20 BEST TRACKS OF THE MONTH – OCTOBER 2026
This month’s 20 best tracks according to Turn Up The Volume’s ears
ALL TOGETHER
TRACK BY TRACK
– 1 –
Photo by Turn Up The Volume – Brussels, Belgium
Band: CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH
Who: Hailed Philly indie rockers fronted
by mastermind Alec Ounsworth.
In business since 2004.
Track: FEVER OF THE MIND
First single from their upcoming
album, their 7th. Details TBA.
TUTV: CYHSY are finally back in town. Ounsworth whoops
up the temperature and arouses your aural attention with
this contagious comeback stunner.
Press play.
– 2 –
Band: GLASVEGAS
Who: Scottish emo-pop vets who
hit the music scene in 2003.
Track: DEGÜELLO
First shared piece from their forthcoming album, their
first in 6 years, baptized Airy Fairy. Out April 2nd, 2027.
TUTV: These melancholic Scottish woolgatherers still wear their hearts on their
sleeves, and still come up with perfervid pop pearls romanticized by frontman
James Allan‘s soul-striking voice and Interpol-refined guitar lines.
– 3 –
Promo press
Band: LIBRARY CARD
Who: Voltaic indies from Rotterdam
who found each other in 2021.
Track: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS
New preview from their upcoming debut LP, titled
Peeling an Orange in Just One Go that will come
our way November 6th. More info here.
Album artwork
TUTV: These Dutchmen race and rush with nerve-wracking dash
from the kick-off, propelled by a stormy bass/drum tandem that
provokes head-spinning dizziness. Add pungent vocals, zealous
guitars and a razzle-dazzle chorus, and you know we have a
striking knockout.
.
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– 4 –
Artists: PARTY DOZEN
Who: Hellish electro-rock duo from Sydney, Australia.
A project loosely based around improvisation.
Track: FULL POWERS
New preview cut from their upcoming 6th album, titled
21 Bum Salute. Out November 6th. More info here.
Album artwork
PD about the song: “There’s ‘Full Powers’ good and there’s ‘Full Powers’ bad.
The good is when you’re personally becoming too powerful, an angel pisses on
you, everything is going very well and suddenly you’re gliding down the street like
King Swinging Dick.
TUTV: Maniacal mayhem guaranteed with these two hectic Aussies who incite more
bedfull than a full army on a maddening mission. Bashing drums, deranged guitars, and
an unhinged saxophone all contribute to a cooking cacophony that leaves you behind out
of breath and out of mind. Oh my, oh my.
The sirens are blaring. Time to get paranoid.
– 5 –
Band: TRÄŠHBAG
Who: Hefty Irish duo from Dublin (where everyone seems to be in a band lately).
They spent time playing in numerous bands together or standing in for each
other in various bands.
The tandem has a philosophy of fun and not taking themselves too seriously.
In this, the pair found freedom to explore new ideas and sounds, pulling from
a wide range of influences including punk, funk, prog and metal.
Track: BULLET IN MY BRAIN 2
Only their 2nd single, following their boiling
debut slam White Van from last June.
TUTV: Expect some filthy garage rock hubbub. These 2 Irish ramblers
put their trash where their bag is. Broken guitars, nerve-racking bass and
drum attacks and vocal hurly-burly arouse every nerve in your pogoing
body, in just 145 seconds.
Brainsick right? You betcha.
Two words.
Harum scarum.
– 6 –
Band: CLUSTERSUN
Who: Italian psych-daze trio.
Track: FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!
Single from their upcoming 4th album,
named Anti You. Out on 5 March 2027
via Sister 9 Recordings.
It’s not a song about surviving the flames. It is about choosing to burn. And as
the first spark of ‘Anti You‘, it offers a glimpse of what lies ahead: a record born from conflict, pushed beyond comfort and driven by the desire to turn distortion, tension
and noise into something dangerously alive.
TUTV: Holy smoke. Clustersun do not waste time; they steamroll all over your poor stereo with industrial firepower that drives your psyche to ballistic frenzy. No rest for the wicked, no emergency exit for them. Action required, soundtracked by this devastating stormer.
Armageddon is just around the corner, and these hopped-up Italians will lead the troops. As Michael Stipe once sang: “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and it feels fine.”
Burn! Burn! Burn!
– 7 –
Photo by Turn Up The Volume
Artist: HEARTWORMS
Who: The psych-pop project of British songstress Jojo Orme who has
released her applauded debut LP Glutton For Punishment last year,
in February.
Track: GUESS I’M STUCK IN THE DARK
The song is about how our brain matter starts to mislead us when we are left
in the dark and how that feeling of uncertainty overwhelms us. Orme gives that
feeling a different twist precisely by embracing these fears and dancing with
them.
TUTV: Guess, this funky jam will enkindle your hips, your feet, your head,
and c’mon, your whole body to dance in the shadows on the wall.
– 8 –
Credit: Steve Gullick
Band: MOGWAI
Who: The Scottish sound-exploring vets.
They celebrate their 30th anniversary.
To mark the remarkable event, they will release a career-spanning compilation,
with a total of 28 tracks, baptized Happy Tears: The Story Of Mogwai on
8 January 2027.
Track: UNDERGROUND,
A new song that will appear on the compilation,
performed with no other than your tireless punk
dog Iggy Pop.
Pop: “I’ve always liked Mogwai. The opening of the track reminded me
of the crushing modern loneliness. The sung vocal, felt like it was made
for someone who is pissed off and doesn’t mind saying so.”
Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai‘s guitarist/vocalist): “Hearing the Stooges
had been a life-changing moment for me. Their self-titled album was pretty
much my bible. “
TUTV: From a whisper to a scream. A lust for life
motherrocker. A happy song for happy people (sort of).
– 9 –
Band: LUNA ROSA
Who: Indie outfit from Northants,
East Midlands of England.
Track: A ROOM BETWEEN THE OCEANS
The song’s institutional shadows were partly informed by a book, titled One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by American novelist Ken Kesey (1935-2001), while its cosmic imagery reflects the band’s vocalist/lyricist Rory McDade’s fascination with the idea of joy and trauma existing within the same space.
TUTV: Mind-bending mixed emotions collide on this monumental goosebumps
roller coaster. A Room Between The Oceans is an astonishing masterstroke amplified
with overwhelming orchestrations, crescendo rock grooves, Interpol-like guitar bliss
and a captivatingly melodramatic chorus with fervent vocals bringing The Afghan
Whigs’ frontman Greg Dulli‘s feverish voice to mind.
Mesmerizing.
– 10 –
Band: U2
Active: Since 1976 – 50 years!
Track: THE GREATEST SHOW
Newest single from their upcoming 16th full-length,
baptized Carnival De Luz, which will drop on 13th Nov.
TUTV: This could easily be a hidden track from
the 1987 Joshua Tree LP. Emotive, soul-touching
and slightly epic.
Band: LIME GARDEN
Who: 4 power-pop punkettes from
Brighton (UK) on their way to stardom.
Track: MOVING TARGET
New single that follows the release of their
2nd ace LP Maybe Tonight last April.
TUTV: Lime Garden have a frivolous guitar-pop dance
flair to them that triggers fleet-footed body movement
and a brisk ambiance.
– 12 –
Artist: DEXELLE
Who: Seasoned singer-songwriter-guitarist
Nicolas D’Exelle from Antwerp, Belgium.
Track: DEATH OF A ROSE
TUTV: Death Of A Rose is a shiny electro-pop pearl enriched with glammy orchestrations (think Scritti Politti), spot-on arrangements, Dexelle‘s stylish and impassioned vocals, and busy bass play.
It all results in a tremendously catchy tune for which repeat buttons were invented. Although the song’s story runs on mixed emotions, it’s the kind of sonic gem that puts
a big smile on your face and makes your day before it even begins.
Dexelle operates on this newbie in a space where you can show your funky dance
moves to synth-pop bliss by experts such as Tame Impala, Two Door Cinema Club
and MGMT. Yep, great company.
Check in.
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– 13 –
Photo by Meg Morris
Artist: CARYS KINNELL
Who: An experienced musician and singer-songwriter
who brings everything from the dark & cinematic to
pop-surf-rock into one place.
Track: SOUTHERN STARS
Kinnell: “Southern Stars was written on a gloomy and frigid December evening when I was longing for home, Perth, Western Australia. I had a beach in mind, Cottesloe Beach, that my friends and I would go to during the warm months.
Stemming from there, I thought about other activities I missed doing, like going for
late-night drives with my mates, sunsets by the beach, going to Rottnest Island, late-night
gigs and stargazing, spending time looking at the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere.”
TUTV: Expect a richly orchestrated and arranged sunlit pop tune that shines brightly in this autumn. Melancholia triggers, as so often happens, the needed inspiration to get in touch with today and tomorrow. I reckon that when what was connects with what is, good things can happen, even in this disturbing era.
Kinnell‘s heartening voice expresses those homesick feelings
touchingly. She injects this sonic beauty with galvanizing affectivity.
Entrancing.
– 14 –
Artist: PETER GABRIEL
Track: WHO ARE WE TALKING TO?
Cut from his new, 11th LP, called
o\i. Release date TBA.
Gabriel: “The song was conceived as something that might encourage activism. It might be naive, but I still believe that people have real power for change if they can get together in large enough numbers. Politicians will respond – democracy or not. “My hope is that we start thinking of ourselves as global citizens and that we work together to bring about change on a global scale.”
TUTV: Gabriel grooves once more, half as fast as his Sledgehammer blockbuster,
but catchy enough to get your hips going. Adding a gospel choir here and there
raises the soulful vibrancy.
On Spotify
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All Albums
– 15 –
Photo: Cleide Angolano
Band: OBJECTS IN MOTION
Who: Dream-pop trio from Boston. They create a warm embrace of nostalgic reflection that allows the listener to close their eyes and survey a present that’s informed by where we’ve been and where we’re headed.
Track: RIVER ROAD
“‘River Road’ is about childhood. It’s an homage to loving parental and familial relationships, growing up abroad, having a sense of connection to faraway places, being gloriously and deliciously trapped by memories, and being able to look back very fondly at our personal origins. The song is a celebration of our formative years and a letter of gratitude to those sources of unconditional love and support who shaped them.”
TUTV: This is the kind of titillating tune that makes you jump out of your bed in the morning with a smile on your face, that gives you a boost to go out in the streets and hop around while whistling and humming along to this looking-back gem’s vibe and to draw hope, today and tomorrow, from childhood memories. At the end of the dream-pop tunnel there’s always a light in motion.
– 16 –
Artists: DEAD ANYWAY
Who: British duo who set the dark lyricism of Kate Arnold against the music
and soundscapes of Marc Symonds. They offer a mix of poetry, electronica
and guitars. A heady brew of dark, glitchy head-messing wonder.
Track: LOVE AND THE LAW
Single from their new album Flash Mob of One, out November 6th. It’s
their 2nd full-length this year, following February‘s Squeaky Piggy Squeaky.
TUTV: Another mid-tempo, Dead Anyway groover to enjoy in your rockin’ chair.
Love and The Law‘s comfortable beats and Kate Arnold‘s calming voice create a
feel-fine ambiance, as long as you don’t project the song’s artwork on your mind’s
screen for too long.
– 17 –
Band: LUCY’S HOUSE
Who: Indie duo from Australia.
Track: ALIVE
New cut from their forthcoming debut album, titled The Hours.
Out on Nov 27th via Flaming Heart Records.
TUTV: After a short, messy synth intro, you’re drawn into a funky jam that sticks after one spin. Shiny electronics, a rhythm-repeating drum machine, and pondering vocals make Alive an ambient companion for a cosy night in.
– 18 –
Who: An English producer & songwriter, known for his work with electronicists Feral Five. As well as inhabiting a post-rock landscape with Dice Machine, Drew’s work of times explores neo-classical, electronic, and ambient minimalism.
Track: LANDSCAPES
TUTV: Guess, in these tumultuous times, many of us don’t slow down enough to avoid the mental stress of our daily rat race. Maybe this atmospheric, idyllic synth instrumental will help you enjoy a meditative moment of rest. Landscapes evokes cinematic romanticism and a longing for better days.
Dim the lights, sit down, relax, and empty your head.
– 19 –
📷 Ward Dhoore
Artists: LOST IN SEPTEMBER
Who: Musical project of Belgian singer-songwriters
Alain Quateau and Renilde Gees, who started making
music together, more than thirty years after they
first met.
Track: ENDLESS FLIGHT
“It’s a very personal song about a dark fear that you cannot easily put into words. When
you love someone very much, with everything you have, the thought of letting go is one of the hardest things. And at the same time, there is something wondrously beautiful in that: perhaps letting go is sometimes the most beautiful thing you can do. Endless Flight is about feelings you would rather not express out loud, but which are there nonetheless.”
TUTV: Starry-eyed Simon and Garfunkel mellifluousness lightens this stripped-to-the-bone, piano-guided ballad up. Soul-stirring vocals and affecting chorus harmonies turn Endless Flight into a euphonic lullaby for dreamy fall moments, when you look out the window, watching leaves swirl while figuring out what is going on in your mind.
Poetry in melancholic motion.
– 20 –
Band: FONTAINES D.C.
Who: The high-spirited Irishmen who
are enjoying a supersonic career.
Track: WHERE IS GONE?
One of the many highlights on their magnificent new album Dopamine Chamber.
TUTV: It’s a duet featuring frontman Grian Chatten and superstar Rosalía. Together they deliver a dewy-eyed candlelight musing that makes one silent.
Spellbinding doozy.