May isn't yet summer, of course, but the sounds of new albums begin to sound that way. Happy? Sure. Fun? Always, and that's true even for the doom and gloom possibilities of some black metal bands (which can also be great).
The best part about 2026 May is that the month is chock-full of excellence. Every week features something that lovers of all genres will love.
But let's be honest, the last week of the month will be special. Paul McCartney's latest is noteworthy, but is it even the most noteworthy of the week? Maybe not. This is what you need to know about the releases in May.
May 2026 full album release (and it's going to be great)
May 1
- American Football - LP4
- Ana Roxanne - Poem 1
- Asake - M$NEY
- Geordie Gordon - River Round
- Hiss Golden Messenger - I'm People
- Isaiah Rashad - It's Been Awful
- Jesca Hoop - Long Wave Home
- Kacey Musgraves - Middle Of Nowhere
- Lip Critic - Theft World
- Maya Hawke - Maitreya Corso
- Melanie C - Sweat
- Rita Wilson - Sound Of A Woman
- Seefeel - Sol.Hz
- The Black Keys - Peaches!
- The Claypool Lennon Delirium - The Great Parrot-Ox And The Golden Egg Of Empathy
- Toadies - The Charmer
- Tori Amos - In Times Of Dragons
- Weird Nightmare - Hoopla
- Young the Giant - Victory Garden
The biggest release this week is likely the one from Kacey Musgraves, but there is a lot to like, including the Black Keys. Also, interestingly enough, two people seen mostly as actors have drops that could be quite good: Maya Hawke and Rita Wilson.
May 8
- Aldous Harding - Train On The Island
- Basement - WIRED
- Broken Social Scene - Remember the Humans
- Cola - Cost Of Living Adjustment
- Croz Boyce - Croz Boyce
- GIRLI - it’s just my opinion
- Loraine James - Detached From The Rest Of You
- Lykke Li - The Afterparty
- MUNA - Dancing On The Wall
- Nicholas Krgovich - Boss Tape
- Olof Dreijer - Loud Bloom
- Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood and The Rajasthan Express - Ranjha
- Social Distortion - Born To Kill
- The Lemon Twigs - Look For Your Mind!
Social Distortion? Yes, please. And the new album promises to be quite good, based on what has been released so far, so that's an even better indication.
May 15
- All-American Rejects - Sandbox
- Drake - Iceman
- Dua Saleh - Of Earth & Wires
- Kevin Morby - Little Wide Open
- Maisie Peters - Florescence
- Maluma - Loco x Volver
- Rostam - American Stories
- Spencer Krug - Same Fangs
- The Field - Now You Exist
Drake should do a collaboration with All-American Rejects. Would it be good? Probably not, but worth a try. Who's with me?
May 22
- Alela Diane - Who's Keeping Time?
- Bleachers - everyone for ten minutes
- Ed O'Brien - Blue Morpho
- Future Islands - From A Hole In The Floor To A Fountain Of Youth
- Thomas Dollbaum - Birds Of Paradise
- Visible Cloaks - Paradessence
Ed O'Brien is one of the many individual releases by members of Radiohead this year. This isn't a KISS thing where all the members are doing solo work that wasn't good enough to be part of the entire part. The solo projects should actually be good in the case of O'Brien and the others.
May 29
- Aespa - LEMONADE
- All Them Witches - House Of Mirrors
- Boards of Canada - Inferno
- David Torn - now i imagine a place not the same
- Dogstar - All In Now
- Doublespeak - Doublespeak
- Guided by Voices - Crawlspace Of The Pantheon
- Iceage - For Love Of Grace & The Hereafter
- Káryyn - PhysicsUniversal Love Language (PULL)
- Kurt Vile - Philadelphia’s been good to me
- Paul McCartney - The Boys Of Dungeon Lane
- Shinedown - Ei8ht
- Violet Grohl - Be Sweet To Me
What an interesting week. Dave Grohl's daughter delivers their first full work. Keanu Reeves' Dogstar drops their latest. Plus, some guy named Paul McCartney is releasing an album. Hopefully, it's good.
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