The Best of July '26

Jul 31

From the World Cup finals, to Wimbledon, to the Tour de France, July gave us a lot to root for. Musically, whether you push for the underdogs by adding newcomers to your playlists or stick with tried and true staples, this month’s new releases have something for every kind of fan. As always, keep reading to recap OTR’s recent can’t-miss drops and exclusive coverage of your favorite indie, alt, and rock acts .

RAPID REVIEWS

On Raw Honesty, Unrequited Love, & Dancing: Kevin Atwater’s Blush Red - Cassidy LaPointe

“The album is a series of pushes and pulls – resentment butts violently against admiration, while an overwhelming love clouds any self-awareness. The head and the heart are in constant opposition as Atwater recounts desperate nights with a careless lover; a building virulence is in fierce competition with the need to be held. Blush Red is a maddening, all-too-relatable cycle of knowing you deserve better and going back anyway.”

For Fans Of: leitmotifs, queer storytelling, lush orchestration

Mary in the Junkyard’s Debut Album Role Model Hermit is Your Favorite Bedtime Story Retold - Seay Howell

Watch Mary in the Junkyard’s KEXP performance on YouTube.

“Role Model Hermit is as cohesive and fully-realized as an album can be without feeling stuffy. A DIY, experimental spirit of production (such as a slide guitar made out of a skateboard) establishes the album’s blend of nostalgia and cutting-edge artistry. Folk underpinnings add to Role Model Hermit’s imaginative, lived-in feel, like finding a trunk of old costumes hidden in the attic … You slip into costumes and act out old stories and create new ones until fact and fiction blend and all you’re left with is the truth of your emotions.”

For Fans Of: conversational lyrics, droning instrumentals, “Widow’s Bay”

Holding Up a Funhouse Mirror: Inside Trophy Wife’s Cathartic New LP, Pathetic- McKenzie Blasi

“To name an album Pathetic is a bold self-fulfilling declaration, but Trophy Wife wears the moniker like a badge of honor. Rather than cowering behind vague metaphors or cool detachment, the trio dives headfirst into emotional transparency. Throughout the record, lyricism pivots between intense yearning and sharp self-deprecation. The songs dissect what happens when self-awareness fails to stop bad choices—the loop of reaching out to someone who isn't good for you, overanalyzing every social interaction, and fearing that beneath your outward performance lies something fundamentally broken.”

For Fans Of: Obsession, fuzzy guitars, 2000s revivalist indie rock

Lizzy McAlpine Returns with Light and Love in New Single “The light in the painting” - Jackie Fortis

Watch Lizzy McAlpine’s “The light in the painting” music video on YouTube.

“Devastating, yet not about heartbreak, the song explores love being a blinding light, while also being something so delicate and sacred, just as the production feels alongside her words. Subtle synths and light harmonies hug the listener all around. It almost floods the sense, as she sings, “Meet me where I’ve always been / feel the lightning on my skin / time moves slower in a time like this / I stand there blinded by it.” Light in paintings often aids in creating illusions. Could love this blinding be dangerous?”

For Fans Of: harmonic drones, abstract impressionist art, lullaby-like piano melodies

Charli XCX Wants to Feel It on Latest Album Music, Fashion, Film - Mitchell Stewart

“Charli’s trademarked tongue-in-cheek and honest lyricism continues on this album: on “SS26” and “Card Declined,” she sings of overconsumption, of the empty way that we invest in fashion, and our obsession with portraying our lives in a glamorized manner — we can buy all the labels and it still won’t save us.

Yet, Charli can’t help the way the titular trifecta of music, fashion, and film makes her feel. On “Camera,” she admits to wanting to enter the world of film. Charli doesn’t invalidate her emotions of wanting more; if anything, she’s saying that despite recognizing the potential evil of this ambition, it nonetheless is what she wants — through the film industry, Charli imagines being able escape to someone who isn’t actually her.”

For Fans Of: overconsumption commentary, black and white Pinterest mood boards, industrial sound effects

BROOKE’S BONUS

Flipturn and Briston Maroney Swap Summer Anthems for the Ultimate Sunny Collab

Listen to July on Spotify.

It wouldn’t be an indie summer without the anthems “June” and “August” by Briston Maroney and Flipturn, respectively, and to fill the July gap, the indie playlist staples knew what needed to be done. On double A-side July, Maroney and the five-piece crafted renditions of the each other’s high-temperature tracks for an impeccable collaboration. Flipturn’s “June” is sonically pretty authentic to Maroney’s, but lead singer Dillon Basse’s silkier vocals and the densely layered yet more refined instrumentation of the band provide a sleek update to the nine-year-old song Maroney released when he was just 19. Meanwhile, Maroney’s “August” takes the track from the festival stage to the campfire, trading its clean guitar licks and hi-hat grooves for acoustic finger picking and a steady bass drum foundation.

For Fans Of: covers, summer hikes, coming-of-age movies

EXTRAS

July Staff Picks: