The Alt Weekly Roundup (11/28)
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.
Secret Grief – Bloom
Many of the bands operating in the maximalist indie rock lane err on the folksier side of the equation—Adjy, String Machine, early Caracara. But Secret Grief rubs elbows with emo on their surprise EP Bloom. “Euchre” takes clear influence from the work of Empire! Empire! and the synths that weave through “Dreams” recall The World Is or The Anniversary. With such a dense release (even at only 20 minutes), however, there’s much more to sink teeth into than shades of other groups. “Colors” has a cinematic pull to it enhanced by ghostly chanting and stormy crescendos, and when “Dust” forays into indietronica, it’s both chill and chilling, an understated finale to an epic show. Bloom is wildly experimental, but even more than that, it’s entirely successful.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Paper Geese – “Lavender Blue”
“Lavender Blue,” the latest single from Hamilton, NJ, band Paper Geese, takes the bright melodies of emo-poppers like Charmer and Macseal and wraps it in strings and shimmery production for a sterling pop rock track.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
All Under Heaven / Leaving Time / Glare – Split
Sunday Drive labelmates All Under Heaven, Leaving Time, and Glare are probably the three bands in the burgeoning (and perhaps oversaturated) DIY shoegaze scene who stick the most to the genre’s basics, so it makes sense they’d team up for a split. Curiously, each band turns in arguably their heaviest song yet; All Under Heaven, whose standard formula is wispy, jangly dream pop, flirts with grunge on “Show You My Pain,” coming off similarly to contemporaries like Day Aches and Trauma Ray. It flows nicely into Leaving Time’s contribution, which too trades in gauzy gaze for heavy, biting riffs. Glare closes things out with the aptly titled “Sunny,” a bright track that provides some breathing room before kicking into a cacophonous bridge. Perhaps it’s a sign that the future of the genre really does look more like Hum than My Bloody Valentine. Either way, the split rocks.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Resident – “We Light the Flames”
Resident’s new single “We Light the Flames” is a building, crashing slice of melodic post-hardcore. As good as 2020’s Slip was, “We Light the Flames” eclipses anything on that record.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
A Day at the Fair – The Rocking Horse Years
A Day at the Fair was always one of the most underrated bands on Drive-Thru’s roster, and their sporadic post-hiatus material has only cemented it. The Rocking Horse Years, the band’s latest, is a collection of covers, and it’s as strong as their original material.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Gilt – Gilt on Audiotree Live
Conceit, Gilt’s most recent EP, is one of the year’s strongest releases, and their Audiotree EP lends those songs–and their earlier material–a whole new life. Gilt is one of the best bands in heavy music today, and this session suggests they’re one of the best bands in live music too.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Trembler – Folding
Trembler’s Folding is a perfect listen as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder. It’s a hazy, dusky spin on slowcore, and it’s a great sophomore LP.
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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