Alternative Album Chart: the best new indie and alternative albums this week
Every once in a while, music will bring forth such a stimulating menagerie of sonic environments that knowing where to start on this latest journey of discovery can be tricky. That’s precisely what’s occurred over the past few days, as acts from across the many vistas of genres assert themselves in the cultural conversation. Perhaps the highlight of this week is the return of New York indie heroes Vampire Weekend with Only God Was Above Us, their best album yet. It sees them rework the formula and provide ample surprises, all while delving into the complex world of orchestral sounds.
They’re not the only ones to have arrived with a robust opus. If the twee sounds of Ezra Koenig’s band aren’t for you, then surely Texans Khruangbin’s latest effort, A La Sala, which is steamier and more sunny-sounding than what came before, will be. Hitting our sound libraries just as the weather starts to improve, this is the type of music to soundtrack moods improving in tandem with the sun returning.
It’s not all exactly merry, though. Palace have also released their chef-d’oeuvre in Ultrasound, but it cuts a different character from the records above. Across its run time, frontman Leo Wyndham explores and processes grief following his partner suffering a tragic late miscarriage. The most profound record released this year, it pushes the music into far more consequential reaches than it usually inhabits – a masterwork in candour and true authenticity. It’s not often that you can say an album leaves an indelible mark, but this one certainly does.
Elsewhere, The Libertines triumphantly returned after nearly a decade, Bnny asserted itself as one for the future, and Lisbon’s Maquina produced industrial grooves that befitted the contemporary era.
The best new indie and alternative albums this week:
Only God Was Above Us – Vampire Weekend – 4.5
Vampire Weekend, despite always being an indie band at heart, have been bold in pushing themselves creatively to produce exciting sounds throughout their career and go beyond what could just be classed as indie music. This expansion of their sound usually comes in the form of using different effects or off-kilter time signatures, but on their newest album, Only God Was Above Us, they do it by putting classical music at the heart of every single song.
Like the theme that runs through this LP, the new album is a sure-fire classic. Though it can be hard to hold on to a melody at times, and as tracks unfold in a way you might not expect, this record is beautiful from beginning to end. We may well be entering a brand new era of Vampire Weekend. Keeping in touch with their name, they have proven themselves to have a somewhat eternal attitude towards creativity. [Words: Dale Maplethorpe]
A La Sala – Khruangbin – 4
Some people call Khruangbin great background music. That’s grossly unkind. While their sound might not be as invasive as a heavy metal blitzkrieg, it doesn’t just sit beneath the surface; it elevates the human experience. With A La Sala, a trip to the beach is breezier, hours at work wind down a little easier, and intimacy gets a little sleazier.
A La Sala stays in its lane, safe in the knowledge that it can find enough deviation in the details to stop any mundanity from entering the sleek picture. So, what you’re left with is one long flow of music that purrs and moves like Humphrey Bogart on the prowl. It never takes too much of a departure from the arpeggio-like riff that opens proceedings, only briefly picnicking upon the gorgeous summery singles’ May Ninth’ and ‘Pon Pón’ that are evidently a little more urgent and pop-like in their approach.
The result of this mature outlook and daring simplicity is a statement that they are the frontrunners of the modern global sounds movement, and others may well be trying too hard. If there’s a criticism to be had, then maybe it could be slightly condensed, but otherwise, it pitches you up a deckchair on some Cuban patio and assures you that you will enjoy sitting there as the minutes seem to drift away up to the peak of Pico Turquino. [Words: Tom Taylor]
All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade – The Libertines – 4
Over the past two decades, The Libertines have helmed a unique vessel of rock tradition through the heady highs and crashing lows promised to the willing sailor. The choppy waters, often dictated by Pete Doherty’s addiction struggles and associated prison terms, have stressed the bonds, but in All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade, we see a band emerge from the tempest all the stronger for it.
The album celebrates The Libertines’ past success with instrumental nuance centred in Latin flourishes and an embrace of several previously untrampled territories in rock history. Meanwhile, Barât and Doherty maintain a track record of incisive poetry, reflecting on ghosts of the past and remaining eternally relevant with sociopolitically incisive lyrics. [Words: Jordan Potter]
Angeltape – Drahla – 4
Last year, I saw Drahla at Leeds’ beloved New Headingley Club. They played in the function room, which more commonly hosts birthday parties and meetings, on a stage raised barely a foot above the red patterned carpet. Still, they had the audience in the palm of their hand throughout the entirety of their set, a sea of unmoving eyes captivated by Luciel Brown’s distinctive vocals and the unpredictable strums that surrounded them.
With their second record, the art-rockers have proven that their ability to enthral is not limited to their expertly crafted live set. Just as they refused to be constrained by the low ceilings of a room in the earliest stages of becoming a venue, they refuse to be constrained by studio recording, infusing Angeltape with all the ghostly intrigue and chaotic charm of their on-stage presence.
The record rightly centres Brown’s voice, but her bandmates never fail to keep up with it. Shrieking saxophones and grating guitars work with and against her words, affording them all the art-rock dramatics they deserve. Though the instrumentation sometimes veers into disorder and unpredictability, it never feels unintentional. Angeltape is a collection of completely considered chaos, the sound of a band who have perfected pandemonium. [Words: Elle Palmer]
One Million Love Songs – Bnny – 4
As Bnny gets at in the title of her sophomore album, there have been millions of songs written about love. But it’s not just music. It’s films, poems, books, diary entries, texts, dating app bios, heartbroken letters, apology notes, and hopeful first messages. Every day, the topic is expanded in countless ways, but somehow still remains relatable.
One Million Love Songs is washed with a unique sense of impermanence that falls across it like a shimmery veil. Soundtracked by the Mazzy Star-like, twinkly take on light grunge, it translates the tender but elusive sentiments perfectly. Laid out clearly on ‘Nothing Lasts’, this is a record that sees love as a fleeting moment that is bliss when it’s there, pain when it’s all too quickly gone, but utterly worth it. It’s an album made up of vignettes of two hands grabbing at each other for a minute, then letting go. In that way, it feels like a perfect modern antidote for the historic genre of the love song.
As they present these short story-like songs, each one looking at a different state of love, Bnny honour the vast and inexhaustible depth of the feeling. From the seeming shallowing point of first texts and conversations down to the darkest pits of gut-wrenching heartache or trying to navigate life together, there is a moment and marker for it all. Each is as beautiful as the last; it’s a strangely affirming release that says wherever you’re at, and no matter what, love is beautiful even in its in-between weirdness. [Words: Lucy Harbron]
Package Pt. 2 – Gustaf – 4
It has been three long years since we last heard from Brooklyn post-punk masters Gustaf, but thankfully, those years have certainly not been wasted. The dreaded sophomore album is a tricky thing to pull off, but Lydia Gammill and company seem to have pulled it off effortlessly with Package Pt. 2, which captures the energy of their early work while adding new, complex layers to the signature Gustaf sound.
In contrast to the rough-and-ready qualities of some of their previous efforts, Package Pt. 2 feels enjoyably polished and mature, though it does not lose that endearing DIY quality. Of course, a lot of that is probably due to the production of Erin Tonkon, who really earns her stripes on this album; the production is flawless. On a surface level, the pieces on this album feature disparate atmospheres, themes and emotions, yet Gustaf and Tonkon have managed to mangle the tracklisting into something that flows very well as an album rather than a disjointed collection of songs. [Words: Ben Forrest]
Ultrasound – Palace – 4
Writing about music is a funny thing. The job is to critique and try to open a line of dialogue between reviewer, artist and fanbase, a means by which we can all discuss a piece of work and provide our opinions on what an artist was trying to do and how well we think they accomplished that. Most of the time, this is pretty easy, we have no hesitation in describing an album as a masterpiece or a piece of shit, but then, now and then, a record like Ultrasound by Palace comes along, and no matter how hard we look, the words simply fail us.
Shortly into the writing process, Palace frontman Leo Wyndham’s partner suffered a late miscarriage. Subsequently, the album became a tell-all as he explored his feelings, beautifully articulating the grieving process. Throughout the LP, he talks about the initial pain, bargaining and acceptance as well as conveying unwavering admiration for his partner. It all comes together incredibly well.
Ultrasound is a testament to how music can articulate feelings that might otherwise be difficult to put into words, and it’s incredibly moving that an artist is willing to share these emotions with their audience. Honestly, it doesn’t need any more dialogue assigned to it than that; give it a listen and enjoy it. [Words: Dale Maplethorpe]
At Home – Dog Unit – 3.5
The race to prove the value of language seems redundant against At Home as Dog Unit reinstate the lines and textures of musical creativity. This is a space where the absence of vocals reveals more than meets the eye with soft, ambient jazz sensibilities combined with hard-hitting indie-rock elements to create something uniquely whimsical.
The flaws are there, of course, in the natural dissonance between the sounds and the listening experience, but they are fleeting, and the natural twists and turns that demand matching energy appear intriguing enough to allow you to forget the more distant moments. Composing such an album seems even more challenging than piecing together a more traditionally vocal-first project, so credit where it’s due – At Home feels both a paradox and a beckon as its namesake draws you into its safe environment only to challenge the basis of musical expectation. [Words: Kelly Scanlon]
PRATA – Maquina – 3.5
While music has many uses, one of its most vital is that of escapism. In a world where bad news is seemingly endless, and the future looks increasingly bleak, there has never been a better time to find sanctuary in vivid sonic worlds. One band who have proven they are effective purveyors of aural journeys are Lisbon trio Maquina, who arrive with their second album PRATA this week. A collection of six tracks fusing techno grooves, psychedelia and krautrock with a distinctly punk edge, it’s the perfect sound for a world teetering on the edge of oblivion.
The great thing about this record is that it grows on you. While it might wash over you at first, like the shapeshifting metal of the T-100, there is much to be found within, with the songs changing in complexion with each listen as there’s much going on. That’s the sign of an album with real depth. The only caveat would be that rhythmically, it loses its potency as it goes on with the beats largely the same.
