Indie-dreampop artist CASTLEBEAT has announced the release of his latest album CASTLEBEAT II, set for release on June 26th, 2026 via Spirit Goth Records. The announcement comes with the release of the second single ‘My Love’.
Bringing a hefty dose of new wave to the glittering deampop soundscape, CASTLEBEAT builds a beautiful soundscape of plucky guitar lines and layered synths on ‘My Love’. Layered yet lo-fi and minimal, the track leans into 80s aesthetics whilst the distinct vocal production and ethereal mood conjure a more contemporary edge. Bittersweet, breezy and melancholic, the track balances its feel good vibe with an emotive core to capture a sunny on the surface, yet reflective and thoughtful tone.
As CASTLEBEAT puts it: “‘My Love’ reads like fragments from a diary and a photo you can’t stop revisiting, while the chorus hits with a quiet crash: ‘I hit the floor and it’s breaking my heart.’ Minimal, hypnotic dream-pop with a repeatable hook designed for late-night listening, breakup playlists, and introspective indie pop.”
The single serves as a further introduction to CASTLEBEAT II, a decade-spanning love letter to the project’s 2016 self-titled debut. Ten years after that breakthrough release captured the hearts of the underground indie scene, Josh Hwang (the half-Korean, half-Spanish songwriter behind CASTLEBEAT) has crafted an album that looks both backward and forward.
“This album is a 10-year anniversary ode to my 2016 debut. Some of the songs started as ideas from that era that I never finished at the time. Other songs were written more recently, but I intentionally limited myself to the kinds of sounds and choices I would’ve made back then – just with a more dialed-in approach I’ve developed over the years.”
The album represents a combination of archived ideas, sounds, and textures from the debut era, reimagined and reworked with new songs that capture that same spirit. What began as Hwang releasing his music just for fun through his self-founded label Spirit Goth Records has grown immensely over the past decade. Now run by Josh and his wife Sonia — who often release music together as a duo – Spirit Goth has become a home for CASTLEBEAT’s evolution while maintaining the DIY ethos that started it all.
The new single ‘My Love’ is out now – the upcoming album CASTLEBEAT II is released June 26th, 2026 via Spirit Goth Records.
https://open.spotify.com/track/3dtSddncRVSfubnhg4NakQ?si=83da9d663fb34e1e
