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.
Alex Stanilla – “Overtime”
Alex Stanilla reins in his kitchen-sink approach to pop a bit on his new tune “Overtime,” letting the gentle melody and his vocal range carry the track through its haunting, hypnotic path. It’s the latest in a dozen or so singles from Stanilla that would certainly make a great compilation if a tape label were so inclined.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Noah Kahan – We’ll All Be Here Forever
The We’ll All Be Here Forever EP is the deluxe edition of Noah Kahan’s pensive and raconteur-ing album Stick Season released last year. Known for his raw storytelling and folk sensibilities, the EP acts in the same way its predecessor did by prying open one’s chest by the end of its runtime. For those of us who also have a complicated relationship with our hometowns, We’ll All Be Here Forever makes sure we’re not only seen but listened to with tracks like “Paul Revere” and “You’re Gonna Go Far,” and the heartwarming voice notes that are tacked onto “View Between Villages.” The EP is reflective. It’s weepy. It’s strong. It’s catchy. It’s damn good.
Hope Ankney | @hope_ankleknee
Long Relief – No Growth
No Growth is the debut from Long Relief, an EP that imagines a world where Spraynard embraced Weakerthans-style folk punk rather than straightforward pop-punk.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Yes Yes A Thousand Times Yes – “Society Can Help Shape Our Genes”
Yes Yes A Thousand Times Yes’ “Society Can Help Shape Our Genes” is one of those wonderful songs that reveals more and more with each listen. The explosive turn of “do you suffer, I suffer too / do you suffer, you know we don’t have to” is sure to hit the emo crowd like a sugar rush on first listen, but so is the quick noodle riff that throws the tune back into the jittery bounce envelopes that heavier section. Beyond that, there is a world of pick scratches, drum fills, harmonics, and mathy turns to discover while you keep hitting repeat. The group’s Supertinyinfinitedans is out on the 20th.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
The Maine – “blame” / “how to exit a room”
Arizona pop rock group The Maine have dropped two new singles ahead of their eighth album set to release in August. The band has had an evolutionary approach to their sound over the years, etching new sonic landscapes and worlds around each era. With “blame” and “how to exit a room,” one sees the band dive into a much grittier rock territory than we’ve seen from them in recent years. There’s a darker, faster, edgier undercurrent that courses through the tracks while still attaching themselves to the band’s stylistic flare. Per usual, these songs are killer. The Maine never misses. Why would they start now?
Hope Ankney | @hope_ankleknee
Curtail – Crimson
On previous Curtail releases, the Ohio band mined their ‘90s heroes for moments that could be pulled into their orbit; on Crimson, the first of three EPs comprising the follow-up to last year’s When the Sway Sets, they make their own path. These four songs, among the longest they’ve ever penned, have identifiable precedents but feel wholly the product of Curtail as a band in itself.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Sailor Down – Lookout Park
With its lyrics tied to specific memories and places, listening to Sailor Down’s Lookout Park truly feels like unearthing a time capsule or catching a glimpse of someone’s diary. Chloe Deeley’s measured vocals and tasteful acoustic playing are joined by warm pedal steel and subtle electronics here as she recalls “sunlight in a whiskey lemonade” or reminisces about getting high by the airport in high school. Everything in the record’s half hour lands wonderfully, but the pair of “Skip the Line” and “The Same for You, the Same for Me” best highlight what makes Sailor Down’s music so easy and rewarding to keep returning to.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Niall Horan – The Show
After the unfortunate timing of Niall Horan’s last effort Heartbreak Weather in 2020, his third album The Show is a definitive step up from the sophomore slump he had been wading in. The sweet spot of this dusty, folk-rock infused pop record is in Horan’s ability to flawlessly blend what made both his prior releases good while stamping out the parts that didn’t feel familiar to his identity. His keen ability for storytelling within his lyricism, the record’s big yet structured melodies, and his vocal’s overall authentic nature proves how versatile and purposeful Horan is being here as an artist as he solidifies his sound instead of just exploring it. I believe The Show to be his strongest outing to date.
Hope Ankney | @hope_ankleknee
Superdestroyer – “SlowLeak.wav”
With its lyrics about “drunken chanting” at a séance and entrancing sci-fi synths, Superdestroyer’s “SlowLeak.wav” feels like a message from another time, an artifact from a long forgotten past or some strange dystopian future. While a sense of doom is palpable when Superdestroyer sings, “life’s like a slow leak you ride on until it’s flat / one day you’re empty with no way of getting back,” it’s paired with a calming, meditative acknowledgement of that reality.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
The Sonder Bombs – “waste”
On “waste,” the latest single from The Sonder Bombs, they continue even further down the pop path of September’s “The Star.” Built on a twinkling beat and modulated vocals, “waste” bubbles along until it spills over—and when it does, it feels like a release.
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 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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