The Alt Weekly Roundup (8/3)
Posted: by The Editor
The Alternative Weekly Roundup is a column where our staff plugs a variety of new releases in a concise, streamlined format. Albums, singles, videos, and live sets. Check back each Monday to see what we were jamming the week prior.
Cheem—”Smooth Brain”
Cheem somehow made a song about always screwing up such a bop, but the video for “Smooth Brain” makes it even more fun. Directed by Connor Lenihan, it involves slime, squishy toys and bubbles. Plus the song samples Sonic the Hedgehog, and if that doesn’t make you want to watch the video I don’t know what will.
Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
Easy Sleeper—”Doctor”
The L.A. band Easy Sleeper are back with a new single that sounds kind of like Alex G but bar rock. It’s a woozy, groovy indie-rock tune with a little bit of a blues vibe to it, but the bassline beneath everything goes for a helluva walk at one point that for some reason reminds me of something off of G’s 2012 record Trick (maybe “Mary”). This band merged emo with chillwave on their previous double single and this is pushing their sound further in that gritty yet lax direction.
Eli Enis | @eli_enis
Land of Talk—Indistinct Conversations
The first Land of Talk album in three years—following 2017’s Life after Youth, which was their first in seven—Indistinct Conversations is well worth the wait. Elizabeth Powell’s breathy, satiny vocals and the lo-fi production (the tracks were produced and arranged by Powell and their bandmates in a basement) call to mind the bedroom pop sound many artists of the moment have embraced, but Land of Talk have been refining it for over a decade—and here, it’s near-perfect.
Michelle Bruton | @MichelleBruton
Gulfer—Live in Japan
It’s rare that I really get all that excited about a live album, but a really good one, when it hits you at the right moment, can really do a lot for your mood. Enter Gulfer, probably my favorite band in the mathy emo sphere, with Live in Japan, which they released with no warning earlier this week. Less than a minute of “Fading,” which noodles and bashes with a revived veracity at the top of the set, is more than enough to have you bouncing around the house.
Jordan Walsh | @jordalsh
Young Jesus—”(un)knowing”
“(un)knowing” reveals a softer side of Young Jesus. They’re known now for a brand of indie rock that’s as knotty and complex as John Rossiter’s philosophical lyrics. The band’s latest single showcases a version of Young Jesus that isn’t afraid to pull back and let Rossiter’s lyrics take the front seat.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
The Alternative’s ‘New Music Friday’ playlist
Each week our editor Lindsy Carrasquillo compiles a playlist of songs our staff has been jamming. We’ll post it on Fridays on Twitter and then include it in each edition of the ‘Weekly Roundup’ to make sure you don’t miss all of the great music we’re recommending.
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