A week for dub, deconstruction and the Irish underground. Our album of the week is a retrospective: Melodies International gathers 45 years of Mad Professor’s Ariwa Sounds, the South London reggae and dub institution behind hundreds of records, into a 15-track set spanning Sister Nancy, U Roy, Johnny Clarke, Sandra Cross and more.
Arca returns with XXXXX, another restless mutation from one of electronic music’s true shapeshifters, and Stereogum’s album of the week Mallory Hawk, once a touring bassist for Dublin’s M(h)aol, lands the genre-hopping Chinook.
Ireland is well represented: Dublin producer blimp arrives with his debut Our Wires, and the BIIRD pair of Lisa Canny and Niamh Hinchy dig into the old tradition of lilting as Absolute Lilt.
Elsewhere, Mount Kimbie take the fabric presents series to the dancefloor, Brighton’s Opus Kink deliver their debut album proper, Dawuna resurfaces on True Panther, and Ariana Grande returns without fanfare on petal.
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Nialler9 keeps a rolling list of Irish album releases for 2026.
New Albums and Releases
New Albums + EPs
Album of the week:
Mad Professor – Melodies International presents Ariwa Sounds
Ariwa, Mad Professor’s label and reggae studio in South London has been running since 1979 and has released over 300 albums in reggae, dub, and Lovers Rock since.
This 15-track compilation released on Melodies International draws from 45 years of recordings on the Ariwa label with tracks from Johnny Clarke, Sandra Cross, Kofi, U Roy, Sister Nancy, Queen Omega, Aisha, Garnett Cross, Abel Miller, Horace Andy. It’s a beaut.
The compilation will be out in July in vinyl 2xLP, CD, digital formats, mastered from the original tapes by Frank Merritt (the Carvery), pressed at Optimal, artwork created by Jason Evans with design and assembly contributions from Nevil Bernard and Will Sweeney, animated teaser by Nevil Bernard and Melozine designed by Mafalda Meireles.
Arca โ XXXXX
The new album from Arca, the Venezuelan producer, composer and performer known for dismantling and rebuilding the idea of what electronic pop can be. From her production work for Bjork and Kanye West to the four-part Kick series, Alejandra Ghersi has made restlessness itself into a signature, moving between reggaeton, industrial noise, ambient and deconstructed club without ever settling. XXXXX arrives as the next mutation.
Few artists working now can claim to have shaped the actual sound of experimental music over the last ten years the way Arca has.
Mallory Hawk – Chinook
The debut solo album from Mallory Hawk, the Philadelphia singer-songwriter (born Hawkins, the surname clipped to summon a bird of prey), and Stereogum’s album of the week. Chinook takes its name from the twin-rotor military helicopters that filled the skies over her childhood in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and turns them into a metaphor for a habit of caring for everyone around her at her own expense.
The music refuses to sit still, moving from noisy indie to dance-punk, folk, garage-punk, new wave and swaying country rock across its 10 songs, held together by Hawk’s weary, big-hearted writing.
Irish listeners may know her as a former touring bassist for Dublin’s M(h)aol; she has also fronted Brooklyn post-punks Customer, played in Trace Mountains, and co-ran the indie-pop label Double Double Whammy.
blimp โ Our Wires
The debut album from blimp, the alias of Dublin electronic producer and DJ Shane Smyth who has featured here regularly enough over recent years with his instrumental electronic music.
Our Wires gathers his club-facing productions into a first full-length statement, and marks a strong arrival from the newer end of the Irish electronic scene. The pick of this week’s Irish releases.
Our Wires is an album inspired by Overmono, Burial and Joy Orbison. With original artwork created by Jason Evans.
Fabric presents.. Mount Kimbie
Mount Kimbieโs contribution to fabric presents series marks one of the duoโs most dancefloor-focused bodies of work in years.
Two original tracks ‘Monroe’ and ‘Jomox feature alongside selections from Mella Dee, DJ Shufflemaster, Robert Hood, Bern Hauke, Nia Archives and Ireland’s own Dylan Fogarty.
โThe mix is based around the last two years of getting deeper into the clubbier side of Mount Kimbie. I wanted to avoid over-thinking it or approaching it in a more conceptual or mix tape fashion and represent what Iโve actually been playing in clubs. A lot of these I have rinsed in the last couple of years so it is a good time to celebrate the music and stop playing them for a while! I thought the more cerebral side has been covered in other mixes in the past and wanted to present something more straight ahead with a few nods to Mount Kimbieโs past as well.โ
ABSOLUTE LILT – Criostal EP
The BIIRD duo of Lisa Canny and Niamh Hinchy release their 7-track EP on Heavenly Recordings centred on lilting – an old Irish tradition centred on wordless singing and harmonising.
Opus Kink โ The Sweet Goodbye
The debut album proper from Opus Kink, the Brighton band whose theatrical, feverish, brass-fuelled post-punk has made them a thrilling live prospect in the UK. Their EPs have hinted at a group capable of channelling chaos into something genuinely propulsive, and a full-length is the test of whether they can sustain it. Early signs are good.
Dawuna โ African Family Laptop Musick
A new mixtape from Baltimore artist Dawuna, arriving alongside news that the elusive artist has signed to True Panther, home to Oklou and Jawnino. Dawuna’s music is hushed, homespun and quietly devotional, all cracked digital soul and close-mic intimacy, and it has earned him a devoted underground following.
Ariana Grande โ petal
A new release from Ariana Grande, arriving with little of the usual roll-out. After the Eternal Sunshine era and her turn to acting,petal suggests something more intimate than the arena-pop machine.
The Durutti Column โ Renascent
A new release under The Durutti Column name, the pioneering Manchester post-punk project o Vini Reilly, whose spidery, gorgeous guitar work was a Factory Records cornerstone and an influence on generations of players. It’s produced by band member Keir Stewart.
Also released this week
- DOMi and JD Beck โ WHO ASKED?
- Fcukers – nรผyork EP
- Joyeria โ Decay Decay Decay
- Lucia & The Best Boys -Picking Petals
- Panthera Krause โ Hallimasch
- Shearwater โ The New World
- Trashcan Sinatras โ Ever the Optimist
- Various Artists – We Are The Beautiful: Two Decades of Shoegaze 1991-2011
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent,ย Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter,ย and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
