The Alt Weekly Roundup (9/19)
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.
Arms Length – “Object Permanence”
Last year’s Everything Nice EP was a phenomenal offering from Arms Length, a potent mix of riffy pop-punk and biting post-hardcore. The Ontario band seems to be keeping that momentum up–they’ve just announced their debut full-length Never Before Seen, Never Again Found, and with that announcement they’ve dropped an excellent single titled “Object Permanence.” It continues down that searing pop-punk path they carved on previous releases, but this time, the riffs are sharper, the melodies are tighter, and the future is even brighter than before.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Mallbangs – “You Can Have It All”
Mallbangs new single is a vibrant acoustic song full of sing along, emotional lyrics. “You Can Have It All” get’s its weight from songwriter Aidy’s impassioned vocals. Aidy says the song’s “ is based on, and written around, the guitar riff chord progression you can hear in the bridge. I just could never figure out what to do with that part for what felt like forever – It was just like a loop I would constantly play to myself all the time. The lyrics just sort of stumbled out in the first verse, and they worked so I kept them.”
Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
Field Medic – “stained glass”
Taking a more somber turn than the previous two singles, Field Medic’s “stained glass” is a gorgeous, meditative slow burn, with the music almost working as a calming agent to the anxious, worried lyrics like “I know this ain’t god punishing me / this is a reckoning / for my own stupidity.” Out next month, grow your hair long if you’re wanting to see something that you can change may be Field Medic’s best yet.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Breanna Barbara – “Landslide”
Breanna Barbara’s video for “Landslide” plays like a ’70s pulp film, full of style that perfectly matches her haunting vocals. Backed by a whole team, including a stylist, a full camera crew, and directed by Fatos Marishta, Breanna Barbara shows that videos can be art. I would definitely watch this movie if it was real!
Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
Gatherers – “gift horse”
Gatherers has been teasing a new full-length for years, and it looks like we’re finally getting it. Previous singles “Ad Nauseam, I Drown” and “black marigold” will appear on the band’s upcoming fourth LP Mutilator, but the latest single, “gift horse,” might be the best one yet. Besides featuring a killer guest spot from Thursday’s Geoff Rickly, it’s a searing and chaotic post-hardcore track that’d make Glassjaw proud with a soaring hook.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Tigers Jaw – “Old Clothes”
It’s been a little over a year since Tigers Jaw’s fantastic sixth LP I Won’t Care How You Remember Me, but we already have new music in the form of forthcoming EP Old Clothes. The title track, as well as the EP’s other three tracks, were recorded with producer Will Yip at the same time as the album, and it’s apparent in the sound. It’s poppy, with plenty of whoa-ohs, but the distortion and Ben Walsh’s vocals also recall 2017’s Spin as well as the band’s early sound. Tigers Jaw have a rich collection of EPs under their belts and this one sounds like it’s going to be special.
Michelle Bruton | @MichelleBruton
Barbed Wire – “Bedroom Walls”
This year has been packed with killer emo releases from bands outside of the US, and Barbed Wire—hailing from Rome—have made a fantastic contribution to that trend with “Bedroom Walls.” Andrea Boiani’s straightforward vocal melody allows lots of room for the band to go wild underneath, and the song contains a sick breakdown at about two minutes that grows from hypnotic to explosive to push to the end of the track. It’s the first single off an upcoming record from Barbed Wire that will be getting a tape run stateside via Sleepy Clown Records.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Hippie Trim – What Consumes Me
Bands like Drug Church and Militarie Gun are (rightly) blowing up in the post-hardcore scene right now, grafting power pop melodies onto hardcore tracks and making it all feel effortless. Hippie Trim, on their new LP What Consumes Me, taps into that winning formula too, with a splash of atmospheric riffage to tie the whole thing together. Single “Pain Ball” demonstrates this all in a tight two and a quarter minutes, giving a perfect sampler of all Hippie Trim’s strengths at once.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Opal Eskar – “The Woodsman”
Opal Eskar is the side project of The War on Drugs and features Karl Blau (The Microphones, Earth, D+) on vocals. Even a mention of The Microphones will get me to listen, and I was immediately in on this project. Full of synth and a funky groove, “The Woodsman” is a nice peak of what their combined powers can accomplish. I am looking forward to their EP, which drops on 10/14.
Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
Oversize – “Taste”
Oversize’s In Balance didn’t get nearly enough press when the band burst onto the scene in December of last year, but they’re back to correct the record. “Taste” is the leadoff from their upcoming Into the Ceiling, and it throws a little hardcore fury into their gazey alt rock. It’s cut from a similar cloth as Broken Head’s delightful A Wishful Thing from a couple months back, a potent slice of ‘90s nostalgia that still feels tethered to today.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
overtheweather / Toluca Lake – Food Fight
overtheweather and Toluca Lake’s Food Fight is pretty much everything you’d want out of a punk split. Both bands sound great here, packing their fast-paced tunes with some gnarly riffs and solid dose of distortion on the guitars. overtheweather’s sound falls in the aggressive emo feel, and it forms a nice balance with Toluca Lake’s more sparkly melodies on side two. Food Fight is a split, but also somewhat of a collaboration, as the groups feature each other on guest vocals on all the tracks.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Midi Memory – “Eternal Dream”
“Eternal Dream,” the latest single from Midi Memory, borrows as much from ethereal shoegaze as it does from shaky synth pop, and the result is a dark but beautiful haze of mumbled hooks and muted synth melodies.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Young Jesus – “Rose Eater”
Young Jesus make music that is moving, emotional, and uplifting, and their new single “Rose Eater” shares that same shining light that comes through right when you need it. The video mixes the studio version of the song with a couple of intimate moments of band founder John Rossiter playing “Rose Eater” on just piano at what appears to be his home. Also, there’s a dog, so bonus!
Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
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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