In December the music industry mostly shuts down, and this December that was especially true, but luckily there was plenty of great new music to keep us going. Take a listen to all of our favorite new tracks from December.

Despite how exhausted I am by 2020, I am excited to share my top 20 albums of 2020. The best albums of the worst year.

The Beach Boys holiday album was their 7th release, with 5 original songs and 7 traditional carols. It was released in 1964, and it has been called "one of the finest holiday albums of the rock era.” Tina looks back on this classic holiday album.

Joel put together a playlist of a bunch of our favorite alternative holiday songs including tracks from Prince Daddy, Charly Bliss, Chris Farren, Origami Angel, and many more!

The Alternative Staff's 75 Favorite Releases of the Year + our winners of the 8th Annual The Alt Music Awards!!!

Ska legends, Less Than Jake, spoke to Michelle about their new album, ska's resurgence in 2020, and their virtual album release show.

Aaron Gillespie, spoke with Michelle about his first year without touring in 20 years, about his 1st year without touring in 20 years, the Underoath Observatory performances, his songwriting workshop, and using 2020 to work on new songs and spend time with his growing family.

November was a STRESSFUL month, luckily there was plenty of great new music to keep us standing. Take a listen to all of our favorite tracks of the month!

ManDancing have made the leap, the leap from “I’ll throw this on” to “I can’t turn this off.” To put it bluntly, The Good Sweat is a masterpiece.

Today, Can't Swim released "Casey" which is a dramatic change of sound for the band and a sign of what's to come on their December EP. Lead vocalist Chris LoPorto spoke with Michelle about their experimentation, influences, and pushing back against people's expectations.

Motion City Soundtrack wrote some of the best hooks in alternative music and played a huge role in forming the taste of many music fans. However the stress of releasing and touring on 6 albums in 12 years got to be too intense, and in 2016, MCS went on hiatus. After some reunion shows, and a COVID year off, they discuss where things stand.

This is an album that deals with the visceral malaise ingrained in our very existence and looks at it from all angles. You can hear the songwriter, Caleb Cordes achieving epiphanies or reaching a breaking point in nearly every track, and his songwriting feels truly unique. 

Last year’s Madrigal EP brought Equipment some success with its immediately gripping pop-punk style. Just over a year later, the band is back with a new EP, All You Admire, made up of their four best songs yet. Zac chatted with bandleader Nick Stoup about the EP-writing process.

In his long career, John Darnielle’s greatest strength has been his ability to sing from the perspective of characters who may be nothing like him and make it believable. On the Mountain Goats' latest album, their 12th as a full band, and 19th overall, Darnielle casts himself in his strangest roles yet. The result is some of the best songs of his career.

“Buddy,” the newest release from Seattle-based Seth Little’s project, Hello, I’m Sorry, is a gentle rocking chair and a cup of cinnamon tea in a rainstorm. The guitar leads are complex and effective, but always appear appropriately in the mix and in the structure of the song. Little’s vocals are lilting and comfortable, like we’ve been buddies forever.