What We’re Listening To This Week: April 3, 2026
Story by:
Chris Guest
Each week, the Live Music Blog team takes stock of what’s been populating their playlists and getting endlessly stuck in their heads from the week that was. These can be new releases, obscure tracks in niche genres, or classic albums dusted off due to nostalgia (or because they’re simply awesome). Enjoy what we’re listening to this week… and listen along with us if you so choose!
The Seldom Seen Kid – Elbow (2008)
An astounding album from the famed Mancunian band Elbow, and critics clearly agreed, as it won the Mercury Prize in 2008 ahead of masterpieces such as Radiohead’s In Rainbows and Burial’s seminal electronic work, Untrue.
And it was a fully deserved win. The Seldom Seen Kid is one of those truly special albums that plays comfortably across a wide spectrum of styles, never sounding forced or contrived in the process. Lead singer Guy Garvey and company craft some of the most compelling melodies of their career here, headlined by two of the finest love songs ever recorded: “Mirrorball,” and “One Day Like This.” Both tracks should have been heard at every wedding from the moment they released (or at least the pre-wedding cocktail hour).
Beyond those stunning achievements in romanticism, the group flexes their rock muscle with a beefy, highly hummable guitar riff on “Grounds for Divorce,” as well as sinewy backing, and moody melody of “The Bones of You.” The album also boasts notable genre exercises with “An Audience With the Pope,” and “The Fix.”
A truly wonderful album that can be listened to on repeat for hours on end without getting tired of it, if you’ve never listened to (or even heard of) this album, give it a spin ASAP.
Top Tracks: “The Bones of You,” “Mirrorball,” “An Audience With the Pope,” “Grounds for Divorce,” “The Fix,” “One Day Like This”
Listen Next: Send Away the Tigers by Manic Street Preachers, The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses, Chrome by Catherine Wheel, Beyond the Neighbourhood by Athlete
U.F.Orb – The Orb (1992)
While this seminal electronic duo’s debut album, The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Underworld, usually gets more plaudits, the group’s follow-up album is just as listenable, danceable, and hypnotizing as its predecessor – and sometimes more so.
The album floats along fluidly, with each track melting softly into the next, though some tracks lead off with spoken word introductions, or snippets of other media, such as “Towers of Dub” beginning with a hilarious Rastafarianism-related sketch from British satirist Victor Lewis-Smith calling in to a radio station and posing as Marcus Garvey, hoping to meet up with Haile Selassie in “Babylon and Ting.” If you know, you know.
The rare album that’s wonderful to have on in the background but also rewards close listening, give this album a spin next time you want to chill out with a friend or curl up with a good book.
Top Tracks: “Blue Room,” “Towers of Dub,” “Close Encounters”
Listen Next: Orblivion by The Orb, Lifeforms by The Future Sound of London, Microgravity by Biosphere, 76:14 by Global Communication
Plastic Beach – Gorillaz (2010)
Another week, another Gorillaz album imbibed with relish (not literally, that’d be so messy). This is the Gorillaz album that holds the most nostalgia for me, as it was released while I was in the middle of my university career, and I purchased it at a now-defunct HMV store located in London Heathrow airport. While the first two albums from this cartoon band were surely notable, this is the one that truly held my imagination for months on end.
Myriad highlight tracks are present, as is the presence of a plethora of top-tier guest stars, such as Gorillaz favorite De La Soul, Snoop Dogg, Gruff Rhys (of Super Furry Animals), Yasiin Bey (known then as Mos Def), Lou Reed, Little Dragon, as well as one-half of The Clash (Mick Jones and Paul Simonon).
Listening to this album still teleports me back to listening to it with close friends and various inebriated partygoers on an Xbox 360 after a party with the visualizer absolutely blowing our minds.
Top Tracks: “Rhinestone Eyes,” “On Melancholy Hill,” “Superfast Jellyfish,” “Plastic Beach,” “Empire Ants”
Listen Next: Demon Days by Gorillaz, Machine Dreams by Little Dragon, Random Access Memories by Daft Punk, Fancy Footwork by Chromeo
Want More on Gorillaz?
Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s virtual band have long been in the public consciousness, and we reviewed the group’s ninth album, The Mountain, in March. Check out the review for more.
Fields – Junip (2010)
Two straight albums from 2010?! My millennial might be showing. This Swedish trio sees notable indie folk guitarist José González (any Life Is Strange fans out there know him well) team up with keyboardist Tobias Winterkorn and drummer Elias Araya to produce some propulsive yet introspective tunes that defy categorization.
You could claim them as simply “indie,” or you could lean towards “folktronica.” Neither of those would be particularly descriptive, however. Overall, the music feels somewhat primal and deeply organic, as if these songs have always existed, and this trio of talented musicians were simply the outlet in which these songs chose to reveal themselves.
Perhaps, philosophically, that’s what all music can be described as, but it has never felt truer than on this over 15-year-old album with forceful rhythmic qualities and melodies that hover in the back of your mind throughout the day, until you realize you just need to listen to the album again once more before drifting into a blissful slumber.
Top Tracks: “In Every Direction,” “Rope & Summit,” “Always,” “Sweet & Bitter,” “Don’t Let It Pass”
Listen Next: The Garden by Zero 7, Structuralism by Alfa Mist, Veneer by José González, Willowbank by Yumi Zouma
Another Week Full of Great Music
What did you listen to this week? It’s never a bad time to revisit some of your favorite songs and albums, or branch out into something you thought you’d never listen to. If you’re in need of inspiration, explore our “What We’re Listening To” archives:
Header Photo Courtesy Drew de F Fawkes/Wikimedia Commons
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