Editor’s Note: Anyone who says there isn’t good music coming out these days — and quite literally, every day — simply isn’t paying attention. Vanyaland’s compilation feature The V List highlights the best in new music, both homegrown and national, over the past month, pulling together the sounds that have soundtracked the website in recent weeks. It’s all the stuff we’re bumping here at Vanyaland HQ, one new bop at a time.
Sandhouse, ‘Pollyanna’
Back when we were young and alive, a friend would often drive up to our crib, tell us to get in the car, and off we’d go without knowing just where we were headed. But we knew it’d be a good time, and the journey was always as much fun as the destination. That’s our vibe as soon as we hit play on Sandhouse’s captivating new single, a riveting fit of warped psychedelia and nocturnal alt-pop called “Pollyanna” that aches and purrs with distorted rock and roll recklessness and a hazy sense of wanderlust. The South London duo dropped this casual crusher in early June, and here’s what Anna Sutherland and Caspar Holloway have to say about it: “‘Pollyanna’ is about becoming numbed by the cinema of infatuation, and using the fairytale of romance to blindly ignore any signs of reality.” Get in, let’s ride.
Wishy, ‘Lovesick’
A series of inspired yearly releases from Wishy — from the Paradise EP in 2023 to debut album Triple Seven in 2024 to the Planet Popstar EP in 2025 — gave us a glimmer of hope for an indie rock future, but now the Indianapolis band has sights set on something far more expansive. And that’s because new single “Lovesick,” the first taste of forthcoming sophomore record Nature’s Pill, out in October on Winspear, finds the quintet at perhaps their most magnetic (and that’s saying something).The blissfully melancholic “Lovesick” jangles and pops in all the best ways, siphoning a propellant college-rock glide and pre-alternative magnetism previously lost to the left-of-the-dial archives. It’s the type of song we’d have all put on a mixtape back in the day to win over the one we loved, and emits a throwback quality without ever feeling retro. “There’s not much more that needs to be said about yearning in 2026, but here it is anyway,” says vocalist Nina Pitchkites. “Kevin and I are stupidly romantic people who like twee-pop so that combination alone was a recipe for a cheeky ‘main character’ song. We really leaned into the overzealous lyrics here because 1) we’re allowed, 2) can do whatever we want and 3) it’s fun… yay!” Wishy spend the summer bringing their brilliant sound to the masses by opening for The Beths and Beach Bunny before a headlining run delivers them to Brighton Music Hall on October 14.
Noah Kesey, ‘Moth’
Here’s an emerging artist from Vermont named Noah that we’ll all have on our hearts, minds, and playlists this summer, and this isn’t at all a case of déjà vu. The sound comes from Noah Kesey, the Burlington artist who weaves together a propulsive fit of indie rock, shoegaze, and pop in searing new single “Moth.” It’s billed as a stream-of-consciousness snapshot of a situationship, but that’s as much as Kesey lets on as the song drones on and cradles our head in a warm embrace. “This song blew in through the window during a moment of frustration, fully formed and rejuvenating, without deliberation or contemplation. In that classic stream-of-consciousness way, these lyrics are sourced from thoughts based in specific moments, but the narrative is fantasy,” Kesey says. “These are unfettered suppositions, cathartic, honest, and subject to interpretation, lyrical vignettes that say something about the dance between two people who inhabit that grey ‘situationship’ zone. Musically, adoration for the pop-rock structure is my guiding light here.” Hold it like a gun below.
Charlotte OC, ‘Start of the Summer’
Our 2025 was made all the more better by the return of Charlotte OC, who with soulful yearner “God, We Tried” dolled up our New Sounds column (March), midway look-back Half Year in ReView (July), and grand finale Year in ReView (December). Now the English artist heralds one of our favorite points of the calendar with new single “Start of the Summer,” a reflective and warm alt-pop bop that would be an instant chart-topper if the world still had taste in music. And that is also arrives on the edge of Father’s Day here in the states is some inspired planning, juxtaposing its sunny demeanor and positive glow with a bittersweet meditation on grief and memory. Because sometimes we’re forced to embrace what’s next without the ones who helped shape our path to the present moment. “This song is about the ever-present longing I have for my father,” Charlotte says. “He absolutely loved being in the sun and being as tanned as humanly possible. Whenever I picture him, he’s in the garden, covered in factor 15, with a glass of whiskey by his feet and a border collie by his side.” She adds: “I wanted the song to carry a sense of optimism, because that’s how he always was when summer was around the corner, knowing that tan would soon be his again. It felt important to hold onto that lightness alongside everything else. It’s about not knowing what to do with all the love you still have for someone. Not knowing how to handle grief, and finding yourself replaying conversations that will forever feel unfinished.”
Phoebe Green, ‘There’s Always Someone Kicking The Seat’
Our heads are usually a noisy, chaotic mess as we slowly traverse through the day with little actual physical movement, and Phoebe Green has provided a much-needed soundtrack to match the mood of our emotional static. It arrives via the Manchester riser’s blissfully turbulent new single “There’s Always Someone Kicking The Seat,” a dizzying spell of indie, electronic-pop, and witch house that sets a mental tone for forthcoming album PREMATURE NOSTALGIA, out October 2 via The Green Dream Machine / Absolute. This glitching pinwheel of a tune, along with the album in full, was written and produced alongside her sister Lucy Green (a.k.a. Elucyve), where the pair experimented with a warped approach to pop music and contained emotion. “We wanted this song to feel extremely visceral, as though the listener is experiencing the story firsthand,” says Green. “I just wanted to get an experience off my chest and melodically nothing fit, so I ended up just talking. It’s maybe my only proper break-up song, and Lucy really beautifully encapsulated the chaotic emotional journey sonically. It felt really fitting for the verses to feel quite matter of fact, recounting events, then melancholic choruses followed by a cathartic outro.” Get lost in the torrent below, and let it guide the way in every direction imaginable.