The Big Indie Playlist: Curated by Big Sleep
And just like that, the first month of 2026 is over.
With January being officially five billion days long, surely if we got through that, we can get through anything. At least we’ve had good new music to keep us company through the worst of it, and the best is gathered here, on The Big Indie Playlist.
This week, politics rang loud through everything. At a time when the situation in the United States is only worsening with ICE agents upping their operations in Minnesota, music reacted. Bruce Springsteen hit the studio, recording one day and releasing a track the next, as protest music remains alive and well when the world needs it most.
On a different topic, Paris Paloma’s voice feels equally vital with her new track ‘Good Girl’, tackling women’s relationship to their bodies in a society obsessed with policing them.
Elsewhere, it was a huge week for rising stars. Sophie May delivered another promising tune in the build-up to her debut album, while Heart and Mouth launched from nothing with a rager of a debut single.
From folk to indie, pop to jazz-funk, we’ve got it all right here. But don’t just take it from us – we also checked in with Dublin’s Big Sleep to see what they’ve been listening to.
Must-hear: Curated by Big Sleep
To kick off 2026 artist-curated playlists, we checked in with Dublin’s Big Sleep to see what songs they have on repeat currently, featuring some old and new favourites.
Divorce – ‘Antarctica’: “A favourite song of ours from the last year, from one of our favourite albums.”
Earl Sweatshirt – ‘Tourmaline’: “Earl Sweatshirt sings us a song, and he sings it good.”
Wednesday – ‘Phish Pepsi’: “Fun song, worth also checking out the older/slower version of this tune .”
Joshua Burnside – ‘Moon High’: “Beautiful song from Northern Irish songwriter Joshua Burnside, dealing with the loss of a dear friend.”
Junior Brother – ‘Start Digging’: “One of the most singular music people in Ireland, this song is a good representation of his uniqueness.”
Geese – ‘Taxes’: “Not much else needs to be said about Geese at this stage, but they’re a collective favourite band of ours.”
Randy Newman – ‘Love Story (You and Me)’: The only non-2025 song on the list, but a song I fell in love with last year. All I ask is for one more chorus at the end.”
Lullahush – ‘Jimmy An Chladaigh’: “One of the most interesting Irish producers at the minute, serving trad/electronic fusion noises to us all
The best new music of the week:
Paris Paloma – ‘Good Girl’: ‘Good Girl’ isn’t just a good song, elevating Paloma’s sound into new and vaster places, it feels like a vitally important song, tackling body image and the historic, societal and political attack on the way women view themselves. [4.5/5]
Sophie May – ‘Touch Me’: Sophie May has been one of the most exciting songwriters around for a long time, proving that in her own work and her work for other artists. But as she works towards the release of her debut album later this year, the quality is only going up and up. [4/5]
Pem – ‘(Easily) Moved’: Wasting no time at all in releasing a stunning new project in 2026, Pem has already kicked things off with a new EP, featuring this vibey number as a hypnotic centrepoint. [4/5]
Sofia Isella – ‘Numbers 31:17-18’: Reminiscent of Ethel Cain’s Perverts with its whispering and creepy voices, Sofia Isella continues to position herself as one of the most intriguing new names around with a vision so singular that it defines any genre box and refuses to be easily or simply consumed. [4/5]
Bruce Springsteen – ‘The Streets Of Minnesota’: When politics gets really, really scary, country music gets really, really good, that’s always how it’s been. And you know things are really bad when The Boss is writing, recording and releasing a country rock protest song in three days to rally against horrific killings committed by Donald Trump’s ICE agents.
Baby Queen – ‘I Hope You Don’t Remember Me’: It’s been a while since the world last heard from Baby Queen, and the last time we did, she was still busy being a party girl in denial, buckling under the weight of her career. Now, returning with this more introspective pop-banger, things feel fresh and different, opening up a new and exciting era. [3.5/5]
RIP Magic – ‘5Words’: You know a band are promising when they’re supporting LCD Soundsystem with barely any music out, and when they’re winning the favour of James Murphy so much that he agrees to produce their songs. RIP Magic can boast exactly that, and ‘5Words’, made with the LCD leader, is a great example of how it all happened. [4/5]
Yumi Zouma – ‘Cowboy Without A Clue’: Fun, bouncy, cinematic, lucious; all words to describe this new one from Yumi Zouma that basically begs you to see your life as a movie montage for it to soundtrack. [3.5.5]
Annabelle Dinda – ‘Everybody Likes To Be Forgiven’: As a follow-up to the hyper-viral and hyper-impactful ‘The Hand’, Dinda returns with another sharp and stunningly written tune, sung with a uniquely beautiful vocal. [3.5/5]
Chartreuse – ‘Heaven Sent’: After only putting an album out late summer 2025, Chartreuse are back with new stuff already. But when the new stuff is this good, why waste any time? Why mess about? [4/5]
Big Sleep – ‘Old Friend’: Just in from our own playlist curators, the Dublin band offer something softer here, musing on grief and friendship in this folkish tune. [4/5]
Heart and Mouth – ‘Heart In Mouth’: Brand new band alert! Described as “music that’s made after the music’s been made”, this debut single feels rough and ready, perfectly spontaneous and not overthought, which is exactly what we like. [3.5/5]
Charlie Franklin – ‘Julius’: Perhaps all folk should be a one-and-done affair, recorded in one take in the most organic way possible, like this track from Charlie Franklin, put direct to tape with the help of Natalie Wildgoose. [3/5]
Off The Beaten Track – Left-field sounds, curated and written by Ben Forrest
Michelle David and The True-tones – ‘You’ll Never Know’: Record Kicks’ premier soul star Michelle David returns with an infectious, gospel-soaked footstomper, reaffirming her position among the greatest modern soul voices on the scene, as well as providing a lot of promise for her upcoming record, appropriately titled Soul Woman. [5/5]
Jonny Liebeck Group – ‘Sunset Islands’: What better antidote for the gloomy January skies than this sun-soaked jazz-funk single released via Terrasolare? London-based Jonny Liebeck is a master behind those retro-infused keys, and this light and breezy record is certainly not without its grooves. [4/5]
James Holvay – ‘This Girl’: Chicago R&B veteran James Holvay continues his exploration of contemporary soul on this infectious 45 from LRK Records in Cambridgeshire, which is an excellent signifier of just how little Holvay’s output has aged since his original heyday. [3.5/5]
