The Alt Weekly Roundup (7/4)

Posted: 4th July, 2022 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.

Pianos Become the Teeth – “Skiv”

Pianos Become the Teeth took a hard left turn from their screamo roots to a more melodic style of post-hardcore with their 2018 LP Wait For Love, one of the most underappreciated releases of the 2010s. After waiting with bated breath for the follow-up, it appears their forthcoming album Drift (Epitaph, August 6) will continue to explore that soundscape—which is great news for us. New single “Skiv,” which guitarist Mike York calls one of his favorite tracks the band has ever done, is an atmospheric slow burn, occupying the same post-rock space as Radiohead. With its release, Pianos prove they’re more adept than ever at evoking emotion through their layered and complex tracks.

Michelle Bruton | @michellebruton

Arms Like Roses – Blooming

Blooming is aptly named. Arms Like Roses’ debut LP represents a realization of the potential the Connecticut band showed on Get Some Sleep. The band’s take on emo is firmly rooted in the tense, explosive sounds of the ‘90s—think Rainer Maria or Braid in the way songs burst from gentle melodies to cathartic apogees—but still feels modern. Take the way “The Separation Between Fact and Feeling” sneaks math riffs into its metallic bridge for a perfect example, Estelle Angel’s confident, robust vocals suspended above it all. The best thing about Blooming is, while it’s undoubtedly the best Arms Like Roses has ever sounded, it still feels like it’s just their first step.

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison

PONY – “Did It Again”

PONY’s new single “Did It Again” wastes no time, kicking off with a sick riff before the first line of “I’ve been selling a lie,” with Sam Bielanski’s sugary vocals forming a nice contrast with the crunchy garage-rock guitars. The song keeps building, with an earworm chorus of “I went and did it again / I bet I’m gonna lose all of my friends” and a sinister sounding bridge about halfway through. It’s a rocking tune and a nice expansion on the sound PONY built up on last year’s excellent TV Baby.

Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject

Suburban Eyes – “Uncomplicated Lives”

On paper, Suburban Eyes, comprising former members of Christie Front Drive, Mineral, and Boys Life, sounds like an emo supergroup. But listening to the project’s first single “Uncomplicated Lives” reveals something a little different. Suburban Eyes isn’t quite the starry-eyed emo of their previous bands–it’s a shimmery, pastoral indie rock project closer to early 2000s Pitchfork fare, and it’s great.

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison

Thursday – War All the Time (Live)

In April, post-hardcore stalwarts Thursday released a full live recording of Full Collapse (which, fun fact, earned a 5.6 from the eggheads at Pitchfork upon its release), and it was excellent. Thursday is a band that above all was meant to be experienced live (for more on this, check out their chapter in Dan Ozzi’s new book Sellout). After about a 15-year gap, I got to see them perform War All the Time in its entirety in 2018 in the most intimate setting I’ll probably ever see them, Chicago’s 507-person Lincoln Hall. My memory of the experience is crystal-clear, but in case it ever wavers, I now have the full live recording of the album to remember it by. This album, and this format, is Thursday at their best. I dare you not to get chills when Geoff Rickly sings, “All those nights in the basement the kids are still screaming” and the audience responds with, “on and on and on and on.”

Michelle Bruton | @michellebruton

Fime – Sweeter Memory

Fime’s Sweeter Memory is the sort of dreampop-adjacent indie rock that dominated the genre a couple years back, fine-tuned and updated to the trends of 2022. It’s a spectacular debut and a sure hint of big things to come for the LA group.

Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison

Same – “Facially Blind”

Built off an acoustic pattern that chugs along, Same’s new tune “Facially Blind” is a wonderful two-minute slice of folky rock. The verses feature some lovely lap steel punctuating lyrics like “we can clean the time machine / but I used up all of my suds / never forgive monuments / radiation’s the new drug,” while the chorus has some fun “ooh-ooh” background vocals that add a bouncy touch to the whole thing.

Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject

Colleen Dow – Inside Voices

Inside Voices perfects the electronic pop sound that Colleen Dow’s been playing around with on their recent one-off singles. None of those are collected here, allowing Inside Voices to stand as a fresh standalone piece, bolstered by some killer features from Snow Ellet and Ness Lake.

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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