Ella Langley

April 2026 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Finnish National Opera’s production of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Festen by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of April 2026
1. Ella Langley- Dandelion
Somethin’ simple.

2. Dave Douglas- Transcend
Above and beyond.

3. Marta Sanchez- For the Space You Left
Treated piano.

4. Thundercat- Distracted
Atomic dog.

5. Squarepusher- Kammerkonzert
The chamber music of tomorrow.

6. Mike and Earl Sweatshirt- Pompeii//Utility
Blurrier and slurrier.

7. Isata Kanneh-Mason- Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
A delectable souvenir of a recital I caught in 2024.

8. Dan Penn- Smoke Filled Room
My review.

9. sunn O)))- sunn O)))
Zero tolerance for silence.

10. My New Band Believe- My New Band Believe
My review.


The Top Ten Reissues and Reimaginings of April 2026
1. Rosalía- Lux: Complete Works
Expanded version of the 2025 stunner.

2. Jimmy Scott- Falling In Love Is Wonderful
Killing me softly.

3. Kronos Quartet- Glorious Mahalia
How she got over.


The Top Ten Songs of April 2026
1. Nduduzo Makhathini- “Kuzodlula”
Blessed quietude.

2. Beth Orton- “Waiting”
Wallowing in misery.

3. Karol G and Greg Gonzalez- "Después de ti"
After you.

4. Céline Dion- “Dansons”
Jetlag is doing funny things to me.

5. Baalti and Lapgan- “Romance”
Remembering Asha Bhosle.

6. aja monet featuring Mick Jenkins and Vic Mensa- “melting clocks”
Timeless.

7. That Mexican OT- “Still Virgil”
Victory lap.

8. Quiet Light- “Self Tape”
Blue Monday.

9. Bruce Hornsby featuring Blake Mills and Bob Weir- “Might as Well Be Me, Florinda”
My review.

10. Matthew Stevens and Josh Johnson- “Hazy”
The apogee of the sound of the moment.



The Top Ten Performances of April 2026
Rapturous life events involving extensive travel precluded me from attending ten performances in April.



The previous monthly recap is here.

January 2026 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Theater an der Wien’s production of Gioachino Rossini’s L’occasione fa il ladro by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of January 2026
1. Kris Davis and the Lutoslawski Quartet- The Solastalgia Suite
A turbulent third stream.

2. Angelika Niescier- Chicago Tapes
The German saxophonist visits the Windy City.

3. Sault- Chapter 1
Rewriting the book of neo-soul.

4. Craig Taborn- Dream Archives
With Tomeka Reid and Ches Smith.

5. Zach Bryan- With Heaven on Top
Little pink houses.

6. Ari Lennox- Vacancy
Hole in her heart.

7. Haeun Joo- Just Gravity
Inescapable pull.

8. Makoto Ozone- For Someone
My review.

9. Joel Ross- Gospel Music
Persuasive testimony.

10. Hermon Mehari and NO(w) Beauty- (un)Seen
On sight.

The Top Three Reissues and Reimaginings of January 2026
1. Various- Naive Melodies
Real live wires.

2. Zach Bryan- With Heaven On Top (Acoustic)
Lonesome jubilees.

3. Grupo Um- Nineteen Seventy Seven
Return to forever.


The Top Ten Songs of January 2026
1. Callie Day- "Rely On You"
Live at Isaac Cates’ Affirmations service in Leawood, Kansas.

2. Jill Scott- “Beautiful People”
Everybody is a star.

3. Ella Langley- “Dandelion”
Deep in the weeds.

4. Rawayana featuring Manuel Turizo- “Inglés en Miami”
Speaking of Venezuela.

5. A$AP Rocky- “Punk Rocky”
The best track on a disappointing album.

6. By Storm- “Can I Have Your For Myself”
A tough pill to swallow.

7. Pat Metheny- “In On It”
I’m going with him.

8. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis- “Gestations”
Fully formed.

9. Camper featuring Alex Isley and RoseGold- “Sixteen Summers”
Silly love song.

10. Melissa Aldana- “La Sentencia”
Exquisite.

The Top Performances of January 2026
Travel, inclement weather and budget constraints prevented me from attending ten or more shows in a month for the first time since the pandemic.



The previous monthly recap is here.

Burning Brains: The Top Fifty Songs of 2024

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

My musical predilections were more informed by recent obsessions than by global events this year. I traced the footsteps of Mozart, flirted with Catholicism, read compulsively and watched the lines in my face deepen into chasms. Creeping maturity is evinced by several of the selections below. Yet my affinity for carefree fun clearly has yet to evaporate. As always, there’s no artist overlap on my songs and albums lists. A corresponding Spotify playlist is here.

 

1. Tierra Whack- “Burning Brains”

2. Charli XCX and Lorde- “Girl, so confusing”

3. Heems featuring Vijay Iyer and Sid Vashi- "Manto"

4. Meshell Ndgegeocello- "Travel"

5. Joel Ross- “bach (God the Father in Eternity)”

6. Tank and the Bangas featuring Samara Joy and Robert Glasper- "Remember"

7. Maxo Kream and Tyler, The Creator- "Cracc Era"

8. Sexyy Red- "Get It Sexyy"

9. Tinashe- "Nasty"

10. Joaquín Sabina- “Un última vals”


11. Mary J. Blige- “Here I Am”

12. A$AP Rocky featuring Jessica Pratt- “Highjack”

13. 070 Shake- “Winter Baby/New Jersey Blues”

14. Amyl and the Sniffers- “U Should Not Be Doing That”

15. Tyler, The Creator featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne- “Sticky”

16. Rosalía and Ralphie Choo- “Omega”

17. Horsegirl- “2468”

18. Ella Langley- “Hungover”

19. The Harlem Gospel Travelers- “Jesus Rhapsody, Pt. 1”

20. El Cousteau featuring Earl Sweatshirt- “Words2LiveBy”


21. GloRilla- “Yeah Glo!”

22. Hiatus Kaiyote- “Telescope”

23. Anna Butterss- “Shorn”

24. Marsha Ambrosius- "Wet"

25. Jeff Parker ETA IVtet- “Freakadelic”

26. Camila Cabello featuring Playboi Carti- “I LUV IT”

27. Michael Kiwanuka- “Lowdown (part 1)”

28. Scott H. Biram- “Inside a Bar”

29. Waxahatchee- “Burns Out at Midnight”

30. Ducks Ltd.- “On Our Way to the Rave”


31. Carly Pearce- “Fault Line”

32. La Luz- “Always in Love”

33. The Weeknd featuring Anitta- "São Paulo"

34. Staples Jr. Singers- “I’ve Got a Feeling”

35. Arooj Aftab- “Raat Ki Rani”

36. That Mexican OT featuring DaBaby- “Point Em Out”

37. Miranda Lambert- “Alimony”

38. Hinds- “En Forma”

39. DannyLux- “Maldito Alcohol”

40. JD McPherson- “Shining Like Gold”


41. Lainey Wilson- “Keep Up With Jones”

42. Nettspend- “Perc Soda”

43. Sprints- “Heavy”

44. Bonnie “Prince” Billy- “London May”

45. Yahritza Y Su Esencia featuring Michelle Maciel- “Nivel Dios”

46. Idles- “Gift Horse”

47. Madi Diaz- “God Person”

48. Dwight Yoakam and Post Malone- “I Don’t Know How to Say Goodbye (Bang Bang Boom Boom)”

49. Sierra Ferrell- “I Could Drive You Crazy”

50. Kabin Crew and Lisdoonvarna Crew- “The Spark”


There Stands the Glass’ top albums and songs of 2023 are ranked here.