Alternative Album Chart: the best new indie and alternative albums this week
Evolving is a perilous thing for musicians. Instituting an effective artistic metamorphosis has been the undoing of many, including an array of favourites, as they look to the future and the fertile land of longevity. On her latest album, Someday, Now, Katy J Pearson has succeeded where so many others have failed, as she manages to burnish her formula while alsodoing something new and highly cogent.
While there are many reasons why Pearson has been a cult favourite since she broke out nearly half a decade ago is that she has mastered the art of true songwriting, putting a uniquely potent spin on folk, an area increasingly oversaturated in 2024. However, on her latest album, she has put any fears of her formula growing stale firmly to bed and looked to her future, which promises to deliver more artistic enlightenment.
Simply put, Pearson is bolder than ever on Someday, Now, and it’s worked a treat alongside a welcome dalliance with darker elements and more compositional intricacy. Fans will lap up her new effort, as she continues to make good on the promise of her early years.
Speaking of artistic evolution, special mention has to go to Trampolene frontman Jack Jones for what he’s achieved with his self-titled solo debut. Leaving the confines of your band can be a struggle for any artist, even those who have been doing it for decades and are used to selling out stadiums, but doing it in such a stark musical way as the Welshman has, and with such full-frontal and candid lyricism, is the cause for much applause.
Not only has he stepped out of his trusty guitar-led indie into prismatic electronica, but his lyrics draw upon his recent struggles – going sober and mental health – with the purpose of not only helping himself, but others in similar positions too. It’s a serious record that leaves a mark and a reminder that Jones is an artist who is far too creatively accomplished for his present standing. The man’s a poet, knows how to execute his ideas, and is always willing to push himself, which counts for a lot in a world full of pretenders and nearly men.
It’s not just Pearson and Jones who have caught the eye either. With Odyssey, Nubya Garcia once again demonstrates why she is at the forefront of British jazz, newcomers Clinic Stars deliver one of the debuts of the year in their washy slowcore adjacent Only Hinting, and Alien Nosejob provides anassertive follow-up to his last effort, which only arrived ten months ago.
Find this week’s Alternative Album Chart below.
The best new indie and alternative albums this week:
Someday, Now – Katy J Pearson – [4.5]
From the second Katy J Pearson released ‘Those Goodbyes’, it was clear that things were different this time around. All of her releases so far have been beautiful and incredibly polished. 2020s Return established her ethereal yet anthemic sound, while 2022’s Sounds Of The Morning was already a mature beyond her years folk offering that made good on all that early hype. Someday, Now could have been more of the same stunningly sung folk storytelling, and no one would have complained, but instead, this new era launched like a masterclass in artistic development.
It’s clear that Pearson was ready for something new. There’s a sense that she didn’t want to just pick up a guitar and write songs in the way she had been. Instead, she wanted to do something different and decidedly more purposeful. That was even reflected in the process as she told Far Out,“Everything overall just felt a lot more organised”. Adding, “I think I had a lot more confidence in my choices, and it all felt a lot more thought through rather than rushed”. In that way, the decision to step into bigger, bolder sounds with a more thorough production style and more varied palette of textures was treated like a leap of faith but one she had total trust in.
It’s a release that people can and should learn from. Pearson proves that development is possible without total reinvention or abandoning what made an artist special in the first place. It’s possible to keep that safe and precious undercurrent but still gather towards a storm.
Jack Jones – Jack Jones – [4]
Most British indie fans know Jack Jones as the frontman of Welsh cult heroes Trampolene or as the lead guitarist of Pete Doherty and the Puta Madres. However, on his self-titled debut album, he is Jack Jones, the human, plainly conveying a mesh of very real thoughts and emotions. Teaming up with production whizz Adam French, he produces a collection of 11 all-encompassing tracks that juxtapose the frankness of his poetry with heady club abandon, an experimental but compelling marriage.
Musically, the album is remarkably accomplished, full of heady club bangers that prompt a sense of irony given that Jones is now clean and sober. Yet, this eclectic and all-encompassing musical backdrop can be seen as something more akin to the swelling rush of emotions that people with such active minds as the songwriter’s experience, as Jones takes us deep on a ride into his mind’s eye, and one that we’re all better off for as we emerge out the other side, with a more rounded perspective.
Odyssey – Nubya Garcia – [4]
Jazz has a history that outlasts and outdoes the vast majority of music genres. Its defiant attitude and dedication to innovation have meant that every new generation of music makers has their own unique take on the style, which prevents the scene from ever becoming too overly repetitive or stuck in its ways. In recent history, figures like the Camden-born saxophonist Nubya Garcia have been flying the flag of jazz, and her latest record, Odyssey, is an excellent example of why she is among the most exciting modern jazz artists in Britain.
Following up Garcia’s Mercury Prize-nominated debut, Source, was never going to be an easy task, but one that the composer has handled with expected grace. Odyssey is a record which speaks to Garcia’s timeless songwriting talents, but also her unparalleled artistry. Many of the compositions contained on the album sound as if they could have been createdby somebody who has been deeply ingrained in the industry for decades. Although Garcia has been mastering the saxophone since childhood and has spent many years as a celebrated jazz performer and composer, the listener still cannot help but bask in the anachronistic and captivatingly grandiose compositions of the London musician.
Only Hinting – Clinic Stars – [4]
It is officially no longer summer – at least in the northern hemisphere. As the days get colder and gloomier, it’s only appropriate to match the weather with an atmospheric soundtrack, and Clinic Stars have the perfect album to offer. Only Hinting, their debut LP, is a gorgeous, texture-laden slowcore dream, offering up fuzzy landscapes for listeners to simplydissolve into.
When listening to Only Hinting, you gain a sense of clarity. Despite the longing, the desire for escape, and the pain that life brings, if it can all be made to sound this beautiful and haunting, surely we’ll all make it through? The album is best heard played in full from start to finish, allowing each song to blend into the next as blankets of sound lay on top of each other.
This is arguably one of the best debuts of the year, comprising eight songs of pure beauty. On ‘She Won’t Be’, a thick layer of sound undercuts tender guitar notes that create a feeling of intense melancholy, while ‘I Am The Dancer’ begins with a heavier fuzz, emulating the sound of despair or calmness, depending on how you interpret it.
Turns the Colour of Bad Shit – Alien Nosejob – [4]
Some albums take years to perfect, with artists going to extensive lengths to make sure that every little detail is completely without flaw. On the other end of the spectrum, the accessible nature of music-making in the modern age has given rise to a variety of DIY artists capable of pumping out multiple albums per year. Hailing from Australia, Alien Nosejob is just one example of these prolific and tireless artists, and his latest record, Turns the Colour of Bad Shit, comes only ten months after his previous effort.
As a member of multiple DIY bands in Victoria, namely Hierophants, Leather Towel, Modal Melodies, Smarts, The Frowning Clouds, and, most notably, Ausmuteants, you would be forgiven for thinking that Jake Robertson’s thirst for songwriting and performance has been well and truly quenched. However, Robertson spends his downtime writing and recording music for his side project, Alien Nosejob, under which he has released a total of seven albums thus far. Turns the Colour of Bad Shit is the most recent instalment in his solo discography, and it might just be his most infectious release yet.
Awash with fuzzy guitar tones, innovative recording and production techniques, as well as a staunch DIY ethos, Robertson’s latest record is an absolute triumph for garage punk. At this point in time, the garage punk genre is incredibly oversaturated, and so it can often be difficult to find new angles and themes to explore without sounding derivative or generic. In contrast, Alien Nosejob is effective in breathing new life into the scene, tackling a variety of different topics ranging from authority to nepotism over the course of a ten-track record. Each track is delivered with unwavering energy, power, and passion, which makes the album very difficult to dislike.
Cosmos Forever – Lea Thomas – [3.5]
Folk or indie artists rarely dabble in that unspoken space between confrontational lyricism and laid-back contemplation. Usually, it’s one or the other and comes bolstered by relaxed finger-picking or aggressive anthemic riffs. Since emerging onto the scene, Lea Thomas has been hard at work reinventing what it means to be one of the masters of atmospheric sound pioneers.
Cosmos Forever evades easy description not because it’s unique; rather, it sees Thomas toying with various genres and tropes to create something that’s direct but not invasive, laid-back but not boring, and contemplative without veering into jarring. Though a short but sweet record, every moment, every note, and gentle brush of vocalisation fascinates with charm and visceral impact, creating a rich tapestry of emotional nuance.
In Waves – Jamie xx – [3.5]
Just under a decade ago, Jamie XX delivered his debut album and a modern electronic classic all in one go. In Colour has soundtracked every single one of my summers since. Every March, when the clocks change and tentative rays of sunlight finally begin to peek out from six months of clouds and cold, I shuffle through my record collection for the kaleidoscopic cover and welcome in the new season with wistful house and a myriad of sanguine samples.
Despite the immediate and continual outpouring of love for In Colour, Jamie XX never felt rushed to deliver a follow-up. He took his time, built up his production credits, flirted with the idea of returning to The XX through remixes and one-off collaborations. Only now, nine years on from the release of In Colour, does he finally return with a full-length offering, In Waves.
In Waves, true to its name, is a continuation of In Colour. It contains many of the same motifs – mournful keys providing moments of reflection in dancefloor fillers, stunted samples and emotional electronica, vocals hiding home truths within them. In Waves is at its best when it leans into those classic Jamie XX moves, though it does little to build upon them, or when it falls fully into club-worthy tracks that pulse and pant.
The First Exit – Tramhaus – [3.5]
The post-punk resurgence has seen a mixed bag of bands rising from all corners of the globe over the past decade, with some considerably better than others. Tapping into the political and the personal, these bands have defined a prominent period in rock history – for better or for worse.
When a genre becomes so saturated with bands piling onto the bandwagon, not all are going to make it through. Tramhaus, who hail from Rotterdam, seem like firm fixtures however, and with the release of their debut album, The First Exit, it surely won’t be long until their name is much more well-known.
The record plays with tempo and power, often mellowing things back down after a loud instrumental or vocal outburst, only to build them back up again. Tension is held delicately, as though stability could be snatched away at any minute, and tracks are often punctuated with stabs of guitars which keep the listener firmly on their toes.
Still, there are moments of slight complacency and predictability, as if we sometimes know when the band are going tolaunch into a reckless tirade. Yet, it would be unfair to say that The First Exit isn’t an incredibly assured debut. The band doesn’t shy away from unleashing pure energy and chaos, knowing exactly how to keep a lid on things, and when to let them boil over.
Third Time at the Beach – LICE – [3.5]
Bristol’s LICE have always been one of the contemporary British bands that do something refreshing with music, despite having some clear influences. On their latest album, Third Time at the Beach, they produce what is undoubtedly their best body of work yet, as they delve deeper into the weird darkness they’ve always been experts at crafting and keep the listener on their toes.
In most aspects, LICE provides compelling entertainment on Third Time at the Beach, challenging listeners and themselves by resisting resting on their laurels and instituting a host of sharp left turns. It’s not very often you hear albums that feel like a voyage, but this is certainly one instance where it is immersive and entertaining, striking the fine balance between wry irony and seriousness.
Five Dice, All Threes – Bright Eyes – [3]
Bright Eyes’ newest endeavour, Five Dice, All Threes, feels less like something that should be listened to and more like something that should be read. It invites deep listening, as various themes are touched upon throughout this record that seems to dance around the lines of real and surreal, being both introspective for the band and a reflection of what’s happening in the world around them. It’s certainly an achievement, but it is often overwhelming.
Trying to extrapolate a specific feeling or meaning from a record that makes such an effort to force one down your throat is borderline impossible. At what point do words stop being poetic and start becoming a burden? When listening, it’s hard taking in a song sentence by sentence, as this doesn’t tend to be how we consume music, and the moment that the word-heavy nature of this album loses appeal, we’re left with a record that sometimes passes you by.
While it’s important to give listeners something of substance, which Bright Eyes certainly do here, it’s a big ask to slap a novel’s worth of lyrics in front of them and expect them to take it in, unphased, when an album offers little else to hook you in alongside it. Music has to be layered, which means instrumentation should be exciting and reflect what’s being said, innovative, and inconsistent.
