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.
Return Address – Fault of Introspection
The debut EP from Massachusetts’ Return Address (featuring members of the excellent Toluca Lake), titled Fault of Introspection, dropped Friday after a year of stray singles. Only one of them, “Georgia,” made the cut, which means we’ve got four new tracks from the band. “Georgia” sets the tone appropriately, a dark, driving alt rock track redolent of the best songs on Separation and Youth, and they keep up that energy. The biggest surprise is how catchy some of these songs are, revealing a melodic ear only previously hinted toward.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Nave – Are You Home?
Nave’s 2021 debut Happiness Is a Double-Edged Sword was, and remains, a wonderful emo-pop EP, brief and bouncy. Their followup, Are You Home?, is a little rougher around the edges, incorporating more frequent harsh vocals and generally faster tempos. It suits the Jersey four-piece well, like a more confrontational take on the sounds of The Get Up Kids, Foursidewalks, or sweetmess.
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Wife and Kids – “Possible”
Last month Wife and Kids, the new indie/folk project featuring Alex Brehens and Spaced guitarist Joe Morganti, premiered two songs called “Possible” and “Way Back When.” On the first single “Possible,” Morganti’s stripped down acoustics lend Brehen’s emotive vocals just enough room to deliver a numbing acceptance of circumstances with casual devastation. The new video for the song introduces the duo in a black and white portrait style montage and is fittingly reflective for December.
Loan Pham | @x_loanp
Francis Doom – “I Caught a Light”
Francis Doom is the solo project of Owel’s Jay Sakong, and his debut single under the name should be enough to grab any Owel fan immediately. “I Caught a Light” is airy and hushed; it isn’t so far off from Owel, but it’s a bit more straightforward and less theatrical than that band tends to be.
I Caught A Light by Francis Doom
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
Au Contraire – Catching the Worm
Catching the Worm is Au Contraire’s second EP of the year, following August’s Chasing the Wind. The two are clearly meant to be played together, but Catching the Worm features the stronger tracks. The Austin band plays a dirty, chaotic kind of screamo, and these four songs breeze by in eight minutes–fast, furious, and frenetic, just the way it should be.
Catching the Worm by Au Contraire
Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
&avery – “Riding”
Avery Salermo (of Fire Is Motion) recently struck it out solo with an acoustic single called “Seasons” back in May. The follow up, also released under the name &avery, just dropped, and it’s called “Riding.” A patient, wintry ballad that places Salermo’s expressive vocals front and center, it’s even better than “Seasons” was. Fans of Fire Is Motion need to pay attention.
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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