Sound Check

The last stop before the halfway point of winter: even in December, here we are again with the playlists tracking the most intriguing releases of the past few weeks. One for each section of the site, to feed all kinds of curiosity. Enjoy the listen!

Daniel Avery, ever more distant from the DJ booth and ever closer to the stages of the big festival circuit, opens this year's first winter playlist tuned into the world of "rock and its surroundings", followed by one of the great revelations of 2025, Die Spitz, from Austin, Texas, with their explosive new record. (Claudio Lancia)

Pop muzik

The last musical fragments of 2025 with the new compilation by Melody's Echo Chamber, but also a few first tastes of the year to come: Puma Blue, Gorillaz and the hugely anticipated new work from Charli XCX. (Daniel Moor)

Dark corner

Last fireworks of 2025, starting with the recent single from the ever more melancholy Traitrs, a name much loved by devotees of the goth tradition (speaking of which, there's also room in the playlist for the return of a historic band, France's Corpus Delicti). A certain dark nostalgia also resurfaces with Desinteresse, while Potechkine and Qual play the dark-electro card with a more current, savvier electro-body-oriented approach. Also worth noting is the rough post-punk of Morwan, one of the surprises of the season. Finally, as always there's room for industrial (the abrasive kind courtesy of Lana Del Rabies), for the most corrosive Ebm (Hocico have resurfaced with a very solid track) and for black metal, with the celestial melodic turn of Blut Aus Nord. (Paolo Chemnitz)

Electronic

The new records from The Bug, Ikonika (our Album of the Month), Daphni and Kelly Lee Owens lead a long list of picks for dancing, and then some. Here's our roundup of some of the best releases of the past few months... (Claudio Lancia)

Songwriter

The class of Cat Power and the extraordinary beauty of Beverly Glenn-Copeland's songs are among the highlights of the early months of 2026 for the songwriter section. (Daniel Moor)

Last round of recommendations for the current year. Above all, we highlight our monthly picks for the section: the self-titled album by Ukrainian folk band Zgarda and the autobiographical work by Natasha Pirard. Particularly well received were the adventurous new solo work by Nick Storring of Picastro, the third release of the year from Kara-Lis Coverdale, and the neoclassical work of Roger Eno. A varied array of releases not to be missed. (Peppe Trotta)

Italy

The two excellent new albums by Umberto Maria Giardini and Carmen Consoli, a Christmas song penned by Lucio Corsi, two great female voices, Emma Nolde and Marta Del Grandi, the new project Si! Boom! Voilà!, are just some of the highlights in this selection dedicated to the most interesting Italian releases of the past few weeks… (Claudio Lancia)

Jazz

An exceptionally soft close to the year, introduced however by the sharpest and most jazzy episode of Tortoise's comeback (Tortoise). Among the albums reviewed on Ondarock over the past few weeks, several releases stand out for their velvety touch: the caressing folk of Georgia Duncan, the classic sound of an exceedingly mellow Aaron Parks, the stylistic blends of Brazilian artist Luedji Luna, in search of dreamlike atmospheres. But there's room for more besides: wonky jazz, disco-funk, jazz-rap, and the near avant-prog of Bergamo-born Francesca Remigi. (Marco Sgrignoli)