The Alt Weekly Roundup (11/15)
Posted: by The Editor
The Popdosemagazine 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.
Lightleak – Tender Fits
The placid indie rock of Lightleak’s debut LP is perfect for a sunny fall day. The songs of Tender Fits burst and bloom with horns, lively acoustic guitars, and shimmery keys; the brass section, in particular, lends the album a soulful undercurrent that gives it a unique feeling in the current indie rock landscape.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Fielded – Young Medusa
Fielded’s new EP Young Medusa burns along slowly, an alluring collection of psychedelic R&B tunes. The bouncier melodies and active basslines on tracks like “Goodness Gracious” and “Demonology” create a nice contrast with the lush, smoldering vibes that hang over the rest of the album. Fielded’s vocals sound fantastic throughout—with both a laid-back, effortless and passionately powerful sound—and the EP is full of rich harmonies. With so many ideas to explore in under 25 minutes, Young Medusa reveals more of its lush landscape with each listen.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Land of Talk – Calming Night Partner
Land of Talk’s new EP is aptly titled. Calming Night Partner is twenty minutes of beautiful, soothing indie perfect for a night drive. It’s soft and it’s delicate and it’s unassuming, but every single second demands attention; it’s the sort of carefully crafted album that feels like every note contains some sort of unspoken truth.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Tree River – “Thought Bubbles”
Tree River’s new video for “Thought Bubbles” shows off the band’s colorful personality while telling the story of scientists studying mysterious phenomena. The song is so catchy I was singing the hook after the first listen, but a second turn reveals a band that feels at home together, mixing each other’s talents (sticky drums, rolicking riffs, introspective lyrics) to create something wholesome and sweet.
Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
Andrew Younker – Togetherball
Andrew Younker’s Togetherball is an enchanting half hour of ethereal bedroom pop that drifts at a casual pace, allowing ideas to bleed into each other and catchy melodies to naturally work their way through the synths and reverb. Younker’s reserved vocals and the straightforward drum tracks ground the songs as the synths and guitars float along in a dreamy trance. “Safety Net” and the title track stand out as earworms, as does “No Surprise” for its late night vibes, but Togetherball really is a record to play on repeat, letting yourself get lost in the world Younker has created.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Camp Cope – “Blue”
“Blue” is probably the softest single Camp Cope’s ever put out, a far cry from the blistering rallying cry of “The Opener” or the driving anthem “Lost: Season One.” It wears its ‘90s indie rock influences more clearly on its sleeve than any previous track by the Australian three-piece, ending up a serene ballad that might feature Georgia Maq’s best-ever vocal performance.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Blankenberge – Everything
Russian five-piece Blankberge never fail to put out some of the most arresting, otherworldly music in the shoegaze realm. Everything could very well be the peak of that, a record that at times feels like it’s ascending to a whole different plane of existence.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
GILT – In Windows, Through Mirrors
GILT’s In Windows, Through Mirrors hits like a tidal wave, with massive and emotional explosions cut with moments of relative calm that are still no less intense than when the band is drowning you in distortion. It’s a brutal and wrenching ten minutes that ends with a haunting piano and vocalist Ash Stixx repeating, “it’s still growth if it’s growing apart,” growing more and more intense, into an exhausted, but defiant scream that leaves you in a stupefied silence, almost unable to unpack what you just heard, but sure that it was nothing short of incredible.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Bellows – “McNally Jackson”
Bellows tried their hand at straight-up pop here and there on their last LP, The Rose Gardener, but new single “McNally Jackson” throws itself headlong into the fray. It hews far closer to Charli XCX than Told Slant, and – like The Rose Gardener cuts “Stupidest Thing” and “In Silence” would suggest – it’s absolutely dope.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
The Popdosemagazine’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.
The Popdosemagazine is ad-free and 100% supported by our readers. If you’d like to help us produce more content and promote more great new music, please consider donating to our Patreon page, which also allows you to receive sweet perks like free albums and The Popdosemagazine merch.