20 BEST TRACKS OF THE MONTH – August 2026
The tunes that made Turn Up The Volume‘s ears vibrating with joy this past month
ALL TOGETHER
.
TRACK BY TRACK
-1-
Band: FAT DOG
Who: Disco-punk party
animals from London.
Track: SHIT LIFE
Single from their upcoming, 2nd album,
baptized CANCEL ME (I’M TIRED) out Oct 2.
“The song is about the chaotic, toxic, and explosive dynamic between
two people who constantly fight and treat every argument like the end
of the world.”
TUTV: Fat Dog sound like pitbulls going off their heads in a nightclub. When the chorus kicks in they start barking like mad. This spiked blast invites you to join the four-legged punks.
Great shit.
– 2 –
Band: GETDOWN SERVICES
Who: Wacky disco-rap-punk
duo from Bristol, UK.
Track: PROBIATIC
Highlight from their new, topmost
2nd album Massive Champion.
TUTV: Probably their heaviest tune so far.
A hip-activating groover to dance yourself
dizzy to.
Get up, get down.
– 3 –
Photo: Jamie Champan
Band: BAU CAT
Who: Energizing three-piece from the
seaside town of Prestatyn, North Wales.
Track: TRAPOSPERE
Inspired by the uncomfortable and often absurd world of the online Manosphere,
the song employs satire, defiance and a healthy dose of irreverence to call out the
culture of misogyny, insecurity and misinformation that exists within these online
spaces.
TUTV: Wowzers. Once under your skin, this non-stop roasting rocker drives you
out of your aroused mind. A blistering cadence, greedy guitars, whomping drumming
and a devilish chorus work tightly together for this crackerjack barnstormer.
Bonkers score.
– 4 –
Band: HOLY COVES
Who: Ardent Welsh indie outfit, fronted
by singer-songwriter Scott Marsden.
Track: WHICH WAY THE WEATHER
Standout track from their brand new 4th full-length, named Hiareth.
TUTV: 8-and-a-half-minute bittersweet symphony Wich Way The Weather is the grand centrepiece of the LP where the band peaks with gripping intensity and orchestral
voltage, turning this staggering jam into a truly stupendous opus.
Epic.
– 5 –
Photo Credit: Emma Chitty
Band: NRVS
Who: Mysterious post-punk outfit “with a nightmare-normal vision of the near future, that you can dance to”. Ideologically they are confrontational, unapologetic, existentially on the edge & uncompromising in their beliefs – all of which is reflected in their creative output, whether it’s music, visuals or their involvement in Extinction Rebellion & similar protests against the status quo.
Track: THE TANKS ARE COMING OUT
While we’re all busy putting out fires in our everyday lives, governments
and leaders around the world are accumulating tanks, bombs & drones.
Photomontage by Peter Kennard
TUTV: Ominous. Dark. Feverish. So 2026. This goosebumps alarm has a striking impact, growing in chilling fervidness. Anxious vocals accentuate the tune’s foreboding theme. Monumental sonic warning for more evil to come. Fuck all political psychopath leaders.
Fuck war.
– 6 –
Press credit
Band: BODEGA
Who: Zesty indie-dance
rock team from NYC.
Track: WEATHER ME
3rd taster from their upcoming 5th album
titled All Inside Aquarium. It’s out October 9th.
Tracklist and order details here.
Album artwork.
TUTV: These New Yorkers are at their best when they trigger all of your limbs
and make you get up, stand up, and thwirl you out of balance. C’mon, arise.
Awake your muscles, people.
– 7 –
Photo by Alexandra Safronofa
Band: VOID QUEEN
Who: Fiery punk rockers
from Berlin.
Track: I WANNA KNOW
Top drawer title piece from
their new 4-track EP.
TUTV: Amps up. Decibels up. Heat up. Both feet on the punk gas pedal.
This uproarious haymaker, spiced with punchy vocals, makes you wanna
know everything about these Berlin gunslingers.
Start a mosh-pit here.
– 8 –
Band: FONTAINES D.C.
Who: The Irish indie stars.
Track: MARIANNE
First single from their forthcoming 5th LP,
titled Dopamine Chamber. It’ll come our
way on October 16th.
TUTV: Feverish musing with a magnetic attraction.
This Irishmen confirm their huge status once again.
– 9 –
Photo Turn Up The Volume – Leuven, Belgium
Band: ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN
Who: Liverpool‘s indestructible rock legends fronted
by big mouth/songwriter Ian McCulloch.
Track: THE LIGHT THAT SURROUNDS YOU
Newest single from their 13th LP, baptized
Apples For Isaac.
Album artwork
TUTV: McCulloch offers hope, redemption with this splendid
comeback nugget. No expiration date for the Bunnymen.
– 10 –
Artist: BAD WITH PHONES
Who: Artistic moniker for Manny T Deroy, a South London
musician/bassist/producer. A one-off, a future of weirdo
pop, R&B, rap and post-punk.
He has, so far, 2 albums under his belt.
Track: HUMAN
Manny stopped carrying a phone for six months, as a sort of social experiment to see if he could live in the 21st century without one. “I wanted to see why we all feel so obligated to own one, smirking as he recalls the annoyance of all the friends who struggled to reach him.
T Deroy: “I wrote Human for my son who passed away days after he was born. The whole thing felt like an out of body experience. ‘Human’ is about birth and death respecting the way life plays out. I could rationalize that maybe the kid got all they needed from the planet maybe they thought they didn’t need to experience any more.
We all go through things in life no one’s exempt from a heart break. I’m glad I was able to express my experience, and I genuinely hope it is a help to anyone who’s experienced something similar. I believe if you have life, you should celebrate it and ultimately the song is a celebration of life. It’s my anthem to liberation of all kinds.”
TUTV: Hello? Listen up, people. Human is a highly impassioned reflection about
the traumatic experience of losing your son shortly after birth. Its rappin’ flow, soul-stirring vocals, and overall sticky tempo have a long-lasting effect on your psyche. Gripping song.
Entrancing.
– 11 –
Artist: LEG PUPPY 2.0
Who: British techno junk who started out as
a joke, is around for 10 years now.
Track: Track: SORRY MAN WON’T (MAKE IT MAN,
It features FiftyHurtz.
TUTV: Leg Puppy 2.0 is back from never being away and still constructs techno EBM for night owls who are addicted to 24-hour parties. Don’t be sorry, man, you’ve made it for 10 years now. We’re thrilled that you still produce beeps, bleeps and banging beats to make our stereos go nuts. Leg forever Puppy.
Boom-tastic.
– 12 –
Artist: DREW FIVE
Who: A versatile musician from London who creates/records electronica,
ambient minimalism, neo-classical and post-rock. He’s also half of electro
pop duo Feral Five and Dice Machine.
Track: GROOVY MOVES
TUTV: Back to the raving 90s with this mid-tempo chemical bros pelvis-shaker.
Its psychedelic-infused and ambient-juiced groove causes a hypnotic effect on
mind and body. Move your furniture and display your best moves.
– 13 –
📸 Charlie Pryor
Band: BLOC PARTY
Who: London‘s indie rockers BLOC PARTY, fronted
by charismatic singer-songwriter Kele Okereke.
Track: PIGWIG
Single from their 7th longplayer, called
Anatomy Of A Brief Romance, out Sept 11th.
TUTV: BC are around for 27 years (OMG, time flies), and they still come up with
swirling pieces of entertaining vibes. Okereke‘s energy is as awe-inspiring as on
Day one.
– 14 –
Artists: PRINCESS UGLY
Who: Two misfits – J. Christopher-Rome and Christopher Moncrieffe – from Portland, OR
who are influenced by goth, post-punk, darkwave and adjacent genres. So far, the tandem has released two albums and 2 EPs.
Track: THE WORK
“The new single presents lyrically as an existential, ontological horror supported by EBM-influenced instrumentation. We are compelled to always work, and we will be consumed by the work. We work to create, only for our creation and the work itself to gain autonomy, stalk us, prey on us. We are pursued and controlled by them, endlessly.”
TUTV: Welcome to Princess Ugly‘s underground batcave where darkwave-addicted clubgoers gather to move in mysterious ways to non-stop techno beats and creepy vocals. The Work is sonic nutrition for EBM night owls. Preferably consumed in the midnight hours.
– 15 –
Artist: SOUTHPAW GRAMMAR
Who: Singer-songwriter and producer from Derby, UK. He delivers
high-energy live performances and a sound that feels both nostalgic
and urgently contemporary. His music speaks directly to the realities
of working-class life while delivering dancefloor-ready grooves.
Track: TROUBLE COMING
New single.
“The song tackles political tribalism, online hostility and economic inequality without descending into slogans or partisan rhetoric. The song reflects on how quickly neighbours become opponents, friends become ideological rivals and public debate collapses into accusations and insults.”
TUTV: This UK garage grime piece brings The Streets‘vibrant vibes to mind. Trouble Coming bounces around in your head after a couple of spins. Its groovy flow and chantlike chorus generates swaying body motion.
Southpaw Grammar looks at our collapsing world and, as (almost) all of us, he sees messed-up societies all over the planet where intolerance, bigoted extremism, and narcissistic politics dictate our lives. Suffocating trouble is already here; the only way
to survive is in togetherness.
– 16 –
Band: INDIGO SYNDICATE
Who: Nashville-based trio that blends alternative, pop, indie, and soul influences.
The group has carved out a lane that feels both genre-fluid and intentional. They
released their debut full-length Sasquatch this year, in January.
Track: HOWLING AT THE MOON
The song explores the small moments that make
absence of your lover feel impossible to ignore.
TUTV: My ears hear enticing Big Thief folk and harmonious I’m From Barcelona echoes. Howling At The Moon‘s growing catchiness turns this acoustic gem into a sticking ditty that puts a big smile on your face all day long. Romanticism in motion. Mood-stimulating beauty.
“I know you love me, but I’m overthinking / In my head / I miss you in our bed /
Ever since you left / The house is quiet so I keep on singing,”
– 17 –
Band: PONDLIFE
Who: 4-piece from
London/Bristol.
Track: SIX OF ONE
From their new 4-song EP Cello
It’s the first song the band wrote together and is the only track on the EP
not previously released. The song’s lyrics deal with the discovery of mortality
as a child and explore the void it leaves behind, before landing on something
that feels like acceptance.
TUTV: This burning torch jam smells like slow-mo Nirvana spirit. Rough vocal passion, grungy guitar rawness and overall sinewy emotionality. Ardent ardour is the key word leading to a highly appealing captivation.
Arresting.
– 18 –
Photo Credit: Adam Krauth
Artist: PPR PPL
Pronounced ‘Paper People’.
Who: Alt-rock project from multi-instrumentalist Peter W. Bartash built on the idea that who we are on paper is not who we are in reality, exploring existence through a sonic lens of post-hardcore, shoegaze, and alternative metal.
TUTV: Zealous guitars are embedded in a delirious and expressive melodiousness. On the mighty chorus, the all-consuming vocals echo the immense vehemence of the late great voice Chris Cornell. Say no more.
Powerful piece.
– 19 –
Band: KIDS WITH BUNS
Who: Belgian dream pop duo, featuring
Marie Van Uytvanck and Amber Piddington.
Track: BEST FRIEND
Newest single from their forthcoming sophomore LP,
named Bell Jar. It’ll land on October 16th.
TUTV: These Belgian buns know exatcly how to entice with peppy pop melodies which
invoke a feel-good, sun-lit vibe with smooth guitar riffs and warm duet vocals.
Charming.
– 20 –
Saul Adamczewski – Photo by Turn Up The Volume
Band: INSECURE MEN
Who: Wayward London-based indie collective conducted by
Saul Adamczewski, also the musical architect of notorious
misfits Fat White Family.
They released their splendacious self-titled debut LP in 2018.
Followed by their sophomore one, A Man For All Seasons.
Track: LA BLUES POOL
Preview from their upcoming EP.
Details TBA.
TUTV: The ghost of early Velvet Underground wanders all over this slo-mo jam. Gloomily orchestrated and ominously progressing, with Adamczewski‘s obscure vocals augmenting the sinister sonority of this truly notable piece of music.
