The Builders and the Butchers will be releasing their seventh studio album on April 3rd 2026. I have preordered a cd copy. The new album has the omnious title "No tomorrow". Frontfigure Ryan Sollee comments: "The overarching message is that we can find hope in each other and still lead lives full of joy and creativity even when systems and leaders fail us. We believe we have much more that unites us, than divides us and that music is one of the best ways to create a connected shared experience for people." Keeping on playing music seems like the only thing to do. The octet orchestra on Titanic kept on playing music, intending to calm the passengers for as long as they possibly could, during the ship's sinking in the early hours of April 15, 1912. No comparison intended and I apologize for giving that impression. The Builders and the Butchers never disappoints. The dark gothic folk band has been going for 20 years and always delivered consistent good quality. I expect nothing less this time.    

Audiophiles are a dying breed. Some sources claim that more than 40 percent of the audiophiles are over 65 years. There is no next generation to take over and replace them. Should we be surprised? No. Hobbies come and go. I can take myself as an example. I have a stamp collection that no one is interested in. It's more or less worthless today. The workings of supply and demand is unnostalgic and brutal. Back to the imminent audiophile extinction. Should we be saddened? No. They did their utmost best to scare people away. It's a heavily male-dominated, unhelpful community with elaborated suppression techniques. They brought this on themselves. It's all very well to be sorry now. There's a growing awareness and effort to attract younger, more diverse participants, including women. I think it's too late for that. This ship has sailed. Should we be concerned? Yes. There are 17 Global Goals (officially known as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs). It should be 18. Goal 18 should be Clean och Good Sound (corresponding to Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation). The 18th goal of sustainable development is needed to ensure uncompressed and well-sounding music for all. 

"You don’t become cooler with age, but you do care progressively less about being cool, which is the only true way of being cool. This is called the Geezer’s Paradox." A "geezer" is slang for a man, but its meaning varies by region: in the US, it usually means an odd or elderly man (often mildly derogatory); in the UK, it just means "guy" or "bloke," sometimes implying a streetwise, charismatic, or even shady character, but not necessarily old. The term comes from an old word for a masked actor (guiser). The most famous "geezer" in the world is Terence "Geezer" Butler, bass player and lyricist in Black Sabbath. When you are young you are very concerned with what other people think in general and what they think about you in particular. You are very vulnerable when you are 14 years old. To see a group of young teenagers interact (female in particular) is close to watching shoal of fish in an aquarium. They move around in a (seemingly) erratic manner and are here, there and everywhere. Obviously, there are stages in life which you must pass. When you become a "geezer" you stop caring about what other people think. But, no one will notice that you are cool. This is the double Geezer's Paradox.  

Did you ever get tired of the Cool Britannia hype and the Britpop poseurs? Oasis, Blur and Pulp to name a few. Then I strongly recommend The Auteurs. Great songwriting with intelligent and witty lyrics. Not to mention: a cerebral cortex sticking beat. A close friend introduced me to them in 2012. I liked them instantly and still listens to them. The Auteurs is a band, but in practice the band is synonymous with songwriter Luke Haines (guitar, piano and vocals). The band name is very fitting. An auteur is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded and personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, thus manifesting the director's unique style or thematic focus. Making it your own, so to speak. However, Luke Haines never liked the Britpop label. On the contrary, he frequently made derogatory remarks about his peers. In 2009 Haines released a book "Bad Vibes: Britpop and My Part in Its Downfall". I haven't read the book, but it's reviewed as funny, honest and ridiculously entertaining. The Auteurs made four albums: "New Wave" (1993), "Now I'm a Cowboy" (1994), "After Murder Park" (1996) and "How I Learned to Love the Bootboys" (1999). No nonsense. No posing. Just brilliant.  
 

Below is a suggestion for a CD compilation (processed and ready-made).  

I'm not a psychic, but I do have some predictions for the upcoming year. A disclaimer statement is in order. The predictions are limited to the data and knowledge available to me, and may not be entirely accurate or comprehensive. Sibyls also made predictions. The word sibyl comes from the Greek term sibylla, meaning prophetess. The sibyls were oracles in Ancient Greece. At first, there appears to have been only a single sibyl. By the fourth century before Christ there appear to have been at least three more. By the first century before Christ, there were at least ten sibyls, located in Greece, Italy, the Levant, and Asia Minor. While the sibyls have increased in numbers the gothic country genre is going in the opposite direction. Fewer and fewer acts remain for every year. The best days in the genre have come and gone. It's obvious. Some people doesn't agree and claim that there are numerous acts out there. Yes, the copiers, fakers, imitators, impersonaters and imposters are numerous and out there. There isn't much I can do, except to show my disinterest, contempt and disgust (in that order). I will not be swayed.    

This year turned out to be a modest year when it comes to number of releases. I count to seven releases: Murder by Death (Egg & Dart), Woodbox Gang (Brown Cane Toad), Salter Cane (Deep Black Water), Lonesome Wyatt & The Holy Spooks (Sad Witch Cult), Sons of Perdition (Ars Moriendi), Slackeye Slim (Perpetual Tunes) and Uncle Sinner (Everybody Wants to Know How I Die). In terms of quality, 2025 was a good year. 

What about next year? I have three wishes for 2026. The first wish: a new gothic country album by Christian Williams. The second wish: to acquire one of the remaining three of the hard-to-find four missing albums, read more here (opens in a new window). The third wish: to get my Devil's Ruin Records collection complete. At the moment, I got 36 out of 40 registered albums on Discogs. The remaining four albums were probably never manufactured and distributed, read more here (opens in a new window). Well, then my third wish is a complete collection of Foddershock albums (this dream seems very far away).

What about new album releases in 2026? This is what I know: The Builders and the Butchers (No Tomorrow), Swarme of Beese (Orchards of Dreams), Mr Plow (untitled) and David Eugene Edwards (untitled). That's all. It looks like it's going to be a meager year, but you never know. Sons of Perdition will maybe or maybe not release their new album (Caul-Birth King and Other Abruptions). Those Poor Bastards release a new album now and then. So maybe it's time again. Antic Clay (Broom of Fire) has been scheduled for eight years in a row. Maybe the upcoming year is the year when it will finally happen? We will see what the future brings.