Alternative Album Chart: the best new indie and alternative albums this week
Some bands carve out their own unique path, often standing apart from any prevailing trends, and it can take time for them to receive the full recognition they deserve. This is certainly true for the American trio Horse Jumper of Love. Despite diligently honing their craft and consistently producing exceptional music, it’s only over the past decade that they’ve cultivated a dedicated fanbase. With their latest album, Disaster Trick, the band shifts into high gear, delivering their sound with renewed intensity and energy.
Fronted by Dimitri Giannopoulos, Horse Jumper of Love might be casually labelled as slowcore, but their sound defies such easy categorisation. While many of their songs share elements with the genre pioneered by bands like Codeine and Duster, Horse Jumper of Love has crafted a distinctive style that blends gloom, surrealism, and a clear experimental edge. On their fifth album, Disaster Trick, they finally merge their melodic sensibilities with heavier guitars and more dynamic arrangements, drawing on influences like Hum to create a true masterpiece.
On the other side of the spectrum, Scottish indie master Hamish Hawk delivers a stellar follow-up to 2023’s stunning Angel Numbers in the dark and dramatic A Firmer Hand. Another welcome chapter in his creative arc, this sonic odyssey confirms Hawk as one of this generation’s best songwriters with a cinematic and authentic creative vision that he succeeds in bringing to life with aplomb. He’s another that I wonder when the rest of the world will open their eyes to. The craft of true songwriting isn’t dead.
Elsewhere this week, indie pop masters Foster the People provide another nostalgic jaunt in the aptly named Paradise State of Mind, a perfect summer record with its own profoundly visual nature, and Norweigian post-punk risers Pom Poko deliver Champion, an opus that celebrates their long friendship and years of bonding on the road, an experience like none other.
There’s much in store in this week’s Alternative Album Chart, which you can find below.
The best new indie and alternative albums this week:
Disaster Trick – Horse Jumper of Love – [4.5]
Boston‘s Horse Jumper of Love (HJOL) have been cult favourites for quite some time now, honing a distinctive slacker/slowcore blend that hinges on frontman Dimitri Giannopoulos’s gloomy and often surreal lyrics, his chiming Jazzmaster and a tight rhythm section ballasting the mood. With their latest effort, Disaster Trick, the trio might be about to find even greater audience numbers and gain the prestige they’ve always deserved.
A deeply accomplished record fusing sonic grit with melodic splendour, Disaster Trick confirms Horse Jumper of Love as one of the best guitar bands around. While the nihilistic vibe won’t be for everyone, particularly those in the middle of the so-called ‘Brat summer’, it provides a stunning alternative to the masses of Von Dutch shades and current obsession with all things remotely green.
A Firmer Hand – Hamish Hawk – [4.5]
The gallows surely loom larger for the man not yet sentenced than they do for the already condemned. With disquieting captivation, Hamish Hawk sits on the precipice of those two dispositions on his third indie album, A Firmer Hand. He happily flirts with his own damnation, then scuppers that deeply personal sabotage with sordid glimmers of hope, resulting in a schismatic album, lauded over by an honest but unreliable narrator and presented in wickedly brooding tones.
A Firmer Hand is a record of opposites: erotic and revealing yet universal and welcoming, it’s full of complex depth yet pointedly blunt, hooks are as commonplace in the music as unfulfilled promises with pop tropes playfully subverted. Yet, the deftest trick of all is that this dichotomy is not the product of uncertainty but an album that knows itself so well it’s daring itself to dart out of the closet stark naked.
Full of character and play, A Firmer Hand is an entrancing noir indie musical delving into the flaws of a modern man whom you begin to suspect isn’t all that troubled—like a crooning reinvention of Patrick Bateman who wouldn’t hurt a fly but would happily torture his own psyche with thoughts that turn towards the feverish.
Champion – Pom Poko – [4]
If you manage to stick it out as a band for long enough, through hungover practices and unproductive writing sessions, through sleepless nights on tour and grotty green rooms, through poorly attended shows and poorly received records, you just might forge some of the closest friendships of your lifetime. This fact is not lost on Pom Poko, whose latest record serves as an ode to their time spent together and to the music and memories forged as a result.
Pom Poko didn’t watch each other grow up in the traditional sense. They met at college and formed a band around eight years ago, meaning they weren’t necessarily around for each other’s first steps or kisses. Instead, Champion reflects on the later years, the changes you experience during your 20s, and friendships forged drunkenly around dartboards that turn into-dependable dinner party guests.
At times, Champion can feel like it leans on this charm a little too much. Certain songs fail to push the band forward sonically. ‘Never Saw It Coming’ is a fairly straightforward guitar tune, while ‘My Family’ pulls in pop-punk stylings that may leave some listeners cringing, though it’s perfectly suited to the angsty, youthful feeling. But there are glimpses of something greater, of industrial, metallic sounds and indecisive riffs. ‘Big Life’ is a particular highlight, integrating noise into Pom Poko’s usual playful sound.
Paradise State of Mind – Foster the People – [4]
It only feels like days since Foster the People first dominated the airwaves. With hits like ‘Pumped Up Kicks’, ‘Call It What You Want’ and ‘Houdini’ making up their first album, the band became favourites in indie pop, playing to packed-out venues and festival crowds across the world. Now, over a decade later, with their new album Paradise State of Mind, Foster the People show they have only enhanced their songwriting skills with this futuristic record drenched in melody.
The new album sounds like the backing track for the best space opera ever written. Interesting synth sounds are a main character throughout the LP, providing an exciting rhythm that vocals ride around like the ring of Saturn. The band doesn’t go over the top with these futuristic elements, though. Heavily inspired by disco, the catchy choruses and easy-to-dance-to instrumentation evoke the same feelings that initially helped us fall in love with Foster the People without overwhelming the listener.
Realistic IX – Belong – [3.5]
Over the last few years, shoegaze has received a full-blown revival. Budding bands are packing their pedalboards in as tightly as possible and burying any sense of melody deep under layers of feedback and reverb. The scene that celebrated itself has come to be celebrated by the masses, and so, too, have the bands that pioneered it. Nowhere is this more evident than in the latest offering from the experimental duo Belong.
Belong didn’t spawn from the current shoegaze renaissance. Turk Dietrich and Michael Jones have been playing with ambience, experimental electronica, and dense forms of shoegaze for over two decades now. But on Realistic IX, their first full-length album in 13 years, the duo lean more heavily on Loveless than ever before, almost losing themselves in odes to Kevin Shields.
The most intriguing moments on Realistic IX come in overwhelmingly windy soundscapes and pulsing beats that should be more suited to a techno track than a shoegaze record. The odes to Loveless are clear and considered, and they would slot right into the album they take influence from, but they don’t necessarily build upon it. Belong show more innovation when they take those Shields-style guitars and pair them with something new.
Lover, Other – Rosie Lowe – [3]
You can often tell the quality of an artist from their ability to adapt to various different styles, genres, and projects. With that in mind, Devon-born singer-songwriter Rosie Lowe has repeatedly proved her ability to move seamlessly between genres, going from indie electronica to soul-inspired vocal work, and even hints at the elusive world of jazz. Since first bursting onto the scene in 2013, the songwriter has worked prolifically to tear down genre barriers, and her latest record, Lover, Other, continues that noble quest.
On the newly unveiled album, Lowe wastes no time in showcasing her unique talents, with the first half of the album, in particular, darting disparately from one musical style to another. The opening track, for instance, creates a gentle, orchestral atmosphere, during which Lowe’s impressive vocal performance takes ultimate precedence. However, as the tracklisting continues, the songwriter embraces her usual influences of infectious beats and danceable electronica, interspersed with the odd R&B influence here and there. It gets to a point during which the mood of the record changes so readily between tracks that it gives the impression of flicking through a car radio, searching for something.
While this makes for a pretty unique listening experience, the fact that most songs on this 15-track epic are only around two minutes in length means you rarely get a chance to sink into it before being jolted from one mood to another. On top of this, Lowe reverts from her inventive mix of musical styles to a repetitive cycle of R&B vocals overlaid by generic electronic beats as the journey continues. During the early part of the album, these tracks are pretty enjoyable, but as they become more common, the cracks in their construction begin to appear.
More Break-Up Songs – New Starts – [3]
Darren Hayman made a name for himself as a member of the indie rock outfit Hefner back in the ‘90s. After they disbanded, he pursued a successful solo career, but itching to be back with a band, he’s now formed the aptly-titled New Starts, recruiting members from Adults and Tigercats.
New Starts are now releasing their debut album, More Break-Up Songs. You can probably guess what it’s about. Over the course of 12 tracks, Hayman’s unmistakable vocals sing of our innate flaws and difficulties while navigating crumbling relationships. Song titles like ‘I Was Trying To Make You Miss Me’ sum up these themes pretty well.
The album is mainly upbeat, with guitars that recall ‘90s indie rock. It feels like those hazy summer days when you’re young, and things feel like they’re falling apart, but the sun’s beating down onto the tarmac, and you’ve at least you’ve got yourself for company. There are moments where the record sounds like Pavement, maybe a little too much at times, with Hayman’s voice roaming freely with the same occasionally unpolished charm as Stephen Malkmus.
That’s not to say that More Break-Up Sounds is simply derivative. It definitely occupies its own space, which, if you had to pick one word to use to describe it, would perhaps be bittersweet. Yet, the album is hindered by a lack of variety. It’s easy for many of the songs to blur into one, and while every so often Hayman’s voice pierces through the soundscape with a certain notable melody, it’s not enough to give the album enough stability and sustained interest.
Reissue – Dinosaur Jr – Farm – [4]
Of the five new-age Dinosaur Jr releases, 2009’s Farm is probably the best. Though all five have their moments, such as the soaring single ‘Garden’ from 2021’s Sweep It Into Space, none feel quite as complete nor as representative of the band’s original sound as Farm. Throughout, Mascis brings his distinctive drawled vocals to the fore, doing justice to some compelling and often dour lyrical themes.
As fans have grown accustomed to, the album is mostly led by Mascis’ introspective lyrical whims, which are juxtaposedby energetic and anthemic chorus breaks. Highlight moments like ‘Pieces’ and ‘Plans’ benefit hugely from melodic lead work that adds a little order to the fuzziness, a characteristic that boosted the appeal of the band’s signature song ‘Feel the Pain’. However, as everyone who has seen Dinosaur Jr can appreciate, this band is all about noise, of which there is no shortage in this record.
It perhaps goes without saying that Farm should be listened to at an elevated volume. Just be careful if you have one of the original CD copies. When Dinosaur Jr first released the album in June 2009, they made the headlines after reports of European copies with an accidental increase in volume. The band issued a statement at the time, warning fans about CDs with the 5414939004926 serial number. “While duplicating the original master … the software program ‘doubled’ the sound layers,” they announced. “This resulted in a 3dB increase in volume”.
Although this was a fitting fiasco for a noise rock band, we can rest assured that the new 15th-anniversary copies won’t cause any unwarranted hearing damage. The new vinyl edition, available for pre-order now and hitting the shelves on Friday, August 16th, features all 12 original tracks as well as four bonus tracks never before released on vinyl.
The two-LP set, cut on lime-coloured vinyl, includes ‘Houses’, ‘Creepies’ (Instrumental), ‘Show’, and a cover of The Zombies’ 1965 single ‘Whenever You’re Ready’.
