TODAY'S POP PICKS

Issue

issue 768 is your essential pop for today, 29 september 2026

time will only show you – tj wagoner

The verdict

“tj wagoner delivers a stunning slice of garage-tinged indie rock that finds real wisdom in life's unpredictable turns”

'time will only show you' opens with guitar work that earns its groove, perfectly loose and engaging. the track sits somewhere between garage rock's raw edges and indie pop's melodic pull, a combination that feels natural rather than calculated. lyrically, it's built around a sharp observation: love and luck share a habit of slipping away without warning, taking what they want and leaving you to figure out what's left. the chorus pivots to something warmer, a reminder that love needs tending if it's going to stick around. there's a post-punk influence running through the instrumentation, but it never overwhelms the song's core, which stays really human and almost everyday, in the best possible way. a rewarding listen with real heart.

tj wagoner is a phoenix, united states based artist who handles every part of his music alone, writing, playing, and producing from an apartment studio while working a blue-collar job by day. influences like the beatles and pixies show up in the melodic sensibilities and alternative edge he brings to his recordings. he's currently preparing for his first solo performance and exploring opportunities to place songs with other artists. exciting stuff, and its essential indie this week.

thank u for making this tj wagoner 🎸

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can you recognize me – teanko

The verdict

“teanko completes a song begun fifty years ago, turning grief and memory into something luminous and wonderfully melodic”

'can you recognize me' carries more than five decades of waiting in its melody. the song started in a dutch village called blokker, written with a friend who died at seventeen, and it sat unfinished until now. the lyrics draw from specific places: café de harmonie, a church with an enormous tree still standing, a wooden veranda where two boys played their first gig together. but this isn't nostalgia for its own sake. the song looks forward too, imagining a reunion that can only happen after death. that gives the central question its weight. 'can you recognize me, after all these years?' isn't just about returning to a village. it's about hoping someone is still making music on the other side. a tender and lovely track.

teanko is the project of dutch singer-songwriter and producer theo konst, now based in portugal. he's been making music for over fifty years, starting his first band at primary school and recording professionally at eighteen. the project uses ai voice models trained exclusively on theo's own vocal recordings, collected over decades with a neumann u67. for him, it's the latest tool in a line running from analogue tape through digital recording to today. let's hope there's more coming from that vault, because this one really lands.

thank u for making this teanko 🕊️

i want it - dj juno mix – junonuno

The verdict

“junonuno deliver an irresistible dancefloor weapon, transforming dreamy pop with serious 90s garage energy”

junonuno is here with your next club-ready banger. the production leans hard into 90s house, all rolling garage rhythms and deep house warmth, while nuno's vocals float above like something half-remembered from a late night out. there's a smart tension here between the ethereal and the physical, the song pulling you in two directions at once. the remix arrived fresh off the duo's main stage set at nowadaze festival, and you can hear that confidence in how boldly they've reimagined their own work. catchy without being commercial, driving without being overly tough. it's a stunner of a joyful club track.

junonuno are a bristol-based duo built around dj juno's production and nuno's vocals. they released their debut album eerste in 2024 and have been building momentum since, with live shows expanded by uno on bass and twono on drums. the project blends old-school dance influences with pop-adjacent songwriting, landing somewhere between nostalgic and fresh. their stage presence has earned them festival spots and a growing following who know what to expect: catchy hooks, vintage house soul, and a sense of fun that doesn't take itself too seriously. definitely one to keep an eye on.

thank u for making this junonuno 🪩

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