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.
Allwarm – Camellia
Allwarm’s promo from last year was the second-ever release from Ephyra, and in retrospect, it stands out on the rising metal label, and not just because it’s so much catchier. The band’s raw, riotous pop-punk is a ton of fun, and Camellia, released exactly a year after that tape, delivers on its promise. Those two tracks are recontextualized here and joined by five new ones, ranging from the Movielife-style melodic hardcore of “Comfortable” to the wide-open balladry of “I Just Stand There.” Camellia closes with a Box Car Racer cover, just in case there was any confusion about where the band draws their inspiration.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Attrition Rate – Demo 2023
Attrition Rate is democore at its finest, which is to say hardcore with little to any pretension and not aspiring to anything beyond playing some shows and putting out some releases. The four songs on the demo have that sort of stompy hardcore punk quality that the northeast and Boston, in particular, specialize in. It feels like someone is constantly belittling you and yelling in your face for four minutes. And the lyrics have that tenor, too, explicitly talking about straight edge the entire time.
Hugo Reyes | @hvreyes5
Fleuro – Hollow / Buried
Fleuro’s Hollow / Buried single doubles the Surabaya, Indonesia, shoegaze band’s output. The two songs here are ghostly and disarming, and “Hollow” is fleshed out with contributions from Noon Radar’s Raissa Faranda.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Saviour Complex – Chance Your Arm
Over eight songs and twenty-five minutes, Saviour Complex delivers guttural, blistering emo-core in the vein of Moss Icon and Indian Summer. Chance Your Arm is a great first outing for the band, and it’s extremely rare to hear a new band turn those influences into a distinctly modern take on hardcore.
Chance Your Arm by Saviour Complex
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Cult Babies – Headless.
Cult Babies’ second record Headless. is a lovely bit of left-field country-tinged pop. Dirty slide guitars, barroom piano, and warm lap steel adorn the acoustic foundation of the tunes, making a cozy environment for Collin Reynolds’ idiosyncratic lyrical explorations. The record is full of memorable lines, but it’s “I went eight rounds in Nevada / dropped that A-bomb on Japan / I killed Bin Laden with karate / but I’m still not proud of who I am” in “monoCHROME” that is unlikely to ever leave my brain.
Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
Mandancing – “Days of Our Lives”
Like the best laid plans of mice and men dancing, Stephen Kelly and Ben Petty’s original idea to reform their indie rock band fell through. When their reunion show was delayed due to the flooding and eventual closing of the venue, Mandancing decided on a new path forward: an early release of “Days of Our Lives,” their comeback single. It would’ve fit right on The Good Sweat or Everyone Else, a self-aware and self-deprecating account of the end of a band who never got their due.
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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