Image credit: NX Newcastle

The beautiful month of May is here, and with it a host of new music to enjoy. Expect early bids for pop song of the summer from Maisie Peters and MUNA, whilst Knats and Boards of Canada are amongst the most promising offerings from beyond the mainstream. Below is the rundown of the six albums I’m most anticipating this month.

Knats – A Great Day in Newcastle, 1 May

Knats have been making moves in Newcastle’s diminutive jazz scene for a few years now, and their debut record A Great Day In Newcastle coincides with a second masterclass and jam session at the city’s flashy Glasshouse concert hall. This album’s headline-making collaborator is the fittingly-named producer Geordie Greep, known for leading the envelope-pushing jazz-punks black midi, as well as releasing a highly regarded album of his own in 2024. Expect earthy spoken poetry from new Knats member Cooper Robson, tightly-knit horn harmonies and plenty of playful references to the ‘Castle.

American Football – LP4, 1 May

American Football’s self-titled debut album is now considered the cornerstone of the Midwest emo genre, characterised by delicately interlaced guitars and raw, unadorned vocals about unrequited love and lingering regrets. The record’s influence endures in the Internet era’s glut of confessional, lo-fi bedroom pop, but the singles from LP4 suggest this time around American Football are reaching for something more ambitious and cinematic. Lead single Bad Moons is an 8-minute post rock epic in the vein of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, whilst No Feeling employs Turnstile’s Brendan Yates for some vulnerable lyrics more akin to that lauded debut.

The Lemon Twigs – Look For Your Mind!, 8 May

The D’Addario brothers have been on a hot streak in recent years, with both 2024’s A Dream Is All We Know and the previous year’s Everything Harmony (home to Undertone’s Song of the Year 2023) exhibiting near flawless soft rock that sounded beamed in straight from the early 70s. The singles for this new record suggest the Twigs are going for an if-it-ain’t-broke approach – lead single I Just Can’t Get Over Losing You is yet another impeccably written two minutes of Beach Boys-esque bliss, whilst 2 or 3 features some truly spectacular vocal harmonies. A solid bet for 2026’s Album of the Year to be.

MUNA – Dancing On The Wall, 8 May

LA trio MUNA have steadily built of their pop credentials in recent years, and Phoebe Bridgers-featuring hit Silk Chiffon was one of the most gloriously breezy and fun summer pop singles of recent years. Bouncy new dance-pop single Dancing On The Wall heralds a promising album of the same name, whilst Wannabeher suggests a deliciously grungy new techno direction. Anyone doubting their future arena-filling potential should listen to their recent live album recorded at LA’s Greek Theatre – there’s hardly a lull in the banger-packed 22-song set list.

Maisie Peters – Florescence, 15 May

Now four albums deep and well ensconced in the British pop landscape, Maisie Peters cannily played into Gen Z nostalgia with the announcement video for her new LP Florescence, which recreated a scene from the indelible teen flick Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Whilst 2023’s The Good Witch presented an unexciting pivot to toothless pop-rock, Florescence’s singles and the intimate, painted album cover indicate a more homespun, folksy vibe. My Regards arrived with it’s own dance routine, clearly angling for TikTok virality that so far hasn’t quite materialised. More appealing are the banjo flourishes in Say My Name In Your Sleep, and Audrey Hepburn’s refreshingly straightforward guitar-and-vocals set up.

Boards of Canada – Inferno, 29 May

No one does an album rollout quite like Board of Canada. The enigmatic Scottish duo announced their first album in 13 years via a message in morse code left on their website, before sending mysterious VHS tapes to fans last month. The only new single we have from the band, Tape 05, was only released on YouTube, and is in fact rumoured to not feature on the album anyway. Either way, we can safely expect Boards of Canada’s cryptic approach to publicity to be reflected in their new album – if it’s anything like their 1998 cult classic Music Has The Right To Children, Inferno will be a quietly haunting ambient experience, synths and mangled vocals wafting in and out of the mix like ghosts.