Croeso! Welcome to Clash’s new Welsh music round-up column. Every month, we take a look at the best new albums and EP’s by emerging acts from Wales. This month is, potentially, the strongest collection of releases we’ve ever rounded up in all the two-and-a-half years the column has been running for. You want brash South Walian rap? How about zeitgeist-riding post-punk? What about jazzy, future-funk? Maybe some inventive noise-punk will take your fancy? Buckle up, it’s a big one.
This sheer level of quality is perhaps to be expected. October is the biggest month in Welsh music, highlighted by the , plus festivals including the renowned Cardiff showcase festival , plus amazing fests including , , , and . For whatever reason, it all happens here in October, so it makes sense that, during this period of intense music scene activity, we also get so many great releases.
On that note of big Welsh music happenings, time for a shameless plug. On Saturday November 14th, this writer is putting on a show featuring an array of Cardiff’s best live bands (, and ) in the bowl at Cardiff skatepark Spit & Sawdust. Grab yourself a ticket here, it’s gonna be mega.
Along with the albums and EP’s that feature in the following column, October 2026 also saw the release of great tracks by the likes of , , , , , , , , , , , , , & .
We hope you enjoy this overview of the current Welsh music landscape. These releases are a truly stellar collection, including multiple contenders for the best Welsh releases of 2026.
It’s hard to listen to ‘UMA’ and not think you’re listening to one of the best releases by a Welsh act this year. (bassist/vocalist of acclaimed, currently-on hiatus trio ) has come up with a debut solo album that has it all. The ten tracks are perfectly paced, the dark indie-dance production is richly textured and full of effective little details, while the mood elegantly oscillates between fun and danceable and atmospheric and poignant. By the time you reach the tears-under-the-mirrorball closer ‘Brechiau Tyner Y Mor’, you’ll likely agree that this is right up there with Welsh music’s finest hours this year.
Why Horses? – ‘These Hands’
With wry, existential lyrics as thoughtful as the tight, post-punk/art-rock music, Cardiff’s Why Horses? have come up with an EP whose vibe feels downright zeitgeist-y. This is meant as a compliment; it’s great to hear a Welsh band ploughing this particular furrow, whose parameters feel ultra-contemporary: violins, treble-heavy guitars, talk-sung vocals, progressive structures. Across these four compelling tracks, various flourishes give Why Horses? a unique edge, including the atmospheric violins, which recall , and vocalist Gabe Lester’s excellent lyrics, highlighted by the fascinating exploration of absurdity on ‘Cat’s Cradle’. A smart, complex and soulful EP.
SHLUG – ‘Eat God In The Death House’
The next record on this rundown, which could itself be a collection of 2026’s best Welsh releases, we have something considerably more abrasive. are one of Wales’ hardest working bands and on new EP ‘Eat God In The Death House’ (great title), they’ve leveled up again.
These five tracks are an audacious collection of inventive noise-punk that courses with energy, ideas and heart. Highlights include the stop-start back-half of ‘Church Within’, which sounds like playing hardcore, and the hypnotic, awe-inspiring nine-minute epic ‘The Guillotine That Follows’. Press play and have your face ripped clean off.
Let’s take another genre U-turn. If you’ve never heard any South Walian rap, the local accents fit the genre like a glove. Gwonsun’s voice is rich, brash and dextrous, much like the 13 tracks of his debut full-length ‘SZNS CHANGE’.
The vibe somewhat recalls the Blah Records stylings (perhaps the peak of regional UK rap accents); endless sharp, funny bars utilsing a borderline anthropological plethora of specific accents and local terminology. These range from the hilarious skits to lines like ‘Al Basha’’s “what’s cracking homie/pass the rollie/style crisp like your mam-gu’s roasties”. It’s illicit, satisfying fun, like pinching a cheeky cig off a mate even though you’ve supposedly quit.
HMS Morris – ‘SACI HACS’
Welsh music often leans towards the psychedelic and absurd; a proud, distinct lineage that runs through Wales’ alternative scene like a stick of seaside rock. are up there with our key contemporary practitioners; an eccentric four-piece that make colourful, wilfully strange, yet accessible art-rock.
Their fourth full-length is yet another accomplished collection. There’s oddball rock (‘Cŵn’), synth-pop (‘Launderette’) and resplendent ballads (‘Big Three’), wherein the band utilise the widest possible range of sonic possibilities, see the glam pomp of ‘Atari Wisdom’ as a great example. ‘SACI HACS’ pops with vivid swathes of colour, you just have to tune in to ’ eccentric wavelength first.
Spirited Followers – ‘I Am Yours’
Continuing down the line of unusual records that journey down a wide range of sonic avenues, next up in this month’s extra-great column is ‘I Am Yours’ from . Encompassing an incredible range of influences, from Greek folk to Indian classical music, this is art/folk/post-rock of the most unorthodox and unusual kind.
As an example of its ambitions, the first ‘proper’ song (following a quick instrumental opener) is ‘Confluence’; a 14-minute epic of hypnotic rhythms, drones and non-Western melodies that needs to be heard to be believed. Released on the amazing and open-minded BWGiBWGAN label, this is one of the most fascinating projects at work in Wales right now.
We’ve reached the deepest, darkest recesses of the current Welsh musical landscape. Cardiff has a small but active extreme metal scene, of which are key miscreants (you might like to know that one of the biggest names is called, um, ). Two-man tech-death project have come up with a properly nasty debut release here; 10 songs that are so low end-heavy (fuelled by a six-string bass, no guitars), you won’t just feel your bowels moving, they’ll be twisting themselves inside out. Add into this gross mix some crisp production, killer vocals and brilliant death metal titles like ‘Epidermic Navel Spore’ and you’ve got yourself the ingredients for a top-drawer album of this genre.
Luke RV – ‘How To Grow Wings’
It feels right to end this collection of elite Welsh music with such a varied release, one that tilts between different polarities with effortless ease. s sound is unpindownable. It’s hip-hop, it’s neo-soul, it’s various strands of club music. All of these styles feature on his fantastic latest album ‘How To Grow Wings’, which was brought together with the assistance of equally-skilled frequent collaborator .
These tracks have it all. Highlights include the garage beats of ‘Matter of Time’, the future-funk of ‘Icarus’ and the posse cut ‘Leap of Faith’, which features Welsh rap kings including , and . A well-rounded, wise and endearing record.