There’s still time, but I have a hard time imagining that anything could dethrone this as my album of the year.

We all like certain sounds, right? Favorite music is a lot like favorite colors, or foods, or smells. Sometimes there’s a reason for these affinities, and sometimes their enjoyment just is, with nothing to really explain the attraction. For me, The Doves Came Home is a bit of both. My ears can find its ancestors in favorite dream pop and shoegaze acts like Lush, Ride, Cocteau Twins, and The Sundays, but my attraction to saturated, etherial, melodic, sensitive music just is.

As it is, I’ve been drawn to more existential and emotional music for the last few years, but starting therapy this year has pointed me toward an even more inward state. The Doves Came Home couldn’t be a more perfect album for anyone considering who they are, what they’re doing here, and how they can ever be at peace with themselves.

I didn’t know that doves are homing birds, able to find their way back from hundreds of miles away, but, as Shye explains it, that’s the album’s whole concept:

The [album] title came from this idea of finally returning to yourself after spending a long time searching externally for meaning, love or validation. To me, the doves became symbolic of fragmented parts of myself slowly finding their way home again. A lot of the album deals with themes of growing older, longing and acceptance. There’s this line in the first track of the album: “In the stillness, I stopped searching. I see it now. The doves came home.”

The meaning behind it comes from the idea that the world constantly tells us to go out and explore, to keep moving forward and chasing new experiences. But in the time I spent reflecting and creating the album, I realised that until we confront and heal the things within ourselves, it can be difficult to fully take in those new experiences because we’re still carrying emotional baggage from before.

In a way, this album is about learning that coming home to yourself is just as important as searching for something outside of yourself. I think for a long time I viewed healing as this dramatic moment of transformation, but while making this album I realised it’s often much quieter than that. Sometimes healing is just learning to sit with yourself honestly.

Doves are symbols of peace and quiet transformation, and they always find their way home, that is inspiring and hopeful to me. I wanted the album to feel less like a dramatic ending and more like a slow emotional awakening.¹

Shye is only 24, though she’s been making music for almost a decade. I know kids grow up faster these days, but that’s still a whole lot of wisdom for a youngster. I was anything but self-aware at 24, so I have a lot of admiration for young adults who have interest and capacity for emotional and existential intelligence. I’ve felt the same way about Billy Corgan and Robert Smith, both of whom expressed ripened sensitivities as young men. Wisdom from the mouth of babes is apparently another of my affinities.

⁂

At first I was simply enamored by the sound of this album; the words are sometimes easy to brush past because the dream pop genre can treat vocals as a half-buried instrument, but—like many of my favorite albums—paying heed to the lyrics makes the songs blossom:

Maybe it’s time to learn to live with the skin we will never shed. — “Shed”

“There are just some emotions that aren’t meant to be resolved,” [Shye] explains. “They’re not meant to be erased or even moved on from. You just learn to live with them, and that’s okay.” ²

Of course healing is the point, but we’re not magnetic boards that can be shaken & erased to start all over. Some things cling too tight, and maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Scars are lessons. It’s also far too easy to see integral parts of ourselves as ugly or shameful; not because that’s what they are, but because that’s what the world reflects back at us. A resolved life comes from sitting with them, accepting their existence, and ultimately loving them (or so I’ve been told). Just as one’s taste in music just is, parts of us just are. And that’s okay (at least that’s what I’m telling myself).

⁂

Maybe I grew up too fast / Or maybe I just lost my chance at being who I’m meant to be / Maybe I forgot my face / In the noise and in the chase — “If Today Was Yesterday”

“‘If Today Was Yesterday’ is one of the slightly brighter songs in the album. a song about looking back at older versions of yourself with more softness and understanding. wishing you could reach through time and tell yourself the things you needed to hear back then.” ³

Welp, that cuts deep. One of the most surprising things about therapy and all the learning that goes along with it is realizing that those feelings and experiences I thought were so unique to myself are actually shared by a lot of people. I had no idea so many people struggle with the exact same things as me, even the ones that feel so niche. We’re so alike, you and I.

Healing your inner child is a staple of therapy, and it’s a hard slog. This song raises that interesting question of how you’d bring peace to that past self. I don’t know about you, but I often flip that thought, think about all the past versions of myself, and wonder if they would see where I’ve ended up as better or worse. Could a younger self help heal an older self? Is there any lost wisdom they could share? Could I explain myself to my younger self in a way that would connect us in understanding and acceptance? Would there be recognition or rejection? Would we—at the very least—meet each other halfway? Inner children are scary.

⁂

A lot of music isn’t meant to be very deep, but there’s a whole lot that’s really trying to say something worthwhile. One of the results of being a singular creative force (Shye writes, plays, records, and produces all her songs) is that the music arrives to the listener with a special clarity. No other persons’ decisions get to muddy the connection. I find that The Doves Came Home achieves the same existential purity, expression, and emotional connection as Magdalena Bay’s Imaginal Disk.

Ultimately, this album leaves me with the feeling of being redeemable, all of its ups and downs resolving to self-acceptance. “Cecilia” has continued to be my favorite song, not only for its aesthetic beauty but for the feelings its pleading lyrics evoke:

Cecilia, Cecilia
My melody of hope
Cecilia, Cecilia
Lead me home

🕊

1. The Noize Team, From Bedroom to the Big Stage: Shye Breaks Down the Cinematic Landscapes of ‘The Doves Came Home’, The Noize Magazine
2. Aaron Kok, Meet Shye, The Singaporean Singer-Producer Who Marches To Her Own Beat, Harpers Bazaar
3. Shye, Reel, Instagram

Shoegaze / Dream Pop

Shye’s last album only came out in May, and she’s already releasing a non-album single. “I Wanted It To Be You” is super lush. It reminds me of older Hatchie songs, which is to say: IT’S GREAT, MOAR PLZ.

Sphere – Overture

Shoegaze

Sphere’s last album, 2022’s A Fusion of Two Hemispheres, was really good, and “Overture” sound like it’s following in the same vein. New album Circumstances is out October 14th.

Wishy – Sensational

Indie Rock

It’s another fun new song from upcoming album Nature’s Pill. Wishy can do no wrong.

Slowwves – Killed by Egoistic Disease

Alt Rock / Shoegaze

Oh, okay. Slowwves sounds like they’re going from shoegaze to heavygaze? I mean, it’s cool, but I remain cautiously optimistic that they hold onto their core gifts of dynamism and melody that made their debut album so exceptional.

Poppy – Concrete

Metalcore

Poppy performed this song at the Dallas leg of her Constantly Nowhere tour, and it’s really stuck with me. Sharp and pointy, yummy, yummy, yummy.

Showing Teeth – Bad Exchanges

Metalcore

Wow, what a rager. Do it, lady!

BILMURI – ALWAYS LET YOU DOWN (feat.Jeremy McKinnon of A Day To Remember) LIVE

Metalcore/Countrycore

Last but not least, Bilmuri is teasing their full Nashville concert video with this clip of “Always Let You Down”. Bilmuri songs are just so extra fun when they’re live.

Damn, that was a lot of fun.

I have mixed feelings about corporate, Ticketmaster-embedded venues, but House of Blues has always done right by me. You’ve got clean restrooms, a decent HVAC system, and a good PA. Valet parking is bougie as hell, and perhaps a bit cringe for a rock show, but I did it anyway. At this stage of life, I’ll take any opportunity to not park in some sketchy lot under a highway, walk to the venue in 100°F heat, and hope my car hasn’t been looted when I get back to it. Dallas suuucks.

I was there to see Poppy, but listened to the latest albums from both Thousand Below and LANDMVRKS before the show. Thousand Below sounded fine, but kind of nondescript. LANDMVRKS also didn’t grab onto me hard, but there were a few tracks that sounded interesting. Live, though, LANDMVRKS tore it up. Their performance was the best of the night. They had a lot of energy and a seemingly endless supply of high-kicks. Their vocalist was wearing an Eminem t-shirt, which made sense given how often he would launch into rapid-fire rap runs, usually in French (makes sense since they are a French band). They were super entertaining and I’m going to check out more of their catalog.

Poppy’s set was really fun. There were two eight foot LED-paneled risers on either side of the stage, and the drum kit was on the left one. Poppy stepped out on top of the other riser and would go back and forth between the riser and the stage throughout the show. CO2 smoke cannons fired a few times during the show, as did confetti cannons at the end. Simple, fun, effective. Kickass lighting effects, too? You know it!

I’ve heard some disparaging remarks about her live voice—her screams in particular—but I’m here to tell you she pulls it off in spectacular fashion. There weren’t a lot of screamy songs on the setlist (foreshadowing!), but the songs that had those bits sounded just as great as the recordings, and her cleans were smooth too. She played guitar with the band on a couple songs, including “vital”, which may be my favorite of hers. “Concrete” was a standout as well, one I haven’t listened to much but got me re-listening to I Disagree a few times this morning. And I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear “V.A.N”—her collab with Bad Omens—and that shit went hard.

Her set did have one quirk: the whole band literally left the stage after every song, which I’ve never seen before. I remember Courtney LaPlante walking offstage several times during the Spiritbox show, but the band stayed and played an interlude or extended intro/outro to fill the gap. An intro track would play a few seconds after Poppy left the stage, and then they’d come back a few seconds after that. I assume she was—like Courtney—sipping some hot honey tea or something to keep her voice in good shape, it was just weird that the whole band would leave, too.

That said, Poppy sounded really great, if not a bit subdued. It all made sense when she walked out for a friendly chat with the crowd before the last song and explained that she wasn’t feeling her best. Apparently she got booked at an amphitheater the previous night in Austin and the heat and airborne dirt was pretty rough. “They promised me it’ll be better next time”, she half-threatened. :D

Take care of yourself, Poppy.

Setlist

• Constantly Nowhere (intro track)
• have you had enough?
• the cost of giving up
• Concrete
• Scary Mask
• crystallized
• vital
• negative spaces
• Eat the Hate
• Time Will Tell
• V.A.N
• new way out

Indie Pop

Y’all, this next Wishy album is gonna whip. What a fun video, too.

she’s green – locket

Shoegaze / Dream Pop

I’m so happy when a band doesn’t blow all their best songs as singles, because it leaves some delight for the album release. I love this vocal melody to death.

Wednesday – Fine

Shoegaze / Dream Pop

*low whistle*

This song from South Korea’s Wednesday is gorgeous, and somewhat of a departure from their first EP. If this is the band going in a new direction, it’s a great one!

New Radicals, Michelle Branch – The Game of Love

Rock

Michelle Branch teaming up with New Radicals for an alternate version of “The Game of Love” is the 2000s nostalgia fix I didn’t know I needed. I also didn’t know that New Radicals’ Gregg Alexander wrote this song, so it makes sense that he would be on this remake.

Meter – Dreaming

Alt Rock

Meter looks to be a fairly new band out of Nashville, Tennessee who just put out their first album Testing My Patience. The singles they’ve put out have a nostalgic 2000s-era sound (Linkin Park, Deftones) and feature some downright Evanescence-coded rap verses a la “Bring Me To Life”.

Lucie, Too – Full Count

Indie Pop

I can always count on j-rock to lift my spirits. This song is so musically bubbly and uplifting, but go ahead and plug the lyrics into a translator for a whole other dimension of feels.

Shye – If Today Was Yesterday

Dream Pop / Shoegaze

Shye is a Singaporean dream pop artist drawing from The Best Influences imaginable: Cocteau Twins, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Jesus and Mary Chain… you get the picture. That she makes literally every part of this music in her bedroom is truly impressive. “If Today Was Yesterday” is just one of many super beautiful tracks on her latest album The Doves Came Home.

Tuffie – Eraser

Alternative Rock

Sometimes you gotta just take a risk and trust the vibe of an interesting-looking YouTube recommendation. Tuffie blends heavy guitars and airy vocals and would pair well with Rocket or Momma.

rozemary – bleed me dry

Metalcore

Oh hello, Yet Another Youtube Recommendation. This kind of sounds like the metal cousin of Speed of Light. I went back and checked out their last EP and ooooh boy: there are some bangers. New EP it’s harder now to breathe comes out in July.

And now for some familiar faces:

Wishy – Lovesick

Indie Rock

Wishy is back, baby! This song feels like summer. I don’t know what’s in those mysterious glowing potions, but I’LL TAKE A FULL CASE PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

Attic Ocean – Sun

Shoegaze

Attic Ocean is so underrated. New EP I promise I’ll try everyday is coming soon, and this new track is getting me so excited!

she’s green – close your eyes

Dream Pop / Shoegaze

You know what? We need more long songs in this world. Like, make them ridiculously long. Take your time, songs. Give me a novel. “close your eyes” uses every last second of its 7:09 runway to take off into reverb heaven, but it’s gorgeous all the way through.

And now for some live performances:

Slow Crush – Glow – Live at Roadburn 2026

Shoegaze

“Glow” isn’t my favorite song off of Aurora, but damn does this cranked-to-11 live version exceed expectations.

Hatchie – Full Performance (Live on KEXP)

Dream Pop / Shoegaze

So glad she played “Stuck”!

And lastly: FREAKIN’ POPPY, Y’ALL

POPPY – Dying To Forget

Metalcore

This is one of Poppy’s hardest and best songs from Empty Hands. I mean, I don’t know what else you would expect from a song co-written by House of Protection and Knocked Loose. What an egg-smasher!

Metric w/Stars, Broken Social Scene

June 9, 2026
South Side Ballroom, 1135 Botham Jean Blvd, Dallas, TX 75215
General Admission x2, $65

Well, that was easily the best show I’ve been to in the last two years.

I’ve seen Metric play five times now, more than any other artist, and they never disappoint. From that first show in 2004 at some upstairs lounge area to South Side Ballroom’s 4,000-head warehouse situation, this band has been consistently tight and entertaining. They just killed it with every song. I think this may have been the most synth-intensive set I’ve seen them play as well. Jimmy had some monstrous patch bay or something up on stage and frequently twiddled knobs to extract some truly badass sounds. On some songs, he, Josh, and Emily were all on the keys playing one part or another. They played a lot less songs from the new album than I expected, but that’s okay because it left room for all the hits from their back catalog. “Lost Kitten” was a choice, but the rest of the setlist was a blowtorch. When they played the “last” song and my wife asked if the show was over, I said “No, they haven’t played ‘Black Sheep’ yet.” And sure enough, the last song of the encore was indeed “Black Sheep”. W move.

Stars were also amazing, playing songs that I’m pretty sure they genuinely compiled from polling fans on social media (I asked for “Ageless Beauty”). Opener “Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It” is (still) the best song New Order never wrote, and it jammed so damn hard, setting the tone for the whole night. I’d forgotten what a character Torquil is; he hammed it up plenty and both he and Amy seemed to be having a blast. One of the perks of three bands touring together is that everyone got the benefit of Broken Social Scene’s brass section, who brought new energy to a few Stars songs. “Dead Hearts” took an unexpected shot at my feels, and perennial favorite “Ageless Beauty” was pure bliss (my vote counted!).

No, you’re crying in public.

Setlists

Stars

• Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It
• Build a Fire
• Elevator Love Letter
• Take Me to the Riot
• Dead Hearts
• Look Up
• Ageless Beauty
• Trap Door
• Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

Broken Social Scene

• Cause = Time
• 7/4 (Shoreline)
• Paying for Your Love
• Not Around Anymore
• Texico Bitches
• Only the Good I Keep
• Fire Eye’d Boy
• The Call
• Hey Amanda
• Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl
• Superconnected

Metric

• Victim of Luck
• Oh Please
• Youth Without Youth
• Monster Hospital
• Poster of a Girl
• Lost Kitten
• Crush Forever
• Now or Never Now
• Risk
• All Comes Crashing
• Tremolo
• Synthetica
• Gold Guns Girls
• Loyal
• Gimme Sympathy
• Leave You on a High
• Combat Baby
• Help I’m Alive
• Black Sheep

Pop Punk / Metalcore

I clicked on this video because the band looked cool, and hoooly cow was I not prepared for the S-tier bangers that would follow. They’re described as pop punk, and that’s definitely in the mix, but their latest EP Worried Sick also has a lot of metalcore flavor that gives it a different kick. Happiest discovery of the month!

PRESIDENT – DOOM LOOP

Metalcore

Oooh shit. This is the one. PRESIDENT really has my attention now. Previous single “Mercy” was the first time one of their songs had really resonated with me, and this one vibrates even more. I really like those NIN synths & beats in the first verse, and the chorus is dancey as hell. Mark your calendars: debut album Blood Of Your Empire drops September 4.

Enthronement – Demiurge

Metalcore

I’m always pleased to find cool local bands (they’re from Houston, TX, which is local-ish to me). Enthronement put out a pretty great EP last year—A World Not Made For Us—which is 100% worth your time. “Demiurge” is their first follow-up from that release, and it’s a chugger. Fits nicely with the likes of Spiritbox, Poppy, and Gore.

Headwreck – Raindrops

Metalcore / Nu Metal

These lads always make me LMAO with their crazy energy, humor, and penchant for a dirty-as-hell, blown-out speaker aesthetic. Last year’s Attitude Adjustment really signaled this new sonic direction, and it looks like they’re doubling down. So fun.

Evanescence – Who Will You Follow

Rock / Metalcore

This is the second single ahead of new album Sanctuary, and it’s great. Like last year’s collab with Poppy and Courtney LaPlante, this song has its heavy moments but also reserves that signature space for showcasing Amy Lee’s unwavering vocals. She sounds just as great as ever. Pretty excited for this album to drop June 5th.

Lumi Noir – Into The Dark

Rock / Metalcore

Speaking of Evanescence: this artist feels a bit similar, perhaps simply because it combines piano with metalcore guitars. They only have a couple of songs out, but they sound promising.

Stand Atlantic – Velcro

Pop Punk / Alt Rock

I’m not sure if I’ve heard Stand Atlantic before, but that’s about to change real quick. What a bop!

MEMI (매미) – BADidea

Alt / Rock

MEMI is channeling some serious Blur vibes with this track. Siiick guitar tone. 🤘

This is obviously not a new song, but The xx haven’t been active for a while and this performance from Coachella is a fun nostalgia trip back into the band’s skeletal sound. I never really got into The xx too much, but “Intro” has always slapped. That bone-dry guitar riff is iconic.

Nine Inch Noize – Heresy (Live at Coachella 2026)

Industrial rock and EDM are not two genres that I ever thought would go together, but damn Trent Reznor and his musical genius. The way this performance sent me back to listening to How to Destroy Angels, too. Trent and Mariqueen Maandig sound amazing together on this song. I’m not sure if anyone was expecting it, but Nine Inch Noize dropped a full album not long after this set. It’s pretty good!

Rolo Tomassi – Tempest

This song is also not new but got a music video to celebrate the release of the In the Echo of All Dreams EP on vinyl. The percussion on this song is absolutely mad.

Blurred City Lights – 月光 (Gekkou)

😶‍🌫️

Tokyo Shoegazer – Wisteria

These revered shoegazers dropped a new album out of nowhere! Watch out for the chonky riff at the end of this track.

AprilBlue have been on my radar for a while thanks to its shared songwriter in Azusa Suga of the late great For Tracy Hyde, but I somehow missed last year’s excellent yura. “春の病 (Spring Forever)” has it all: jet-engine guitars, pretty melodies, and catchy hooks. The whole album is just as great.

Skindred – Can I Get A

This band has been around for a while (apparently), but had never crossed my eardrums. This song is a straight-up early 90s-coded earworm that reminds me of bands like Jesus Jones and EMF. Can I get a whop whoop?

Enrose – Take Care

I came to know of Gabi Rose as the touring sax player for Bilmuri where she is not only a force of nature on her instrument but also an incredible vocalist. This song is the first I’ve heard of from her solo work as Enrose. “Take Care” is a bittersweet thank you note to the one who sees all the flaws but still stays. It’s just what I needed this month.

President – Mercy

I’ve given President plenty of chances, but nothing has really stuck with me. Maybe it’s the fact that it sounds a lot like a Deftones song, but “Mercy” is one that’s finally hitting nicely.

Dem crunchy guitars!

Metric – Victim of Luck

As much as Metric have landed on a particular “sound”, they do (as they should) bob and weave within that domain. The Formentera era didn’t grab onto me very hard, but “Victim of Luck” sounds like a return to a more Art of Doubt kind of flavor.

Violet Grohl – THUM

Grunge royalty is alive and well.

PONY – Middle Of Summer

PONY’s new album is all dark and bubbly with hooks for days, and this track is my favorite.

Luli Lee – You’ll Be My Mad Dog

Luli Lee’s new material has a lot more bite, and it sounds really cool.

Knocked Loose – Hive Mind (feat. Denzel Curry)

This song is pure violence. You’ve been warned.