The industry’s finally shaken off the tinsel and mistletoe, and January is starting to cough up some actual new music. Mariah Carey is back in hibernation, record labels are back at their desks, artists are pressing play again, and the release calendar is waking up from its seasonal coma. Consider this week’s instalment of What’s Going On as our first real roundup of new releases to set the tone for 2026. As always, if you dig what you hear, be sure to stream and follow these artists.
Yungblud– English rocker Yungblud just made history (yet again) by reimagining his Grammy-nominated hit “Zombie” with The Smashing Pumpkins. The new version leans heavier and moodier, drenched in Billy Corgan’s instantly recognizable guitar haze and emotional grandeur. The raw standout track now feels bigger, bruised, and cinematic, with all the alt-rock bombast of Siamese Dream crashing into modern angst. It’s basically rockstar fantasy camp, and somehow it works without feeling precious.
Listen to Yungblud’s new take on “Zombie” with The Smashing Pumpkins below.
Storey Littleton – Singer-songwriter Storey Littleton’s debut album, At a Diner, needs to be on your most anticipated albums of 2026 list. Out February 6 via our friends over at Don Giovanni (hi guys!), the rising star from Woodstock, NY pairs feather-light melodies with lyrics that quietly choose violence. Her latest single, “January,” out now, arrives with a deceptively low-key, high-impact video that sets the tone for what listeners can expect from the album. Cozy, clever, and just dangerous enough to loop forever. I’m intrigued!
Listen to Storey Littleton’s new single “January” below.
BIG SPECIAL – Fresh off their first-ever North American tour, which I got to see when it rolled through Toronto, Birmingham duo BIG SPECIAL stomp into 2026 with“SLUGLIFE.” The new single moves slow, hits hard, and refuses to look away. Built on stark spoken-word delivery and their signature pitch-black humour, it’s a survival anthem for anyone crawling through it rather than conquering it. Joe Hicklin’s vocal sounds less like a performance than a reckoning, dragging self-hate into the light and letting it squirm. It’s ugly, funny, bleak, and weirdly affirming. Post-punk minimalism with grit under its nails and purpose in its crawl, that’s what you can expect from BIG SPECIAL, and they deliver that in droves on “SLUGLIFE.”
Listen to BIG SPECIAL’s new single “SLUGLIFE” below.
Nory – Miami-bred, Brooklyn-based renaissance man Nory sharpens the conversation with “SNIP SNIP,” a new single that cuts clean through the pressure to pick a side. Part jazz-brained improviser, part rapper with a philosopher’s stare, Nory turns life-between-worlds tension into something restless and alive. The track packs lyrics that hit hard, politics that rumble underneath, and a groove that keeps moving even when certainty doesn’t. It’s thoughtful without being preachy and loose without being lazy. It’s music for people allergic to binaries. Is there anything Nory can’t do? That remains to be seen, but you can catch him headlining NIGHTCLUB 101 on January 15.
Listen to Nory’s new single “SNIP SNIP” below.
Whey Jennings – Whey Jennings leans into grace on “I’ll See You Soon,” a soft-spoken, steel-soaked country ballad that trades bluster for belief. Out now, the new single finds the Nashville singer reflecting on faith, loss, and the promise that goodbyes aren’t always final. His booming baritone is dialled back just enough to let the emotion breathe, which gives the song a quiet, tear-in-your-beer kind of power. It’s a tender preview of Baptized By Fire, his forthcoming album due out March 27th.
Listen to Whey Jennings’ new single “I’ll See You Soon” below.
