The Alt Weekly Roundup (9/21)
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.
Lake Saint Daniel—“Good Things”
Lake Saint Daniel is the new project from Daniel Radin of Boston’s champions of bummer pop, Future Teens. Fans of that group will feel right at home with his forthcoming release, Good Things. The first single and title track finds Radin sliding comfortably into a new setting of warm, lap steel guitars to compliment his casual, confessional vocals.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Sundressed—Home Remedy
In 2020, it could be reductive to describe a new release as having the songwriting sensibilities of Modern Baseball and the jangle of Tiny Moving Parts. But with Home Remedy, Sundressed manage to more tightly refine their sound, which has swelled along with their member count, while staying true to their emotive punk roots. “Explode! (Into Pieces)” will make you ache for the day you can scream along at a show.
Michelle Bruton | @MichelleBruton
The Vaughns—”All Weekend”
The Vaughns have made a laid back, sunny song that sounds like it was written by all of us in quarantine. On “All Weekend”, Anna Lies sings softly about getting takeout and watching sci-fi over shimmery guitars. When the line, “Just throw me the blankets I’ll build the fort, an introvеrt’s cave for two” washed over me, I realized I might have just heard the cutest lyrics ever.
Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
Mansions—Big Bad at Home
Although the very idea of an ‘at home’ EP seems a bit gimmicky in these times, Mansions pulls it off. They’re at their best when Christopher Browder is allowed to spin a story over a simple guitar line, and Big Bad at Home does just that. Strangely enough, these reimaginings add a bit more energy to the generally subdued Big Bad tracks, giving them a whole new life.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Jungle Green—”Stop Giving Your Heart”/”Ritchie”
Jungle Green shared a pair of songs that both exude a sophisticated, silky feel. “Stop Giving Your Heart” is hoppy and choppy, while “Ritchie” moves more languidly.
Bineet Kaur | @hellobineet
Iress—Flaw
Iress is a tough band to pigeonhole. Flaw covers a variety of moods and genres over its eight songs, from pensive slowcore to sludgy shoegaze. It generally settles somewhere between the two, ending up both comforting and chilling at the same time.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
PUP—”Rot”
In a hellish year, the arrival of new music from PUP is a welcome gift. But of the six songs on their just-announced forthcoming EP, This Place Sucks Ass, five were recorded for and ultimately left off 2019’s Morbid Stuff. “Rot,” which dropped Thursday, is the only track written this year. Fittingly, and in true PUP fashion, it relishes in feeling bad, smirking and eye-rolling all the way. So little of what’s termed punk these days actually fits the bill. But PUP’s staunch refusal to see silver linings is strangely comforting.
Michelle Bruton | @MichelleBruton
Broken Glowsticks—”Dancing on My Own”
The Dangerous Summer’s AJ Perdomo seems to have really come into his own over the past year or so. His band’s last record, as well as their most recent singles, found him pushing his limits creatively, and his first solo single as Broken Glowsticks continues that trend. “Dancing on My Own” is Perdomo’s most full-throated embrace of pop rock yet and, honestly, it suits him incredibly well.
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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