Teppen August 2026 Playlist
August is in the books, and we’re just past Labor Day weekend in the states. Again, apologies for being a little late with this month’s playlist, but Rich was a little under the weather the past week. August was a month of some really great music, as well as a good excuse to revisit some tracks due to new music videos, live performances, and whatnot. With all the great singles in this playlist, this Autumn is going to be full of great records.
Click here to check out the playlist on YouTube
Told Slant – “Sailor”
The final single ahead of Told Slant’s new record What’s Up which is out by the time this playlist is released. “Sailor” is Felix Walworth’s songwriting at its best. And I can assure you What’s Up is one of the best records you’ll hear this year.
Slow Pulp – “Spill”
From their upcoming Melodie, out September 18. Powerful in an understated way that’s distinctively Slow Pulp.
Babehoven – “Three Reds”
An absolutely stunning track Babehoven’s upcoming LP I see them, I see me which is also out September 18. Its quiet moments make the vivid qualities of the lyrics shine. Then it builds, it flows, it’s amazing.
A lil Teppen note: we caught Slow Pulp and Babehoven together in California in 2023 and them both releasing a record on the same day really does bring us back to what was a fantastic evening. Catch ’em both live if you can!
Small Pond – “Silver Coin”
Another great slow burn track (we love these. not sorry.) from Southern Maine-based Small Pond’s upcoming Soft Burn, which will be out October 21st. Quiet moments with singer Molly McDevitt’s voice front and center. Its louder moments are gazey, hazy, and huge, but McDevitt’s never lost in the mix, especially when she channels some more power. Really fantastic stuff.
Silent Third – 落下 (Falling)
Again, we’re suckers for slow-burns and intertwining parts, moments of two disparate parts becoming one are moments that resonate. On “落下”, there are two vocal parts, one low, and barely a whisper, another this incredible, soaring, powerful vocal. At times they feel worlds apart, but then it all comes together before the song’s beautiful close with a violin solo.
Absolutely Yours – “Flight Simulation”
If Absolutely Yours’ upcoming LP Desire Path is not on your radar, then maybe you gotta get back on the sim. Especially with tracks like “Flight Simulation”, dreamy as hell, great guitar work, and layered brilliantly. Especially as Bridget Collins repeats just one word “Kerosene” in the song’s chorus.
Fenne Lily – “Sleeping”
A breakup track that’s as honest as it is gorgeous. From Fenne Lily’s upcoming Win Win out October 23rd.
Way Dynamic – “Officially”
From Melbourne-based Dylan Young’s upcoming record Massive Shoe out October 2nd. Bright and upbeat, Young describes the track as “a shamefully joyous love song,” But Young also states “it also contends with the downside of being addicted to someone – I am a very compulsive person”
Whisper Doll – “So Sweet”
The third single from Lucky Clover, which is out October 2nd. Another quite dreamy track, thanks to the vocal delivery and reverbed everything on the track. The lyrics are intriguing as well.
Andy Shauf – “losing”
I (Rich) have long considered Andy Shauf to be one of the greatest songwriters of this generation. 2016’s The Party is a perfect example of exactly why. 10 years later, Shauf is revisiting the album, expanding it with a handful of tracks called the afterparty. “losing” is an absolute stunner, and an undeniable display of the power of Shauf’s words.
Lael Neale – “Slip Away”
The first single fron Neale’s upcoming As Killers Do, out in November. A great track with a very unique energy about it. Each instrument sounds like it exists on its own plane, and that’s such an awesome dynamic.
This is Lorelei – “Oh No Now My”
This is Lorelei’s upcoming The Singer in My Band should be the first thing you listen to when it drops on the 11th of September. The singles so far have been nothing short of fantastic, and “Oh No Now My” may be the best track we’ve heard so far from the record.
American Football – “Wake Her Up” (ft. Wisp)
A late single from American Football’s really great 4th LP. The collaborations on the record are where it really shines, especially this one with Wisp. It’s got the jangly midwest-emo core, with Wisp’s voice floating over it, repeating the song’s title.
700度の火を持って、私は人とすれちがっている(I carry a 700℃ fire in my hand with people walking all around me) – “baby please”
I carry a 700℃ fire in my hand with people walking all around me is the new project of Sachi, who you may know as the drummer from The Tiva. “baby please” is a great track, that feels both incredibly contemporary, but also something that would have killed in the 90s. The guitar just hits perfectly, and the vocal layering is so dang good. “baby please” the latest single from the upcoming self-titled EP, which will be out in October. For those in the US, you can order a copy of the CD shipped from the US with no fees here.
Karina Rykman – “Shoegaze Summer”
Karina Rykman is not an artist I’d normally associate with Shoegaze, but one thing I know about Karina Rykman is that she effortlessly blends styles into her jammier vibes. The track starts pretty groovy, but the choruses get loud, and the ending finally ventures into some gazer territory. Having seen Rykman live a couple of times, I know this has a big potential to expand in a live setting.
kurayamisaka – “summer film”
Another great single from one of Japan’s great bands. As its name would suggest, it’s a bit nostalgic, from its sound to its vocals. kurayamisaka are at their best when they’re creating these cinematic masterpieces.
Tokyo Shoegazer (東京酒吐座) – “The Reckoning”
A post-release single from Tokyo Shoegazer’s most recent LP, Remains. Killer track from a fantastic record, if you missed it, take this as your reminder to get your hands on this incredible record from one of the Japanese Shoegaze GOATS.
汽水船 (Kissiisen) – 海とストーブ (The Sea & Stove)
The song’s early, beautiful moments give way to a massive sound. And an incredibly powerful vocal performance is at the core of it all. From their upcoming 2nd EP, which is out on September 19th.
CRAZY BLUES – 夏、駆け抜けるような (A Summer That Feels Like a Whirlwind)
A perfect, nostalgic late-summer track for our August playlist that’ll be posted sometime in September … (seriously, it’s a great track)
o_all – タイムスリップしたい (I Want to Time Travel)
Title track from their EP which was released in March, getting a music video. Another nostalgic, indie track that’s immensely inviting. The lyrics also evoke that nostalgia, longing to travel back in time, instead of accepting the realities of adulthood.
Hammer Head Shark – ぼくらふたりきり (Bokura Futarikiri / Just the Two of Us)
We’ve included this song in our playlists before, but they just dropped an incredible music video for the track, so here’s a reminder that “ぼくらふたりきり” is one of the year’s best tracks, loyal reader.
Devra Hoff – “Summoning The Comet”
From Hoff’s upcoming record And Let Gravity, out October 28. Powerful, heavy instrumental track from an incredible artist you may have seen on tour with Julia Holter or Sharon Van Etten. When you listen, be sure to pay attention to the video, as Hoff wrote a short story to go with the record, and the video contains the first section of that story.
magnólia – “seja delicado por favor”
Few things hit quite like Brazlilan screamo, epecially when it’s from magnólia. This song is a great ride, with harsh, heavy moments giving way to beautiful clarity, then returning to the distortion. The accompanying music video is equally unsettling as it is incredible.
god of war – molly picture
Fantastic record from the collaborative effort between Doug Dulgarian of They Are Gutting a Body of Water and Scott Turner and Sam Silbert of Hooky. Really interesting record that ranges from electronic beats like “Mickey Don’t Pose” to heavier tracks like “Linda”. Great stuff throughout.
Genevieve Artadi – “Kick The Game Up” (feat. Miku Nakamura, Kaz Skellington)
Genre defiant track from some incredibly creative artists. Its early moments are heavy, there are some great pop moments, and there’s a pretty sick rap from Skellington.
SYAYOS – “Spaceboy”
SYAYOS’ Anthem 1.1 came out one year ago. To celebrate, the band has released a new music video for the fantastic “Spaceboy”. A vocal performance that’ll shake you to your core, and just a ripper overall. They’ll be playing on the Next Music from Tokyo tour that kicks off in Toronto on September 18.
omeme tenten – “Heart Beat”
Just some great J-rock from a band on a rapid ascent.
Laura day romance – 素敵すぎる (Too good)
This may be the song of the summer. Warm tones and nostalgic vibes throughout.
dogco. – “UWTB”
I truly adore how dogco. describe themselves. They say they’re Chūō-line based, and that their musical concept is “Cute, and a little bit sad”. You can hear that dynamic in the vocals of Kana Matsumoto. UWTB is their latest single, from their upcoming mini-album, ユニヴァーサル・ウィル・ツー・ビカム (Undying Will to Be).
Grace Cummings – Bloodhorse!
Pure fucking artistry from start to finish. One of the year’s finest records.
L’Rain – fata morgana
A completely unclassifiable, unique release from an incredible artist. Its sounds range from noise, to pop, gospel, metal, and more. Its an album that always feels like it’s on the verge of destruction. One hell of a ride and one of the year’s most powerful releases.
Julia Holter – Materia
Materia is an interesting release, a bit of a follow-up to 2023’s Something in the Room She Moves. Building & reimagining “Materia” from that record, as well as some new tracks. It does feature all of the things that makes Holter’s music so notable, it’s weird, ethereal, hallucinatory, and at times overwhelming. It’s definitely something to spin if you dig Something in the Room She Moves, which I (Rich) do.
Shun Ishiwaka x Manami Kakudo – Songbook VII
Drummer Shun Ishiwaka is quietly one of the most powerful forces in the Japanese music scene. He grabbed the attention of Herbie Hancock at a young age, and has a massive list of collaborators to his credit. It’s speaks greatly to Ishiwaka’s ability to bring music to life with others. He’s also been a member of Manami Kakudo’s band, and on his latest Songbook record, it’s just the two of them. It’s a beautiful record, each song is stunning, including a re-recording of “Lantana”, originally from Kakudo’s 2020 record Oar.
Masafumi Teruyama – “cold air” & “cave”
Masafumi Teryuama returns this August with two singles of ambient bliss on the puure goohn label. Both cold air and cave are carefully crafted atmospheres that transport the listener to each environment. Another strong point is that both tracks are 3 minutes or less; ambient music does not have to be 20-30 minute meditative journeys across the land, these tracks are akin to short peaceful strolls in your back garden.
雪国 (Yukiguni) – Claras
An emotion-filled six track EP that’s just incredible. Breathy vocals and guitar jangle, some songs with a wall of distortion. Packs so much in just six tracks.
黒木渚 (Nagisa Kuroki) – 神様 インザ トートバッグ (God in the Tote Bag)
A great rock track from Nagisa Kuroki. Kuroki’s done it all, studied postmodern literature, written books, played in a band, played independently, spent time as a social worker. Her outlook on life is shaped by her experience, and she has a trademark wit about everything. And as the song’s title would imply, there is absolutely no exception here.
희규 (heegyu) – 도시 라디오 (City Radio)
Great, dreamy track from a relatively new band out of Korea. It does ride a bit of a 90s nostalgia wave, but it’s still a great track, especially combined with their debut EP, The Broken Hitchiking, and other singles like “drip drop” which expand their sound quite a bit both genre and era-wise.
miida – “Good Bad But Good”
Groovy as hell. A great pop track from a crew that’s currently firing on all cylinders. How do you follow up the new-wave infused “Young Dudes”? well you knock it outta the park with the silky smooth “Good Bad But Good” just a month later. If you have any doubts, just watch Mizuki Masuda shred.
bobokee (보보키)- “My House”
A really fun, catchy and charming song and super creative music video about a date at an aquarium.
Note: Per the artist, the video does contain one AI generated clip of an explosion. While we tend to avoid any type of content generated by AI, we feel the song itself, and the rest of the video are noteworthy.
Uchudan – “Warp!!”
Uchudan are an absolute blast to witness live. We’ve covered this. One stand-out track of their live shows recently has been the, until now, unreleased “Warp!!”. Some great guitar work, and Shiho Mochizuki’s voice has a layer on it that truly feels spacey. Its early moments feel a bit compressed, but that may be intentional, like tunnel vision at light speed. But then Mochizuki’s voice breaks out, and everything comes together in a big, big way.
Death Valley Girls – “Message From the Venus Flower”
From their upcoming record, Welcome to Earth, out October 9th. We’re in space for these two tracks, loyal readers. A kickass sound, driven by its drumbeat, and massive sax blasts. It’s both a complete throwback and charting new territory. Made even more fun by the track’s 80’s aerobics VHS visuals.
ハク。(Haku.) – 一進 (Isshin), 渋谷から (From SHIBUYA), and US (アス)
Rich is heading to Canada in a week to check out Next Music From Tokyo. In between then and now (and by the time you read this), the headliner, Haku. will release 世界が変わる時, their first major record. “Isshin” and “From SHIBUYA” are the two most recent singles and they both rule. They also recently played a show with Teppen favs Homecomings, and shared a beautiful cover of “US” from Homecomings’ stellar New Neighbors record.
YUNA Homecomings Acoustic Live
It feels like YUNA is in all of our favorite bands. CHAI were a powerful, positive presence in their space. After their disbandment, YUNA’s been almost everywhere, with Hitsujibungaku, and also Homecomings where she splits support drumming duties with Ryosuke Yoshiki from THE NOVEMBERS. Homecomings recently had an acoustic live show, and YUNA posted some really neat footage of the gig. It’s really neat seeing such a versatile drummer do her thing with the focus completely on her. This video is the perfect evidence of why she’s Japan’s most in-demand drummer. And while you’re watching this, check out her whole channel, which is full of really cool stuff from various collaborations, time on the road, and more.
xiexie on PK Live Sessions
Part of a fantastic series of live sessions from Singapore’s PK Records. Tokyo-based xiexie play two tracks, alien III and City. Both are great renditions of already great songs, Alien III has killer groove, and the energy on City is barely contained, with lead singer Meari even singing while on the ground for a bit.
김뜻돌 (Meaningful Stone) – 하나에게(HANA)
Pristine live performance of an incredible slow-builder. Part of the azit beat series, out of Seoul.
She Side Ship – 音の行方 (Where the Sound Goes)
Taken from their August 10th show at Kyoto Livehouse nano. Great performance with huge energy. Their seamless transitions from quieter moments to explosive sound is just incredible to witness. And seriously one of the most powerful vocal performances you’ll see. While the audio quality isn’t perfect, and it’s shot from a single camera behind a lot of peoples’ heads, it actually makes the whole thing feel even more authentic.
hiragi no – 別れ (Wakare/Parting)
A powerful, emotional performance of the closing track of hiragi no’s latest record from their August 9th show at Shinjuku Marble. Man. This is just a knock out of a track, and it’s taken to another level live. Like the previous track, the louder moments feature a bit of distortion just from the quality of the recording, but it again just adds to the power of this track.
ガミガミ(gamigami) – スパイキーメモリー (Spiky Memory)
A kickass performance from gamigami’s August 8th show at Shimokitazawa BASEMENT BAR. A great rock track from a confident as hell singer.
pami – cry jar
Super laid back live recorded session of what already was a great track.
Hammer Head Shark – Close To Void #5
This video supplies me with irrefutable proof that Hammer Head Shark are arguably the best live band in the world right now. They’ve grown so much since the first time I caught them in Shimokitazawa in 2024, and they were fantastic even then. Close To Void #5 is a studio session, but it has all the energy, and lighting of a live Hammer Head Shark show. The band also recently launched their “YOUGAZE” project, and are doing things their own way, and they’re thriving because of it.