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Monthly Music Crush: The Pretty Reckless, Lauren Sanderson w/ Fred Durst, BIG NOTER + More!
- Tiana Speter
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Somehow another month has flown by (and also half the year, but I'm not participating in fully acknowledging that just yet. Also if I see Christmas trees in the shops anytime soon I might cry). But I digress, with a new month upon us, what better time to revisit some tracks that have been making the rounds in my headphones of late.
There's been a HEAP of epic tunes releasing, plenty of new album news and more. And today, I'm rounding up six of my faves from the past month (and a bit). Read on, listen up, and you can also catch all these songs and more over at The Soundcheck's official Mixtape as well, follow pick your poison and follow along either via Spotify, Apple Music and/or YouTube xx
Photo Credit: Steph Gomez
THE PRETTY RECKLESS
Single: Dear God
(Fearless Records)
Recenly dropping their fifth studio album, platinum-selling rockers The Pretty Reckless opened the floodgates to vulnerability and raw delivery alongside their trademark rock'n'roll finesse. Produced by Taylor Momsen, Ben Phillips and Jonathan Wyman, the full-length delves through themes of loss, faith, resilience, love and redemption, unfurling almost like an intimate peek into Momsen's own personal diary at times without sacrificing grittier moments.
The band also just released a brand new music video for the album's title track, complete with spooky church aesthetics, spiders, snakes, rats, occasional NSFW moments and Momsen bringing the album's cover artwork to visual life alongside the drawling basslines, macabre rock hues and smoky vocals.
“DEAR GOD is the most honest record we've ever made. Every song came from a real place, whether I wanted to admit it or not. There was no hiding behind characters or concepts this time. It's all there…the doubt, the anger, the hope, the questions. We made the record we needed to make, and I'm incredibly proud of it." - Taylor Momsen, vocalist
The band continue a mammoth trajectory with the release of DEAR GOD, with Momsen recently delivering an acclaimed performance at the 2026 MusicCares Person of the Year Gala honouring Mariah Carey alongside Foo Fighters, and an appearance at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, performing with Soundgarden.
LAUREN SANDERSON
Single: COME SAY SUM Feat. Fred Durst
(Park Records, Inc & Create Music Group)
We all know that Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst is no stranger to a side quest, and recently he jumped on a collab with pop/hip hop artist Lauren Sanderson to dish up a firey remix of Sanderson's single COME SAY SUM.
First released earlier this year, Sanderson's original version of COME SAY SUM bustled with rap-rock swag and certainly bore a pretty strong resemblance to Limp Bizkit's iconic track Break Stuff. And following the track going viral, some back and forth between the two, two short weeks later Durst had recorded his feature, the pair shot a new music video to commemorate the collab, and Sanderson found herself opening for Limp Bizkit not long after.
“Did I know this song had magic in it? Yes. Did I think Fred Durst would discover it and bring my Lez Bizkit dreams to life? Probably not. Ever since the first conversation Fred and I had, I knew this friendship was created by the universe. Some people just have that magic, and when you put Fred and I together... We are what you call a serendipitous collision.” - Lauren Sanderson
Sanderson's new album LAUREN is out now, showcasing a "maximalist cocktail of nu-metal ambience, bratty pop flippancy, and killer lyrical wordplay".
Photo Credit: Aaron Noyes
BIG NOTER
Single: F.M.D
(Island Records Australia)
BIG NOTER, fronted by Yorta Yorta icon Briggs has unveiled that their debut album, Songs In The Key of Wrestling, will drop on September 18 via Island Records Australia. For the uninitiated, BIG NOTER emerged just last year wielding a powerhouse collision of hardcore, punk and metal, helmed by Briggs' trademark raw conviction.
Alongside the announcement of their album drop later this year, the group recently unleashed a brand new single F.M.D; a seething powder keg of sinewy guitars, high octane beats and voracious vocals, produced by Nick Didia (Rage Against The Machine, Pearl Jam), and also taking aim at the deep-seated racism that continues to shape conversations about Aboriginal people in Australia.
"Your average Australian (racist) comment section will have you believe Aboriginal people have FREE Californian bungalows and a Hilux in the driveway. Here's the list of things blackfullas get for free: Diabetes, Heart Disease, Incarceration, Suicide, unemployment and that's just the top 5. Nothing given, only taken away! So look, if you're sick of hearing about it; imagine how we feel?! FMD!” - Briggs
BIG NOTER are set to perform three headline shows this August and September, taking over Brisbane's Crowbar on August 14, Sydney's Crowbar on August 15 and The Tote in Melbourne on September 19, and you can check out F.M.D below ahead of the release of one of the most exciting upcoming Aussie heavy albums of 2026.
Photo Credit: Bridie Cummings
UNPEOPLE
Single: friends
(SharpTone Records)
Last year I fell head over heels for a killer UK band called unpeople, with the quartet dropping their self-titled EP via SharpTone Records. Now in 2026, the love affair is still going strong with the band's most recent single friends churning into view as the group ramp up to release their debut album we are unpeople on October 9 (via SharpTone).
With its angular rubber-band guitars, earworm and tantalisingly dynamic melodies, and affable heaviness, friends is an unpredictable yet luminous slice of uncompromising modern rock. And the track also deals with the reality of love in this modern era.
“friends is essentially a love song from the perspective of someone who is wholly sceptical about the very concept of love and what it’s come to mean in a modern context. I am essentially saying I am going to kill the very concept of love before it’s even had a chance to get a hold of me - I am that afraid of being that vulnerable. I'd rather not bother than risk saying something I don’t mean, and then pay for it emotionally down the line. I’m fully aware that this is not necessarily healthy, but the mind takes you to some strange places when strong feelings are involved.” - Jake Crawford, vocalist
Originally used to describe those considered politically unimportant or without value, the term "unpeople" has since become another way to dismiss those whose views differ from our own. The band have reclaimed the phrase entirely, transforming it into a celebration of shared humanity, individuality and belonging.
Photo Credit: Yoshitaka Kono
CHELSEA WOLFE
Double Single: The Dark / Death Is Not The End
(Loma Vista Recordings)
Sonic alchemist Chelsea Wolfe has always been an artist fluent in captivation, with her otherworldly collision of doom metal, folk, industrial, electronic music and spectral balladry stupefying fans for over 15 years, and she continues her legacy in 2026 with the recent release of two new singles, The Dark and Death Is Not The End.
Two tracks laden with Wolfe's signature darkness and whimsy dovetailing throughout, The Dark finds beauty in shadow and renewal, while Death Is Not The End goes fully spectral with a moving reflection on loss, renewal, and the cyclical nature of existence.
“The Dark is an alternative song that arrived swift and easy, like it’d always been waiting there for me to sing it. It then got further developed with the collaboration of producer Ben Chisholm and co-writer Jenn Decilveo, and given even more character via the whimsical bass of Justin Meldal-Johnsen and drums of Stella Mozgawa. This song feels like the heart of its namesake album - it’s an exploration of finding yourself again, and a love letter to what so many of us are drawn to: the romantic, glistening, unnameable thing that is the dark." - Chelsea Wolfe
Both taken off her, as yet unnanounced, upcoming ninth studio album, the release of The Dark and Death Is Not The End also accompanies Wolfe's recent team up with Heretic Parfum and their GHOSTS collection. Featuring Wolfe as the face of the campaign, the musical soundscapes for the launch were crafted from Wolfe’s new material, giving fans their first glimpse into the sound and feeling of what is coming next.
Photo Credit: Sean McDonald
THE BEAUTIFUL MONUMENT
Single: CraveAnythingThatStays
(Greyscale Records)
An ode to the non-human souls who keep us going (HOW GOOD ARE PETS), the latest track CRAVEANYTHINGTHATSTAYS from alternative emo-rockers The Beautiful Monument is a palpitating and futuristic slice that pushes deeper into alt-pop realms.
A glossy and infectious outing, CraveAnythingThatStays dazzles with hooks aplenty, grit and vehement vocals. It's big, its bright and its bold, following on from the group's recent tracks Euphoric Thriller, Dancing With The Buried, and Cry About It, all of which will featured as part of the band's upcoming third album Euphoric Thriller, due out August 7 via Greyscale Records.
"An homage to the quietest of family members that help us get through our struggles and wins; the clueless ones that have more of an impact on us as human beings than they will ever realise," shares vocalist Lizi McIntosh. "We would be nothing without them, people don’t deserve them, yet we are blessed with their very existence. And who doesn’t love Cats…?" - Lizi McIntosh, vocalist
The band just wrapped an Australian tour supporting Hellions, and previously left a lasting impression playing main support for gothic rock icons Evanescence (US) performing in arenas nationwide. They have toured alongside the likes of Escape The Fate (US), Sleeping With Sirens (US), Short Stack, RedHook and more as well as festival appearances at Good Things Festival, Download Festival and UNIFY Gathering among others.
