Do you think there’s no good protest music these days? So did I, until I started looking for it. Every month, I listen to it all, then select the best that relates to that month’s political news. Here’s the round-up for February 2026.
1. MOMOKO GILL - MOMOKO
Israel killed at least 30 more Palestinians in Gaza on February 1, more than twice the number of Jews killed in the horrific Bondi attack on December 14. The Palestinians received barely a mention in the media. But on February 15, The Sydney Morning Herald ran a 6000-word article featuring "the stories of the 15 people killed at Bondi Beach, in the words of those who knew them best and loved them most". The Centre for Media Monitoring's recent study of the BBC's coverage of Gaza found Israelis' deaths received 33 times more coverage than Palestinians'. "Israeli deaths were reported in more emotive terms," journalist Peter Oborne observed, "with victims far more likely to be humanised by details about their names, family background, jobs, and lives." Humanising the Palestinians is the new LP by jazz drummer Momoko Gill. Released on February 13, it contains the song "When Palestine Is Free". LISTEN>>>
2. ERDA - 808S & SMASHED STATES
When police attacked people protesting against Israel's genocide-inciting president as he visited Gadigal Country/Sydney on February 9, a Greens MP was left in a neck brace and an elderly woman had her spine broken in four places. Yet the media smeared the protesters as violent. In stark contrast, when a racist threw a bomb into a crowd of Aboriginal people at an Invasion Day protest in Boorloo/Perth days earlier, the police were slow to act and suppressed the suspect's identity. The media were largely silent. Slamming such police brutality worldwide is the new album from New York emo trap musician Erda, recorded years earlier but released on February 16. "When I commissioned the album art half a decade ago the world was very different place, though I think a lot of us saw we were heading here," they said. "Back then, it was a fun image of hope. Now, it seems a real possibility... but in a darker way." LISTEN>>>
3. XBYRDX - ANTHEMS FOR THE END TIMES
The police violence in Sydney was slammed by one Greens MP as "reminiscent of what we're seeing" from US President Donald Trump's murderous Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. Among the musicians condemning ICE at the Grammy Awards on February 1 was the world's most streamed artist, Puerto Rican pop star Bad Bunny. Days later, Trump slammed Bad Bunny's mostly Spanish-language performance at the National Football League's season final game, the Super Bowl. His set was full of hidden anti-colonial political meanings that were mostly missed by the media. Five days after the Super Bowl, US rocker XBYRDX released his new LP, which satirises Trump's "Make America Great Again" rhetoric. On the song "MAGA Girl", XBYRDX laments a lost love who has fallen for Trump. "How fast she’s changed," he sings. "Gone and jumped a crazy train... She used to be my blue-eyed girl. Now all she sees is red." LISTEN>>>
4. YAKKIE - KILL THE COP INSIDE YOUR HEAD
Trump-supporting rocker Kid Rock tried to divert attention from Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance by staging his own "All-American Halftime Show". The move backfired even before the gig, as social media posts went viral about his lyric: “Young ladies, I like ’em underage, see. Some say that’s statutory, but I say it’s mandatory.” Days later, it emerged the FBI had redacted "credible evidence" in the files it released on late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein that Trump had "orally raped" a 13-year-old girl, then punched her when she bit his penis. Castrating such creeps is the new LP from London feminist punks Yakkie, released on February 13. On "Secrets", they seethe: "You thought I would keep your secrets. You will have to cut out my tongue." The album was lauded by critics. "Its best songs may be among the greatest released in this country in the last 30 to 50 years," said one British reviewer. LISTEN>>>
5. SEAN TAYLOR - FIRST LIGHT
The Epstein fallout continued to blight that country on February 19, when the King's brother, former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested over his relationship with Epstein. Days later, British ex-cabinet minister Peter Mandelson was arrested for the same reason. That piled more pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had controversially handpicked the already notorious politician to be his US ambassador. Caricaturing such corruption is brilliant British blues musician Sean Taylor on his typically sublime new album, released on February 6. On "Britain's Got Talent", he damns Mountbatten-Windsor and perverted politicians such as Mandelson and far-right leader Nigel Farage as he sings: "Prince Andrew misses Epstein his millionaire pimp. From GB News, every fascist little gimp. The future turned septic, Farage is everywhere. From celebrities in the jungle to a parliamentary chair." LISTEN>>>
6. ANGEL GIRL - LIFE OF AN ANGEL
Back in Australia, where Farage once entered the jungle as a contestant on "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here", questions were being raised about the police presence at Sydney's queer Mardi Gras festival. The city was still reeling from cops beating people rallying against Israel's president after state premier Chris Minns restricted such protests. Queer activist Barbara Karpinski pointed out that Minns had praised protesters when he addressed gay rights activists in 2016, saying: "Social progress in this town and in other countries happens because, as Malcolm X said: ‘Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything; you take it’.” Hitting back at such hypocrisy with what they call "queer feminine rage" are Canadian punks Angel Girl, with their new LP, released on February 14. That followed new albums from trans artists The Crop Tops and Beverley Glenn-Copeland. LISTEN>>>
7. TWAT UNION - DON'T BLAME THE PEACH
Bringing that same rage but adding a big dollop of humour are The Femcels. On their debut LP, the indie pop duo run riot as they mock the involuntarily celibate men who vent their sexless rage in the tragic rock microgenre known as “incelcore”. Likewise, British feminist punks Twat Union are proud of their "trademark provocative humour". On February 20, they released their new EP, which seems built to enhance the stage show of the self-described "theatrical-feminist-punk-pop six-piece known for their wild, immersive gigs". Yet among all the gags are hard-hitting messages. On "Pay Me More", they urge: “Let’s not beat around the bush when we’re talking about equal pay - but that’s the problem, my bush seems to get in the way.” And on "WFH" they tease the same bosses by admitting: “Are you working or are you wanking from home? Let’s call it what it is — it’s not procrastinating, it’s masturbating!” LISTEN>>>
8. U2 - DAYS OF ASH EP
On February 18, a former protest singer who has become notorious for sucking up to bosses, billionaires and right-wing leaders - Bono - released a surprise EP with his phenomenally successful band, U2. The Guardian said the six new tracks, which address ICE, Israel and Ukraine, "reaffirm the band as a vital political voice". But others were more circumspect. "You may loathe the politically broad tone," said the Irish Times, while the Irish Independent sneered: "Bono’s cliched protest songs are the lyrical equivalent of Tony Blair’s Third Way." As if to reassure any cronies fearing that the dire state of the world had made him return to his radical roots, Bono said a forthcoming U2 album is far less political. "I have many dear conservative friends who are as worried about the far right as my democratic ones are worried about the far left," he said. "Surely the world needs a ‘radical centre’.” LISTEN>>>
9. GOGOL BORDELLO - WE MEAN IT, MAN!
If Trump's supposed negotiations with Ukraine and Russia could be called a "radical centre", it certainly wasn't working. That, and his threats to Iran, were pushing the world closer to nuclear war. When he announced the US "nuclear umbrella" would no longer cover other nations, the Australian media called not for nuclear disarmament, but a new nuclear arms race. On February 13, US hardcore punks Brookhurst released their aptly titled new album, Chernobyl Gesture, which pummels such politics. The same day, US "Gypsy punks" Gogol Bordello, who are fronted by Ukrainian-born singer Eugene Hütz, released their new LP, which reaches out to Hütz's fellow Ukrainians. On the album closer "Solidarity", he sings: "As the people of Ukraine fight to take their stands, and behind them every honest willing man, in unity there is each other and your friend becomes your brother, and tyrant will never have its way." LISTEN>>>
10. HEN OGLEDD - DISCOMBOBULATED
Tearing down such tribalism is the new album No Borders by Ghost Peppers, released on February 20. Blending Hindi, Bengali, English and Urdu lyrics, it brings together Indian and Pakistani musicians to break down the divisions between the warring neighbours. Taking the same approach is the new album released the same day by Hen Ogludd, who jump between English and Welsh lyrics as they rail against rising nationalism. "‘The mythical country you claim allegiance of is gone," they sing. "It was never here." Putting children front and centre on the album as the only hope for a fucked-up world, they praise the anti-nuclear protesting women of Greenham Common as they urge kids to "rise up" and "tear... down the corporate wall". Their sound, variously described as "avant-garde" or "experimental folk" is, in reality, indescribable. It's probably the most innovative protest music you'll hear this year. LISTEN>>>
[Mat Ward has been writing for Green Left since 2009. He also wrote the book Real Talk: Aboriginal Rappers Talk About Their Music And Country and makes political music. Mat Ward's latest single is the AI-mocking Ride That Boom.]
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Read about more political albums.
Stream our new “Best protest songs of 2026” playlist. This replaces the previous “Political albums” playlist, that was getting too big at more than 700 albums.