Indie Basement (5/1): New Music from Weird Nightmare, Kneecap, Seefeel, and More

It’s a whopper of a week as I review 10 albums, including a couple of fantastic ones: Weird Nightmare (Alex Edkins of METZ) and Kneecap ‘s second album, FENIAN . There’s also a new one from both The Boo Radleys and their former guitarist/leader Martin Carr , the first Seefeel album in 15 years, the most unexpected Laibach record of their career, new LPs from Modern Woman and Cindy , and a compilation of rare early Super Furry Animals material.

Over in Notable Releases , there are new albums from American Football, Kacey Musgraves, and more.

On this week’s episode of BV Interviews , I talk to Jose Gonzalez.

Other news from this week readers of Indie Basement might be interested in: Nick Thorburn (Islands/Unicorns) and Mike Stroud (Ratatat) have formed a new band ; and Dutch band Lewsberg are no more (boo!) but vocalist Arie Van Vliet has a new group already  (yay!).

Head below for all of this week’s reviews…

ALBUM OF THE WEEK #1: Weird Nightmare – Hoopla (Sub Pop)

METZ frontman Alex Edkins makes ultra-hooky punky power-pop on his second album as Weird Nightmare. It’s non-stop noisy earworms

“The intention is to get straight to that endorphin rush that comes with a hook or a chorus, and just not overcomplicate the songs,” says Alex Edkins, who spent 17 years getting his angst and aggression out while blowing eardrums in Toronto’s METZ. During COVID, he explored his more melodic side on a homemade lo-fi solo album released as Weird Nightmare. With METZ ceasing operations in 2024, Weird Nightmare became a full band, and with Hoopla Edkins shows what he can really do in a pop format.

Taking cues from Pixies, Cheap Trick, The Beatles, Buzzcocks, and Teenage Fanclub, Hoopla is a precision-engineered hook delivery device, overflowing with fist-pump choruses, soaring harmonies, killer riffs, twin leads, and other pleasure-center button pushers. It’s a natural progression from METZ’s final album, Up on Gravity Hill , which was in turn influenced by the first Weird Nightmare album. For those who loved Edkins’ former band, he hasn’t turned things down much. Hoopla was made with Spoon’s Jim Eno in the producer’s chair at Seth Manchester’s Machines With Magnets studio and recorded mostly live, so it’s still got that buzzsaw roar — just this time kept a notch shy of ear-bleeding. It’s a sugar rush and a smack to the face all in one.

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ALBUM OF THE WEEK #2: Kneecap – FENIAN (Heavenly)

The Irish rap trio pour a year’s worth of trouble and controversy into their confident second studio album that is miles better than their debut and loaded with bangers

Irish rap trio Kneecap have been no strangers to controversy since Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Próvaí formed the group in 2017, but the last year has been one firestorm after another. The group have become a magnet for outrage over festival appearances and things said onstage — including vocal support for Palestine in the war on Gaza — drawing ire from everyone from Sharon Osbourne to John Lydon and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It’s resulted in co-founder Mo Chara being arrested on terrorism charges (which were dismissed ), their US booking agency dropping them, and being banned from Canada .

With a constant stream of headlines, you may have forgotten that Kneecap make music, but there’s no denying their talent on their fierce, fantastic second album. Troubles have long fueled the Irish spirit, and Kneecap pour everything that’s happened to them into FENIAN . They take no prisoners, addressing those who look to silence them head-on, mixing invective sloganeering, strident, informed politics, their signature humor, and newfound maturity into their dizzying blend of Irish and English.

FENIAN sets it all to a storming mix of ’90s dance influences and more modern hip hop production, courtesy of DJ Próvaí and producer Dan Carey. There are techno/acid house bangers (“Liar’s Tale,” “Big Bad Mo”), trip-hop mood pieces (“Carnival,” “Palestine,” which features Palestinian rapper FAWZI), drum & bass (“Headcase”), and even a little bloghouse via the album’s shoutalong title track, which samples, of all things, Norwegian indie band Casiokids’ early single “Fot i hose.”

The album closes with “Irish Goodbye,” Móglaí Bap’s moving tribute to his mother, who died by suicide in 2020. Featuring an empathetic verse from Kae Tempest, it’s also a song about remembering the good amidst something terrible — which you could say about all of FENIAN .

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Seefeel – Sol.Hz (Warp)

These Warp-signed UK post-rock experimentalists return with a deeper, more ambient take on their signature sound on their first album in 15 years

One of the leading lights of the electronic side of post-rock in the ’90s, Seefeel slipped out of sight in 1996 after a handful of classic EPs and albums, resurfacing briefly in the late ’00s, long enough to release another EP and album. Another decade-long absence ended in 2024 when Seefeel, now primarily Mark Clifford, released Everything Squared . Two years later they’re back with their first album in 15 years.

The electronic rhythms that punctuated their early records are largely absent on Sol.Hz , leaving mostly ethereal ambience and pulsing sub-bass. It feels like you’re hearing echoes of a rave from the ocean’s surface while sitting at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, as glowing sea life drifts eerily around you. Transfixing sounds for your next sensory deprivation tank excursion.

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Modern Woman – Johnny’s Dreamworld (One Little Independent)

The debut album from this arty, dramatic London indie rock outfit mixes delicate folk, soaring pop and crashing post-punk

Led by singer-songwriter Sophie Harris, London band Modern Woman have been around since the start of the decade, notably with UK festival End of the Road launching their own record label with the band’s 2021 debut single . Five years later, Modern Woman are now signed to Björk’s label, One Little Independent, and have finally released their debut album.

Johnny’s Dreamworld is an interesting mix of post-punk, delicate folk, art rock, and just enough pop to guide you through the whole thing. (It also sports my favorite cover art of 2026 so far.) Harris’ charisma and commanding voice are front and center, guiding the formidable talents of the rest of the band — violinist David Deyner, drummer Adam Blackhurst, and bassist Juan Brint-Gutiérrez — through stormy seas and moments of intense joy, all windswept and swaddled in strings.

This is the kind of album that makes you immediately want to see the band live. Songs like “Killing a Dog,” “Neptune’s Girl,” and “Dashboard Mary” are visceral emotional rollercoaster rides that feel like they might jump the tracks but never do, leaving you anxious to get back on and experience the thrill again.

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Laibach – MUSICK (Mute)

Slovenian industrial legends team with ’00s-era pop producer Richard X (Annie, Sugababes) for the weirdest album of their 42-year career

Slovenian industrial icons Laibach say the title to their new album  MUSICK is a reference to the sheer amount of music uploaded to streaming services every day (somewhere around 100,000 tracks), and the increasing amount of it that is AI slop. It’s a duality: both “sick of music” and a reflection of their “pathological devotion” to the band. With that in mind, Laibach have given us one of their most twisted, perverse creations in a 40+ year career full of them: a full-on pop album.

To do so, they enlisted producer Richard X — who has worked with Annie, Sugababes, Goldfrapp, and Saint Etienne — to help realize their neon-lit, shiny plastic vision. Of course, this is still Laibach, so glossy dance-pop creations like “Fluid Emancipation,” “Love Machine,” and “Keep It Real” retain the group’s martial, metallic tendencies while borrowing from Mozart and other classical composers. Then there’s Milan Fras’ guttural baritone, growling affirmations like “Free your mind” as more of an order than a suggestion.

As a piece of art, MUSICK is effective and fun, though how much enjoyment the average algorithm follower will find here remains to be seen.

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Super Furry Animals – Precreation Percolation (Strangetown Records)

The Welsh indie greats compile their earliest material, including songs from when House of the Dragon star Rhys Ifans was briefly their lead singer

Super Furry Animals are coming out of hibernation for their first tour in a decade next week, and while that’s so far only happening in the UK, the band do have something for fans around the world. Precreation Percolation collects their earliest EPs and singles, plus rare recordings from a time when they weren’t sure whether they were going to be an indie guitar band or a psychedelic electronic rave act. There are also tracks from when their singer was Rhys Ifans, before he decided to move to Hollywood and become an actor and star in movies with Julia Roberts .

Never ones to shy away from a pun, Precreation Percolation is a fitting title, as all the songs here date from before they got signed to Creation Records , including their first two EPs for Welsh label Ankst, both released in 1995: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyndrobwllantysiliogogogochynygofod (In Space) and Moog Droog . The latter includes “God! Show Me Magic,” which would be rerecorded for the Furries’ 1996 debut album.

Those two EPs make up the vinyl version of Precreation Percolation , but the CD contains a bonus disc with an additional 14 tracks, including “2026 Redux” versions of a few songs and a bunch of demos in various states of completion (including future classics like “Frisbee” and “Hanging With Howard Marks”), plus those songs from when Ifans was in the band. Luckily, the vinyl edition also comes with the CD. The EPs are the real draw here, and the rest is fun for fans. What we really want, apart from a new album, is for them to tour North America again. Fingers crossed.

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Cindy – Another Country (Tough Love)

The fifth album from this very quiet San Francisco indie rock band is another gentle charmer

Led by guitarist and songwriter Karina Gill, San Francisco band Cindy have been making pretty, hushed guitar pop for the better part of a decade. Another Country is their fifth album and, like the four before it, is perfect Sunday morning music, full of gentle melodies, softly strummed guitars, delicate harmonies, and a dreamy atmosphere that will appeal to fans of Galaxie 500, The Clientele, early Low, and, of course, The Velvet Underground.

These songs are fragile, homemade creations — lean in close and handle with care.

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Psychobuildings – Tears Vol 1 (GLGL)

Onetime chillwave artist Psychobuildings returns with a more indie rock style on his first album in six years.

Psychobuildings, originally producer and songwriter Peter LaBier and Small Black’s Juan Pieczanski, were one of the better artists to come out of the chillwave era, relying less on hazy beats and more on varied instrumentation than many of their peers. In particular, I was a fan of their 2012 EP Hearts , though I’ll admit it’s been a while since I thought about them. Turns out it’s been a while since they’ve been active, too — Tears Vol. 1 is the first Psychobuildings release in six years and was made primarily by LaBier.

Much of Tears Vol. 1 is pretty far removed from the sound you might associate with Psychobuildings, with several songs featuring little more than LaBier and his guitar, and a few that are fleshed out but not too far from, say, Voxtrot or Metronomy. It’s appealing stuff, and he hasn’t totally forsaken the dancefloor either, as songs like “Outside” and the very chillwave “The Beach” show. A surprising and welcome return, Tears Vol. 1 still feels like LaBier is finding his footing again — but it makes you curious about what Tears Vol. 2 might bring.

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The Boo Radleys – In Spite Of Everything (Boostr Music) / Martin Carr – What Future (Sonny Boy Records)

On the same day both shoegaze/britpop vets The Boo Radleys and their former guitarist and s

_Originally reported by [Brooklyn Vegan](https://www.brooklynvegan.com/album-reviews-weird-nightmare-kneecap-super-furry-animals-seefeel-the-boo-radleys-modern-woman-more/)._