolders, crackles and pops, and explodes, doing all three on ‘Light Night Mountains All That,’ the best song so far of this young year. I’m a sucker for the insistent, vaguely sinister bass line, the colossal drums and Julia Steiner nearly losing her shit. These four musicians are total pros and deserving of mention with kindred spirits Wednesday.
I’ve also been listening a lot to the now 25-year old A Better Version of Me, Rainier Maria‘s Midwest emo classic. God, this Wisconsin trio was good. If you like emo but are put off by the recurring feeling that its practitioners are trying a little too hard, this is the stuff. Everything here is honest and hard won. A masterpiece.
Tom Burrows
I haven’t really got into any new albums this month in truth, so here are some assorted musical highlights from general life.
Deb Grant’s 6 Music show on Valentine’s Day morning was perfect for a lengthy drive in the Yorkshire-Lancashire sunshine. She introduced me to Will Powers’ 1983 single ‘Adventures In Success’, which is a delicious piece of funky satire.
Benji B’s Radio 1 show on a February evening doing household chores drew my attention to some new tunes: ‘Heavy’ by Momoko Gill and ’Same Bed’ by Ragz Originale had me hooked with their instant, smooth grooves. His show also made me check out the new Jill Scott album, To Whom It May Concern. It’s early days for a full appraisal, but the song ‘Pressha’, a classic R&B pay-off to a former lover, is a standout. It could have been on one of her peak era records.
And then, a remnant from last year: Joy Orbison and Joe James’ collaborative single ‘Bastard’ feels like an intimate late night self-reflection, buoyed by some understated, melancholy beats. I can see how it slipped by, but it’s great.
James Spearing
The two gigs I went to in February were very much the highlights of this month and a perfect way to start a new year of live music. First Dominie Hooper at Gullivers was a hugely powerful performance up close in a tiny venue, playing her album front to back with a full band including strings. My favourite part was the contrast between the two cellos – one accompanying and played very much in the classically trained way, the other lead cello, Dominie’s own, deliberately distorted, abrasive and strummed like a guitar.
The second was Stealing Sheep at YES. Having seen them twice before for free (once back when they were are more straightforward folk act) it was well overdue for me to part with some money to experience them again. Very much in their electro-pop era now, they went all out with a hugely fun show and made us feel like we’d been invited to their personal party.
Two very different approaches to engaging with an audience, both equally effective and both a reminder of how live music is unsurpassed as an experience, as if a reminder was needed at all.
Matt Paul
Well my favorite album this month is one we’re featuring for the podcast, so stay tuned for that. A close runner up though is Softcult with their super dreamy showgazey album, When A Flower Doesn’t Grow. The drums sound great, and propel forward waves after wave of guitars and vocals. They also manage to deliver quite a dynamic sound across the album, both musically and lyrically with softer more withdrawn moments balanced by brash walls of cathartic noise. They’ve also got a few previous albums, so I’ve got some extra homework to do now!
Fran Slater
I went to 3 gigs in February, and honestly it’s hard to separate them.
Dominie Hooper kicked things off with a powerful, eerie, and captivating performance. Her work is folk-driven but experimental, and this came across in a show that I can’t really compare to anything else. You should listen to her if you haven’t.
Big Special was something entirely different, as they brought fun, laughter, and raucous energy to the stage at New Century Hall. It was amazing to see them command such a stage, too, given that last time I caught them on tour the venue was tiny in comparison.
And even though it’s the second best of the month in a row where I’ve mentioned Courtney Marie Andrews, I can’t not give a shout out to her show and Gorilla. It’s a simpler, more traditional sound than the two artists mentioned above, but there’s so much emotional range in her songs that it would be impossible not to be moved by her performance. And what a fucking voice she has on her.
Picky Bastards 