The Wire, January/February 2026

A must for any underground music fan, The Wire reports on alternative, underground and non-mainstream musics, ‘waging war on the mundane and the mediocre.’

In this issue:

2025 Rewind: the Year in Underground Music – 50 Releases of the Year: We asked our contributors to vote for their top ten releases of 2025 then added up the votes; Columnists’ Charts: Our specialist critics delve deep into their musical niches from noise to modern composition; 50 Archive Releases of the Year: We asked our contributors to vote for their top ten archive releases of 2025, then added up the votes; Critics’ Reflections: Our writers discuss their memorable cultural experiences of the year; Plus: Style Counsel: Experimental music’s uneasy flirtation with high fashion. By Lucy Thraves; Against the Stream: DIY radio subverts the hierarchies and algorithms of the mega-platforms. By Paul Rekret; Time out of Joint: Old school instruments and ancient wisdom connects past and present. By Daryl Worthington; Arch Rivals: London’s crumbling infrastructure provides a haven for experimentation. By Deborah Nash; Hybrid Vigour: Jazzing up improvisation via beats, noise and rhymes. By Stewart Smith; Extended Play: Drones and duration versus doomscrolling. By Xenia Benivolski.

Hilary Woods: The Irish songwriter’s craft explores trauma and terror. By Leah Kardos; Company: Derek Bailey’s rekindled improvisation meet-up recalled. By Mark Wastell; Tristan Perich: 1-bit electronics hook listeners into the cosmic circuit. By Antonio Poscic; Anna Högberg: The Swedish saxophonist blowing burnout away. By Peter Margasak; Makaya McCraven: Group recordings are reworked to infinity in his kaleidoscopic jazz. By Melvin Gibbs; Carrier: Antwerp beatmaker follows in the footsteps of Torsten Pröfrock with his technoid breakbeat constructions. By Christian Eede; Hypomanic Daydream: Marie McAuliffe’s creations gene-splice Rock In Opposition, video games and heavy metal. By Kek-w; Erwan Keravec: The Breton piper brings global and experimental approaches to trad sounds. By Francis Gooding.

Invisible Jukebox: Ikonika: Will the London beatmaker get all mixed up with The Wire’s mystery record selection? By April Clare Welsh; Global Ear: Chicago’s jazz and blues scene stands tall in the face of racist immigration raids. By Howard Mandel; Unlimited Editions: Warm Winters Ltd: By Antonio Poscic; The Inner Sleeve: Tony Herrington on Here & Now/Alternative TV’s What You See… Is What You Are; Against The Grain: MayDay Rooms’ anarcho-punk archive disinterred by Chumbawumba vocalist. By Seth Wheeler; Epiphanies: Cosey Fanni Tutti reflects on a life in art.

Plus 40 pages of reviews including: Juana Molina: Who’s laughing now? By Phil Freeman; Jean-Paul Guionnet: Essential 21st century saxophony. By Seymour Wright; Tiger Milk: 1980s feminism rebottled. By Louise Gray; The Bottle Tapes: Chicago’s jazz/improv scene celebrated. By Bill Meyer, and much more.