Lost in Kyiv - We're All Going to Be Fine (2026)

The release of the 5th album from the French band turned out to be the perfect occasion, in the artists' eyes, to have a small lifting to their name. Small but significant, as the outfit, closely tied with the Ukrainian nation's struggles and war effort, decided to honour this and from now on use the Ukrainian way of spelling the country's capital's name. Consequently, the new album kind of got lost (sic!) in this commotion. And it shouldn't be the case, cause they band never disappoints.

Lost in Kyiv are almost perfect when it comes to making "modern" post-rock. One that is both melodic and impactful, with heavy use of synths and some unorthodox elements to the compositions. Within this subgenre, they manage to be very exciting while always delivering what is supposed of them. This post-rock is heavy, but not too heavy, it's melodic, but not too melodic, modern-sounding, but also not deprived of emotions. I love Burst with its synthy flow, Eclipse for its glitchy moments and Euphoria for its... well, euphoric vibes. This is not going to be THE best post-rock album of the year for me, but it certainly will be one I'll be coming back to a lot. But not to the track with Rebecca Need-Menear's vocals. Sorry, it just doesn't agree with me.

Interestingly, the album's title really fits the trend of hopeful and warm messages sent by post-rock(ish) artists. Suffice it to say, only this year we had Million Moon's You Be Good, I Love You or VLMV's There Will Come Soft Rains. I guess this is ONE way of responding to today's world, especially when you are (like LiK and like me) emotionally invested in a brutal war we have here, in Europe. Cheers to the trend then.

We're All Going to Be Fine costs 5 EUR.

Check: Burst

Country: France

Genre: modern post-rock

Label: Pelagic Records

Lost in Kiev - Rupture (2022)

Lost in Kiev - Persona (2019)

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Sara Parkman - Aster, atlas (2026)

I know her from 2022 Funeral Folk album where she created, well, some funeral-feeling folk with her compatriot Maria W Horn. But I have never heard her solo works and this has, fortunately, changed with the release of this beautiful record. Artful pop inspired as much by folk as by the trademark Scandinavian sensibility.

The 6th album in the Swedish artist's discography is a treat for artistic folk lovers. The inspirations are pretty clear: the energetic but also mysterious vocals, the violins like from Midsommar, the choir singing as if it was recorded in a small church somewhere in the Saami country. This is Scandinavian folk. But there is so much more on Aster, atlas. In Paradiset we have some real dark notes, finally conquered by the hopeful ending. There is some spoken word, very lyric-heavy vocals thrown around through the album's landscape. And finally, my favourite (of course) song, Salikons rosor, that starts slow but successively gets more nervous and louder, up to the crescendoing, orchestral finish that resonates in your ears for a long time. Yeah, well, I'm a post-rock fan.

But I like the slower parts of the album equally much. Those melancholic, but soothing seconds of an intensive one-on-one with Parkman's voice are there to enchant the sadder parts of your souls. Also: the fact that everything is in Swedish, I language I don't speak but I recognize a lot of words, but there are also parts in Latin, is always a great sign too.

Aster, atlas costs 8 EUR (90 SEK).

Check: Salikons rosor

Country: Sweden

Genre: art folk pop

Label: Supertraditional Records

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Mike Lazarev - Gradiscence (2026)

Born in Ukraine, living in UK, this ambient producer with the looks of a hermit and the music sensibility of a poet made some more magic and enchanted it onto a short EP entitled Gradiscence.  His unhurried piano-based soundscapes create this kind of atmosphere that is as cozy as it is beautiful.

Not everything he makes gets to me, but this year's EP is another release after 2023's Sacred Tonalities that touched my spiritual side. There is something in the quality of those key sounds accompanied by next to nothing else that strikes me throughout the album. Every one of them feels like a finger touch on my spine, bringing an overwhelming feeling of warm if nostalgic embrace. The minimalism of the compositions really brings the piano sounds out so that they can charm the audience freely. Still, my favourite part of the EP is the one where the piano finally gives up and submerges into the moody, omnipresent electronic drone. Love it.

Gradiscence costs 6 EUR (5 GBP).

Check: Gradiscent

Country: Ukraine/UK

Genre: piano soundscape

Label: Bigo and Twigetti

Mike Lazarev - Sacred Tonalities (2023)

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The Haunted Youth - Boys Cry Too (2026)

The Haunted Youth from Belgium may be one of the most interesting bands making a tasty, modern blend of various gazey genres that can't be directly connected to any of them, but works fantastically as a whole. The dream poppy synthwavey shoegazey emo rock or whatnot outfit released their second album and it's as good as their debut from 2022.

What is great about their music is the sheer catchiness of each and every song on the album. You can go through the list of tracks and tick every position in the Am I going to Sing it With the Band column. The short and sweet one-liner chorus in In My Head or the chanting-like vocals in Deathwish or the almost r'n'b electronica in Wake Up. But when the music deepens and swallows, when the synths are layered until they fill out all the available space and when the compositions reach the euphoric optimum, this is where I feel the album the most. No wonder that Emo Song seems to be the most popular out of the whole release, it does the perfect job of drawing the audience in blissful noise. And so does the ballad-like Falling to Pieces. 

It seems that Joachim Liebens' outfit gains a lot of recognition in Western Europe, I'd love to see them live one day. My only hope is that they won't decide to change their music to please the broader audience and will stay true to the dreamy/shoegazey music that made me notice them in the first place.

Boys Cry Too costs 11 EUR (8.99 GBP).

Check: Emo Song

Country: Belgium

Genre: shoegazey indie rock

Label: Anti-Pop/PIAS

The Haunted Youth - Dawn of the Freak (2022)

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Tokyo Shoegazer - Remains (2026)

I love how certain Japanese projects use their names to clearly state what to expect from their music. Tokyo Shoegazer play shoegaze. And are from Tokyo. 'nuff said. This makes it all about music and the classic noisy but airy gaze here proves it can work so well on its own. Also, somehow this is another Japanese band with a song about flowers, but unlike MONO, they stick to one track only.

Founded by Hiroshi Sasabuchi in 2010, the band has a rich history that includes a hiatus period and a comeback, 6 albums with two critically acclaimed at RateYourMusic database and many live gigs in Asia. The sound of their music is something most of us would call a "classic shoegaze": the noisy and the fuzzy are indeed noisy and fuzzy, the sound quality is not as important as the loudness and, finally, Kyoko Sahara's vocals are extremely, soothingly airy. What else do you want from a shoegaze album?

Well, I guess you could expect some catchy melodies, but the Japanese deliver here as well: the ear-catching riffs in Wisteria are cool but my favourite track has to be Vega with its dreamy melodies meeting the heaviest guitars of the album at the end and this kind of contrast is what does it for me. What a beauty.

Remains costs 12 USD.

Check: Vega

Country: Japan

Genre: classic shoegaze

Label: HigherHell Records

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Kielichy - SAWANT (2026)

Kielichy were featured on the blog already this year, but it was BEFORE. Back then, the Punkty płonące EP heralded a change and now we can already witness where the artist's discovery voyage landed them. SAWANT, called after the French for "scholar", but also a medical condition which is basically how autistic people are presented in media, album makes a huge impression from the beautiful cover art up to the lyrical and musical parts of the compositions.

I can see some similarities with one of my favourite albums of the recent times: Pothamus' Abur with similar weight put on the atmosphere and spirituality that comes from some kind of religion but ultimately is more than that. And when the psychedelic and sacral atmosphere is set up, here with the unhurried pace, dense guitars and characteristic vocals, the post-rock wall of sound appears out of nowhere to make the compositions' gravity even more emphasized. I have already said it a couple of times this year, but this is a good time for Polish dark psychedelic projects and this album is another prove to support the claim.

I've seen their music being described as "gothic post-rock" now and I can see why: it's not only the slow and moody music, it's also the themes. The band's name being the Polish word for "chalices" (which I read now in a very religious, perhaps ironic way) is one thing, but the lyrics all over SAWANT are very strongly leaning towards the mysterious and the religious with references to the importance of blood (Pieśń robaków), heavens (Puste niebo) or an entity hanging from a tree (Wisielec). But, judging from tracks like Puste niebo (which means "empty skies" but also could mean "Empty Heaven"), the religious here is just a decor, but if you employ it, you become part of it. Hence "gothic post-rock".

SAWANT costs 5 EUR (20 PLN).

Check: Puste niebo

Country: Poland

Genre: gothic post-rock

Kielichy - Punkty płonące (2026)

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Band photo by Daria Izworska.

Martyna Basta - Winged in Collapse (2026)

When you are called a "sonic alchemist", you know there is something special in your music. Martyna Basta, Polish composer and singer/songwriter based in the city of Kraków (my neighbour I presume) released her third album (but first under the acclaimed 7k records) filled with ambitious electronica turned ambient pop music.

The signature sound of this album focuses on the artful electronic samples sewn together into a sonic canvas on which beautiful though enigmatic vocals are displayed. This is not an easy kind of neoclassical electronica, it requires attention and brain power to process everything that is happening around you. But it's satisfying if enjoyed properly. I love the vocals, even if they are used sparingly, they show the range of the artist's voice and add to the mysterious atmosphere of the release. 

I love that Basta invited some interesting guests, especially the harp-electronic duo LEYA (which, coincidentally, has also some Polish roots) in Laid and the British experimental rapper Rainy Miller in 2674. This is a beautiful, airy and ambitious electronic soundscape with elements of chamber pop appearing here and there that only make it more engaging to listen to.

Winged in Collapse costs 11 EUR.

Check: Laid 

Country: Poland

Genre: experimental ambient pop

Label: 7k

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