What I've Been Listening To (April 2026 Edition)
Detailing some of my favorite things from the last month of my music-listening life.
Welcome to be the first installment of a series of articles that I intend to start publishing near the end of each month (but no later than the first day of the following month), simply called What I’ve Been Listening To.
There will be five or so albums on each entry, though the number may increase on occasion. They will also not always be albums released this year, as three of the albums here are from well before 2026. If any singles release that I find worthy of discussing, they will also get an entry. There’s only one this time, but again, that number could be different in any given month. With that in mind, these are some things I’ve been enjoying lately.
Blu & Exile - Time Heals Everything (2026)
Upon delivering his landmark debut album Below the Heavens in 2007 (the beginning of a lengthy and fruitful musical partnership and friendship with producer Exile), Los Angeles rapper Blu was considered an underground act worth investing in. That belief was only amplified by his addition to the XXL Freshman class of 2009, alongside names like Curren$y, Kid Cudi, and Wale, all of whom have been mainstays with devoted fanbases for the better part of the last two decades. Blu himself seemed poised for a mainstream breakthrough, even signing with Warner Bros. Records in 2009, ahead of the release of NoYork! For various reasons, Blu’s major label career didn’t pan out, and he was once again independent by 2012. Since then, he’s developed an extensive discography that I believe has solidified him as one of the greatest rappers from California of all time, and Time Heals Everything, the fifth album he’s created in tandem with Exile, is yet another notch in his belt.
Blu’s brand of introspective hip-hop that rarely ever feels self-serious over Exile’s sample-heavy beats that have shifted increasingly further towards Pharcyde-like jazz rap over the last six years or so is a proven strategy. Five albums in and the formula doesn’t seem to show any signs of becoming stale. “Hard Times,” featuring Fashawn and a rare verse from Exile himself, sees them reflecting on their impoverished childhoods, while pointing to those difficult days as moments that made the bond with their families even stronger.
“In My Window” is already among my favorite Blu songs of the 2020s, a properly autobiographical track detailing his come-up and major label struggles, as well as how seeing the strife between his parents as a young person (and experiencing his own run-ins with the law) contributed to the man he is today, at 43 years old with over two decades as a successful MC to his name. The title track features Saba, and the pair discuss how even though time can heal some things, the feelings never truly go away. It’s wishful thinking, but I would love to hear the pair make more music together. Maybe they’ll find it in their hearts to put together an EP next year.
2026 has been a bit of a down year for hip-hop so far, though it feels as if everyone is going to make up for the slow start with a summer release. Time Heals Everything is the first great rap album I’ve heard this year, and as I look at the release schedule for the rest of the year, I feel pretty good about saying that it won’t be the last. Still, it’s always a treat to hear new Blu & Exile, and they’ve once again delivered a high-quality album, as is to be expected from one of hip-hop’s greatest pairings.
Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011)
Bon Iver’s second album is something of a modern classic at this point. It’s truly one of the most stunning albums of the 2010s, which it achieves through simultaneously being incredibly subtle. Justin Vernon’s voice and songwriting are still the strongest they’ve ever been, despite my enjoyment of his most recent album, SABLE fABLE, an album that could almost serve as the spiritual successor to BI, BI than any of the more experimental sounds he put forth on 22, A Million or i, i.
That feels most apparent on “Holocene,” which I consider to be the defining Bon Iver track and one that I’d readily put in discussions regarding the greatest songs of the 2010s. It’s a beautiful track about the passage of time and the clarity that one gains as they continue to grow, and one that I listen to often, even without the context of the full album behind it. Though I don’t usually listen to Bon Iver, Bon Iver in its entirety as often as I did in the past, it almost always ends up on repeat after I take some time to remind myself just how incredible it is. That is exactly what happened in April.
Fishmans - Uchu Nippon Setagaya (1997)
I was on a bit of a dream pop kick this month, and there are few albums better at scratching that particular itch than the final Fishmans album, Uchu Nippon Setagaya. Coincidentally, another one of the albums on that list is Long Season, the 1996 Fishmans release that’s taken a spot among the most acclaimed non-English albums of the 1990s. A lot of the online conversation surrounding Fishmans tends to begin and end with Long Season, but Uchu Nippon Setagaya is such a strong release that I would not argue against anyone who believed it to be the superior album.
The production is spectacular, with lush live instrumentation and a focus on repetitive song structures that somehow never feel as if they’ve overstayed their welcome. It’s some of my favorite production that the dream pop subgenre has ever had to offer, and I never get tired of hearing it. Shinji Sato’s voice is arguably the strongest it ever was on any Fishmans release, which is among the many reasons why it is so tragic that he died so soon after the completion of this album. It’s on the back half of Uchu Nippon Setagaya where the band’s creative synergy is in full effect, specifically on the final two tracks, “Walking In The Rhythm” and “Daydream.” Those two songs alone take up nearly 22 minutes of the 59 minute runtime, and they are never anything less than captivating from beginning to end.
Holly Humberstone - Cruel World (2026)
Holly Humberstone is an artist I first discovered a few years back, after coming across her single “Sleep Tight” in 2023. I didn’t feel very strongly about the track, but I did decide that I’d keep an ear out for her if and when she came out with her second album. I’m glad I did, because I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Cruel World since its release on April 10. The production is clean, in line with some of the more acclaimed pop acts of the day (such as Olivia Rodrigo, whom Humberstone opened for on the SOUR Tour in 2022).
The songwriting is also surprisingly fully-formed, with a noticeable lack of clunky lines as Humberstone navigates love, breakups, and dealing with family. “To Love Somebody” is the type of radio-ready pop that should push someone into stardom, while “Lucy” is her take on a Sufjan Stevens track in the best way possible. Humberstone’s had some big opportunities recently, including opening for Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour in 2024 and, more recently, bringing “To Love Somebody” to Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show in January. I don’t know how much longer she’s going to have to wait, but this album feels like she’s on the cusp of a breakout. Hopefully, she gets to experience it very soon.
Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer Different Park (2013)
Ahead of the release of her seventh album, Middle of Nowhere, I felt compelled to revisit some of Kacey Musgraves’ older material, and I was quickly reminded of how much I enjoy that work. The first time I listened to a Musgraves album was shortly after she won Album of the Year for Golden Hour at the 2019 Grammy Awards, a decision that I was upset with because I was pulling for the Black Panther soundtrack. In hindsight, Golden Hour is my favorite album from that list of nominees, but I digress. That detail is also why I haven’t gone into any subsequent Grammy ceremonies without listening to every Album of the Year nominee ahead of time, even if (/especially if) I have never heard of an artist on the list.
Same Trailer Different Park is Musgraves’ debut album, and while I don’t necessarily think it hits the exact same highs as Golden Hour, it still features multiple tracks that have become staples in a discography that now spans almost 15 years. Of course, the track I keep coming back to is “Merry Go ‘Round,” the critique of small-town life and more conservative ideals, wrapped up in a clever use of “Mary” that means three different things to three different types of people in the community she’s singing about. “Mary Kay” refers to a shopping addiction, “Mary Jane” refers to marijuana, and “Mary two doors down” being a euphemism for cheating.
“Merry Go ‘Round” is the most enduring track from the album, but it’s not the lone highlight. In a similar vein to “Merry Go ‘Round,” “Follow Your Arrow” details the double standards Musgraves experienced in rural Texas and encourages listeners in similar situations to be themselves, without fear of judgment from those around them. “Back on the Map” is her looking to find love again after dealing with painful heartbreak.
As Middle of Nowhere released on May 1, supported by two singles that feel like a return to form after some shaky material post-Golden Hour, I am beyond excited to hear what the rest of the album sounds like.
Olivia Rodrigo - “drop dead” (2026)
At the beginning of 2026, the only album I found myself actively anticipating was Olivia Rodrigo’s third album. SOUR remains one of my favorite debut albums of the 2020s as we’ve now solidly crossed the halfway point of the decade. GUTS was an album I did not love upon my first few listens, but once it clicked, it clicked in a big way. The deluxe (or “spilled”) version in particular, as “so american” is my favorite song of hers to date. She’s one of the best young songwriters that pop music has to offer, and few things in music excite me more than the prospect of hearing how her music develops when she has another decade of life experience.
Rodrigo is back with “drop dead,” the lead single from her third album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. It’s a characteristically strong, whose discography is now 30+ songs deep without a dud to her name (Disney-era work notwithstanding). “drop dead” is also notable for not being a song about heartbreak! Rodrigo said that she wrote an album full of love songs, and this is an encouraging sign in that regard. She’s fantasizing about a new relationship and is head over heels for the song’s subject, a welcome contrast to her usual brand of lamenting a relationship gone sour, pun intended.
The production is in line with some of the material that made GUTS, thanks to the contributions of longtime producer Daniel Nigro (also of Chappell Roan fame). The hook is incredibly catchy and has been in my head for a while now. I’m worried that it won’t leave my head anytime soon. Once the album releases in full, I’ll have no choice but to accept it. I’m looking forward what the rest of you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love sounds like, but this song, as well as whatever she debuts during her upcoming SNL gig, will likely be enough to keep my interest high until June 12 arrives.