Alternative Album Chart: the best new indie and alternative albums this week
This week, Leeds’ Yard Act returned with their second album, Where’s My Utopia? A stellar effort that does away with any questions about artistic direction and, indeed, relevance, it builds on the brilliance of their 2022 debut and sees them push into new areas, with the wickedly comic social commentaries and grooves refined. Yard Act is not the only one to have released notable titles either, with the likes of Mannequin Pussy and Faye Webster also arriving with their best efforts yet.
For Mannequin Pussy, the Philadelphia alternative rock favourites whose fifth album, I Got Heaven, has been nearly five years coming, it is also a week of celebration. Undoubtedly, the most distilled sonic statement they have crafted to date, they make good on their evident influences while touching on themes ranging from love to Christianity and environmentalism, with Marisa Dabice’s musical and poetic work as potent as ever. This more mature guise has been fuelled by a new collaborative spirit, which has produced welcome elements such as the deft synth work of Maxine Steen and has made for one hell of an experience.
Elsewhere, Atlanta’s Faye Webster pushes into new lush sonic realms courtesy of her penchant for going underdressed to symphonies; punk staples Pissed Jeans return after their own long time away, and Everything Everything explore a complex futuristic concept that might well have got in the way of the art itself.
These are just a flavour of the general potpourri, too, with an array of artists stepping up to the plate. Find this week’s Alternative Album Chart below.
The best new indie and alternative albums this week:
Where’s My Utopia – Yard Act – 4.5
It all begins with: “Right, do you wanna know what I reckon?”. It has to start with something. The frenzied diatribe that follows stays true to that opening statement—one that could just as easily have been made by Piers Morgan or a pal with three pints in his system who has recently succumbed to a conspiracy theory or contrarian football claim. From this opening remark onwards, Yard Act never relent once in their fraught barrage of passing thoughts about the sordid status quo and their own sniping post-punk position within it.
Where’s My Utopia is a stream of social commentary of the most self-referential order. It is, in many ways, a concept album that examines the social science of the so-called ‘tricky second album syndrome’. Musically, they avoid this mythical syndrome’s clutches, but they know that’s not enough. That’s never been what the accursed syndrome is about—they know that their day of derision will come…and it will come. Yard Act are almost definitely a band soon to be relegated to the ash heap of history. They’ll be cast there by a coterie of cool people vaccinated from the appeal of collective fun.
So, all in all, I conclude the skinny of this review feeling like I’ve actually barely mentioned Where’s My Utopia or the quality of the content therein. But that’s sort of the point of the record—it encourages gripping engagement by pairing dance-infused post-punk arrangements with wordplay that illuminates this fractured age from the perilous perspective of an insecure post-punk poster boy who tries to use his sense of humour to laugh through the panic attacks. So, even if you’re one of the early naysayers getting ahead of the curve and queuing up your words of scorn in advance of the avalanche, then you, yes, you, could never truly deny that it isn’t an album of immense interest.
In fact, Yard Act might have just about formed another classic of the era that saves them from the aforementioned fate that they so fear. [Words: Tom Taylor]
I Got Heaven – Mannequin Pussy – 4.5
Mannequin Pussy might have been a favourite of alt-rock and punk lovers for a minute, with three lauded albums since 2014, but their new studio-length effort, the aptly named I Got Heaven, is undoubtedly their crowning achievement to date. Comprised of the latest iteration of the band, together they have created an effort bearing all the hallmarks of a contemporary classic.
Let’s not get it twisted, Mannequin Pussy have always been fantastically adept at blending. A punk band at heart that pushes back against the rigid trappings of tags and genres, I Got Heaven is the distillation of a band taking another step towards their ultimate creative destiny, whatever that may look like. The complex mass of emotions they have always covered remain, but they are inspected with more profundity and lyrical nouse than before.
On I Got Heaven, we find Mannequin Pussy accepting who they are, jumping headfirst into their future. Revitalised and unafraid to do whatever the hell they like, safe in the knowledge that the band is their space to be angry, unruly, sad, and any other mood that naturally springs up, they have opened themselves up to a future that promises to be extremely fruitful.
Qasr – Sheherazaad – 4
Sometimes, you have an inkling for an album within the first few seconds of hearing it. It’s unspoken, just a feeling that what you’ve decided to settle in for is probably going to be something you subsequently become addicted to. That’s the feeling you get with the opening notes of Sheherazaad’s Qasr, and the album that follows doesn’t disappoint.
Sheherazaad is the embodiment of finding and expressing identity through music. Her sound comes from a disconnect with the English language, a fall away from what she initially heard and finding something that better reflected who she was and what she stood for. In broadening what she listened to and working with various other artists, she has arrived at Qasr, a triumph in every sense of the word.
As we step closer and closer to a world where genre is a thing of the past, the possibility of embracing various cultures and sounds continues to show itself. This time, it presents itself in the form of Qasr, a record that feels like an engulfing midday trip to the cinema. [Words: Dale Maplethorpe]
Underdressed at the Symphony – Faye Webster – 4
To most, the idea of turning up to a symphony underdressed is panic-inducing. Just the thought of it evokes fear of shunning stares and whispered tuts, the inevitable feeling that you don’t quite belong. For Faye Webster, that experience has become a pastime so dear to her that she named an entire album after it.
Though there’s no sense that Webster doesn’t belong in the soundscapes she creates on Underdressed at the Symphony, it does contain that same ability to transport you to a different world. The world of Webster is one of lush instrumentation, of vocals that swing just as effortlessly as a yo-yo, and, apparently, of Lil Yachty features. Not belonging is a mode that Webster renders seamless.
It’s a world of yearning and longing but never in a way that’s pitiful, always in a way that awards catharsis. It’s a record that feels and sounds like a learning curve, in the best possible way. Though her sonic world is often almost as dense as an entire orchestra, there are no fears of being underdressed for Underdressed at the Symphony. Webster’s ruminations on love and life are, as always, achingly authentic and accessible. It’s a record that makes discomfort an easy feeling. [Words: Elle Palmer]
Half Divorced – Pissed Jeans – 2.5
Pennsylvania’s Pissed Jeans have been largely quiet since the release of 2017’s Why Love Now. While many assumed the group had called it a day for good, it turns out that the American hardcore punk outfit were hard at work on a new album, Half Divorced, released via Sub Pop Records.
Across the 12 tracks on Half Divorced, Pissed Jeans struggle to land upon an original thought. Their sound is largely derivative of their own influences, and while this is not always a bad thing, it becomes grating as the tracklisting progresses. At the heart of every great punk record are innovative sounds and daring lyrics, both of which are severely lacking in Half Divorced. Many of the songs on the album sound as if they were written by teenage punks who had just read their first Orwell novel. The cringeworthy lack of nuance or subtlety within the lyrics elicits more than a few eye-rolls across this album.
Half Divorced is not a terrible album by any means. Its main crime is simply a lack of originality. For pre-existing fans of Pissed Jeans, and followers of old-school 1980s punk and hardcore, there is much to be excited about across the album. In essence, it delivers what it sets out to deliver but offers little draw for new listeners or fans whose musical tastes have progressed since 2017’s Why Love Now. [Words: Ben Forrest]
Infants Under the Bulb – Uranium Club – 2.5
Some records are extremely hard to review. Great LPs are easy; they are obviously a simple vomit of superlatives, and even bad releases are easy enough to add thoughts to. It is albums like Uranium Club’s Infants Under the Bulb that pose the most difficult challenge, simply because the album can be summed up with one extremely unsatisfying, almost-grating sentence: if you like one song, you’ll like the album.
It is a record bristling with energy, and it delivers a whole heap of art-punk bounce, complete with the spoken word vocals that seem to litter the scene. Aside from the story about a wall, which can feel like genuine, heartfelt, crystalline poetry amid the mucky dancefloor filler of the LP, the record provides exactly what you’d expect from Uranium Club. The problem is that is almost all it provides.
Poetry aside, there is so much similarity to the tracks that it is hard to tell when one when ends and another begins. Stylistically, it rarely moves from the band’s safe space, and, in reverting away from musical evolution, it hardly moves the needle for a casual listener’s enjoyment. Add this to the contradictory feeling of a punk ethos mixing with pointed theatricality — some moments feel akin to glee club candour — and it was hard to escape a feeling of tedium. [Words: Jack Whatley]
Mountainhead – Everything Everything – 2
The other day, I read on the news that Nasa was looking for people to participate in a year-long Mars simulation test. To help the space cadets figure out if or when humans might be able to colonise the Red Planet and what the move might be like, they were after a bunch of “healthy and motivated” subjects with “a strong desire for unique, rewarding adventures”. I thought to myself, ‘What on Earth is adventurous about playing pretend astronauts in a warehouse with some red sand? Who would give up a precious year of their life for that?’ Upon listening to Everything Everything’s new dystopian concept album, I reason they’d probably put themselves on the list. At the very least, they’ve grown weary of Earth.
That concept could be cool on a grand rock opera scale if the band didn’t sound exactly the same on this album as they do on many previous efforts. If you ignore the lyrics, which are littered with loose dystopian and dramatic quips like “I love you like an atom bomb” or an overuse of the word “simulation”, the instrumental is the same rock band base with heavy textures of 1980s synths and electronic additions. There are some good music moments, though, and ‘Cold Reactor’ especially has some lovely key details and a nice rhythm to get heads bobbing. But for such an extravagant storyline and such a bold attempt to place themselves in the lineage of concept records, Mountainhead lacks the theatrical scale, falling limp at the feet of the tale they’ve supposedly written.
Much like on Raw Data Feel, Mountainhead feels like a waste of a good indie band who are too bogged down with making everything clever. In trying to make ‘high art’, they’re sacrificing their actual art. Concept albums require such a delicate balance of commitment to the cause with a wider scope that is still considered the casual listener. In their attempt, Everything Everything fall flat in the middle, where weak messaging and overblown sounds manage to commit too much and not enough. [Words: Lucy Harbron]
Reissue – Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes – 4
Shadowing The Smiths’ embrace of jangly, guitar-driven rock across the Atlantic, Violent Femmes brought an unrefined, multifaceted product to the market in the early 1980s to counter the contemporary synth-pop wave. Formed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1980, the band helmed a unique blend of punk rock, folk, and acoustic instrumentation, featuring raw, reflective lyrics delivered with passionate intensity.
Despite its modest beginnings, Violent Femmes’ debut album quickly garnered widespread acclaim even beyond the confines of North America. Its unfettered energy, stripped-back instrumentation, and candid lyricism struck a harmonious chord, setting the stage for the band’s enduring influence in the alternative rock scene throughout the remainder of the 20th century.
Among the standout tracks on Violent Femmes are ‘Blister in the Sun’, ‘Add It Up’, ‘Kiss Off’, and the Muddy Waters nod ‘Gone Daddy Gone’, four essentials among the band’s wider discography. ‘Blister in the Sun’, which remains Violent Femmes’ signature track, often stirs a wry smile. Adorning a pulsating rhythm and fluctuating intensity, Gano’s lyrics ostensibly pertain to a relationship blighted by a troublesome masturbation habit.
Towards the end of last year, Violent Femmes announced a special 40th-anniversary deluxe reissue for their most seminal album. The various purchase formats have been rolled out over the past couple of months, but on Friday, March 1st, the ultimate deluxe edition featuring the remastered album, plus B-sides, live sessions, and rare demos, will hit the shelves. The package also includes a replica 7″ ‘Ugly’ single and a book featuring notes by journalist David Fricke and interviews with the band. You can view pre-order/purchase options here.
Far Out Magazine may earn from qualifying purchases. [Words: Jordan Potter]
