The Swim Team’s Favorites of March 2026

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There’s new music coming out constantly, and oftentimes it can feel hard to keep up. Part of this is the constant swirl of social media and how fast everything moves, but it’s also a byproduct of how streaming platforms like Spotify are set up. If you’ve ever found yourself surprised to learn that your favorite band released a new song months ago, that’s kind of by design. Maybe there’s a record that you had on repeat earlier in the year but were only reminded of its existence because you scrolled deep enough back in your own library. These services would much rather keep you in their playlists and algorithmically generated radio stations than have you seek something out and make an intentional choice about what you listen to. 

Once you factor in all the other forms of entertainment vying for your attention, it can feel like an insurmountable task trying to stay up to date with any of it. I don’t wanna be “old man yells at cloud,” but part of me can’t help but think it was better when you’d get a CD or buy an album on iTunes and listen to it for weeks at a time. 

While most of us here at Swim Into The Sound spend a fair amount of time returning to old faves and digging into backlog blind spots, we’re also music nerds who love keeping up with the latest stuff and getting into needless debates over the buzzy band of the moment. Each month, The Swim Team will round up our favorite albums and songs in hopes of helping you keep up to date, see what you may have missed, or find something new you might love. 

If you find yourself wishing “I wish I were better at keeping up with new music,” this list is for you. If you find yourself overwhelmed when you open up your streaming service of choice, this list is for you. If you find yourself valuing actual human recommendations over whatever the streaming powers that be have elevated to the top, this list is for you. Fuck your algorithm, find something new.

Records We Dug

  • Bags Bags Bags - It Eats Me Up (Braden’s Pick)

  • Band of Horses - Everything All The Time (20th Anniversary Edition)

  • Ben Seretan, John Thayer - Sunbeam of No Illusion

  • Cashier - The Weight (David’s Pick)

  • Charlotte Cornfield - Hurts Like Hell

  • Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit

  • Dear Me, gabo - Go Sports!

  • Del Paxton - Dogeared

  • Deloyd Elze - Nellene

  • Dialup Ghost - Donkey Howdy

  • Dry Socket – Self Defense Techniques (Review)

  • Footballhead – Weight of the Truth (Review)

  • Fotocrime - Security (Review)

  • Free Throw - Moments Before The Wind

  • Girl Scout - Brink

  • Gladie - No Need to Be Lonely (Review) (Taylor’s Pick)

  • Grace Ives - Girlfriend

  • Green House - Hinterlands

  • GUM - Blue Gum Way

  • Hit Like a Girl - Burning At Both Ends

  • Hurray For The Riff Raff - Live Forever

  • Jason P. Woodbury - Jason P. Woodbury & The Night Bird Quartet

  • Johnny Blue Skies - Mutiny After Midnight 

  • Land Whales - How to Make a Breakfast

  • Mclusky - i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley

  • Microwave - Much Love (10th Anniversary) (Ciara's Pick)

  • more eaze – sentence structure in the country (Review)

  • Natalie Jane Hill - Hopeful Woman

  • Pretty Sure - Places You’ve Been.

  • Red PK - Horse Like Me

  • Sam Elmore - It’s All On Fire

  • Sean Thomas Gerard - Stay in Your Light

  • Sella - Well I Mean (Review)

  • Sluice - Companion

  • Start Today - Nothing To You (Review)

  • Suitor - Saw You Out with the Weeds

  • Sweet Pill - There’s Still a Glow

  • The Thinking of the World Began Pounding In Our Ears The Moment We Hit Shore - The Thinking of the World Began Pounding In Our Ears The Moment We Hit Shore

  • Tigers Jaw - Lost on You 

  • Truman Sinclair -  Pale Moon Pale Horse (Anniversary Edition)

  • Various Artists - HELP(2)

  • Voxtrot – Dreamers In Exile (Review)

  • Warlock Corpse - Prophecy Of The Bleeding Bloom

Songs We Loved

  • A Rise and Fall of a Dilapidated Home - “Marionette”

  • Afloat - “Knuckles”

  • Arcadia Grey - “Donnie Darko Polo”

  • Band of Horses - “The End’s Not Near”

  • Basement - “WIRED”

  • Bay Faction - “Year of the Dog”

  • Brennan Wedl & Waxahatchee - "Six O'Clock News"

  • Buddy Bench, A Place For Owls - “Marianne Brandt Ashtray”

  • Cashier - “The Weight”

  • Charlotte Cornfield - “Long Game”

  • Christian Alexander - “You”

  • Dialup Ghost - “Yer The Only One on My Mind”

  • Drug Church - “Pynch”

  • Elder - “Through Zero” (Review)

  • The Fencesitters - “Smoke Break”

  • Gouge Away - “Figurine” (Britta’s Pick)

  • Grace Ives - “Avalanche” (Doyle’s Pick)

  • Lily Seabird - “Demon in Me”

  • Love Rarely - “Severed”

  • Oldstar - “Whiskey” (Caro’s Pick)

  • Piebald - “Still On the Couch”

  • Prince Daddy & The Hyena - “Big-Box Store Heart”

  • Rhododendron - “Firmament”

  • Sincere Engineer - “Cooler”

  • Snail Mail - “Agony Freak”

  • Squirrel Flower, Babehoven, Billie Marten - “Wheels”

  • Stars Hollow - “Catch Me”

  • Styrofoam Winos - “Pearls”

  • SUNFO - “Mother Girth”

  • Thomas Dollbaum - “Dozen Roses”

  • Widemouth - “No Gasoline”

  • youbet - “Recieve”