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.
My Rushmore – Tell Everyone We’re Dead
Looking at the cover of My Rushmore’s new album, and knowing it’s named after a Promise Ring song, might give you an idea of what it sounds like even before pressing play, but it wouldn’t necessarily be accurate. Tell Everyone We’re Dead is closer to Ben Quad or Tiny Voices than your favorite ‘90s band, but they’ve still got that same loose energy that made those bands so beloved. The Scottish trio even gets close to skramz territory on tracks like “Midnight Screwdrivers” and the closing “Aug. 15,” getting the album some real bite.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Cheekface – “Flies”
Anytime we get a new Cheekface tune, I’m stoked. Make it have a danceable bass line and an unhinged baritone sax played by Jeff Rosenstock? Absolutely living the dream. I hope the flies are living the dream too.
Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
candlekeep – candlekeep
Tyler Washington, vocalist of Excide and drummer of Foreign Hands, strikes out on his own with candlekeep’s debut self-titled EP. These two songs are scrappy, emo-inflected post-hardcore along the lines of Far or Sparta, and they’re every bit as good as the material he’s released with his other projects.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Kassie Krut – “Reckless”
Prolific math-rock band Palm disbanded last summer. Now Eve Alpert and Kasra Kurt, along with their old producer Matt Anderegg, have reemerged as electropop outfit Kassie Krut. “Reckless,” their explosive single for Fire Talk Records, is oozing with chunky, pulsating synths and serrated hooks. “Sometimes we experience self-doubt so it was fun to create a tougher version of ourselves—someone who’s fast and mean—as well as playing with the misconception that Kassie is an individual and not a band,” the band explained in a press release. The trio spells their name out on the brash, assertive track, which they’ve billed as the band’s theme song.
Giliann Karon | @lethalrejection
Mad Honey – DISCORDIA
Having really liked Mad Honey’s debut LP Satellite Aphrodite, I was curious to hear what they’d do with this reimagined version of the record. I definitely didn’t expect DISCORDIA to sound like this. They twist the original songs into unrecognizable shapes, particularly in the middle stretch of the record: the doom-drone of “when it all goes wrong” smashes up against the noise-pop of “red room” before “u” comes in; it’s one of the most conventional dream pop songs on DISCORDIA, but it coats the vocals of both Tiff Sutcliffe and Lennon Bramlett in effects, lending the track an uncanny feeling that works surprisingly well, especially leading into the PC Music pop of “EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED” and “psych!!” Every swing doesn’t connect, but it proves that Mad Honey is a far more creative—and versatile—band than many of their shoegaze contemporaries, and it opens a ton of doors for LP2, whenever it comes.
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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