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.
awakebutstillinbed – “airport”
“airport,” the first single off awakebutstillinbed’s long-awaited sophomore record chaos takes the wheel and i am a passenger, is cut from the same cloth as “life,” a highlight from their debut. It’s as catchy and driving as emo gets while also showing off the band’s heavier, more screamo-inflected tendencies. Shannon Taylor shreds her vocal cords delivering, as always, diaristic lyrics like, “it’s been years / since I blacked out at school / and I woke up / in a drunken adolescent daze / in a hospital bed.”
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Deafcult – Future of Illusion
A lot has changed in the past half-decade, and so has Deafcult. The Brisbane shoegazers’ sophomore album Future of Illusion is darker and heavier than Auras, at times almost disorienting in its thickness and density. Although it’s a pivot for them, this more aggressive sound might suit Deafcult even better than the dreamier style of their early releases.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Birdy – Portraits
Birdy has released her fresh sounding pop album Portraits and it’s the perfect album to reel in the end of summer. With atmospheric production akin to that of Hatchie, Birdy leaves her mark on listeners like the final sunburns of August before fall time.
Subsonic Eye – “J-O-B”
“J-O-B,” the new single from Subsonic Eye’s fourth LP All Around You, begs for “sunny beaches,” and its bright, jangly melodies call to mind cool breezes and cool drinks. The Singaporean band strives toward the same kind of dreamy indie pop Alvvays perfected on last year’s Blue Rev, and with its airy riffs and cooed hooks, “J-O-B” hits the mark.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Broken Vow – “1.5”
“1.5” is the lead single from Anthropocene, the debut LP from Broken Vow. The record has an unenviable task–following up their stellar 2021 EP Sane Minds End. But the Massachusetts metallic hardcore troupe is no stranger to expectations–comprising members of Ankle Biter and Anxious–and the punishing “1.5” is immediately a highlight in their catalog, a crushing track that challenges listeners to see themselves as part of a larger world than even just humanity.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
tethered – demo
In the tags for demo on bandcamp, tethered reference Gravity and Ebullition Records, two titans of screamo in the ‘90s. The London four-piece owes a debt to those labels’ landmark releases for sure, but their music isn’t quite as manic as the tag implies. The five songs on demo are faw and furious, but there’s a subtle melodicism to them that rewards repeated listens.
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 post it on Fridays on Twitter 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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