Alternative Album Chart: the best new indie and alternative albums this week
This week, we have been treated to The Collective, the new album from former Sonic Youth vocalist Kim Gordon. A resounding statement of sonic intent that demonstrates why she is as significant as ever, its dancey edge will likely alert many new fans to the expansive nature of her work. Elsewhere, punk upstarts Real Farmer, Vanessa Bedoret, and even Jack Antonoff’s outfit Bleachers have released fresh bodies of work.
While Gordon’s record takes our Album of the Week, there has been a lot of quality this time around that is worth mentioning. Notably, Groningen’s Real Farmer, one of the latest signees to Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals label, has put a refreshing spin on the familiar punk formula with wry lyricism, snappy tracks and ’70s-style rage fuelling their new endeavour, Compare What’s There. It is a stellar effort; I get the sense that the group are about to blow up fast after asserting themselves in the underground at home and in the UK.
Another notable effort this week is Vanessa Bedoret’s debut album, Eyes. A compelling release from the French-born but London-based musician, it fuses old-world orchestral flourishes with twists of IDM and ambient to create a distinctive sound perfect for the idiosyncracies of the contemporary era. Following this sonic delight, Charles Moothart, Astrel K and Schatterau have released fascinating sensory treats that pluck from across the musical spectrum.
Without me spoiling anything more for you, find this week’s Alternative Album Chart below.
The best new indie and alternative albums this week:
The Collective – Kim Gordon – 4
Kim Gordon was always the glue that held Sonic Youth together. By delivering memorable basslines and feminist lyrics in her distinctive, often unmelodic voice, Gordon allowed the band to stand out compared to their contemporaries. Since then, Gordon’s penchant for experimentalism and a wide range of genres has manifested in projects such as Free Kitten and Body/Head.
However, her solo projects, beginning with 2019’s incredible No Home Record and now its stunning follow-up, The Collective, only continue to prove Gordon to be one of the most innovative and vital artists of her generation. Made in collaboration with Justin Raisen, a producer known for working with artists like Charli XCX and Drake, Gordon’s sophomore solo record is a reinvention of the genre, merging abrasive noise rock – paying homage to her roots as a pioneer of the style – with trendy trap beats.
While the record is certain to appeal to Sonic Youth fans who have always appreciated Gordon’s more experimental contributions, The Collective will undoubtedly introduce new fans, perhaps those more interested in modern trap artists, to Gordon’s brilliance, too. [Words: Aimee Ferrier]
Compare What’s There – Real Farmer – 4
Some albums beg for volume, and this is one of them. To play Real Farmer’s new album, Compare What’s There, at anything less than max volume seems like a disservice to its sound. There is an energy within every second of this record that is impossible to capture but easy to exist inside. It’s an album that feels like a tornado has swept up a music shop and thrown you inside it.
This feels like a modern punk album that is really due its flowers, showing how the original genre still has a place in contemporary music so long as bands put their own stamp on it. Compare What’s There is an energy drink of an album from start to finish, adrenaline-packed into every second. With distinguishable riffs, the use of call and response and exciting playing techniques, each song is individual, and the sound doesn’t grow stale. [Words: Dale Maplethorpe]
Eyes – Vanessa Bedoret – 4
In a harmonious blend of archaic orchestral soundscapes and modern synth textures, Vanessa Bedoret pulls out all the stops for her triumphant debut album, Eyes. As a French artist now based in London, Bedoret bridges the English Channel with European elegance and enhances this duality of grit and grace at almost every turn.
Eyes is a bold and immaculate expression of emotion. While we encounter threads of lyrical and titular information in French and English, the precise words are unimportant. In the aptly titled ‘Ballad’, Bedoret’s ethereal vocals take a back seat, allowing the music to express the emotions and paint the pictures. After all, music is her first and most fluent language.
Through seven meticulously produced songs, Bedoret establishes a potent sonic identity. Her embrace of classical music brings a nuance to ambient and IDM scapes that resound pleasingly with the ephemeral and enshrined vocal tracks. A conveyance of love is tangible throughout the album, but haunting tones loom heavy overhead, an unnamed spectre, to shake you to the core. [Words: Jordan Potter]
The Foreign Department – Astrel K – 4
Sometimes things happen that demand a change, and sometimes things change without your input. Everyone knows that well, that often horrible churning, dizzying feeling as your world shifts and collapses and changes like tectonic plates under you, causing earthquakes in your day-to-day. When that happens there are two solutions; duck and cover, or run, fast, and try to change. For Rhys Edwards – or Astrel K – The Foreign Department is the indie soundtrack to the shakes and the sprint.
I’ve always been curious as to what makes an artist go solo. Edwards is known as part of the cultishly beloved Ulrika Spacek, leading the group on vocals and guitars since 2014. While the band’s sound is perhaps more classically indie and alternative with a foundation in guitars, Astrel K isn’t worlds away. It always begs the question of why not take this to the group. But as I said, sometimes things happen that demand a change.
By the time the record finished, I had an answer to my question: Edwards didn’t take this to the band because it felt like an exercise to figure it out, change, and try to keep up with the changes. In the in-between, he’s managed to make an interesting, dynamic, and great record as his evident skill and talent hold strong while everything else shifts.
Schatterau– Schatterau – 3.5
Hauntology is a word that springs to mind when listening to Schatterau’s self-titled debut album. If you don’t know what that word means, then you needn’t worry; you can pick up the gist from its semantics alone. The same can be said for this record; it’s the sort that turns Hauntology into an ambient onomatopoeia.
15 textured swells seem to charm the past out of an old four-track cassette that has been yielded as an instrument rather than a mere recording device. Ambient loops rove around with a foggy depth like Another Green World being channelled through a ouija board. But there are plenty of ambient loops these days and records that do clever things with old recording devices; what makes this Hands in the Dark label release different?
Frankly, not much. However, there is also enough depth to what is there and wavering variety to keep you interested enough not to really care that much. The Hamburg / Berlin trio of Daniel Jahn, Jonas Meyer, and Tobias Rutkowski give off the effect of disappearing into the various tones they produce. Ostensibly, it’s about their own upbringing in East Germany amid the uncertain days of the demise of the GDR. However, the record’s journey into the past is so fully realised that your own imagined scenes swarm forth.
With most of the compositions running for little over a minute, these scenes from the past whirl by in an ever-changing blur. There are times when you wish it would stay transfixed on a miniature for longer, but the sense of a journey with surprises around the corner is also what adds to the interest of the album. And the cover is a cracker to boot. [Words: Tom Taylor]
Black Holes Don’t Choke – Charles Moothart – 3
Charles Moothart has been relentless since the beginning of his career, moving from his work in psychedelic rock with Ty Segall to his involvement in Fuzz. With a knack for bringing back the old-school sounds of hard rock, Moothart’s next solo venture promises to be a diverse and exciting project. He seems to have everything but the kitchen sink in terms of musical influences and ideas, suggesting that his upcoming solo work will be rich in variety and creativity.
Black Holes Don’t Choke seems to defy the typical concept album structure, offering listeners a diverse and unpredictable journey through Moothart’s musical landscape. Rather than adhering to a single overarching theme, the album appears to be a collection of various styles and influences that Moothart has explored over the years. This eclectic approach keeps the listener engaged, as the album continuously surprises with unexpected shifts from hard rock to synthesised tracks to mellow acoustic grooves. While this unconventional approach may lack a clear narrative thread, it showcases Moothart’s versatility and creativity as an artist.
While that sounds absolutely exhausting (because it is), the album never stops feeling like a good time throughout every track. Considering how much Moothart loves to pay tribute to the sounds of 1960s and 1970s style rock and roll, the record’s mood feels more akin to what Beck would do back in the day on Odelay, going from one style to another depending on how he’s feeling that day.
Despite not being the kind of album that you get on first listen, Black Holes Don’t Choke is a record that needs to be sat with a little while before you really settle into its groove. Being sweet, harsh, and more than a little bit zany in places, Moothart’s latest shows promising signs that he may be able to go toe-to-toe with Seagull in the next few years. [Words: Tim Coffman]
Letter to You – Bolis Pupul – 3
Electronic music, in the modern age, is often tied inexplicably to dance music. For decades, the most popular forms of electronica have been concerned with repetitive beats and maximising danceability, leaving little room for self-reflection or the exploration of complex emotions within the music. Letter To Yu, the debut solo album by Bolis Pupul, attempts to change that narrative, creating an emotionally charged record that is simultaneously danceable.
Letter To Yu is as complex and varied as Pupul himself. While, for the most part, the album adopts a distinctly retro sound reminiscent of early synth-pop tracks, there are multiple moments throughout the album which see the musician abandon this aesthetic for a sound more akin to experimental dance music and noise influences. On one hand, these disparate styles between the tracks help to keep the album from ever growing stale or repetitive upon listening. However, Pupul’s darting from one style to another often gives the impression of a disjointed album. Ultimately, Letter To Yu feels more like a compilation of singles rather than a comprehensive album.
Much like Topical Dancer, Letter To Yu was co-produced by Soulwax. The production of the record is undoubtedly one of the highlights, often turning a fairly uninteresting track into something that sounds big and captivating. Ultimately, though, production quality can only do so much for an album if the songwriting isn’t up to scratch. Although Letter To Yu is a strong debut effort, numerous tracks give the impression of being filler material, with the writing leaving a little to be desired. [Words: Ben Forrest]
Quantum Web – Discovery Zone – 3
Discovery Zone embodies its name’s promise: unlocking visceral gateways to otherworldly dimensions. While 2020’s Remote Control exuded a featherlight charm, Quantum Web transcends boundaries, ushering listeners into uncharted territories. It delivers an experience that delicately navigates the elusive realm where nostalgia, Artificial Intelligence, and futuristic visions converge.
Crafted by Berlin-based producer JJ Weihl, the album is brimming with charm as it draws inspiration from the ubiquitous presence of advertising, corporate culture, and the boundless possibilities of cybernetics and neural networks. In many ways, the record is like being trapped inside the world of Bladerunner shortly before it all went dystopian.
Seamlessly fusing elements of hyper-digital dream pop, 1980s city pop, textured ambient, and early electro, Weihl’s entrancing vocals take centre stage, complemented by fragmented glimpses of AI speech and ambient textures. As a result, Quantum Web unfolds like a series of kaleidoscopic fictional commercial breaks, immersing listeners in a captivating sonic landscape of its own creation. [Words: Kelly Scanlon]
Bleachers – Bleachers – 2.5
Musically, as you’d expect, the LP is impeccable. The opening track ‘I Am Right On Time’ is tinged with the smokey exhaust of modern America, ‘Me Before You’ feels like a cast off from the jukebox of John Hughes and ‘Self Respect’ is as urgent as it is laden with hooks. There is rarely a misplaced note or failed idea, and the notion of Antonoff as the 21st-century answer to Bruce Springsteen is hard to ignore. For that, Bleachers should be regarded highly by the musical elite and the legions of alt-pop fans who follow them like a pastel religion.
Individually, the tracks all work, some with the gliding pleasure of a sharp pair of scissors through craft paper, while others rip and tear at the perfection laid by the former. However, as a whole and exemplified by a closing run that truly baffles, they feel like 14 different movements, each vying for a new piece of the pie and demanding attention in their own way, and jarring the listener as they do so.
In short, you’ve already heard the majority of this Bleachers album—it can be heard in all of Antonoff’s previous productions and enjoyed just as much. If you’re trying to forget the sonics and simply feel the LP, then you’ll only have the groove to go by. [Words: Jack Whatley]
Expensive Thrills – C Turtle – 2
The rising London slacker rock band C Turtle announce their comeback with their second album, Expensive Thrills. Despite the release of several catchy singles, it seems they may have revealed their best cards too soon, as most of the album’s standout moments arrived before the broader body of work. This creates an ironic contrast with the album’s title, suggesting that the thrills have already been experienced, leaving only the task of settling the bill.
That’s not to castigate the band, as they clearly have a definite sound and work within a very specific context, informed by the acts they’ve openly discussed in the media. However, there is nothing on Expensive Thrills that is genuinely worth shouting about. It’s solid without ever threatening anything more.
It’s down to execution, with these cuts actually working to make the general album feel less coherent, which is a shame. Let’s get it straight: C Turtle clearly have a good thing going, but there’s a difference between promise and reality. Unfortunately, Expensive Thrills fails to make good on the former. There’s still enjoyment to be had, though, but you can’t help thinking there could’ve been more with a little extra writing time.
