At the end of 2024, I prepared a list that I considered a kind of bingo, where I listed ten musicians in the hope that they would return with a new album sometime during 2025. It made me so excited — even more than I already was — about the upcoming year, and I genuinely expected them to release new material. When I look back at the post I made, I see that seven out of ten actually did release a new album, and having a 70% success rate under my belt motivated me to do this once again, this time for 2026 with a brand new set of ten musicians. (P.S. I still hope Lianne La Havas, Frank Ocean, and Zebra Katz will release new albums, but they won’t be on the list again.)
Even though we’ve seen them in side projects, supergroups, or various collaborations, these ten musicians have spent several relatively quiet years when it comes to their own or solo projects. Some of them recorded songs with friends, some toured the world, and some acted in films and TV shows. Still, seeing them make a comeback to their musical projects and release a new LP would make me beyond happy. Every one of these artists is, in one way or another, among my favourites, and I would love to see them take new steps in their discographies.
Arctic Monkeys
Matt, Nick, Jamie, and Alex Turner. Or the coolest kids we’ve ever seen. Since stepping onto the scene in 2006 with Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, they haven’t just represented a generation — they’ve gone on to release one great record after another. At times we’ve seen their most personal sides; at times we’ve wondered what they would do while flirting with the mainstream and the popularity that came with it. Yet their latest album, The Car, felt like proof that this quartet still has original ideas and genuinely artistic musical instincts in their pockets. For that reason, a new Arctic Monkeys album feels more exciting than ever.
Genre: Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Baroque Pop
Where to start: Do I Wanna Know?, Sculptures Of Anything Goes
Balthazar
From Applause (2010) to Rats (2012), Thin Walls (2015), and especially Fever (2019) — a masterpiece in my eyes — Balthazar have consistently lived up to the attention they’ve received, and that’s why they are probably my favourite rock band to come out of Belgium. With nearly five years having passed since their latest album Sand (2021) and considering they’ve never left such a long gap between albums before, I can’t help but think that good news is just around the corner.
Genre: Alternative Rock, Alternative Pop, Sophisti Pop
Where to start: Bunker, Fever
Binker & Moses
This is going to be very personal, but I realised just how incredible a jazz duo Binker & Moses are during a night walk in 2022, under one of the heaviest snowfalls I’ve ever witnessed. Feeding the Machine was such a strong album in my eyes that, from that moment on, I started eagerly waiting for whatever they would release next. As they approach the end of their 10th year together on this project, it feels like the perfect time for a fourth album. We’re ready to dive back into their uniquely avant-garde take on jazz.
Genre: Avant-Garde Jazz, Spiritual Jazz
Where to start: Fete by the River, Accelerometer Overdose
Harry Styles
After One Direction separated, Harry Styles shaped his solo career with all the right moves, building it around pop music that feels both well-crafted and emotionally resonant. Following his self-titled debut, Fine Line, and Harry’s House — which includes the phenomenal “As It Was” — he’s gone unexpectedly quiet. A long break and a spectacular world tour have come and gone. The studio, and all of us, are now waiting for Harry Styles for a great return.
Genre: Pop Rock, Pop Soul, Dance Pop
Where to start: Golden, As It Was
Iceage
One of our favourite punk bands to emerge from Scandinavia, Iceage have also been keeping us waiting for a while. Although the band’s vocalist Elias Rønnenfelt has contributed to the music world with two different albums over the past two years, we’re still craving a collective release from the Danish quartet. Having last winked at us with Seek Shelter four (okay, now five) years ago, a new calendar year means new hope for Iceage to release a new LP.
Genre: Post Punk, Art Punk, Art Rock
Where to start: Let It Vanish, Drink Rain
Moses Sumney
I honestly hoped last year, that if I didn’t add their name to this list, they might just drop another album anyway sometime in 2025 — but sadly, that didn’t happen. So I decided to turn it into a totem and add them to the bingo: here I go. After releasing their masterpiece græ in 2020, Moses Sumney took part in various musical projects and continued acting, but put their own personal project on hold. Their most recent release, a collaboration with Hayley Williams, “I Like It I Like It,” felt like the beginning of a comeback I’ve been hoping for with all my heart. If an official album announcement comes, know that it will easily be one of the albums I’m most curious about heading into 2026.
Genre: Neo-Soul, Art Pop, Alternative R&B
Where to start: Don’t Bother Calling, Me in 20 Years
Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers last appeared in 2023 with the supergroup boygenius, which she formed alongside Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. By next year, it will have been six years since her last solo album. In the meantime, both Dacus and Baker have released various new records, while Bridgers has remained quiet. A return picking up from where the final track of Punisher (2020), “I Know The End,” left off would be absolutely incredible.
Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Alternative Folk, Alternative Rock
Where to start: Scott Street, I Know The End
Sinead O’Brien
One of the most talented artists introduced to us by renowned producer Dan Carey — who has helped an entire generation both find its voice and make music — is Sinead O’Brien. The Irish musician’s 2022 album Time Bend and Break The Bower, which made us feel the spoken-word genre right down to our bones, was a truly wonderful record. Ever since, I’ve been waiting excitedly for the announcement of a new album.
Genre: Spoken Word, Post Punk
Where to start: Pain Is the Fashion of the Spirit, Like Culture
Steve Lacy
Although he technically took his first step onto the music scene in 2019 with Apollo XXI, it was undoubtedly Gemini Rights (2022) that placed Steve Lacy firmly at the centre of global attention. Over the past three years, we’ve kept listening to his songs while he’s kept making new music. Returning this August with the single “Nice Shoes,” Lacy has also announced via social media that he’s close to finishing and sharing his new album. For that reason, Steve Lacy is the artist I’m most hopeful about heading into 2026.
Genre: Neo-Soul, Bedroom Pop, Alternative R&B
Where to start: Bad Habit, Static
The Strokes
After picking Frank Ocean last year, I decided to take another risky bet this year and include The Strokes as the final name on this bingo.
Following The New Abnormal (2020), Julian Casablancas released another project with The Voidz in 2024 and stated that continuing The Strokes had pushed creativity into the background, and that the motivations they had at the band’s inception hadn’t quite carried on as he once imagined, as he shared with Rolling Stone Italia. However, there are also comments from The New Abnormal’s producer Rick Rubin, dating back to 2022, suggesting that they were working on a new album. So while expecting The Strokes’ seventh album as soon as 2026 might be my biggest wishful thinking, I’ve decided to take this risk.
Genre: Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, New Wave
Where to start: Hard To Explain, Ode To The Mets
See you this time next year, and hoping for the best!
Cemoir 
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