The Alt Weekly Roundup (5/5/25)
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.
Elway – “Laugh Track”
Elway’s back, and “Laugh Track”–the band’s first song since the 2022–is a hell of a reintroduction. The song’s as anthemic as anything they’ve ever written, and it’s timely: “This song is about how I came to learn how endemic war is in our culture and it proposes, if not insists, for this utter madness to end with us,” the band shares, punk as ever. It’s the lead single from their upcoming seventh album Nobody Is Going to Heaven (facts).
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
death_on_impact – Oh Father, Why Here?
Greenville, SC, one-man band death_on_impact cites early 2000s post-hardcore like Underoath and As Cities Burn as foundational influences, and Oh Father, Why Here?–his second LP of 2025–certainly calls to mind They’re Only Chasing Safety and Son I Loved You at Your Darkest, two albums released years before Rex Rivers was even born. “Possibly Texas” and “The Arrow Pointing West” in particular feel like throwbacks, mixing wounded shrieks with smooth hooks and claustrophobic soundscapes. Tracks like “An Early Night,” a collaboration with Texas emo band My Point of You, and “Never: Pt. II” show off how far the project’s come even since January’s I Believe in Fire, some of the most dynamic tracks in death_on_impact’s catalog and nicely representative of some of the risks he’s taking here.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Survival Club – “Maybe We’ll Learn Something from All of This (But Probably Not)”
Survival Club’s summer ‘24 single “Maybe We’ll Learn Something from All of This (But Probably Not)” just got the video treatment, and for as summery and bright as the track is, the video’s a bit different–it follows a young office worker trying to escape the drudgery of her job. When the song starts playing, though, it sure sounds like vacation.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Teens in Trouble / Bat Boy – Split
Teens in Trouble and Bat Boy both specialize in upbeat, roadtrip-ready pop-punk, and their new split EP is a perfect showcase. Each both offers up an original and a cover, with Bat Boy beefing up “Brave” from last year’s What’s Mine and Teens in Trouble getting spooky on their reinterpretation of Fun Machine closer “Ghost.”
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Diary – “Stevie”
Already after last year’s Speedboat EP, New York indie rockers Diary are back with a new single. “Stevie” strips away most of the fuzz from their sound, revealing a gleaming jangle-pop gem underneath.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
The Alternative’s ‘New Music Friday’ playlist
Each week we compile a playlist of songs our staff has been jamming. We post it on Fridays and then include it in each edition of the Weekly Roundup to make sure you don’t miss any of the great music we’re recommending.
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