Replay is a monthly music selection: five albums or EPs, chosen for no other reason than that they stayed. No scores, no rankings, just the feeling of listening to something that made you want to listen again.

Chat Pile – Who Loves the Sun · The Flenser
Noise rock / sludge metal / alternative rock

Who Loves the Sun finds Chat Pile stumbling into melody almost against their will, and discovering that it makes them no less menacing. The Oklahoma four-piece lets cleaner riffs, eerie ambience and something approaching a chorus seep into their sludge-and-noise onslaught, then yanks you straight back down into the void. Somehow, the album’s most beautiful passages are the ones that send the strongest shivers down your spine, lol.

If you love Chat Pile, you might like: Pissed Jeans, Mamaleek, Scratch Acid

Liana Flores – And so it goes · Verve Records
Bossa nova / folk pop / jazz pop

There’s something wonderfully unhurried about And so it goes… Liana Flores lets bossa nova rhythms, soft jazz harmonies and finger-picked guitars carry songs about growing up, moving on and learning to live with uncertainty. At only 6 tracks, it feels less like a statement than a little world you can briefly disappear into.

If you love Liana Flores, you might like: Laufey, Ichiko Aoba, Mei Semones

Cartel – Learning How to Cope · Field Day Records
Pop punk / emo-pop / alternative rock

Thirteen years is a long time to disappear, but Learning How to Cope makes Cartel’s return feel less like a comeback than a conversation they simply paused. The guitars still know how to hit hard, the choruses still stick, and beneath the familiar pop-punk rush runs a surprisingly weary pulse. Older, louder, wiser (maybe?). I dont know, but still…

If you love Cartel, you might like: The Starting Line, Anberlin, Four Year Strong

Satine – tout à la fois · BenBen Records / Elektra France
French pop / indie pop / alternative R&B

Satine turns overthinking into something strangely weightless on tout à la fois. Across eight short tracks, thoughts of growing up, nostalgia and emotional whiplash drift between intimate pop melodies and hazier textures. Nothing feels overexplained; the charm lies precisely in that uncertainty, as if the songs are figuring themselves out while you listen. Or something like that.

If you love Satine, you might like: Yoa, Miki, Filiz, Solann

Gilla Band – Pugnello · Rough Trade
Noise rock / post-punk / industrial / experimental

Somewhere between a malfunctioning washing machine (jk!) and the world’s most hostile dancefloor, Gilla Band have found their groove. Pugnello is a gloriously abrasive collision of mangled guitars, rubbery basslines and industrial rhythms, with Dara Kiely’s deadpan absurdity providing occasional comic relief. It’s gloriously chaotic, intricately crafted, and somehow impossible not to move to. And… I love it, that’s my kind of vibe!

If you love Gilla Band, you might like: Mandy, Indiana, Ditz

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