The Strokes, Charli XCX, Jack White: who had the best album of July?

From The Strokes to Charli xcx and Dobby, these are July's must-hear albums Fri 31 Jul 2026 at 4:30am Having zoomed past the best albums of 2026 so far, July brought new releases from blockbuster acts Madonna, The Rolling Stones, and Ariana Grande. On the local front, there was PNAU, The Temper Trap, Body Type, and Bundjalung soul man Budjerah. What really got us buzzing, however, were the highly anticipated returns from Charli xcx, The Strokes, and Jack White. Plus, we review the latest from the UK's Yard Act and Four Tet, Aussie indie rockers Swapmeet and Pain Gain, and homegrown polymath Dobby. Consider this your shortcut to July's best new music. You can also listen along with music brains Al Newstead, Dan Condon and Courtney Fry on the Shortcut podcast — stream up top or on ABC listen. Wanna have your say on the best album of the month? Scroll down and vote in our poll. Charli xcx — Music, Fashion, Film Spotify | YouTube | Apple Music Anyone doubting Charli xcx's ability to back up Brat will have humble pie on their plates this week, and they'll love every crumb. She doesn't shy away from acknowledging Brat's impact on its follow-up. Where she lamented her future on that album, she seems more clear-headed in the wake of its success. Success doesn't silence self-doubt, notably on I'm Afraid, but there is an acceptance and occasional savouring of her current position. "Since everyone knows my name, all the parties got better," she sings in No One Lasts Forever. That closing track is an especially mature unpacking of the wildness of immense fame and a firm understanding that these dizzying heights will pass. We all die, after all. In this moment, you can hear Charli grappling with a familiar tension: in the end, how much does any of this really matter? Brat was a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon, and this new album won't have the same cultural impact. It's a shame, because the messiness, honesty, depression and hope here is every bit as compelling as on that last record. Longtime producers A.G. Cook and Finn Keane are their subversive selves, this time refashioning rock 'n' roll into the kind of warped sonic shapes they're so adept at creating. Music, Fashion, Film isn't just the work of a pop star looking to make the right next move. It shows an astute writer with a keen sense of self and the confidence to both trumpet her triumphs and air her vulnerabilities. For fans of: PinkPantheress, Lorde, Ninajirachi - Dan Condon The Strokes — Reality Awaits Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Is there a band who've struggled more under the shadow of their iconic debut than The Strokes? 25 years ago, Is This It cemented the New York City band as the coolest thing in music. But it's also the barometer by which they are eternally measured. 2020's Grammy-winning The New Abnormal proved an aging Strokes could sound interesting, even connecting with gen-Z audiences. Reality Awaits, the group's seventh album, reunites them with guru-producer Rick Rubin for a decidedly more experimental swerve. There are flashes of "classic" Strokes, like Going To Babble On and Lonely In The Future, featuring the signature, choppy guitar chemistry of Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jnr. On the latter, frontman Julian Casablancas playfully mocks recycled music trends with jabs at The Weeknd, Harry Styles, John Legend (or is that Josh Groban?), and popular internet music critic Anthony Fantano. "Only my beloved songs will define me," he bristles on the slow-burning Psycho Shit, a veiled critique of colonial warfare that echoes the daring of the band unafraid to denounce US bombing of Iran and Gaza at Coachella moments before Justin Bieber's headlining set. The Fruits of Conquest, with its sleazy bongos, bass and disco groove, sounds like Rolling Stones circa Miss You, even with Casablancas singing "I'm a leech" repeatedly as his voice is pitched downward. In fact, the frontman's inscrutable lyrics and indulgent fondness for auto-tune means Reality Awaits bears a resemblance to his other band, The Voidz, some fans may consider too close for comfort. He sneaks in a mock British accent between violent lyrics on Dine N'Dash, where gloomy synths supplant zippy interlocking guitars. Going Shopping juxtaposes its fairground keys and slippery licks with a cutting critique of late-stage capitalism. Last Nite or Reptilia this is not. But then it'd be embarrassing to expect men in their mid-to-late 40s to still be writing tunes about all-nighters spent chasing girls with the same garage rock vigour. Instead, we get an older, cynical outfit offering a wilfully vexing listen that often overstays its welcome (the pretty but meandering Falling Out of Love) or feels anaemic (Liar's Remorse). At its best, it's an intriguingly weird statement more interested in challenging and subverting their legacy. If Is This It cemented The Strokes as poster boys for a hip, optimistic indie rock revival for the new millennium, then Reality Awaits is the fittingly curdled soundtrack of our surreal 2020s dystopia, right down to its cover: A nostalgic image of a cowboy, a heroic relic of a long-since rotten American Dream. For fans of: The Voidz, Arctic Monkeys, MGMT - Al Newstead Yard Act — You're Gonna Need A Little Music Spotify | YouTube | Apple Music You're Gonna Need A Little Music cements Yard Act as one of the great British bands of our time. It kicks off with Empty Pledges, a vicious opening salvo from frontman James Smith, who spits deeply quotable asides about fame, jealousy and the mundanity of life. Fans of the written word will revel in the album's string of acerbic, funny, sometimes fairly confronting observations that are as self-deprecating as they are pointed. Smith's knack for wordplay doesn't impede their killer melodies: songs like Fiction and Talky Talky People are as catchy as anything they've done. Attempts to lock down a genre descriptor for the band only become more difficult now. The jaunty Over The Barrel sounds miles away from the evil Thrill of the Chase, which has shades of The Prodigy if you can believe it. The slinky lounge-rock of Tall Tales sits worlds away from the taut, frenzied post-punk of Cherophobe Rock. This puts the band at risk of offering something disconnected and inconsistent, but the confidence and flair of both band and frontman — not to mention Smith's distinct tone — all make this sound like Yard Act, regardless of the genre they're espousing. For better or worse, we frequently look to the UK as arbiters of great rock 'n' roll. Bands like Yard Act are proof that this is not completely misguided. For fans of: Pulp, Bad/Dreems, Baxter Dury - Dan Condon Dobby — Marshmallow Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube WARRANGU; River Story, the debut album from Filipino and Murrawarri/Ngemba rapper-composer-producer Dobby, was an ARIA Award-winning mix of cinematic instrumentals, interviews with Indigenous elders and politically charged raps. A celebration of cultural knowledge and fierce indictment on water theft from the Murray-Darling Basin, there's very few listening experiences quite like it. The same can be said for its follow-up, Marshmallow. It's an equally ambitious project, built upon a bold sci-fi concept: a time-travelling Discman zaps Dobby back to his teenage self, in Wollongong circa 2009, to reclaim an unreleased project, The Royal Flame. This narrative is framed alongside interviews with children, psychologists, and samples of former teachers, and Dobby himself rapping at age 12. The musical scope is similarly grand; a hybrid of rap, jazz, and soul where record scratching and rock guitars meet orchestral flourishes, or a G-funk theremin rubs shoulders with smoky, muted trumpet. On the centrepiece, Lessons, past and present Dobby trade bars, mining comedy from 17 years of dramatic cultural changes but also pointed social commentary on division, capitalism and far right extremism. ("Sounds like a nightmare …") Other moments earnestly tackle prejudice and internalised hatred (Good For Nothing) and relationship flaws (Boundaries). There's also room for aspirational bangers (Bright Lights), folkster Josh Pyke (Sabotage!), and a moving ode to Dobby's taekwando coach Kim Dalton, who was set to compete at the 2004 Athens Olympics before she was diagnosed with a rare and fatal cancer. Marshmallow is doing an awful lot, and even if not all of its big swings are home runs, you have to admire it as a grand yet deeply personal album, one that a young Dobby, and many diasporic kids like him, would genuinely benefit from. For fans of: Chance The Rapper, Barkaa, Logic - Al Newstead Music In Exile Presents: Jutna Spotify | YouTube | Apple Music Jutna is a collaborative album made by a group of musicians from Senegal, Burkina Faso, France, the United Kingdom and Australia, who met for the first time at the recording sessions for this album on the Greek island of Hydra. Led by Boubacar Gaye of Melbourne's Ausecuma Beats, the band delivers a rich melting pot of sounds and rhythms, making for an expansive musical conversation that draws on the best elements of each nation's approach. The moods vary wildly, from the deep groove of the title track to the dark frenzy of Burkina, the spacious drift of Wélé and the despondence of Sikar. The performances are virtuosic without ever becoming showy. Every player works in sync, building upon and supporting their peers in each jam, their combined forces locking us in hypnotic states before bringing us to thrilling crescendos. Even those without an interest in African music might like what Jutna represents. At a time when multicultural communities continue to find themselves at the centre of political debate, it feels right to celebrate the breadth of talent across cultures and the magic that happens when brought together. Monoculture? No, thank you. For fans of: Fela Kuti, Orchestra Baobab, Kokoroko - Dan Condon Jack White — Frozen Charlotte Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube There are now officially more Jack White solo albums than White Stripes records. Let that sink in. That said, Frozen Charlotte — like 2024's No Name before it — hearkens back to the raw, garage-soaked racket White made with Meg. Recorded with his tour-hardened live band in Nashville, these songs sound like a more filthy, furious version of White's group efforts with The Saboteurs or The Dead Leaves. From the fleet-fingered hook of There's Nobody There to the bluesy spasms of Dollar Bill, White proves there's still few better at knocking out instantly memorable riffs and Zeppelin-worthy swagger. He masterfully wields his primary instrument: fuzzy, needling and squealing in the best of ways, whether it's the searing solos on Neighbours Blues or making it sound like a turntable impersonating a theremin on the gritty Derecho Demonico. Vocally, the frontman is still fond of settling into wordy carnival-barking, as evidenced by the thunderous Adam and Eve rewrite G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs and Nobody Knows, with its nods to Newton, Einstein and Pythagoras. Even at his most obscure, White still has a knack for vivid wordplay and striking, combative couplets. "To find a needle in a haystack / Well, it's plenty easy," he boasts amid the muscular All Alone Again; "You just burn down the haystack, and then you'll find what you need." Frozen Charlotte is a rip-roaring reminder that, freshly turned 51, White is to rock 'n' roll what LeBron James is to basketball. And he clearly hasn't lost love for the game or run out of ways to play. For fans of: The White Stripes, Led Zeppelin, The Black Keys - Al Newstead Swapmeet — Mount Zero Spotify | YouTube | Apple Music Adelaide indie rockers Swapmeet drop a bundle of timeless indie rock songs as part of their debut album Mount Zero. I Know! is a sugary and explosive opener, though in no way a complete spoiler for what's to come, as softer tracks like Bonny and Sand prove their more intimate moments are as compelling as the noisier ones. Couched in glorious guitars and wonderfully unpredictable twists in songwriting and production, the band's lyrics cut close to the bone. "They like me better when I'm a girl," Venus O'Broin sings in I Know!, while on devastating album closer My Heart Breaks II, they bring us into the darkest moments of a bleak break-up. Its glorious music and heartfelt lyricism both ensure Mount Zero stands up to any other indie rock record released globally this year. They may work within a timeless indie-rock tradition, but they bring a perspective that feels entirely their own. We've produced plenty of bands of Swapmeet's calibre and done so for a long time. But, as the world cottons on to the depth of Australian talent beyond Courtney Barnett, Tame Impala and Rufus Du Sol, it feels like there's space for this young group to make a mark beyond our shores. Here's hoping. For fans of: Sebadoh, Wet Leg, Phoebe Bridgers - Dan Condon Four Tet — ʅ͡(̸̢̛̼)̸͚͛:̴͓̑:̸͎̂ ҉ ͡ ͞ ͞ ͞ ҉● ࿀ ● ࿀ ● ҉⃝ ⃝͢ ͞ ͘ ͞⃝̕ ͢ ̛ ⃝ ̸ ̡ ͢⃝̧ ͡ ͡ ̀ ̧ ̢⃝͜ ҉ ͞ ͞ ⃝͞ ͘ ͞ ͡⃝ ⃝҉҈҉҈҉҈҉҈҉҈҉ :̶̢͙͆(̷̮͂)̵̳̊( ҈͜͢ͅ l̡ ̡͌ Ɵʅ͡(̸̢ Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube It's always a treat when Kieran "Four Tet" Hebden drops into a side quest. His latest is the unannounced debut album from his unintelligible, playlist-disruptive "Wingdings" project AKA ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ. — and we're truly sorry if this entry has busted your reading experience. The eight-track, 37-minute, dingbat-riddled album that roughly translates to "mesmeric new tracks from Kieran 'Four Tet' Hebden" was initially dispersed to fans as a limited vinyl-only release before being unleashed to everyone this month. It also serves as the first official release from this particular side project, one that the London musician has been dabbling in for nearly a decade. Filled with recognisable cuts from recent DJ sets and a previously released standalone single, it showcases the seminal producer at his peak. He's in free flow behind the deck and desk, catching glimpses and samples of textured sounds over hypnotic backbeats that oscillate between playfully bouncy and deeply soothing. It feels like dipping into a warm bath, sounds like resurfacing at 4am at an all-night rave, and looks like the kaleidoscope that Kieran must keep in his back pocket for bursts of inspiration. ʅ͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡͡(̸̢̛̼̞̭͋ͅ)̸͚̰͛̔̾̀̿͒͂:̴͓̞̑̌̂̆̊͋̀:̸͎̟̯̂̓̌ ҉ ͡ ͞ ͞͞ ҉● ࿀ ● ࿀ ● ҉⃝ ⃝͢ ͘͞ ͞⃝̕ ̛͢ ⃝ ̸̡ ͢⃝̧ ͡ ͡ ̀ ̧ ̢⃝͜҉ ͞͞ ⃝͞ ͞ ͡⃝⃝҉҈҉҈҉҈҉҈҉҈҉ :̶̢͙͙͕̠̩͆(̷̮͍͚̫͚͂̍)̵̳̗̊( ̟̞̝̜̙̘̗̖҉̵̴̨̧̢̡̼̻̺̹̳̲̱̰̯̮̭̬̫̪̩̦̥[ might be indecipherable to read but there's no mistaking Four Tet's musical fingerprints. For fans of: Daphni, Fred again.., Four Tet - Courtney Fry Willow — The Thread Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Forget Will Smith's wholesome hip hop, Jada Pinkett Smith's nu-metal past or Jaden's unpredictable output. The most skilled musician in the Smith clan is Willow. The Thread is her second of the album of the year, following February's Petal Black Rock, and makes that stripped-back, largely solo set feel like a warm-up. These 10 songs boast smooth yet surprising shifts and dazzling virtuosity: tricky time signatures, fleet-fingered acoustic guitar, lush piano and complex, multi-layered vocals. Rather than just show off her chops, Willow has made her idiosyncrasies and organic instrumentation more palatable, finding a comfortable space somewhere between jazz, neo-soul and art-pop. From the spritely guitar flourishes and shifting rhythms of Unconditional to the sensual Shrink To Fantasy and syncopations of The Present Moment, it is Willow's supple vocals and mercurial melodies that stitch The Tread together into a cohesive whole. The title track ping-pongs her voice between speakers, while Hell To Play spins counterpoint harmonies into a one-woman choir. She's described it as an album of devotionals and spiritual interrogations. But religious music is rarely this thrillingly singular. At 25, Willow seems to thrive against industry conventions (like releasing two albums six months apart) and unbothered by the attention economy trends that dictate so many other young careers. Being born into privilege can't hurt, sure, but Willow makes the most of it. Far from churning out celebrity vanity projects, her ever-evolving discography is the increasingly impressive work of an artist in it for the long haul. For fans of: Hiatus Kaiyote, Thundercat, Solange - Al Newstead Pain Gain — Pain Gain Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube This supergroup of Australian electronic artists Kllo, SWIM and CRUSH3d formed in 2023 with no real plan beyond creating as an escape from their regular musical monikers. That sharp turn led them to Pain Gain, and creating under their government names; Chloe Kaul, Hamish Lefevre and Samuel Cooke. Three years on and their creative transformation has blossomed into a debut album that shapeshifts through genres, flirting with everything from synth pop, to glitchy trip-hop, and dreamy shoegaze. "We went away together with only the intention of starting something new, we never expected that we would end up not only with an album, but one that feels as cohesive and collectively personal as this," the band explained. "It's a record that looks for beauty in friction, and finding a new start in the wreckage of something past." Largely shedding their electronic past, save for a couple of modular synths, Pain Gain embraced the analogue, favouring guitars and tape recorders to produce a more tactile, grounded sound. The self-titled debut is brimming with single takes, experimentation and tiny accidents, feeling much more human than any computer ever could. A tender salve in a doomscrolling, tech-obsessed reality, like the musical version of touching grass. For fans of: - Courtney Fry For more of the great new music you'll love, make sure you're tuned into Double J.