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.
lovelettertypewriter – Pia Snow
When a band is named after a Mineral song, that’s a pretty good indicator of what they might sound like–doubly so if they actually got Mineral vocalist Chris Simpson to sing on their lead single. Pia Snow is lovelettertypewriter’s first album in over a decade, since the beautiful Magnus Spring (which recently got a reissue with bonus tracks). Pia Snow largely follows the template set by Magnus Spring, which largely followed the template set by The Power of Failing, but it beefs things up a bit more; there’s a whole lot more shouting on here, and the songs generally don’t take as long to explode as they did on their last album. It’s got a great feature from Keith Latinen, too, on “Sorority Succubus Sisters.”
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Origami Angel – “Dirty Mirror Selfie” / “Where Blue Light Blooms”
With the release of “Dirty Mirror Selfie” and “Where Blue Light Blooms,” Origami Angel are reaching near Waxahatchee levels of consistently delivering on increasingly high expectations: when these artists put out new music, you inherently know it’s going to be great that it almost doesn’t even need to be said. Then you listen to it, and it’s so great that you can’t help but proselytize about it to everyone you see. Both new tunes find Origami Angel in comfortable territory–sugary choruses mixed with wicked riffs and drumming–but at the same time pushing the boundaries of what ideas can fit in an Origami Angel song. Counter Intuitive Records has been on an impressive run so far this year, and Gami’s latest Feeling Not Found (out 9/27) is yet another gem in that crown.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
The Casper Fight Scene – “Young Neil, He Lives Here”
Michigan’s The Casper Fight Scene just signed to Thumbs Up Records, placing them among the vanguard of current emo groups, and announced that their LP The Casper Fight Scene will be out later this year. Their new single “Young Neil, He Lives Here” is our first taste of their debut album, and it’s a great track, frothy and swelling and ready to be shouted out in the most crowded basement in your town.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Interlay – Hunting Jacket
It’s been four years since Interlay’s last EP, and by the sound of Hunting Jacket these six songs were itching to get out. They’re Interlay’s dirtiest, noisiest, loudest songs yet; Cicada had six songs that generally floated in the space where gothy post-punk and fluttering shoegaze overlapped, and on Hunting Jacket they add a grungy, ragged edge to their sound. “Medic” what begins as a tranquil dream pop track before bursting into flames, and on “LVS” Alexandria Ortgiesen barks over barrages of feedback like a drill sergeant. It’s an exciting step forward for the Wisconsin foursome.
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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