Alternative Album Chart: the best new indie and alternative albums this week
As we edge closer to festival season and the sun continues to tease us through the unrelenting grey clouds and showers, we find ourselves yearning for heady, intoxicating music perfect for balmy summer nights and the carefree spirit of this time of year. Enter New York outfit Crumb with their third effort, AMAMA, a masterpiece that perfectly complements the narcotic-laden adventures on the horizon.
AMAMA is not only Crumb’s best release yet but also their most energetic. A postmodern potpourri of samples, jazzy instrumentation, glistening keys, and other compelling elements, it’s one of the most multifaceted albums you’ll hear this year. Each band member steps up their game, with vocalist Lila Ramani truly shining through more confident performances than ever before. Utterly arresting, the grooves on this album are perfect for both getting ready to hit the town and surreal, cigarette-chaining after-parties.
It’s been a week of tremendous releases, with Portishead vocalist Beth Gibbons arriving with her debut solo effort, Lives Outgrown. While it seems quite shocking that an artist of her gravity has taken this long to produce a studio effort, it does not disappoint. A candid meditation on ageing and everything it begets, her arresting delivery remains, bolstering the themes. Furthermore, instead of the trip-hop she is known for, the music veers into classic orchestration, adding a different dimension to the power of her voice entirely. It feels like a natural continuation of what came before.
Elsewhere, Billie Eilish returns with Hit Me Hard and Soft, the follow-up to 2021’s Happier Than Ever, which finds her at something of a crossroads, The Lucky Eggs strike again with the brilliant Eggsistentialism and the indomitable Shellac release their latest record To All Trains, which arrives just ten days after their influential leader Steve Albini passed away. Who knows what the future of the noise rock group now holds following such a tragedy?
Find this week’s Alternative Album Chart below.
The best new indie and alternative albums this week:
AMAMA – Crumb – 4.5
It’s rare that an album grabs you within seconds and maintains total immersion until the final microtones ring out. That is certainly the case with New York’s Crumb and their third album, AMAMA. It makes good on the strides of their 2021 effort, Ice Melt, and sees them continue to stretch and morph their distinctive formula into unexplored realms.
The off-kilter blend of jazz-rock and psychedelic pop remains, but this time around, things are more mesmeric than ever. A truly postmodern record in the sense that it is an expert convergence of samples, effects, moods, genres and sentiments, it takes the listener on a compelling journey as it encircles them in a flurry of cinematic clangour. The dynamic and refreshing musical choices prop up songwriter Lila Ramani’s ethereal vocals as she guides us deeper into this compelling sonic otherworld.
A near-flawless record that arrives at the ideal time as the nights stretch out and the heady scent of summery flora returns, it is the fitting soundtrack for everything the year’s best period offers.
Lives Outgrown – Beth Gibbons – 4.5
In the years since Portishead’s last album, Third, Beth Gibbons has collaborated with various artists, ranging from Annie Lennox to Kendrick Lamar, but only now is she getting around to releasing her debut solo studio album, Lives Outgrown. It is hardly surprising that the record is stunning, but it only further emphasises how everything Gibbons touches turns to pure gold.
Over the course of ten songs, Gibbons reflects on life now that she’s reached middle age, offering an honest and beautiful meditation on the inevitable changes and losses that come with getting older. She touches on everything from experiencing the menopause – something rarely explored in music – to watching loved ones pass away.
The singer’s recognisable voice is gorgeous as always, but she’s leaned away from the trip-hop beats that define Portishead and moved further into the realm of classical instrumentation, where strings and brass form a grandiose palette. It’s a record that is hard to ignore – deeply reflective, euphoric, melancholic and addictive. [Words: Aimee Ferrier]
Hit Me Hard and Soft – Billie Eilish – 4
Billie Eilish is back with her third album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, and it seems she’s got so much to get off her chest, she’s inadvertently left caps lock on. In an emotive collision of gentle crooning, heavy grooves, tender piano and adventurous alt-pop, Billie Eilish the person – not the musician or the celeb sensation – breaks through the crowded soundscape to reveal more of herself than ever before. The result is a potent mix that, nevertheless, perhaps lingers slightly behind its predecessors purely by virtue of the fact she’s inspired so many people, her signature sound has become less distinct.
The now-22-year-old superstar has been one of the most influential artists of the modern era since arriving in 2019 with When We All Fall Asleep. That has presented its own set of peculiar problems that she both triumphantly quashes and struggles to overcome on this latest release. Having seemingly grown up in the public eye, Eilish relishes the chance to state that we don’t really know her at all. This sentiment of taking ownership of her own sexuality, identity and life in general provides a central thread to the record that is as captivating as it is moving.
The flip side is that the musical innovations that underscore the sentiments she extolls have also been firmly thrust into the public eye. Thanks to the ubiquity of her music and the many imitators who have tried to copy her sound, the music itself on Hit Me Hard and Soft doesn’t quite match the freshness and potency of her songwriting position. That’s not to say the tracks aren’t epic or that she hasn’t pushed her production even further with Finneas, but merely that the world has caught up with them in the meantime.
Alas, even with this tiny asterisk, the record is never less than great. This is mostly thanks to a performer at the top of her game, proving herself to be one of the world’s finest and most earnest vocalists, and a songwriter firmly finding her feet, unafraid to be hearteningly honest. [Words: Tom Taylor]
Eggsistentialism – The Lovely Eggs – 4
With the music world becoming increasingly capitalistic and business-driven, it can often be a struggle to find bands who are truly self-sufficient and wholly devoted to a DIY ethos. Lancaster-based punk duo The Lovely Eggs, however, are a beacon of hope among the stormy seas of the music industry, consistently delivering well-crafted, honest and infectious music free from the prying hands of music industry execs and pushy major labels. Their latest effort, Eggsistentialism, is perhaps their greatest effort to date.
Do not let the pun-based title fool you; at multiple points during the album, Ross’ performance is heartfelt and emotionally effective enough to elicit a tear, which is perhaps not something you would expect from a Lovely Eggs record. The final two tracks, in particular, are nothing short of introspective masterpieces that offer an insight into the minds of Ross and Blackwell. Fear not, the distorted guitar tones, driving beats and chaotic soundscapes that the duo are synonymous with are still present on this album, but there are also some hints at an exciting, new direction for the band.
The brilliance of the songwriting and lyricism on this record speaks for itself, but the production work by Dave Fridmann is certainly worthy of commendation, too. As you might expect from the man who worked with the likes of Weezer, Low, MGMT and The Flaming Lips, among countless others, some of the tracks on this record are awash with a kind of retro indie rock atmosphere. These influences combine with the classic Lovely Eggs sound to create something both familiar and endlessly inventive. Eggsistentialism is a ruthlessly authentic and profound album that was certainly worth the four-year wait.
To All Trains – Shellac – 3.5
Listening to the new Shellac album has to be one of the most counterintuitive experiences out there. In one sense, given that it was released only ten days after frontman Steve Albini’s death, it is a record laced with sadness. However, given the lyrics predate any notion of death, and they play into the general un-seriousness of Shellac, it’s also a lot of fun to engage with. The whole thing is tongue in cheek. As lines on the closer, ‘I Don’t Fear Hell’, say, “If there’s a heaven, I hope they’re having fun, cos if there’s a hell I’m gonna know everyone!” They have to be heard and laughed at like Albini would have wanted.
To All Trains is an interesting listen. An album that the band refused to do any kind of promotional work for, this LP, with a run time of just under half an hour, is unpredictable while also being repetitive. Shellac find a riff and stick to it on a number of songs, such as ‘WSOD’, which has an opening lick played over and over again, or ‘Scrappers’, where the instrumentation feels slightly drawn out. At the same time, though, the vocal rhythm present in songs and the haphazard nature of layering instruments means even if you have heard a riff 20 times, you still find yourself on the edge of your seat, wondering what might come next.
An album sad at heart but filled to the brim with chaos, noise and silliness, there is arguably no better swansong to accompany the late Steve Albini. His style is typified by the record. To All Trains is a gift for the listener, acting as a piece of remembrance for a giant in the world of sound. [Words: Dale Maplethorpe]
Neon Pill – Cage the Elephant – 3
Cage The Elephant are one of those bands cursed with an anthem. You might argue that having a huge, timeless hit could never be a disadvantage, but the issue comes when a band is left desperately attempting to get out of their own shadow. How can they ever escape ‘Cigarette Daydream’, or free themselves from the shackles that come with soundtracking the distinct indie heyday of the 2010s?
On their latest record, Neon Pill, they struggle once again. It feels cruel to constantly compare a band to an old hit, but it feels relevant and necessary when listening to their latest. The group and that song came to represent an era of indie music that had a clear sound and style. But what would have been a huge hit back then, now only feels stale and old. While other acts have escaped, they relied on reinvention to run away. Here, it feels like Cage The Elephant are attempting to do that, but in the end only run into a series of nostalgic costumes as they try other groups on for size.
There are, however, some moments that see the band climb out of the landfill and stake a claim on the festival stages euphorically. ‘Hifi (True Light)’ is a strong opener with delicious energy, while ‘Ball and Chain’ offers a serious groove and more interesting textures to sink your teeth into. The second half of the album definitely offers more than the first, as the group seemed to find a second wind or simply needed a moment to find their thunder. But when they do, it’s still not quite powerful enough to drown out the echo of what’s come before. [Words: Lucy Harbron]
