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.
Real Pal – Real Pal
Real Pal is a collaborative project comprising Kyle Mindemann of Green Grass for Miles and Kwakisurpiniku and Kicksie’s Giuliana Mormile. Their new album Real Pal is closer to Green Grass for Miles’ work than to either of their other projects; expect spacey, atmospheric emo that pulls as much from American Football’s LP3 as it does from LP1.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
shiver. – “Bliss”
Salem, MA, indie rockers shiver. are prepping a compilation of unreleased tracks, B-sides, demos, and more for their tenth anniversary as a band, and to celebrate they’ve released the two-song Bliss/Feel Alive single. The remix of “Feel Alive,” from 2020’s See the Light, is nice, but the updated take on their unreleased “Bliss” is the highlight, a song that crests and breaks like a wave without ever feeling too overpowering.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Footballhead – “Before I Die”
“Before I Die,” the title track from Footballhead’s upcoming seven-track album, is a great taste of what to expect from the next phase of the band: the guitars are bigger and heavier, the songs are a little longer, and the hooks hit even harder. Before I Die is the perfect follow-up to Overthinking Everything, and “Before I Die” might be the best song on there.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Hot Mulligan – “End Eric Sparrow and the Life of Him”
On “End Eric Sparrow and the Life of Him,” Hot Mulligan vocalist Tades Sanville mostly shelves the throat-shredding yelp that’s become the band’s calling card, instead leaning into a tuneful croon that proves they don’t need to scream to be the most interesting band in pop-punk today.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Why Bonnie – “Fake Out”
90 in November was an excellent debut LP for Why Bonnie, but if “Fake Out” is any indication then Wish on the Bone will be even better. The new single adds some meat to the folk rock skeleton, whispery verses smash-cutting into a shouty hook. It’s a killer song.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
smush – if you were here i’d be home now
smush absolutely falls into that space in the middle of the Venn diagram between slowcore and shoegaze that’s been so popular lately, but on their debut LP if you were here i’d be home now they sound like they’re inventing a new genre. These twelve songs veer from punishingly loud to eerily quiet and often back again, and there’s a handful of weird electronic interludes to keep things fresh.
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 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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