Best Tracks of September 2018 & Monthly Spotify Playlist

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September is not supposed to be this packed with incredible music. The pure amount of music that has come out this month is astounding, and 2018 continues to be one of the deepest years for great new music in The Alt’s history. Below are just a taste of a few of our favorites, but be sure to listen to our Monthly Spotify Playlist at the end so you don’t miss out on any of these gems.


THE BEST TRACKS OF SEPTEMBER 2018

A few albums really stunned me this month, but probably the one I listened to the most is the new Options record. Their slow burning guitar driven tracks remind me of Stove (who released a new single) and Strange Ranger (who also released a single), but they also have the lyrical hooks of an Oso Oso, and the solos of a Weezercore band like Rozwell Kid. Obviously this mix is right up my alley, and I think you’ll enjoy it too.

Another of those stunners was the new album from Grad Life. Not sure that I fully enjoyed it as much as some on our staff did, but it had some outrageously ambitious ideas. In a lot of ways it tries to re-discover the anthemic emo of the Say Anything / My Chemical Romance generation with a new layer of dark cynicism for the late 2010’s. To swing that wildly for the fences is impressive, and while I’m not sure it was a homerun, it might be a triple off the wall.

Speaking of ambitious albums, let me just sneak in a note about the wild new JEFF The Brotherhood album which is essentially background jazz rock. Surprising but not from the JEFF boys.

Similarly experimental was The Spirit of the Beehive album. This trippy rock record I think hold up as something memorable even more so than JEFF’s. It’s not easy to write winding songs like this, and it’s certainly a brave endeavor in the 10 second attention spans of the internet age. But I give them credit for continuing to grow in this style and developing their songwriting even more so.

There were also a few satisfying new records from a bunch of legit living classic rock bands: Joyce Manor and Metric. Fans will debate where both land in their discography, but I would think both will be closer to the top than the bottom, which is a win at this stage in any band’s career.

What month would be complete without some outstanding punk releases. Human People brought the DIY punk, sounding like the best house show you’ve ever been to on their new record. Then The Dirty Nil filled out the more produced approach delivering an album that would compare them favorably to PUP. On the more emo revival side, Carpool really nailed this record. And on the heavier side, Gouge Away delivered maybe the most powerful screamo record of this era. This thing might just bring the genre back it’s so good.

There were also beautiful indie records from Ava Luna, and Lala Lala who delivered different slices of the alternative/indie rock world in their records. Each finding a voice and style that cuts through the noise of the many records of the month.

September has also been a good month for cover comps. MELLT Mag and The Platypus Zine organized a Joyce Manor cover comp to fund the non profit LEAD DIY that brings awareness for light-sensitive music fans. Twitter sensation This Band Fucks also released a Third Eye Blind cover comp.

Everyone’s favorite boyband, Brockhampton, released a rap/pop record themselves, and they are really carving out their own lane with this sound. Personally I liked their bar-heavy Saturation records a bit better, but by upping the pop elements they are standing out more from the pack, and over time if this confederation can mostly hold together, we might see even more evolution both as a group and individually (ie: WuTang and Odd Future). They are off to a good start, because this album debuted at #1 in the US.

September also was a good month for single drops from some of our favorite bands: Hodera, Expert Timing, Weakened Friends, Young Jesus, Charly Bliss, Antarctigo Vespucci, and Big Thief’s Adrianna Lenker with some solo material. 2018 has been shitty for a lot of things, but not for new music (and no I don’t think those 2 are related).

Ahhhh there was too much to write about. Just get listening to the playlist below, and check out all these albums people. Its rough out there in the world and a good record can turn a week around. Hope you find one of those.

Remember you can follow us on Spotify for a new playlist every month


SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

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Writing by Henderson // @HendoSlice

Playlist curated by Steven Lalonde // @StevenLalonde


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