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.
The Sink – “Puppy Love”
Earlier this year Ottawa, Ontario’s The Sink released their debut EP Reaching for Light, which I said at the time recalled “the stop-start chaos of mid-2000s titans like Every Time I Die or The Chariot.” The metalcore four-piece is back now with their first single since, the searing “Puppy Love,” and it picks up right where they left off. If you’re tired of angel-cover cursive-font metalcore but still hungry for something heavy, The Sink’s just the thing.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
la lune – “despondent (STANDARDS Field Sessions)”
A few months ago, local web magazine STANDARDS released a Field Sessions recording with the Vancouver-based shoegaze band la lune for an intimate performance that included their latest stirring single “despondent.” Back in April, the band debuted their captivating disparity EP that at times reminds me of bands like Milly or DIIV with its fuzzed out ‘90s indie rock melodies and hushed vocal inflections, and I can’t wait to hear a full length release from the band in the future.
Loan Pham | @x_loanp
Nagasaki Swim – “Tokyo, 7 AM”
Like their previous single “Picture,” Nagasaki Swim’s new song “Tokyo, 7 AM” has a warm heartland rock sway to it. Jasper Boogaard’s voice is calm and steady like a soft breeze, and the song ambles along gently even as sax fades in and stabs of guitar fuzz threaten to throw the band off kilter–but they never lose their composure.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Bent Blue – So Much Seething
San Diego hardcore punks Bent Blue have been on an incredible run; 2022 saw both the rerelease of their Between Your and You’re EP and the even better Where Do Ripples Go? EP, and last year they dropped an excellent split with Philly’s Sunstroke. This year brings us their debut full-length, the skatepark-ready So Much Seething. On a couple tracks (“The Other Half,” “Your Remains”) Bent Blue lets up and gives us their most melodic material to date, but for the rest of the twenty-minute LP, they’re as gnarly as ever, and tracks like the DC-flavored “Unspoken” and the blistering rich kid callout “Born on Third” are some of their best ever.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Morning Eagle – “Basejumper”
Morning Eagle’s latest single “Basejumper” is one of their most daring releases yet, sounding like the type of energy-fueled alt rock song you would have accidentally stumbled on while racing in some Y2K motocross video game. It free falls into chaotic whirling guitars and lurching post-grunge bass lines over discordant vocals verging on self-destructive compulsions and manages to incorporate something fresh into the alternative rock landscape while expanding on their previous releases.
Loan Pham | @x_loanp
SPLITJAW – Dread’s Comforting Embrace
On their debut EP Dread’s Comforting Embrace, Chicago metalcore band SPLITJAW rage against transphobes, reactionary politicians, and anyone else who’s ever harmed them, but as fiery and powerful as Maude Stout’s lyrics (and vocals) might be, the band behind her rips just as fiercely. From the mathcore fury of the title track to the H8000-goes-sasscore vibes of the five-minute closer “Leech,” it’s all enough to make you want to burn something down.
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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