The Alt Weekly Roundup (1/17)
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.
Plight – Plastic Sun
Plastic Sun, the debut LP from Brooklyn’s Plight, aims a little higher than the slowcore-inspired sound of their Linger EP from 2019. Songs like “Bedhead” (obviously) and “Ritual” retain some of that influence, but they stretch themselves out more throughout the rest of the album. “Reverie” and “Marker” are rooted in the space rock of You’d Prefer an Astronaut, and “Common Thief” dips into grunge. It coheres surprisingly well and establishes Plight as true torchbearers of ‘90s alt rock.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
James Barrett – “Lovely”
Maybe James Barrett’s best song yet, “Lovely” is a somber autumnal remembrance of a lover. The building and hushed synth tones let this The National-but-less-sleepy singer shine. The track’s four minutes and forty seven seconds is worth playing back for “Was the weather too warm? / Was it just a phase?” alone.
Anne Hurban | @fyrbrdtransanne
Thanks! I Hate It – “Participation Trophy Wife”
A quick perusal of the tracklist for Thanks! I Hate It’s upcoming Lovers Lane—titles like “Modern Blernsball,” “Meatwood Flack,” and a pair of tunes: “Dungeons” “And Drag Queens”—will have you saying “yeah, this is definitely an emo band.” That cheeky attitude is reflected in their latest single “Participation Trophy Wife,” an absolute blast of a song that embraces the fun side of emo music with lines like “if you broke both my knees / I could stay in bed forever and I’d never have to find my keys” delivered with a sense of joy that isn’t lost on the exuberant instrumentals. Out in March via Take This To Heart Records, Lovers Lane should definitely be on the radar of emo fans that also like their music to be infectiously fun.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
The Drin – “Venom”
Cincinnati post punks The Drin have only just begun, but they’re already on one hell of a roll. They released their debut in 2021, their sophomore record in the fall of 2022, and are already releasing their third, Today My Friend You Drunk the Venom, on January 27th. The second single “Venom” is a grimy goth tune that instills anxious vibes with echoey monotone vocals and a furious, ricocheting bass line. The sound feels just as foggy and shrouded in mystery as the people making it. I mean seriously, who the hell are these guys? Are they stuck in a haunted cave somewhere, and the only key to escape is to make as much unsettling music as possible? If that’s the case, let’s hope they never get out.
Nate Cross | @BigNafey
Photocopy – “Tired”
Photocopy’s latest single “Tired” feels like a direct response to “Stay a While.” It’s washy and bleary, with an extended instrumental introduction that feels like a dream in itself. It’s nowhere near as heavy as “Stay a While,” but it manages to convey the same sort of hopelessness nonetheless.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
cool sorcery – The Definitive Step-by-Step Dance Guide for Warlord Necromancers and Enthusiasts
cool sorcery are carrying the psyche rock torch on their newest EP The Definitive Step-by-Step Dance Guide for Warlord Necromancers and Enthusiasts released this past December. The entire project is full of distorted guitar and synthesizer sounds straight out of the Scott Pilgrim universe, doing the extreme nerdiness of the EP’s title justice. The track “DETONATION” does the best job representing all six songs, being not only a thrilling headbanger King Gizzard fans would go crazy for, but it could easily be the theme music for the castle-maze level of a ‘90 arcade game.
Nate Cross | @BigNafey
Roseville – Deadfall
Roseville’s latest plays to their strengths–40 minutes of tender, dreamlike slowcore. But where that label tends to denote hopelessness and misery, Deadfall is quite a bit brighter than what many of their peers are turning out. Acoustic guitars sparkle here and there, and these songs have genuine hooks, too.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
mist double – “Hollow”
A hauntingly beautiful song, mist double’s “Hollow” transports you to another world with its cascading guitars and mantra-like repetition of “do you feel hollow?” and “can you feel anything?” Listening to the track, you feel lost in the hazy pink sky of the single art, with the rolling guitars lulling you into a trance as the track grows slowly and organically, morphing like the subtle movements of the clouds. It’s the first track off the group’s fantastic EP OUTERSPHERE, out next month.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Tan and Handsome – Tan and Handsome
Tan and Handsome is carrying the torch for southern fried metalcore. Using Every Time I Die and Greyhaven as their blueprint, the EP also incorporates technical riffs as on “FC” and “Laughter from the Driver’s Seat,” and shoots the whole thing through with an undeniable sense of melody, even as these songs erupt in fury.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Devils Cross Country – Lawn
Devils Cross Country look to be brand new to the world, but I’m sure you’ll be seeing their name more regularly if you’re the type to scour the internet for the newest and best lo-fi bedroom projects.Their debut EP Lawn released just this past December is a little rough around the edges, but it delivers us a banger with its opening track, “Lambda.” It’s a dose of chill slacker rock that combines banjo, dirty acoustic guitars and impassioned lead vocals. It’s very reminiscent of early Alex G, and who doesn’t want more of that?
Nate Cross | @BigNafey
Farseek – “Park of Roses”
“Park of Roses” mixes some horns into Farseek’s jaunty indie rock formula. It’s the loosest the Georgia punks have ever sounded, and it’s probably the best too.
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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