The Alt Weekly Roundup (1/23)
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.
En Masse – Burdened Youth
On Burdened Youth, post-hardcore band En Masse harken back to the early, mid-2000s. Sounding at points like a blend of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence and They’re Only Chasing Safety, the Connecticut band’s debut manages to strike a balance of being heavy and still relatively accessible. Single “Mannequin Theory” demonstrates their ability to organically work hooks into what otherwise constitutes a metalcore song, and songs like “Inertia” and “Wired” are relentless in their fury.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Fenne Lily – “Lights Light Up”
Tracked live with her touring band, Fenne Lily’s new song “Lights Light Up” captures that spark that can be lost when trying to precisely record everything separately. There’s just something about a group of musicians playing together in a room and being able to interact with each other that fits perfectly with Lily’s trenchant lyrical turns, adding a warm playfulness to compliment the heavier subject matter. It’s the first tune off her upcoming record Big Picture, which I’ll surely have on repeat come spring.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Loveblaster – “Wings Over Madison”
There’s been a resurgence in slowcore over the past couple of years and Wisconsin’s Loveblaster are making a strong case to be leading the pack in 2023. Their mournful new song “Wings Over Madison” works strings into the mix, resulting in a more visceral and immediate track than many of their contemporaries who err towards the barer.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Miri Devora – I Thought It Was Love
Thought It Was Love is Miri Devora’s first solo release, and it certainly wouldn’t fit alongside her work in Queen of Jeans. Contra that band’s quirky indie rock, I Thought It Was Love embraces pop beats and structures, and it suits Devora’s sensibilities extremely well.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
crushed – “coil”
Dream pop and trip hop are fairly natural bedfellows, so crushed isn’t necessarily doing anything novel, but what they are doing is crafting some of the most beautiful music being made today. Their second ever single, “coil,” is hypnotic and breezy, like the soundtrack to a daydream.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Growing Pains – “What Are the Odds?”
Working with both lush dreamy overlaying sounds and rawer underlying guitar tones, Growing Pains’ “What Are the Odds?” finds that sweet spot between pop, indie, and garage rock (whatever those terms mean anymore). The result is a style that sounds both unique and comfortably familiar, while the lyrics can be bluntly direct and times and cryptic at others, with images like “crush me in the dark / fill my head with stars / menthol breath put me to rest / apple on my head / kill the air instead” sticking out particularly. It’s an enticing listen that bodes well for the group’s upcoming EP.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Lauds – Imitation Life
Imitation Life falls in a proud tradition of jangly indie rock bands letting their dream pop influence shine through—think Antisocialites, Days, Anak Ko. It’s a breezy, bright listen, one that conjures images of beaches at high tide and midday strolls through fields of wildflowers.
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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