by Freddie Saunders
With the long hot Summer of 2026 winding down, there is no better time to reflect on the music that has soundtracked our time in the sun. After what can feel like a bombardment of new tunes from June to September, it’s easy to forget just how many great releases there have been across this time of year.
In that spirit, this edition of Sleeve Spotlight aims to bring focus to both the artists who dropped the bangers which moved our feet across festival fields, as well as the underground talent who have begun to make their mark in the summer of ’26.
Jalen Ngonda
Kicking off this list is the modern soul savant Jalen Ngonda with his hotly anticipated sophomore album “Doctrine of Love” dropping in early June of this year. Building on a debut which dropped the R&B world straight in the palm of his hand, it is no understatement that delivering on a follow-up to 2023’s “Come Around and Love Me” was never going to be an easy task.
However, the Maryland-born but UK-based talent surprised audiences and silenced potential critics by dropping a summer LP which not just delivered on the hype, but in many ways surpassed it. Clearly not afraid to take his songwriting in new directions, the tracks on this record span from upbeat bangers that would suit a northern soul dancefloor, to the gentlest of ballads.
Previous listeners of Ngonda’s work will be familiar with his impassioned vocals and magnetic guitar playing as the focal point of the album however, this record delivers more than just the things we know we enjoy. Doctrine of Love expands the musical colour palette into new terrain with immaculate production from Vince Chiarito and Mike Buckley of Daptone Records. They tastefully introduce smooth backing vocals and well-placed horn sections to expand Jalen’s sound while not overpowering it, both of which only add to the record’s laidback, romantic and summer-friendly vibe.
Therefore, it is with absolute confidence I recommend anyone who has somehow missed this masterclass in modern soul to go for a walk and listen to it while the sun is still shining.
Standout tracks: Good Good Love + I Can’t Ever Leave You
Sei Green
The country of Ireland has always been home to some of the most musically adventurous and boundary pushing musicians across almost any era of contemporary music. No exception to this rule is the emerging Dublin-based duo Sei Green, whose colourful brand of psychedelic soul is as laidback as it is catchy.
Comprised of multi-instrumentalists Ellen Sleator and Adam Garrett, Sei Green have so far released 3 singles in 2026 as well as their 2025 debut track “Deep Green.” The group’s sound is characterised by reverb-soaked guitar work, driving bass grooves and pillow-soft vocals which keep their sound playful yet focused.
Fans of bands like Khruangbin and SAULT will no doubt appreciate the clear musicianship on display from the duo as their technical skill is as evident as their songwriting creativity. Tastefully blending elements of jazz, psychedelic soul and indie, I have no doubt that they’ll continue to pull from an increasingly diverse range of influences as their sound develops further.
This summer they released the jazzy, reverb-soaked track “Mountain” which stands apart as one of their smoothest releases to date. The track is the perfect soundtrack to a summer evening drive with the windows down given it’s psychedelic blend of guitar, piano and vocals.
Where they take this sound next is only a point of speculation however, I have no doubt they will continue to push themselves musically and become one of the most exciting groups emerging out of the talent-rich Dublin grassroots scene.
Standout Tracks: Bored of Resting + Mountain
Kelsey Lu
Few singer-songwriter records have grabbed the public consciousness in the past several months as powerfully as Kelsey Lu’s “So Help Me God.”
Released in June of this year, this album serves as a gentle reminder that not all releases in the summer months need to be filled with wall-to-wall bangers. Kelsey Lu instead opts for a raw, emotive sound that blends skilful composition with atmospheric production.
Collaborating with the likes of modern jazz heavyweight Kamasi Washington as well as the mercury prize winning Sampha, it’s easy to see why Lu’s songwriting is held in such high esteem by their peers. The expressiveness and vulnerability of Kelsey’s lyricism is a constant factor across their work.
“So Help Me God” is an album with that rare quality of not just featuring tracks that are consistently enjoyable on multiple listens, but also feel meticulously placed across the record to tell a story. Perhaps the best example of this comes with the climactic album closer “Cutting Off The Head of a Ghost.” A perfect track to close such a cinematic record with candid lyrics and an anthemic chorus to boot, it’s easily one of the strongest album closers I’ve heard all year, let alone this summer.
Overall, this record has clear crossover appeal for fans of artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Ethel Cain and Boygenius given its emotional and thought-provoking songwriting and luscious production. I hope I’m not alone in hoping that this marks the start of a major rise in popularity for Kelsey Lu and their music.
Standout Tracks: Running To Pain + Cutting Off The Head of a Ghost
Nia Archives
It’s hard to find new ways to praise the meteoric rise of Nia Archives over the past several years, particularly since the release of her mercury-nominated debut album Silence Is Loud.
This summer she delivered her hotly anticipated sophomore LP “Emotional Junglist” which proved to audiences that her place as one electronic music’s biggest talents is more than earned. Having achieved mainstream crossover at an early stage in her career, it’s refreshing that Nia has chosen not to be defined by one sound or aesthetic, instead opting to push boundaries in more ways than one across this record.
The title itself is an apt description for the tone across many of the album’s highlights. “Emotional Junglist” is a term that is more than appropriate for tracks like “Superlust” and “There Goes My Head.” These songs in particular show how her distinct vocals weave between energetic breakbeats to deliver her signature sound with a soulful depth that instantly grabs attention.
Her proficiency as a producer is well documented and it would have been so easy for her to keep delivering the formula that fans love and just pad the album with guest appearances. Instead, what Nia Archives dropped this summer feels like a far more raw and uncut version of her earlier material. The pop sensibilities of “Silence Is Loud” are still found on tracks like “Dance With Me 2nite” but are delivered so delicately that it’s easy to forget you’re listening to an artist who started as a jungle producer.
Armed with both an energetic live show and inspired songwriting, the sky remains the limit for the Bradford-born artist. Having already lined up multiple tour dates this year for Europe, North America and Asia, summer appears to be far from over for Nia Archives. With the clear momentum of her previous work and a clear creative desire to explore fuelling this new album, Nia Archives definitively remains one of the titans of dance music in the UK, and beyond.
Standout Tracks: Train of Thought + Dance With Me 2nite
Kibo
Breaking through the mould of the often humourless landscape of UK hiphop comes Kibo, the Harrow MC whose second album “Kwengletaria:Ragamyff” provides one of the most entertaining and ambitious releases of summer 2026.
He rocks his signature look of a goatee and long hair with the same kind of confidence and ease that separates him from his peers both aesthetically and lyrically. The lyrical content in question sometimes feels like more of an exercise in poetic maximalism rather than a strictly defined story or theme to stick to.
Clearly content to pull inspiration from everything ranging from niche football references to anime, Kibo keeps the listener on their toes at all times, commanding his audiences to listen more than once in case they missed something the first time.
This lyrical approach is more than just fun and playful bars however, his music is more than prone to getting introspective when least expected. Casually dropping lines in freestyles like “I gotta make Scott Pilgrim choices, link with flowers or link with knives” he demonstrates a unique talent for balancing colourful fiction with grim reality.
In a recent interview with Dazed, he claimed he was “dubbing the anime of London.” A statement which, if claimed by a lesser rapper could easily be dismissed as hyperbole however, as Kibo’s debut proves, he is far from your average rapper.
Aided by some of the most experimental yet head-noddingly fun beats out there, Kibo is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining and technically proficient rappers in the UK right now. Gaining festival spots on the stacked Reading and Leeds 2026 lineup as well as Boomtown respectively, Kibo’s talent defies blunt categorisation and demands to be witnessed in person.
Standout Tracks: Headside In Da Skiez + ShubzOnline
Leave a Reply