The Fire Note

The Tubs — 2026 ReleasedSeptember 11 Label Merge Records Produced By Nick Launay Runtime42 min / 12 tracks Album Review The Tubs • Hard Life • Wry Indie Rock “Hard Life is all ringing guitars, bruised hearts, sharp jokes, and songs that refuse to let the sadness sit still.” The Tubs have spent the last few years turning misery into some of indie rock’s sharpest guitar songs, and Hard Life feels like the record where they stop being a very good band and start being a necessary one.

The Fire Note Interview Kyle Melton on the new album Pinhole To Vortex Pinhole To Vortex | Anyway Records | Out September 18, 2026 Kyle Melton has been running Dayton’s Smug Brothers for two decades now, turning out hooky, lo-fi power pop at a clip that would tire most bands out. Earlier this year the band looked back with the retrospective compilation Gravity Is Just A Way To Fall, and now they are ready with a brand new one. Pinhole To Vortex arrives September 18 on Anyway Records.

The Linda Lindas — 2026 ReleasedAugust 28 Label Reprise/Warner Records Produced By Carlos de la Garza Runtime36 min / 12 tracks Album Review THE LINDA LINDAS • GOTTA GET OUT • HOOKY MELODIC PUNK “The Linda Lindas have always had the chemistry.

Video  ·  Matador Records Nate Amos’s most anticipated album arrives this Friday — and the world tour is enormous September 2026 New Video This Is Lorelei Nate Amos releases The Singer in My Band this Friday on Matador Records, and the final single “The Kid With the Crown” is a sprightly, untied-shoelace of a track that follows a group of kids rooting for their favorite demolition derby racer. The video, directed by Spencer Kelly, matches the song’s energy perfectly.

1-800 MIKEY — 2026 ReleasedSeptember 4 Label Goner Records Produced By Michael Barker Runtime22 min / 10 tracks Album Review 1-800 MIKEY • IN YUN • LO-FI POWER POP “In Yun turns bedroom fuzz, lovesick hooks, and twenty-something restlessness into one of the year’s most immediately likable power pop records.” Michael Barker is in his early 20s, and 1-800 MIKEY is the kind of project that makes you a little jealous of how easy he makes all of this look.

Fire Track  ·  New West Records Singin’ to an Empty Chair (Deluxe) arrives September 18 — one of 2026’s best albums so far just got a little bigger September 2026 New Track Ratboys Ratboys’ Singin’ to an Empty Chair has received high marks this year already included a Headphone Approved rating here. Now the Chicago five-piece announces a deluxe edition, out September 18 on New West Records, featuring covers of album tracks by PUP, Ducks Ltd., Wild Pink, Bad Bad Hats, and Free Range.

Video  ·  Kanine Records Spiral Bound arrives via Kanine Records, co-produced by Bodega’s Ben Hozie — jangly indie rock, swirling shoegaze, hazy psych, and Madchester beats from New York’s best-kept secret September 2026 New Video Diary Diary has been one of New York’s best-kept secrets for a few years now, and Spiral Bound (their debut LP, out today on Kanine Records); is the record that should change that.

Lex Walton — 2026 ReleasedAugust 26 Label Sub Pop Records Produced By Lex Walton & Dan Boeckner Runtime20 min / 7 tracks Album Review Lex Walton • ULTIMATE LOVE FOREVER • Scruffy Indie Rock “ULTIMATE LOVE FOREVER sounds casual while being incredibly precise, with pounding rhythms, loud guitars, and catchy lines pouring out everywhere.” Some records grab you by the ear in the first thirty seconds, and Lex Walton’s ULTIMATE LOVE FOREVER is one of them.

Interpol — 2026 ReleasedAugust 28 Label Partisan Records Produced By Andrew Wyatt Runtime54 min / 12 tracks Album Review Interpol • This Mirror Weighs A Ton • Expansive Post Punk “This Mirror Weighs A Ton is flat out the best Interpol record since Antics, a patient, confident album that earns every slow burn.” Interpol have never sounded like a band that goes through the motions of creating an album, but even by their own high bar This Mirror Weighs A Ton stands out.

Fire Track  ·  Independent The third single from Boogedy Boogedy Boogedy Shoop is deadpan alt-country brilliance from San Antonio’s Jerid Reed Morris, out October 2 September 2026 New Track Very Old Morris Very Old Morris is the solo project of San Antonio singer-songwriter Jerid Reed Morris, and his new album, Boogedy Boogedy Boogedy Shoop, arrives October 2 with both boots planted firmly in ’90s country.