February was a lot! This is not a poetic post!

I’m still working out how to rename and shift direction on my Substack, but hey, at least this music series I promised you gives me a monthly writing appointment!

Welcome to the February 2026 edition of Listening Notes: 4ish new or new to me albums1 that I enjoyed enough to listen to more than once, plus a couple of bonus thoughts about music-themed cultural events from February. Let’s get to it.

John Van Deusen - As Long As I Am in the Tent of This Body I Will Make a Joyful Noise Pt. 1

Sounds Like: Indie rock devotions and psalms for sad artsy bois (this is a compliment)

First Impressions: Sometimes, in the depths of winter blues and a cynical grumpiness I am not proud of, I think I’m done with listening to any album labeled as “worship music.” Then the exceptions come along, and I am reminded of the wild creativity happening on the genre’s edges.

I’m already breaking the rule of Listening Notes because I think I’ve only gotten through this 18 track journey once front to back, but it’s too dense, strange, and lovingly crafted to not get a mention. It feels like a cross between John Mark McMillan’s most freewheeling mystic rock and Jon Guerras’ most tender, intricate compositions. The liner notes on Bandcamp say this record was made out of intense devotion and deep depression, and I believe it. An intense listen I want to dig into some more.

Discovery Source: I’d heard a lot of buzz, but ’s personal album of the year endorsement nudged me to finally put in the time and listen!

Colony House - 77 Part 1 and 2

Sounds Like: Windows down, radio loud, singing along with someone you love because life is hard and also a miracle

First Impressions: Colony House is an absolute delight. Sunny rock and roll that holds the beautiful tension between youthful joy and a grown up world weariness. I somehow missed part 1 last year, but corrected that oversight when part 2 came out. No extensive notes here. Just fun, uplifting rock songs about getting older and holding life close.

Discovery Source: Followed them since their debut, including some previous projects by the Chapman bros.

The Lone Bellow - What a Time to Be Alive

Sounds Like: Easy listening, folksy Nashville alt-country from another time in sparkly cowboy boots

First Impressions: Listening to The Lone Bellow always feels little like stepping into another era. They thrive in lush harmonies and twangy instrumentation, and their emotional chorus builds feel like levitating. The new record has an easy listening familiarity, and maybe that’s why it took me a minute to warm up to it. But on repeat listens I think I hear something different I can’t quite put my finger on, maybe a little more of a retro country sound. Anyway, love them, always worth a listen, and absolutely worth a live show if they come your way.

Discovery Source: Another artist I’ve followed forever! This was not a month for trying new things and that’s okay.

U2 - Days of Ash EP

Sounds Like: U2 tapping back into their classic punk rock political roots

First Impressions: Well, I didn’t have a U2 goes old-school EP on my 2026 bingo card, but I’m not mad about it. I put it on my headphones at work and felt the catharsis in “American Obituary” and “The Tears of Things.” It’s earnest and urgent and I’ve always loved that about them. Supplement with this episode of The Subtext podcast exploring the question “When Did U2 Get So Political?” (Spoiler: the answer is 1980)

Discovery Source: “U2 dropping a new EP called “Days of Ash” on Ash Wednesday?! Let’s gooooo.” — , texting me at work to share the good news

Side Notes

THE BENITO BOWL!

It is a known truth in our family that Jen doesn’t care about the Big Game, the NFL, or the commercials. And yet, Jen does love buffalo chicken dip and the halftime show. Doesn’t matter who it is, she will look it up on YouTube on Monday morning and fall into a hole rewatching her favorites.

This year, we already had the antenna hooked up for the Winter Olympics,2 so we turned on the broadcast to catch the Bad Bunny show people were pre-fighting about and… y’all. For a week straight, I couldn’t think about this without tearing up, imaging the families who might have been watching, scared to leave their homes because of ICE raids, and for 13 minutes feeling celebrated. If you missed it, give in to the joy.

CHARLI XCX GOING HARDER THAN SHE HAD TO FOR A MOVIE SOUNDTRACK!

Actually watching Wuthering Heights is not my personal journey, but I like pop music and Charli xcx is interesting! So I listened to Switched on Pop’s deep dive of the soundtrack3 then gave it a shot. Only one casual listen, so it didn’t make the Listening Notes cut, but “House” is the precise goth energy I associate with the book. I am also a sucker for the lush, dramatic (but also creepy) 80s vibes in “Chains of Love.” Stay weird, Charli!

For the first time in maybe a decade, we got over a foot of snow at my house. A week and a half has passed, but it’s still everywhere, piled up by the road, packed into the walking paths, towering and filthy in the corners of parking lots. One day I drove my dog around for an hour trying to find somewhere, anywhere that she could walk without getting stabbed in the paws with rock salt or buried to her neck. At a park near my house, I tested a patch of snow with my boot and stumbled in snow up to my knees.

Writing these days feels a lot like trudging through that kind of snow. The cold leaves aches in my body, and the news leaves aches in my heart.1 Writing about anything else feels empty at best, tone deaf at worst.

So when I feel blocked, I pay a visit to my past self. I dig up the archives of my old 2010s blog and remember what it was like to just put things out there and write on the Internet for the fun of it, for no reason but self-expression and telling people about cool stuff I’m into.2 Occasionally I see people on here call Substack a blog. Nothing’s really stopping us from bringing that energy back, right?

Here’s another thing that is happening: I am exploring music again. Conventional wisdom says your taste freezes sometime in your 30s, and I could feel that happening. I didn’t have a long commute to immerse myself in CDs burned from iTunes purchases. I wasn’t working in radio or writing for music websites. I wasn’t hopping over to the record shop on my lunch break or going to lots of shows or talking to friends about music.

And that’s just personal. That doesn’t even account for how the streaming revolution upended how we make and consume music, especially for indie artists, or the way discovery algorithms lock us into a neat profile and only introduce us to more of the same thing we already like.

So I’m curious, how does one discover new music in their 40s? For the past couple years, I’ve been figuring it out. One of my favorite ways will always and forever be good ol’ word of mouth — the year end list, the random substack, the paying attention to what people I know love.

As I dug back into the old blog archives, I found a series I wrote in 2012 called “Opening Notes.” Nothing fancy, just a roundup of a few albums I listened to that month with some first impressions and how I found them. I didn’t make it past April, but I kind of enjoyed the little time capsule of 2012 Jen’s iPod library.

This is a very longwinded way of saying in 2026 it might be fun to bring that back. Just with a little tweak to the name because I’m not sure why I called an end of the month round up “Opening Notes.”

Listening Notes is a (hopefully!) monthly column where I share 3-4 albums that delighted me, surprised me, and/or held my attention last month. The only rules are 1) it’s new or new to me, and 2) I have listened to the full album, start to finish, multiple times.

Also, let’s make it a group project! What were you listening to in January? Let me know in the comments. I favor indie/alternative, folk, and some well-crafted pop, but I’ll try almost anything at least once. :)

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Mon Rovîa - Bloodline

Sounds Like: A warm hug of Afro-Appalachian folk about the places that make us and the horrors and beauties of the world.

First Impressions: I’ve loosely followed Mon Rovîa since seeing him open for Gregory Alan Isakov a couple years ago. This full length record has an understated folk sound, but a deeper listen reveals a reflection on his identity as a Liberian child adopted and raised in America. There’s darkness, trauma, hope, joy, and freedom, and it deserves multiple close listens. But you can also have it on for a peaceful winter vibe if that’s what you need.

Discovery Source: Recommendation from my friend Amber. Listen to your friends!

Aaron Paris - LOTUSLAND

Sounds Like: A neo-classical score for a strange little solarpunk movie or something Ghibli adjacent

First Impressions: This was a whole work vibe last week. I don’t even know how to explain it because sometimes it feels like classical background music, then it’ll drop in some electronic flourishes or a glitchy turn of sound that delights a part of my brain. Short and unobtrusive enough you can put it on repeat while working, but spacious enough to lead down interesting new paths.

Discovery Source: A random Substack post in my Notes feed with winter music recommendations? The happiest accident. Like the feeling of hearing something weird in a record store and taking home your new favorite.

Paper Lady - Idle Fate

Sounds Like: Some alternate timeline where Taylor Swift fronted a grungy 90s dream rock band

First Impressions: I don’t know, it rocks and it’s fun and they’re from Boston and I really would love to know more about my localish music scenes. There’s that homemade indie band feeling, dreamy and melodic, with some great builds and intense moments. Past Jen would’ve loved this. (Also, the Geocities vibe of their website warms my elder millennial heart.)

Discovery Source: , a Substack that feels like it was made in a lab for this weird time of my life.

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

Sounds Like: Radiohead found their guitars again and raged against the machine

First Impressions: I could write a whole essay about how I committed to liking Radiohead so I could be a Cool Music Guy™️. But I actually did come to love some of their albums and still think they’re interesting! Somehow, I missed this during my deep dive. I’ve been feeling a renewed interest in early-aughts political protest music lately,3 so now is just as good a time as any to check out an album that starts with “2+2=5.” Probably a mid-tier for me, but a fascinating transition from the cold electronics of Kid A/Amnesiac to one of my longtime faves, In Rainbows.

Discovery Source: My deep well of angst and a gap in my listening history

And a Bonus: Live Music This Month

January 29 at the Providence Performing Arts Center

I don’t have blurry concert photos for you, but wow, did I need to go hear some live music. January was a long, cold, emotional month. But sitting in this old theater, listening to simple folk music harmonize with the intricate beauty of an orchestra healed a little something in me.