News
25 September 2026 – How To Perform Magic, Threadbare and More Lead an Exceptionally Busy Independent New Music Friday
By Editorial Team - September 25, 2026
Summary
September 25 brings an avalanche of essential indie releases from Julia Jacklin, Blondshell, M83, Gilla Band, SOFY, Lande Hekt, Ha•zel, and more.
Key Facts
- September 25, 2026 marks one of the most prolific Independent New Music Fridays of the year.
- Major album releases from Julia Jacklin, Blondshell, M83, Gilla Band, Protomartyr, SOFY, and Adult DVD.
- Spans genres from abrasive Dublin noise-rock and Berlin microtonal ambient to Canadian indie-pop and Melbourne orchestral rock.
- Entities: Julia Jacklin, Blondshell, M83, Gilla Band, Protomartyr, SOFY, Lande Hekt, Jules Reidy, Oren Ambarchi, Ha•zel, Adult DVD, Penelope Isles, Leon Bridges, Phoebe Bridgers, Tegan and Sara, Wet Leg
- Tags: new-music-friday, indie-rock, indie-pop, noise-rock, post-punk, ambient, experimental, record-releases
September 25 has turned into one of those release Fridays where opening a streaming service feels less like choosing an album and more like being handed responsibility for a small record shop. Beyond the headline releases from Julia Jacklin, Blondshell, M83, Gilla Band and Protomartyr, today's independent and alternative listings stretch across almost every sensible definition of the category.
SOFY's How To Perform Magic mixes Britpop, trip-hop and breakbeats; Lande Hekt's Threadbare compresses jangling guitar pop into four songs; experimental composer Jules Reidy offers Clerestory; Oren Ambarchi's Cooked pursues two extended international studio constructions; Ha•zel's debut EP combines post-hardcore weight with bilingual vocals; and Adult DVD somehow squeezes acid-house impulses into a Leeds indie-rock record without requiring planning permission.
Other releases appearing across today's alternative listings include music from claire rousay and Martyna Basta, Bullion, The Red Pinks & Purples, Penelope Isles, Sleep In., Soft Kill and numerous independent singles. Genre borders are therefore behaving particularly badly today, which is generally encouraging. The useful definition of indie in 2026 increasingly seems to be music built outside the safest centre of mainstream pop rather than one particular guitar sound. September 25 provides ample supporting evidence for the vitality of the independent music ecosystem.