TOPNOTE’s Monthly Picks: FEBRUARY

TOPNOTE’s Monthly Picks: February 2026. Image credit: TOPNOTE

There’s a sense of optimism across February’s Monthly Picks.

The sun is out! Finally... kind of…

And whether it’s hinted in Sombr’s yearning or Lykke Li’s strings, or released freely in Jordan Rakei and Pigeon’s romantic unleashings, hope and blossom both seem in bud.

Let’s get in this month’s new music highlights.

Sombr, ‘Homewrecker’ single cover. Image credit: Warner Records

sOMBR – Homewrecker

Sombr’s leaning into a romance-adjacent February. The singer’s first release following Grammy-nominated debut album, ‘I Barely Know Her’, the New York singer is doubling down on his dramatic, sweeping declarations of unrequited love, and moving ever further from his ballad roots. ‘Homewrecker’ is a pop chorus dream, and comes with with a no-expense-spared ‘Wild West’ music video that plays on the depths of cinema, and cements our claim that he’s an upcoming voice of a generation.

Arlo Parks – HeAVEN

The second single off upcoming album, ‘Ambiguous Desire’, Arlo Parks continues her nocturnal world-building of fluidity and blue hour. ‘Heaven’ is understated, with beautiful chimes twinkling in and out of a pulsating beat like a midnight memory from a house party. Parks’ anecdotal lyric style remains, though the sounds around them have expanded, with her delicate voice bouncing off a backbone that feels more earthy and underground.

Arlo Parks ‘Heaven’ single cover art. Image credit: Transgressive Records

DEMOB HAPPY - THE GROWN-UPS ARE TALKING

Demob Happy frontman Matthew Marcantonio told TOPNOTE his interview with us couldn’t be shared on video because he ‘wasn’t wearing anything sexy’. But his band’s latest album delivers 42 minutes of sultry grooves, parading vocal performances, and all-out stomping rock to make up for it. ‘The Grown-Ups Are Talking’ is one to strut to, especially on highlights ‘Judas Beast’ and single ‘Who Should I Say Is Talking?’ The album provides contrast between its head-banging choruses though, with moments of sparsity to mirror the barren Joshua Tree desert environment where it was recorded.

Charli XCX – Wuthering Heights

With ‘Wuthering Heights’, Charli XCX has demonstrated her ability to shapeshift without losing credibility. Soundtracking the film that’s got cinema talking, Charli XCX has found a way to make autotune sound ‘period’, neither ditching her signature style nor eeking out the omnipresent, over-the-topness of last year’s ‘BRAT’. Instead, she’s created sweeping songs that sound (actually) romantic. Stand out tracks ‘Chains Of Love’ and ‘Dying For You’ are contemporary, classic, cinematic, and experimental, with industrially distorted vocals and an electric violin that scratches your ears in the best way.

Lykke Li, ‘Lucky Again’ single artwork. Image credit: Neon Gold Records

Lykke Li – Lucky Again

Swedish singer Lykke Li introduced her new era with symphonic single, ‘Lucky Again’, morphing synth-pop with classical references. The track samples a recomposition of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ from Max Richter (the man behind the recent ‘Hamnet’ adaptation soundtrack), most notably in its intro, before the heady melody is layered with richer strings and a hint of what the artist describes as ‘apocalyptic bongos’. Giving ‘rock heist energy’, ‘Lucky Again’ is a great example of what happens when artists aren’t boxed in by genre.

Queenstown Collective ‘Grapefruit’ EP artwork. Image credit: Anna Francesca Jennings

Queenstown Collective – Grapefruit

‘The bitter and the sweet’ springs forth from London’s new-ish jazz group. Queenstown Collective were born out of a Brixton jam session, with each of its musicians prominent figures and frequent collaborators in the capital city’s jazz scene. Their energetic debut ‘Grapefruit’ is a citrus taste of their own evolving style, composed to evoke a sense of community and the band’s organic, improvised roots. You can hear bandleader James Morgan and saxophonist James Akers describe the EP in their own words in our interview with them last month.

Jordan Rakei, Tom McFarland – Easy To Love

Teaming up with Tom McFarland of JUNGLE, the London-revered Jordan Rakei has released the second single from his forthcoming EP ‘Between Us’, a collaborative project crafted during the producer-songwriter’s Abbey Road residency. ‘Easy To Love’ has a breezy first-take feel, capturing an organic energy between the two musicians that’s reflected in the track’s easygoing beat and sentiment as the two riff off each other.

Pigeon, ‘Mirror Test’. Photo credit: James Winstanley

Pigeon – Mirror TEST

Self-labelled ‘mutant disco’ track ‘Mirror Test’ precedes UK five-piece Pigeon’s upcoming album, ‘OUTTANATIONAL’. Described by vocalist Falle Nioke as ‘a message of love’, this bubbling single sounds semi-outer space and semi avant-garde fashion show: think if Mildlife & Grace Jones found themselves in the studio together. For lovers of psychedelic disco, punk-funk and sizzling synth, a trip into Pigeon’s soundscape promises a fresh and exciting journey that really covers a bit of everything.

Underrated Gem:

Viola Beach — Boys That Sing

In a tragic accident 10 years ago, British music lost a young band at the start of a bright career. We’re honouring the members of Viola Beach and their manager this month with ‘Boys That Sing’ – a colourful celebration of Chris, Jack, River, Thomas, and Craig, and their indie charm that lives on a decade later. Coldplay performed a cover of the song during their headline Glastonbury set, and the band’s album, released posthumously in July 2016, debuted at No. 1 on the UK charts. It’s still available to buy, with all profits sent to the band’s families.

Listen when: 

You want to honour a band with some youthful 2016 whimsy.