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.
Various Artists – Emotive Songs for Emotional People, Act III
The Emotive Songs for Emotional People series has been a great who’s-who of emo for the past few years, and the latest installment is the best yet. It’s got a great sneak peek of emo/post-hardcore heavyhitters Sinking’s newest material, along with cuts from rising stars like Mary’s Letter, Kites & Paper Trees, and Letterpress, and even a helping of skramz from Vs. Self and Rise and Fall of a Dilapidated Home. It’s a great document of where emo’s at right now, and every band brings their best.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Forest Green – “Glass”
With the release of their 2020 album In Waves, Michigan outfit Forest Green seemed to be on the verge of breaking out of the Great Lakes region and becoming a national presence…and then, of course, the pandemic hit. “Glass” marks their first new music since In Waves, and the single finds the foursome striding forward confidently in their sound, but the foundation remains intact. As emo’s fourth and fifth waves have often dealt in quirkiness (if not downright silliness), Forest Green’s heaviness, recalling the early days of post-hardcore, stands out. As fans of that sound celebrate some of their favorite albums’ 20th anniversaries (Thrice, Thursday, Bayside, et. al), Forest Green is a window into a whole new (modern) world.
Michelle Bruton | @MichelleBruton
Cheekface – “The Fringe”
Calling all cheekfreaks, our favorite witty and instantly catchy band dropped a new single. “The Fringe” is about how success can feel like selling out. It is a danceable confession of the complicated emotions an underground artist feels when the world they rejected starts to listen to them. Also the bass lines are really cool.
Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
Wish Kit / New You / Mo Troper / Gnawing – Rock Against Bush
Rock Against Bush is the future of guitar pop. From the bright, laidback “Buhd” and the fuzz pop of New You to Mo Troper’s “Recipe for Loving,” which sounds like a long lost Big Star cut, and the early Green Day sugar rush of Gnawing’s dirty, feedback laden “When You’re Around,” it’s a great cross-section of the genre right now.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Regal Cheer – Cans
The passion of Regal Cheer is palpable, with each song propelling forward and feeling as if it might fall apart in the next measure. It’s what I’ll lovingly call drunk-punk, best experienced in a dingy dive bar with your best friends. It’s the kind of punk music that people of a decade ago will find familiar and seems harder to find in my old age. I could imagine Cans sitting alongside Swearin’ on Salinas Records or Sundials on Asian Man Records.
Hugo Reyes @hvreyes5
Louser – “Switchbank”
Canadian band Louser has a new album coming out February 17th, and if their single “Switchbank” is any indication of how it’s going to sound, we are in for a ripper. The single is grungy with standout drums and a chorus you can sing at the top of your lungs.
Jami Fowler | @audiocurio
Equipment – “Talk to Strangers”
Equipment’s “Talk to Strangers” is a chunky, heavy throwback to early 2000s pop-punk. It fits in nicely alongside recent work from Snow Ellet and Origami Angel, and it bodes well for one of Ohio’s best exports.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Thrice – The Artist in the Ambulance Revisited
February first was a red letter day for fans of beloved post-hardcore outfit Thrice. Not only did the band announce a tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of 2003’s classic The Artist in the Ambulance, but the foursome actually got back in the studio to re-record the album in its entirety, along with a limited-edition vinyl release (which promptly sold out). Lead vocalist Dustin Kensrue has called the original release of Artist “stiff,” and the band’s goal with the reimagined take on these songs was to incorporate all the things they’ve learned about performing while giving them the space to expand sonically. The result is unputdownable; Kensrue’s mature vocals as evidenced on “Silhouette” and the album’s title track are a particular standout.
Michelle Bruton | @MichelleBruton
Parannoul – After the Magic
For about three years now Parannoul has been making something close to a lo-fi bedroom shoegaze, and across three LPs and various splits and collaborations. It’s all earned them the attention of increasingly experimental Portland, Oregon, label Topshelf Records, who’s working with the anonymous South Korean artist to release their latest album After the Magic. Like the image on its cover, After the Magic is oversaturated almost to the point of incomprehensibility, but, like all Parannoul releases, that’s part of the appeal.
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’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.
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