tuesday · week 42 · 2026
the crowd's
week
12 to 18 October 2026
5 records out on 16 October: Fontaines D.C. in the spotlight, plus Rachel Chinouriri, Eels, The Avalanches and @.
5 records
01
Rachel Chinouriri
— I think I spoke too soon
album
LP · 16 Oct 2026
Second album from the Croydon singer: synth-pop and pop-rock with 80s beats and memories of nights out gone wrong. "Broken chair" and "Crash the car" are the highlights. A record for sad party people.
The London singer-songwriter from Croydon releases her second album with a title that is already half a confession. Across twelve tracks, she mixes synth-pop and pop-rock with danceable 80s beats, soft vocals pushed well forward and a touch of dissonance that gives the record a dreamlike air. She sings about regret over youthful nights out, toxic relationships, loneliness and social anxiety, without resolving everything by the end. "One song away from crying" opens well, "Broken chair" is singled out as a highlight and "Crash the car" closes with a shoegaze edge. With 78 from critics and 79 from users, it's the most accessible record of the week and a good way in for anyone who wants to get to know the indie pop of the moment.
critics 78 · users 79
02
Eels
— Cookie Happened
album
LP · 16 Oct 2026 · E Works / Play It Again Sam
Mark Everett's 16th album starts from a Cookie Monster idea: don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. "Cap In Hand" sounds like a weary apology. Melancholy with a crooked smile.
Mark Everett, the E of Eels, keeps writing songs like someone tidying up the house after a storm. Cookie Happened, the follow-up to Eels Time! (2024), is out on E Works/Play It Again Sam and starts from a Cookie Monster line: don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. The theme is impermanence, the idea that joys and heartbreaks all end up forgotten, and the single "Cap In Hand" shows it well: soft bass, discreet orchestration and the voice of someone apologising after getting it wrong. Everett is also the subject of a documentary produced by Judd Apatow, which gives this record a sense of taking stock. For those who already like Eels, it's the usual melancholy, written with dark humour and in no hurry.
critics 78 · users 71
03
featured
Fontaines D.C.
— Dopamine Chamber
album
LP · 16 Oct 2026 · XL Recordings
Fifth album, darker and more synthetic: trip-hop, goth and synth-pop, with Rosalía on "Where Is Gone?". Grian Chatten looked for inspiration in Venice, Vienna and Sicily. The end of the world has never sounded so addictive.
Five albums in, Fontaines D.C. still refuse the comfort of the post-punk that launched them. Dopamine Chamber, released on XL, is their darkest and most synthetic record: there's trip-hop, synth-pop and goth, with critics pointing to The Cure and Massive Attack. Grian Chatten travelled through Venice, Vienna and Sicily in search of inspiration, and the result is a portrait of social collapse, digital overload and escapism. Rosalía appears on the Morricone-inspired ballad "Where Is Gone?". Among the tracks to hear first are "Six Shot Morning", which opens with echoes of Depeche Mode, and "Tongue", a trip-hop groove with a Bad Seeds-style ending. With a score of 85 from critics and 80 from users, it's the record of the week and proof that a big band can still take risks.
critics 85 · users 80
request this band
04
The Avalanches
— No Bad Memories
album
LP · 16 Oct 2026 · Polydor
31 tracks and more than 20 guests: Karen O, Panda Bear, Jamie xx, Mike Patton, Carly Simon. Advertising, nostalgia and collage in overdose, with a sci-fi film on the side. Over the top on purpose.
Six years after We Will Always Love You, Australia's The Avalanches return with a record of deliberate excess: 31 tracks in around 52 minutes, more than twenty guests and a separate sci-fi film. Karen O, Panda Bear, Jamie xx, Mike Patton, Carly Simon, Barry Can't Swim and Suzanne Ciani all pass through, among many others. The sound mixes garage, hyperpop, neo-soul and sad-pop, with samples of adverts and noises from the digital age, and the theme is advertising, branding and nostalgia. Not every idea works, but "Blue Shadows", "Can't Get Over Losing You" and "Together" are among the band's best pop. Released on Polydor, it's a record for anyone who likes getting lost in a tangle of samples.
critics 79 · users 80
05
@
— Autosmile
album
LP · 16 Oct 2026 · 4AD
The Philadelphia duo's second album, their first on 4AD: psychedelic folk made by homemade means, among strings, flutes and reversed sounds. Strange and fragile, an acquired taste.
Victoria Rose, a beekeeper, and Stone Filipczak, a self-taught programmer, are the Philadelphia duo behind @ (pronounced "at"). They came out of the American DIY experimental scene, wrote at a distance and never recorded in the same room. Autosmile, their second album, is the first to carry the 4AD stamp: eleven songs of psychedelic folk, built on acoustic guitar, with unexpected chord changes, fragile vocals, reversed sounds, strings and flutes. It was made with home equipment and you can hear it, in a good way. "Bird" pairs unsettling verses with a chorus that sticks, "Earthly Love" sounds like a storybook and "I Know You Are (But What Am I Thinking)" is among the most balanced. It's not an immediate record, but it's the week's discovery pick for anyone who likes strange, beautiful music.
critics 78 · users 75