The Sanctuary Gazette

The Memory Of Snow, the coldwave and darkwave project of French artist Albin Wagener, will release The Dark Christmas EP on December 4, 2026 through Meridian Noir Records. The six-track digital EP is available for pre-order on Bandcamp, where two songs can already be heard.

The EP covers six Christmas songs: “Last Christmas” by Wham!, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey, “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano, “Underneath The Tree” by Kelly Clarkson, “Winter” by The Sound and “Please Come Home For Christmas” by Charles Brown. Wagener arranged, recorded, mixed and mastered everything at Brkfst Studios in Lille, where his fourth album, Inside, was also made.

Inside came out on June 26, 2026, among the first releases of Meridian Noir Records, a label Wagener co-founded with Thalie Némésis. The 12-track album is inspired by David Bowie’s Outside. Previously, The Memory Of Snow had released Home Is Where The Heart Aches in 2023 and Atlantic in 2024, then Obsidian Dust in 2025 on Transmission Nova.

Plague Vendor, a post-punk band from Whittier, California, released the single “Highway Love Letter” on October 23 through Epitaph Records.

The song runs two and a half minutes. It rests on Brandon Blaine’s jagged vocals and Henri Cash’s sharp guitar. The band strips away the superfluous for raw garage-punk energy. The source article sees it as a spiritual successor to the By Night era, with a darker urgency.

The visuals accompanying the single are by Aubree Estrella.

Philip Frobos releases Taste for the Unsavory, his second solo album after Vague Enough to Satisfy, released in 2021. That first record was the soundtrack to his debut novel of the same name. The new album was co-produced by Rodrigo Avendaño, known for his work with Soccer Mommy, and extends the post-punk landscapes of its predecessor.

Frobos presents the song “The Handoff” as a pulp-style dark tale, told in a style that blends Madchester and Athens, Georgia. Gammill, vocalist of the Brooklyn art punk band Gustaf, takes part in the record. Bill Kelliher of Mastodon plays on “Fulton County Stadium at 8:05 AM,” and Matthew Flegel of Preoccupations on “Nautical Knots.”

The cover art is by Frankie Broyles, Frobos’ partner in Omni. A cocktail zine, with original drinks and pastel drawings by Emily Frobos, comes with the album. The twelve tracks run from “Death of a Chef” to “Taut Theme.”

The Danse Society released the album The Loop on October 25, on the band’s own label, The Danse Society. The record has eight tracks: “The Sound and the Fury,” “Shake Shake,” “Undone,” “Algorithmic Control,” “The Loop,” “The Lies,” “If You Were Only Listening” and “Divided to the End.”

The band is from Barnsley, England, and formed in 1980. It was active until 1987 before reforming in 2011. It had launched its own label, Society Records, for its first single, “Clock,” in 1980. Its album Heaven is Waiting came out in December 1983 on Arista.

Future Nobodies, an artist working in darkwave, is releasing Vol. I on October 27, 2026, on the label Future Nobodies, which bears the same name as the artist.

The tracklist for this release comprises four tracks: Press Start, Fashion Suicide, She's Got a Gun and Miso.

Trentemøller has released Your Love Walks Alone, sung by Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes. It is the third single from his upcoming album, following Terrified, featuring Jonas Bjerre of Mew, and Swerve, featuring Sakura.

Wagner describes the song as a portrait of a pure love slowly fading, and of the effect it has at the moment you realize you are being replaced. Trentemøller explains that the collaboration stems from an earlier contribution by Wagner to one of his tracks. This time, he had an instrumental that seemed to suit that voice and sent it to him. The singer quickly sent his vocal part back.

For the first time in Trentemøller’s career, every track on the album features vocals. Anika, Midwife, Tan Cologne and Emma Acs also appear.