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.
Palmyra – Restless
A favorite since I saw them play on a front porch in Wilmington, NC, Virginia trio Palmyra’s debut record, Restless, is out on John Prine’s Oh Boy Records. With it, they are bringing the south to the rest of the world—and it’s about damn time. The chemistry these three have on their album is electric, and you can feel it in the strums of the strings and the harmonies on the songs that they are putting their all into this record. Do yourself a favor and play this one with the windows down.
Ryleigh Wann | @wannderfullll
Raue – “Are You Bored Yet?”
“Are You Bored Yet?” opens Raue’s upcoming too scared to explain EP on an immediately captivating note. Paige Kalenian’s vocals float atop rumbling percussion and the song careens between muted verses and a radio-ready hook without Kalenian ever raising her voice.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Comet – “Opium”
Comet released one of the most compelling alternative rock / grunge EPs of 2023 with Two-Winged and has since been cultivating an underground following around New York and beyond. At the end of March, she released “Opium,” the first single off the upcoming Quitter EP, along with an accompanying video directed by Fiona Kane. It’s an evocative track that captures the ceaseless allure of addiction and stoutly paves the way forward for modern grunge rock rooted in authenticity.
Loan Pham | @x_loanp
Volena – Volena
Volena is a new indie rock band based in Brooklyn, but don’t let the acoustics and lead singer Maddie Grandusky-Howe’s sweet-sounding voice fool you—this EP packs a punch. The lyrics, strings, and guitar riffs beg a question with each note: is it worth it to start over? What possibilities exist after walking away from a harmful relationship? Who might you become when you let restorative love wash over you? Volena quilts together snapshots of these curious and awe-inspiring moments. A cross-country road trip, an apartment with shiny wood floors and a fridge full of food, and a dog wedding that will leave you in tears—all the things you remember when you are safe after a storm.
Ryleigh Wann | @wannderfullll
Slow Joy – “Wound”
Slow Joy’s been pumping out fuzzy, crunchy alt rock bangers for the past five years, but Esteban Flores is only now readying himself for a full-length. A Joy So Slow at Times I Don’t Think It’s Coming is out in mid-May, but we’ve got another taste of the LP in “Wound,” which builds off the hook-forward sound of last year’s Mi Amigo Slow Joy EP. It might well be the biggest, catchiest Slow Joy track to date.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Scowl – Are We All Angels
Scowl have come a long way since their debut album How Flowers Grow in 2021. Having signed with Dead Oceans last year, their sophomore album Are We All Angels is their most honest and defiant effort yet. The band, who made a noticeable sonic shift on their last EP Psychic Dance Routine, remain true to their hardcore roots while incorporating stronger melodic structures and alternative rock variations that playfully reclaims their ever-expanding identity. Are We All Angels signifies that Scowl are a band that are fully capable of evolving past old versions of themselves and that they can do it pretty damn well.
Loan Pham | x_loanp
Gemma Laurence – “Bloodlines”
Sapphic folk artist Gemma Laurence has a new single, “Bloodlines,” with an accompanying video from her forthcoming album We Were Bodies Underwater. “Bloodlines” is shot on Super 8 and feels timeless, like something you might find buried in a box in a dusty basement, alongside forgotten letters from an old lover. What begins as two people spinning each other around in their shared apartment quickly turns to something more sinister—nails in a bowl, wildflowers burning, a pearl-white snake slithering across a loveseat. You can feel the weight of longing and remembering in Laurence’s tender but hearty voice as it spills out memories of what once was, and what might’ve been possible.
Ryleigh Wann | @wannderfullll
Kicksie – “PRETTYGIRL”
“PRETTYGIRL” sheds any of the emo or punk from Kicksie’s pop-punk / emo-pop sound, committing fully to slippery, pitch-shifted pop. It works surprisingly well, and Kicksie’s in-your-face confidence (“you don’t wanna know why your girl is hitting my phone,” “I’m a pretty girl so my wish is granted,” “bitch I’m stepping in“) absolutely helps sell it.
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 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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