Phoebe Bridgers – Lost Weekend
6 years after the success of Punisher, Bridgers returns with Lost Weekend, (over-)produced by Jack Antonoff alongside Alex Giannascoli (Alex G), Tony Berg, Ethan Gruska and others, which is unfortunately underwhelming on the songwriting front, despite the liminal and moody production choices and intimate lyrics.
The opening couplet of Lost Boys – jangling power-pop of with a grand chorus backed by a fanfare figure a la Sufjan Stevens’ Chicago (with a harmony that borders on self-plagiarism) – and The Outside – with robotic electronic vocals and a classy piano figure – are misleading. The real soul of the album resied in the static and gentle slowcore mood pieces that erupt into cacophony – depressive in the swarming choral background of Kill Me, poignant in the rapid fingerpicking a la Elliot Smith of The Governor’s Waltz (played excellently by classical guitarist, Christian Lee Hutson), pastoral in the country elegy, Haunted. The obvious limitation is that none of these tracks are backed by compelling melodies and progressions and its not clear to what extent the production choices and various collaborations are illuminating or detracting from the songwriters’ vision. The collaboration with Geese’s Cameron Winter on I Can’t Wait is particularly jarring and directionless.
Several tracks feel like the accomplishments of the producer, not the songwriter, such as Liberty Tree, which morphs into a pounding dancebeat, before giving way suddenly to ghostly electronica. Other tracks are skeletal and scant (Still Standing, Other Plans), though these capture more pathos than the conventional ballads and are among the most captivating. The closing track As Above sounds a little too like the closing track of Nine Inch Nails’ Year Zero (Right Where it Belongs).
One wonders whether a rawer, acoustic version of the album would have fared better or wether perhaps the various producers and composers are necessary to provide an impetus to the unassuming melodies and harmonies. The album is ostensibly a personal autobiography of the past 5 years if you are more interested in Bridgers’ personal life and her celebrity relationships, this album will likely resonate further. For the rest of us, there is only the music itself, which is too often, quite banal.
Losing My Edge Rating: 6/10
Best Tracks: The Outside, Kill Me, Other Plans
Release Date: August 14, 2026
Label: Dead Oceans
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mitski – Nothing’s About To Happen To Me
Perhaps settling into a more adult style, Mitski released the mostly subdued Nothing’s About To Happen To Me. The tracklist feels more like a compilation of b-sides and extras that may have fit on previous album. For example, If I Leave harks back to the Late Spring era. Meanwhile, Charon’s Obol is backed by folky humming and muted guitar that could be found on This Land is Inhospitable and the minimalist, bossanova-tinged I Would Change For You would not be out of place on Be The Cowboy. And so on.
Her storytelling still shines on the quaint, country sway of In A Lake and the haunting ballad with sparse organ and strings, Dead Woman. The catchiest track is the jaunty power-pop Where’s My Phone, delivered with irreverence. The standout may however be the edgy and propulsive That White Cat, complete with gregorian chanting and PJ Harvey-esque punk shouting. Overall, this feels like an album of leftover ideas, rather than a fully sketched out project with a clear sonic identity or purpose.
Losing My Edge Rating: 6/10
Best tracks: Dead Woman, That White Cat
Release Date: February 27, 2026
Label: Dead Oceans
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dove Ellis – Blizzard
Galway’s ‘Dove Ellis’ debuted on Blizzard, demonstrating his weepy vocal delivery, adjacent with Joe Newman (Alt-J), Anohni (Antony and the Johnsons) Ed Droste (Grizzly Bear) and Zach Condon (Beirut) and decent poetic sensibilities. The first half is loungey folk rock with light atmospheric touches i.e. the loungey single, Pale Song, while the second half is comparatively stripped back. Love Is opens up as a barroom piano ballad before soaring into a soaring Jefferson Airplane style refrain. Among the highlights are also the Poguesian celtic shuffle of Jaundice, the serene neo-soul ballad When You Tie Your Hair Up and the Beatles-esque Heaven Has No Wings with an Elton John style piano figure. Too many of the remaining tracks are dedicated to relaxed passages that lack distinct musical or melodic ideas.
Losing My Edge Rating: 6/10
Best Tracks: Pale Song, Love Is, When You Tie Your Hair Up
Release Date: December 5, 2025
Label: Black Butter Records
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This Is Lorelai – The Singer In My Band
This Is Lorelai, the project of Nate Amos (also lead guitarist and producer of the band Water In Your Eyes), invented a hyper-modernised style of country rock on Box for Buddy, Box for Star, for the hyper-pop generation (the cheesy nursery rhyme rocker, I’m All Fucked Up, the sped-up country parody Dancing In The Club made popular by MJ Lenderman’s cover in a more conventional style). The first half of The Singer In My Band fails to justify the hype with the derivative tongue-in cheek, country-rockers, I Will Eat My Heart, Billy Come Back and The Singer In My Band. The exception is the brittle and angsty Oh No Now My built off a linear riff, which repeats across the whole track.
The second half boasts more impetus, starting with the neurotic litany Hey Sarah Is It Gonna Rain Forever based on a celtic guitar motif, the garage rock The Kid With No Crown and two better attempts at modernised country, And I Haven’t Seen My Love In Quite A While (a duet with band member, Al Nardo) and Don’t You Cry In Lonesomeness, which are more compelling on the lyrical front. But the whole is wholly unremarkable.
Losing My Edge Rating: 5/10
Best Tracks: Hey Sarah Is It Gonna Rain Forever
Released: September 26, 2026
Label: Matador
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Julia Jacklin – The Gem
Julia Jacklin’s latest attempts to find a balance between bright and anthemic indie rock (God Sometimes, Get Away From Me) and the sparse and heartfelt ballads (Angel Vision, Walk On Me), with the exception of the piano-based You Turned On The Tap. The album saves its most powerful emotion for the final track, I Wish, a linear country elegy setting the stage for a naked emotional reflection.
Losing My Edge Rating: 5/10
Best Tracks: Angel Vision, Walk On Me
Released: 25 September, 2026
Label: 4AD / Remote Control
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________