Retrovision: The Stupid Set - Hello, I Love You

Originally recorded by The Doors, "Hello, I Love You" was reinterpreted in 1981 by the Italian minimal-synth/post-punk act The Stupid Set. Their version was conceived as a response to the emerging styles and aesthetic shifts of the new decade, filtering the song through a colder, more mechanized sensibility. The accompanying video extended this idea, aligning the track with contemporary visual aesthetics and early explorations of new media and technology.

Kim Gordon Announces a New Album Play Me

 Kim Gordon has just announced her third solo album, Play Me, set for release on March 13, 2026 via Matador Records. It follows her 2024 record The Collective and continues her evolution as a solo artist blending experimental rock and beat-driven grooves. Alongside the album announcement, Kim Gordon released the lead single “Not Today”, video below.

Next Wave: A Thousand Mad Things

Highlighted in our first Next Wave presentation of 2026 is A Thousand Mad Things, a project by British musician William Barradale, founded in 2023. Writing and performing everything himself, William draws from 80s synth-pop and new wave, pairing sharp melodies and layered atmosphere with a striking vocal range reminiscent of the great male voices of the era. 

While he has already been quite active — releasing several singles and an EP last year — we only recently stumbled upon his music. One thing is clear, though: A Thousand Mad Things feel very much here to stay, making for a strong statement at the kickoff of 2026, with hopes for a full-length album on the horizon. Below is the video for this debut single "Wide Awake".

Zanias - The Spire

In October 2025, Zanias released her fifth studio album, Cataclysm, followed by a series of singles. “The Spire” is her most recent release, with the accompanying music video premiering on YouTube earlier this month.

Best of 2025 - The Album List

Happy to share our year-end list. This year, the album selection is shorter than usual, while our singles list expands to the customary top 50. Although there were several strong releases, few emerged as defining statements of the year. Still, as ever, the most compelling moments came from artists embracing transformation—through comebacks, reinventions, and subtle evolutions that kept their image engaging. Happy New Year!!

01. Pulp - More [Rough Trade]

Their first album in twenty-four years, More proves that Pulp has succeeded where most bands fail: they’ve returned not to relive past glories, but to thoughtfully extend their story. Jarvis Cocker and the gang gently pull at the past, revisiting the wry observation and the swooning orchestration that defined their peak, yet filter it all through a lens of mature reflection.  The result is a reunion that feels essential, a collection of songs that are both comfortingly familiar and quietly surprising. It doesn’t try to be a new Different Class again; instead, it offers something perhaps more valuable reinventing the band in the 20s.

 

02. Allie X - Happiness Is Going to Get You [AWAL]

In less than a year, Allie X has followed the dark stylish Girl with No Face with a brand-new studio album that boldly reinvents her once more. Happiness Is Going to Get You retains her signature, meticulously crafted synth-pop foundations but brilliantly expands its texture, introducing organic piano textures that add warm humanity to her crystalline electronic world. This sophisticated evolution is matched by a striking visual transformation, a avant-garde homage to the legendary Klaus Nomi. More than just a sequel, this is a daring next act: a record proving Allie X is in a relentless, in her artistic journey.

 

03. The Horrors - Night Life [Fiction Records]

Night Life is the sixth release by The Horrors and their debut on Fiction Records, arriving seven years after their fifth album, V. Once again, the band operates in the shadowy realm of post-punk, delivering a confident and compelling statement from a group that fully understands the dark allure of its chosen terrain. Since Skying (in 2009 undiscovered), every album has successfully charted on our year-end list, cementing The Horrors as one of the most consistent and long-standing favorite bands on Burning Flame.

 

04. Heartworms - Glutton for Punishment [Speedy Wunderground]

Glutton for Punishment is a debut album by Josephine Orme who records under the name Heartworms. Prior to this she released one EP and several singles in the last two years. Her music is rooted in post-punk, but also blends goth, industrial and coldwave. Orme’s voice is commanding rather than confessional, turning restraint into power and tension into atmosphere. Stark, focused and deeply immersive, this is one of the most compelling dark post-punk statements of the year.

 

05. Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory - Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory [Jagjaguwar]

Sharon Van Etten’s new collaboration with The Attachment Theory, her long-time backing band, now fully credited collaborators, marks another thrilling delivery. This album bridges the brooding introspection of her earlier work and the bold synthscapes of Remind Me Tomorrow with new-found confidence. Slow nocturnal synth-driven tunes retain a deep eighties moodiness, yet are offset by bouncy post-punk elements. The result is a record that feels intimately raw landing less as a retro homage and more as a vital, contemporary chapter in the new wave tradition.

EPs of relevance:

Mothermary - Non-Duality

The WAEVE - Eternal

NightCrawl - Cold War Feeling

NightCrawl - Strange

Automelodi - Cavallo

Best of 2025 - The Singles List

 Happy to share our year-end list. This year, the album selection is shorter than usual, while our singles list expands to the customary top 50. Although there were several strong releases, few emerged as defining statements of the year. Still, as ever, the most compelling moments came from artists embracing transformation, through comebacks, reinventions, and subtle evolutions that kept their image engaging. Happy New Year!!

01. Rosalia ft. Björk & Yves Tumor - Berghain 

02. Geese - Au Pays du Cocaine 

03. Night Tapes - Storm  

04. Damiano David  ft. Suki Waterhouse- The Bruise

05. The Waeve - Eternal

06. Allie X - Happiness Is Gonna Get You

07. Noah Cyrus, Fleet Foxes - Don't Put It All on Me 

08. Pulp - Spike Island 

09. Tame Impala - Dracula 

10. Wolf Alice - Just Two Girls  

11. Shura - Recognise 

12. Agnes - EGO 

13. Ghost Cop - All Souls Day

14. NightCrawl - Lost Highway

15. Andy Bell feat. Dot Allison and Michael Rother - I’m in Love with The German TV Star

16. Ladytron - I Believe in You 

17. The Weeknd - Open Hearts 

18. Lord Huron feat. Kristen Stewart - Who Laughs Last 

19. The Horrors - Ariel 

20. The Horrors - Lotus Eaters

Hercules & Love Affair ft. Hips & Lips - Crossed Lines

 Hercules and Love Affair have released a brand new EP titled Someone Else Is Calling and "Crossed Lines" is already the lead track from the EP which includes guest vocals and collaboration with Hips and Lips.

Instant Hit: Neon Judgement - Chinese Black

 "Chinese Black" was one of the songs that was featured on the Neon Judgement's EP 'A Man Ain't No Man When He Ain't Got No Horse, Man..' which was released in 1987. It was one the most iconic underground tracks of that time that combined dark synth lines with post-punk and helped define Belgian/European EBM/coldwave sound of the 80s.

WAW: Archive - Wake Up Strange

Archive have premiered the video for their new single "Wake up Strange" which is taken from their album Glass Minds which is out in February next year. The video was directed by Maxim Kelly.