Hype List 2026 Round-Up: Part Two

New year. New noise. Hype is back on the hunt, digging through the chaos, the chatter and the late-night tip-offs to find the acts who aren’t just next up, but about to detonate.

Dork’s Hype List is our annual spotlight on the artists who’ve started to really stand out – not because they’re destined for instant superstardom, but because there’s something in what they’re doing that feels fresh, deliberate and worth keeping close tabs on.

It isn’t about calling winners or demanding overnight breakthroughs. Consider it a guide to the acts shaping the edges of what’s next: the ones we’re excited about, curious about and confident enough to back as they take their next steps.

This week we’re rolling out bigger features on some of our Hype List picks, but there are loads more names in the mix. This is Part Two: the rest of the smaller interviews and mini-profiles we’re not spinning out into bigger stand-alone features, pulled together so they don’t get lost in the scroll.

FLETCHR FLETCHR

If there’s one thing that comes across in the brief time spent with Fletchr Fletchr, it’s their attention to detail. Isaac Barter and Theo Munroe’s post-punk project is tightly wound, not just in sound but in everything around it: the visual aesthetic, the sharp-edged humour, the deliberate refusal to be pinned down. There’s a confidence in what they do that feels rare for such a new band.

Their debut single ‘Justin’s Song’ arrived like a jolt, full of nervous energy and jagged riffs, and it was quickly followed by a run of tracks that only made the project weirder and more compelling. There’s a clear lineage back to the UK’s post-punk wave, but Fletchr Fletchr have more groove than most of their peers, more of a sense of dancefloor momentum. It’s the kind of music that makes you want to move, even when the lyrics are cutting.

“We make music for people who are depressed but want to dance,” Isaac says, only half joking.
That balance – the humour, the tension, the sense of fun amid the chaos – is what makes Fletchr Fletchr feel like a band built for bigger things. As 2026 begins, they’re just getting started.

PENCIL

London five-piece pencil head into 2026 with a reputation – and it’s one built on volume. Their shows are intense and cathartic, full of huge guitars, crashing drums and vocals that sound like they’re fighting to be heard over the noise. It’s chaotic in the best way.

Led by frontman and guitarist Charles, alongside fellow vocalist Mira, their line-up includes guitarist Harry, bassist Louis and drummer Brian, each adding their own flavour to the band’s ferocious sound. Having already shared bills with bands like Deadletter and Man/Woman/Chainsaw, and landing support slots with the likes of Bristol’s The St Pierre Snake Invasion, they’ve quickly become a name to watch.

Their single ‘Wingman’ is a prime example of what they do best: loud, melodic and emotionally charged. With their debut EP on the way, pencil are turning that live energy into something more permanent. If you like your rock messy, cathartic and unignorable, they’re going to be impossible to ignore.

DÉYYESS

There’s a soft, hazy quality to Déyyess’ music that makes it feel like you’re stepping into someone else’s dream. The Scottish songwriter – a young trans woman named Margaret – writes songs that blend delicate acoustic melodies with bursts of fuzzy guitar, creating what she calls “sparkly grunge”.

Her breakout track ‘Claire’ is a gentle, devastating piece of storytelling, but there’s more to her than just quiet sadness. Déyyess has a knack for finding light in the darkness, making songs that feel intimate without ever being small. She’s not writing for attention. She’s writing to survive. And in doing that, Déyyess has already built something powerful.

Y

Y don’t fit anywhere, which is exactly why they’re becoming one of the capital’s most exciting new bands. The five-piece – Adam Brennan, Sophie Coppin, Dan GB, Fells and Harry McHale – operate like a rogue electrical current in South London’s underground. Their sound pulls together post-punk angles, jazz skronk, Italo-disco pulse and sheer instinct. It shouldn’t work, yet it clicks with uncanny precision.

Their roots run through some of London’s most inventive corners. Between them, they’ve played in Fat White Family, Meatraffle, Pregoblin, Children of the Pope and Star City. Sophie calls it “polyjamory… a lot of crossovers, a lot of music being played.” That cross-pollination shapes their whole identity. Their recent EP folds Japanese jazz fusion into Brazilian percussion and reggae bass, then snaps back into warped pop. It feels less like genre-blending and more like gleeful demolition.

Their songwriting thrives on that same chaos. A warped MIDI patch becomes ‘Why’. A favourite chord progression becomes ‘Hate’. ‘Ladies Who’ grows from an acoustic sketch into something twitchy and bright. Sophie’s obsession with Marianne Faithfull spills into ‘Marianne’, an ode to a woman she never met.

If you’re part of that 75%, Y are about to become your new favourite band.

SAMXEMMA

samxemma don’t make hyperpop – they weaponise it. The Manchester duo’s songs are loud, glitchy and chaotic, full of warped vocals, distorted beats and hooks that feel like they’ve been screamed straight into a webcam. It’s pop music as overload: messy, maximalist and impossible to look away from.

Their debut EP ‘Gossip Girl’ is a perfect introduction to that world: songs that flip between internet humour, vulnerability and fury without warning, but always land on something irresistibly catchy. There’s a DIY spirit to everything they do, but the tracks are smart and meticulously layered – built to stick in your head even as they try to melt your brain.

That sense of freedom runs through everything. samxemma’s songs don’t ask permission. They just exist, loud and proud and unapologetic.

MAX BABY

Max Baby has a way of talking that suggests he’s constantly reverse-engineering the world around him. He likes to talk about “bad taste,” about “doing something wrong on purpose,” about following impulses that don’t make sense until they do. That philosophy carries through to his music: chaotic, twitchy electronic pop that feels like it’s been built from broken parts and then stitched back together with a grin.

His new EP, ‘Break’, is built around different kinds of fracture — beliefs, patterns, relationships, identity — with every track driven by breakbeats or deliberately broken rhythms. It’s restless, sharp and weirdly addictive.

THE ORCHESTRA (FOR NOW)

If The Orchestra (For Now) look a bit like an indie supergroup, it’s because they are. A project formed around a loose collective of friends, the band’s line-up includes members of Goat Girl, The Cardigans, The Square and The Participants. But the magic of The Orchestra (For Now) isn’t just in their résumés; it’s in the way they channel that shared history into something that feels communal and alive.

Led by violinist Hugh Walsh alongside Kate Stables and Josh Hanton, they’ve built a reputation for live shows that feel like a shared ritual. As 2026 begins, it feels like they’re only just getting started.

UNFLIRT

Unflirt has a knack for capturing the kind of small moments that can derail your whole day. The project of Christine Senorin, her songs are intimate and understated, built on soft melodies and lyrics that feel like private thoughts spilled out in real time. It’s delicate, but never flimsy; every song feels carefully held together.

THE GUEST LIST

Manchester keeps producing bands with ready-made stories, but The Guest List are interesting because they’re refusing the prefab version. Formed in 2021 by school friends turned music students, the five-piece write songs that aim for scale without ducking reality. Recent single ‘Weatherman’ is a proper statement of intent, and 2026 feels like a breakthrough year waiting to happen.

SANDHOUSE

South London duo Sandhouse first surfaced in 2024 with the confidence of a band who forgot they were supposed to start small. Their debut EP ‘Circus’ landed in 2025, followed by the urgent, beat-forward ‘Make Me Small’. With streaming numbers climbing fast, they’re approaching 2026 at full momentum.

ELLIS·D

ELLiS·D makes music that feels like it’s trying to jump out of its own skin. His latest EP ‘Spill’ is a glam-punk detonation of motorik rhythms, serrated guitars and yelped hooks. With relentless gigging and new material incoming, Ellis·D is shaping up to be one of 2026’s most unpredictable thrills.

Don’t forget: Dork, Close Up + The 100 Club present Here Comes Your Jan – two nights at The 100 Club, London.
Night One: 29th January 2026 – Alien Chicks, Ellis-D, Ugly Ozo (tickets £10 + BF, via Dice / WeGotTickets).
Night Two: 30th January 2026 – Pencil, FLETCHR FLETCHR, Pack of Animals (tickets £10 + BF, via Dice / WeGotTickets)