The Daily Drop: May 20th 2026

Welcome to The Daily Drop, your roundup of the latest news from the rock, metal, punk, emo, hardcore, and alternative scenes.

Life can get busy, so we’re catching up with a smattering of stories from the week so far. This round-up sees Muse, The Xcerts, and Devin Townsend preview their forthcoming releases, while 156/Silence and Catch Your Breath both announce new records.

There are also 36 new additions to the ‘Newish Music’ playlist, including music from The HU, Zebreahead, Gideon, Ecca Vandal, Panic Shack, and Xiu Xiu.

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Muse Drop ‘Hexagons’ from ‘The Wow! Signal’

The rollout for Muse‘s tenth album has been one of the more theatrical of the year. On announcing ‘The Wow! Signal’ back in March, the stadium rockers sent a specially designed tablet 33km into space. They also shared a track called ‘Cryogen’ last month. The fourth and latest preview, ‘Hexagons’, made its debut this weekend via a cryptic global billboard campaign that unfolded across Sydney, New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Paris and London.

Fans were directed to hidden billboard locations where unique codes unlocked previously unheard sections of the track. Over the course of the weekend, those fragments were pieced together online before the full version was officially unveiled.

Dense with looping electronica, haunting vocals, distorted synths and pounding electronic drums, ‘Hexagons’ pushes further into the futuristic territory the album has been mapping out since its announcement. ‘The Wow! Signal’ arrives June 26th via Warner Records.

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The Xcerts Previews New Album with ‘rinse repeat’

Brighton-based alternative rock trio The Xcerts are back with ‘rinse repeat’, the latest preview of their forthcoming album, ‘i think i want to go home now.’

The record sees vocalist/guitarist Murray Macleod, bassist Jordan Smith, and drummer Tom Heron writing together in a room, something they’ve not done since their early releases, including their 2009 debut, ‘In The Cold Wind We Smile’. In a somewhat full-circle moment, ‘rince repeat’ draws a direct line back ‘crisis in the slow lane’ from their first LP.

“This might be the first time we’ve self-referenced our own material. There are a lot of parallels between our first record and this record, with the heartbreak of a relationship deteriorating and the loss of a parent. We wanted this song to be reminiscent of ‘crisis in the slow lane’ but from the perspective of adulthood,” explains Macleod. 

At the track’s core, its achingly emotional anchor as Macleod reflects on his father’s cancer diagnosis. “Sadly, cancer was all too prominent in our lives during the writing and recording of this record, and this song is very much about my father’s diagnosis at the tail end of 2022 and the helplessness of it all. I also tend to merge different scenes in verses and tie them together with choruses, so verse 2 is also about hopelessness, but in regard to my then partner’s struggles”

Stylestically, ‘rinse repeat’ continues The Xcerts‘ intentions of returning to the raw urgency of their early days, pairing it with a matured outlook at the world.

‘i think i want to go home now.’ is released on July 10th on FLG.

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156/Silence Announce New Album (‘From A Distance’)

Pittsburgh atmospheric metalcore outfit 156/Silence have announced their sixth album. ‘From A Distance’ is due September 4th via Pure Noise Records, the follow-up to 2024’s fan-favourite ‘People Watching’.

First single ‘No Arms’ is out now alongside a video. When asked about the inspiration behind the track, the band shared: “No Arms is about being without a way to protect yourself and what belongs to you. Being alone and afraid, not having any means to control the situations that befall on us. The overwhelming feeling of being helpless until we’re not. Until somebody saves us.”

The album features guest appearances from Mike Hranica of The Devil Wears Prada, Alex Reade of Make Them Suffer, and Tony Castrati of Crippling Alcoholism. ‘From A Distance’ promises to offer gut-wrenching depth, blending brutality with intellect. Furthermore, it sees them building out their sound, with guitarist and primary songwriter Jimmy Howell referencing bands “that grew with their listeners” such as Thrice and Bring Me The Horizon. The press release announcing the album hints at the band’s scope expanding from straightforward hard rock to synth-heavy experimentation to a return to their mathcore roots.

156/Silence will also head out on a UK run this autumn, supporting The Devil Wears Prada.

October
20th Electric Bristol, Bristol
21st Project House, Leeds
23rd Brixton Electric, London
24th New Century Hall, Manchester
25th Institute 1, Birmingham
* supporting The Devil Wears Prada

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Catch Your Breath Set to Release New Album (‘Not Broken Enough’)

‘Not Broken Enough’, the new album from Austin, Texas hard rock outfit Catch Your Breath, is set for August 28th via Thriller Records. It arrives on the back of ‘Dial Tone’, the single that surpassed 100 million streams and established the band as one of heavy music’s fastest-rising names.

The announcement comes alongside a new single, ‘Control’. “This song is for anyone who’s ever given their whole world to someone, only to realise they’ve accidentally handed over the keys to their own prison,” vocalist Josh Mowery describes. “It’s about that devastating moment you realise the person who was supposed to be your safe harbour is actually the one keeping your head underwater.”

Completed by guitarist Teddy Herrera, bassist Cianan Madigan, and drummer Onell Hernandez, Catch Your Breath‘s second album looks set to weave synth soundscapes among its balanced mix of rock and metal, pairing with an intense emotional core.

Alongside ‘Control,’ ‘Not Broken Enough’ will also include past singles, ‘Blood Money,’ ‘Lost,’ ‘Dark,’ and ‘Gen]inside’ (feat. Kami Kehoe).

Catch Your Breath will also perform at Download Festival this summer.

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Devin Townsend Previews ‘The Moth’ with Two New Tracks

Devin Townsend‘s orchestral-metal opus ‘The Moth’ is little over a week away. Ahead of the May 29th release via InsideOutMusic, Townsend has shared one final preview, in the form of a double single ‘Prepare For War / The Big Snit’.

Landing at the heavier end of what ‘The Moth’ has promised, Devin considers the visceral pairing as “soundtrack for an unmade movie”, adding “it’s a cool adventure”. He’s not wrong, as the blend of prog metal with orchestral flourishes provides dramatic twists in the pairing’s execution.

“Either viewed from the lens of the ‘war’ being that of two warring factions whose actions have culminated in a ‘final battle’, or the same thing being essentially a metaphor for an internal struggle, it works in the same light. The battle itself can be representative of a decision, loss, change, or whatever,” Townsend explains. “But sitting with the difficulty of life and our natures can often be violent work, so ‘the fastest way out is through’ and this piece of music represents that process. The ending is meant to be a representation of a sort of personal awakening.”

If you’re wondering where the name for ‘The Big Snit’ comes from, it was a short cartoon by the Canadian National Film Board from Townsend’s childhood.

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Hear Liquid Mike’s New Single (‘Drowning Machine’)

Having built up a fair bit of momentum in recent years, including last September’s ‘Hell Is An Airport’ record, Michigan’s Liquid Mike is back with a new track, ‘Drowning Machine’.

Coming in at just two minutes, the track is a lean and restless slice of indie/power-pop. Lyrically, it draws on an unlikely horticultural concept: “pushing rhubarb”, a method of forcing growth by depriving a plant of light in the final stage of its cycle. Vocalist and guitarist Mike Maple applies it to something far heavier, reflecting on people he knew or grew up around who died young. Self-destruction over self-preservation, told with empathy and without judgment.

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Today’s New Songs

Here’s a rundown of the latest additions to our ‘Newish Music’ playlist.

Muse – Hexagons
The Xcerts – rinse repeat
Zebrahead – Know What You Did Last Summer
The HU – Lost Soul (feat. Jonny Hawkins)
156/Silence – No Arms
Devin Townsend – Prepare For War
Devin Townsend – The Big Snit
Catch Your Breath – Control
Gideon – 4×4
Burner – Sunrise, Parabellum (feat. Matt Heafy)
Ecca Vandal – VERTICAL WORLDS
Panic Shack – grin & bear it
Liquid Mike – Drowning Machine
Xiu Xiu – In Heaven
Big Brave – an uttering of antipathy
Profiler – Shadow
Truck Violence – Your name, It’s walking
Junius – The Oracle
Bokassa – Doesn’t Matter If You Love It Here
newshapes – rescue light
Indecent Behavior – Land Of Eagerness
Breakkaway – Run away with me
Olive Vox – We Are Not The Same
Bolan – Memory
SNAG – Debilitated
URZAH – The Call Beneath
100 Demons – Spiritual Obliteration
Jenny Gillespie Mason – Medicine of Light
Jazmin Bean – Darling
The Mary Tyler Whores – Hell On Wheels
Smirk – Dog Years
Circle of Origin – Watching The Walls
Alltheflowers – Dawg In A Car
Fool Nelson – Keepsake
Kulk – An Endless Knife
Getner – Motorman

Keep up to date with all the latest rock, metal, punk, and beyond, by following AlreadyHeard‘s ‘Newish Music’ Playlist.

Find the playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.