The Alt Weekly Roundup (9/14)

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.


Floating Room—”Held Open Door”

The new single from Portland’s Floating Room is a testament to the benefits of reinvention. Now the solo moniker of Maya Stoner, the song teases a shift in the project’s sound. While their debut was full of dark atmosphere, we see Stoner steering the sound into brighter territory. “Held Open Door” is forceful, wiry, and infectious—a great first impression of what’s to come. 

Eric Bennett | @seething_coast


Young Culture—”Better Off As Friends”

Young Culture has finally announced their long-awaited self-titled debut LP along with the single “Better Off As Friends.” The song splits the difference between All Time Low and The 1975’s brands of pop rock for a sound that’s as infectious and the band’s most summery. It’s a welcome bright spot in weird times. 

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison


Lo Tom—LP2

Lo Tom returned this week with their second LP and it’s a certified ripper. The band, composed of Dave Bazan (Pedro The Lion), Trey Many (Velour 100, Starflyer 59), TW Walsh (Pedro the Lion, The Soft Drugs), and Jason Martin (Starflyer 59), funded the album, aptly titled LP2, through Kickstarter, and it’s a quick and pointed collection of rock and roll tunes that relish in a little bit of wallowing. “Start Payin’” opens the album with a blistering kind of fuzz that matches Bazan’s downtrodden chorus (“I let get myself pretty low, just living, just playing”). Later, “I Need Relief” has Bazan raising his voice in a sharp moment of clarity that something needs to change if the pain is going to get any better. 

Jordan Walsh | @jordalsh


Binary—Fall From Grace Face Down

Binary’s latest EP feels like a kick in the teeth. Fall from Grace Face Down is the heaviest thing I’ve heard in 2020, an absolutely vicious ten minutes of metalcore’s best and brightest. 

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison


Kirby Grip—”Nothing Day”

With a predominantly emo sound, Kirby Grip’s “Nothing Day” opens up stark, then diligently builds texture and depth. It’s a track about feeling swaddled in monotony. 

Bineet Kaur | @hellobineet


Indigo Moiré—”Footjam Whip”

“Footjam Whip,” the latest single from Bekasi, Indonesia, indie rock band Indigo Moiré, might be the band’s finest hour yet. Last year’s Minestone EP was impressive, but “Footjam Whip” pushes the band into brighter, more immediately gripping territory. 

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison


Yeah Is What We Have—”I Could Only”

Yeah Is What We Have released their absolutely wonderful debut Through The Window on Counter Intuitive late last year and it seems to me that it hasn’t quite gotten the attention it deserves. Here’s hoping that their new single “I Could Only” fixes that—this song rides on a simple beat, an easy-going acoustic guitar, and a laid-back hook that feels a little bit retro, like early ‘00s radio. It’s a dreamy, bright, breezy indie pop song that should be perfect for the dwindling days of summer. 

Jordan Walsh | @jordalsh


Overo—”Haunted by Heat”

“Haunted by Heat” is a slice of angular post-hardcore straight out of the ‘90s. Overo’s latest single from their split with Asthenia takes the best aspects of their 2019 debut and dials them up to eleven. 

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison


War On Women—”Wonderful Hell”

It’s going to be especially difficult to have a new War On Women LP when there will be pretty much no chance to catch them live this year—their shows are incendiary and unforgettable punk rock events. But “Wonderful Hell,” the first single from their upcoming album of the same name, is immediate and ferocious enough to inspire a little movement. Shawna Potter’s vocals are shredding and melodic in equal measure here, with a galvanizing chant (“let’s raise some hell”) that sits alongside a fiery, sinister wall of guitars. 

Jordan Walsh | @jordalsh


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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