The Alt Weekly Roundup (11/23/21)
Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
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.
Overgrow—”Say Nothing”
Overgrow’s latest single finds the band in unfamiliar territory. “Say Nothing” shows off the band’s post-rock influences more than any other song in their catalog. It’s a beautiful track , and it’s another standout from one of the brightest young bands around.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
ManDancing—The Good Sweat
Those who liked what they heard from ManDancing when they arrived on the scene had to wait awhile to see what the band was capable of. It was worth it. Their anthemic, oft-compared-to-Manchester-Orchestra sound is bigger than ever on new LP The Good Sweat. It’s the kind of album you’ll want to listen to on your best noise-canceling headphones, letting the swelling layers of instrumentation and Stephen G Kelly’s voice wash over you.
Michelle Bruton | @MichelleBruton
Hypoluxo—Hypoluxo
It’s not often that I’m drawn to a band that sounds like Hypoluxo. A lot of new post-punk music tends to feel cold and impersonal to me, but the Brooklyn group really found a big way to engage a lapsed Floridian like myself. ”I can take it,” vocalist Samuel Jacob Cogen yelps on closer “Sweat,” “hell, I’ve lived in Florida.” Much of the band’s new self-titled record finds a way to bring a little life to a well-worn sound—these songs are raw, danceable, and even funny, and at 28 minutes Hypoluxo feels bite-sized enough to keep you coming back.
Jordan Walsh | @jordalsh
Silverstein—Redux II
Never ones to sit idly by, Silverstein used the pandemic as an opportunity to record a second album of reimagined songs (despite releasing their 10th studio album earlier this year). Following on the heels of 2019’s Redux: The First 10 Years, Redux II includes OG fan favorites like “November” and “Waiting Four Years,” all imbued with the maturity that has come with doing this for 17 years. With crystal-clear and intricately layered production, tracks that were overshadowed on their respective original albums like “The Ides of March” and “Hear Me Out” absolutely shine when given new life. As much as we’ve all grown since 2003, Redux II will reaffirm your love for this sound.
Michelle Bruton | @MichelleBruton
The Sonder Bombs—”The One About You”
The Sonder Bombs’ first album MODERN FEMALE ROCKSTAR was an original burst of ukulele-adorned pop-punk energy, but “The One About You” shows that they’re ready to add some wrinkles to their sound for their upcoming sophomore LP Clothbound. “The One About You” is an airy track that glides by with floating synthesizers and a breezy acoustic guitar, with Willow Hawks’s wistful vocals at the center. This brief but engrossing track is a sentimental and gorgeous evolution for The Sonder Bombs, and Clothbound is definitely a record to look out for in January.
Jordan Walsh | @jordalsh
Faith Holt—The Difference
Faith Holt’s debut LP released on Chillwavve Records this week, and it’s a mellow, pleasant listen, especially for this time of year. The Difference sounds like if early Taylor Swift was influenced by obscure indie movies and Hodera albums instead of country rock songs.
Luciano Ferrara | @lucianorferrara
Clearbody—”Too Far Gone”
Charlotte trio Clearbody weren’t even alive when Sunny Day Real Estate formed, but with their DIY-rooted blend of early shoegaze and contemporary indie rock, they carry the torch proudly. Fuzzed-out guitars in turn wander in emo-inspired arpeggios or crank ahead with the energy of a Dinosaur Jr. or a Pixies. To put it simply, Clearbody make the kind of rock that you want to hear. Their third single, “Too Far Gone,” should get you more than hyped for their debut LP, One More Day, on December 4.
Michelle Bruton | @MichelleBruton
Talk Show Host—”This Monologue”
Toronto band Talk Show Host recently signed to Wiretap Records and released the first single and music video, “This Monologue,” off of an upcoming debut LP set to release Spring 2021. The song is reminiscent of fellow Candian rocker Drew Thomson (The Drew Thomson Foundation) with its snappy hook and classic punk rock riffage.
Luciano Ferrara | @lucianorferrara
God Is an Astronaut—”Burial”
God Is an Astronaut is one of post-rock’s most reliable acts. “Burial,” as you’d expect from the Irish four-piece, is an electric six-minute banger that oscillates between static breakdowns and beautifully haunting piano themes.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Chamberlain—Red Weather
Chamberlain’s brand of emo-tinged Americana is perfect for fall. Red Weather is the ideal soundtrack for a day spent carving pumpkins, raking leaves, or staying in bed crying. The band hasn’t missed a beat in the nearly two decades since Exit 263.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Wild Pink—”You Can Have It Back”
Wild Pink get a little happy-go-lucky on “You Can Have It Back,” the latest single from their upcoming album A Billion Little Lights. Typically, Wild Pink make big, majestic combinations of dream pop and Americana, and while those genre identifiers hold for this new track, the band is a little more down-to-earth here. Featuring harmonies with Ratboys’s Julia Steiner, this plucky song deals with packing up and moving on (“your love you gave to me/ you can have it back”), and it sounds like it’s taking it all in stride.
Jordan Walsh | @jordalsh
Mighty—B-Sides
“I wanna wreck shit,” Angelo Fiaretti screams out at the end of “Daisy,” the closing song on his band’s new EP. Honestly, who doesn’t wanna wreck shit? The four songs that make up B-Sides are some of Mighty’s wildest yet, ranging from more punk influenced to twangier material than they’ve released before. If these are b-sides, I can’t wait to see what makes the cut.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Killer Be Killed—Reluctant Hero
Reluctant Hero is four musicians at the top of their game. This is the sophomore effort from Killer Be Killed, the indisputable supergroup of Greg Puciato, Troy Sanders, Ben Koller and Max Cavalera, who hail from contemporary icons Dillinger Escape Plan, Mastodon, Converge, and Soulfly, respectively. The three non-drumming members share vocal duties on every single track, bringing anticipatory charm to every moment that leaves the listener wondering what each distinct voices is going to do next. Appreciation for life and the limited time we have is a recurring theme, showing up in screams such as, “LIVE AS IF YOU MIGHT NEVER DIE”.
Tyler Holland | @InTyler_WeTrust
Cold Gawd—The Creative Pursuits of Me and You
Ever wish you had been active in the Pennsylvania basement show circuit circa 2006 when a band called Tigers Jaw was just starting out? Chicagoans have that opportunity to claim Matt Wainwright as one of our own before his solo project Cold Gawd explodes. Imbued with an early Tigers Jaw sensibility—and a little Mineral, too—this is the kind of stripped-down, lightly produced emogaze you have to do a little digging to find, but when you do, it rewards you. No skipping allowed on The Creative Pursuits of Me and You; it’s sequenced perfectly, building to a feedback-loaded release on final track “Ongoing Time Stabbed by a Dagger.”
Michelle Bruton | @MichelleBruton
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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