Alternative Album Chart: the best new indie and alternative albums this week
Music has its indisputable greats, and Canada’s Godspeed You! Black Emperor are among them. Post-rock masters they may be, but their craft has much more depth than the contemporary understanding of the genre conveys, and a purity of the rarest kind. A profoundly political outfit that uses music in a more innovative way than the vast bulk of the acts currently operating, their towering sound might be without traditional lyrics, but it’s a language of itself, communicating things that words cannot.
The pioneering band might not use words often, but they are masters at messaging. In a year marked by a deepening humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, and the continued horrors suffered by the Palestinian people, the group have now released the starkly titled, No Title As Of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead.
Today, we’re so used to everyone’s opinions on vital issues thanks to the proliferation of social media and clickbait headlines, yet, on their new album Godspeed You! cut through the noise with their utterly masterful music, and musically channel the heartbreak, tragedy, defiance and horror of what’s currently unfolding in Gaza and the broader Middle East. It’s not very often that albums prompt wonder throughout a record, but the Canadians’ new one does just that viscerally, packaging the mass of emotions currently experienced by Palestinians into one resounding mass. This is music of a different dimension.
Remarkably, that’s just one album we’ve been treated to this week, with almost every genre under the sun touched on in some splendid way. For instance, Albany post-hardcore legends Drug Church return with Prude, another classic to add to their collection that sees them delve further into melody and emo; soul hero Leon Bridges supplies the utterly magnificent sonic contradiction that is Leon, and Caribou cruelly releases what should have been the album of the summer in early autumn.
Elsewhere, Nice Biscuit provides another slice of psychedelic hedonism with SOS, The Smile’s third album Cutouts does not disappoint, and Cumgirl8 bolster their formula with The 8th Cumming, cementing them as one of the most exciting acts of this era. They are cult legends in the making.
It seems a lot to take in, and it is, but that is the beauty of the Alternative Album Chart; it’s here as a guide to keep you entertained throughout the week, no matter what mood it may bring.
The best new indie and alternative albums this week:
No Title As Of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead – Godspeed You! Black Emperor – [4.5]
For years, Godspeed You! Black Emperor have been known as one of the leading bands of the post-rock genre. With every release, they’ve mastered the craft of making textured, intricate and emotionally poignant worlds, relying largely on their instrumentals to convey their messages. They prove that lyrics aren’t the only way to motivate or move a listener in a direct manner, and with their most recent album, No Title As Of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead, it’s hard to walk away from it without feeling profoundly affected.
The album title is a reference to the thousands of Palestinian people who have lost their lives since the conflict in the Middle East began, “tiny bodies” included. This tragedy and turmoil fuels the six songs on Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s latest album. It is a bleak and intense listen, but one that truly communicates the need for people to remain switched on to current events. ‘Pay attention’ is the stark message.
This is a record that induces goosebumps in the listener. It’s visceral, melancholic, elegiac, and even scary at times. When the album goes to its deepest, darkest territories, at times sounding like a funeral march, you can’t help but imagine the terrors of being in a wasteland where everything is destroyed, from beautiful buildings to innocent individuals.
Leon – Leon Bridges – [4.5]
When you talk about an album, there is an unwritten rule that you should discuss every aspect of it. You can’t just talk about one aspect; you should be discussing the different elements that bring a record to life. Instrumentation, vocals, tone, narrative, and theme combine to make a piece of work what it is. However, some albums have one specific aspect that stands out so beautifully that it can be hard to focus on anything else. This is the issue with Leon Bridges’ new album, Leon. In all honesty, it’s not a bad problem to have.
There are a lot of things that make this album spectacular. Many genres play their part in putting together this sweet-sounding smattering of soul. Contradicting themes of love, religion, peace and sex are all spoken about, and yet, it’s hard to appreciate any of them, as Bridges’ voice stands out amongst every other aspect of the record.
From the outset on the opening track ‘When A Man Cries’, Bridges’ voice is overwhelmingly beautiful. There is good singing, and then there’s this. It seems ridiculous to put the sound of his voice into words when in the same amount of time it takes to read a sentence describing it, you could just listen to it. Every second spent away from his singing feels like a second wasted, and on the new album, he creates something warm, loving and entirely addictive.
Prude – Drug Church – [4.5]
I once wrote that Deftones are probably the most consistent band of our times, but now I retract that comment. Following the release of Prude, Drug Church now take that crown. Their new album is the sound of a band burnishing their formula after over a decade of being one of the tightest groups around. Potentially their most emo-leaning effort to date, it expertly toes the line between hardness and melodic, emotive flair, adding another stellar record to a back catalogue comprised of only classics.
After the band released ‘Myopic’ last year, their diehard fanbase eagerly awaited the release of a new album. Then, when they returned with ‘Demolition Man’ this summer, ‘Chow’ and most recently ‘Slide 2 Me’, all the signs were clear. Prude was was shaping up to be a ride, and it hasn’t disappointed in this department. In what is an indisputable masterstroke, the quintet, comprised of vocalist Patrick Kindlon, guitarists Nick Cogan and Cory Galusha, bassist Pat Wynne and drummer Chris Villeneuve, manage to push their formula forward, including the wry lyrics, immense riffs, big choruses and markedly underrated rhythm section, by tapping into the emo side that’s always been there.
Yet, it’s not just that. The songwriting and performances are sharp, with Kindlon even singing more extensively than he ever has done. Each member is customarily faultless and intrepid from start to finish, with the band demonstrating once more that their collective might is of a rare kind, with their sound truly singular. Whether it be Kindlon utilising melisma more comprehensively, Cogan’s dynamic playing or Wynne throwing in a few funky walk-ups, Drug Church have bolstered their already eclectic blend.
Cutouts – The Smile – [4]
In the years since Radiohead released their latest album, A Moon Shaped Pool, fans have been desperate for a follow-up.Instead, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood decided to team up with Tom Skinner from Sons of Kemet and form The Smile. You can hardly complain — The Smile have already released two highly impressive records, and with their third, Cutouts, they’ve proved that their genius hasn’t gone anywhere.
The album is a relentless and bold instrumental journey through frantic riffs and Skinner’s tight drumming, with the band even drawing from Eastern psychedelic influences and, like their previous album, Wall of Eyes, it features beautiful compositions performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra. It has been less than a year since The Smile released Wall of Eyes, a stunning collection of tracks, yet it seems like the band were simply too full of ideas not to share another body of work.
There is no slip in quality here, the group continue to demonstrate their innate ability to make songs that are consistently engaging, emotive, and richly textured. With every song, they give us something fascinating to grip on to, whether that bea pulsating electronic beat or a high-octane guitar riff that demands we brave eroding our corduroy and dance.
Honey – Caribou – [4]
Right place, wrong time: the four words that describe the new album by Caribou perfectly. I’m not sure whether it’s because of scheduling errors or it’s some kind of sick, cruel joke that he decided to release such a summer-infused and shimmering album as the weather started getting cold, but here we are. Either way, his new record, Honey, is a delightful listen from start to finish.
Describing it on its surface is pretty simple: Honey is a pretty-sounding, funk-infused electronic album. If you want to dance or just put on some music that can lift a mood, you can do it with this record. My adoration for the album goes a bit deeper than that, though, as while Caribou is consistent with that happy feel throughout the album, he also gives the LP a great breadth of versatility, but only by implementing subtle changes. It makes for a cohesive listen but one that doesn’t become repetitive.
The 8th Cumming – Cumgirl8 – [4]
Cumgirl8 are one of those bands whose success may be hindered by the name they chose for themselves. Many listeners will hear their name and scoff or take one look at their internet-friendly and, accordingly, normie-repellant social media and write them off completely. They certainly won’t be topping charts or receiving mainstream radio airplay anytime soon, but, fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be their goal.
Rather, their goal on The 8th Cumming seems to be to create a glimmering, gothic cyberfeminist amalgamation of influences and feelings. They pull from punk and post-punk (the original wave), from new wave and synth-pop, and fromeverything in between. Their vocals pull from ESG, their soundscapes from Delta 5 and from The Slits, but their sound never feels derivative.
In fact, The 8th Cumming feels like an album that only the chaotic collective brain of Cumgirl8 could have concocted. It’s completely unpredictable, pushing into the desperation and despair that stems from dating and just existing in the modern world while also penning detailed accounts of the discomfort of UTIs and tales of car sex. Soundscapes veer between gloomy and glistening, creating a mood that can only be found in Cumgirl8’s discography.
The New Sound – Geordie Greep – [4]
There’s no surprise that the debut solo album by former Black Midi frontman Geordie Greep teems with madcap energy and originality. While some people doubted if he could do it alone without his old band, and the wry humour of the lead single ‘Holy, Holy’ dumbfounded listeners, this unrestrained intrepidity has always been his game and a line he has expertly toed. On The New Sound, the Londoner pushes on unrestrained into his future, and it’s almost without fault.
With half of the tracks recorded in Brazil and the others in London, Greep not only follows his established path further on his solo debut, with his distinctive sound remaining but also evolves it by blending it with the heat-soaked and dynamic rhythms of the sprawling South American nation he captured some of it in. In exploring these two differing environments and marrying them with some sharp compositional masterstrokes, as well as brilliantly black comedy – fantastical deep dives into humanity’s weird and salacious side – he creates a record that is an immersive experience from the onset to the final note. If The League of Gentlemen comedy troupe formed a band in the vein of Steely Dan, you would get something akin to The New Sound.
SOS – Nice Biscuit – [3.5]
The sophomore album from Brisbane-born psychedelia enthusiasts Nice Biscuit may be named after a distress signal, but it’s anything but. On SOS, the genre-blending five-piece requires no external help. They carve out peace and quiet for themselves amidst psychedelic jazz and disco-inspired grooves, disregarding the never-ending slew of chaos that surrounds us.
The recording process for SOS split the band into two groups, with Kurt Melvin, Nick Cavendish and Jess Ferronato creating the instrumentation before joint vocalists Billie Starr and Grace Cuell linked up for lyrics and harmonies. This strange process of recording finds its way into the final cut of the album — Star and Cuell’s seamless vocal blends sit high above the explosive jams and psychedelic grooves that accompany them — but SOS doesn’t feel disjointed as a result.
While the soundscapes come to represent the unpredictability of the world through drawn-out jams, dense fuzz, rounded synths and occasional moments of quiet, Star and Cuell are committed to rising above it all, vocally and lyrically. Their ethereal harmonies sit softly but securely atop the more chaotic moments and fall into place in the gentler excursions. As they continually reaffirm their claims to calm, the unpredictable soundscapes begin to feel warm and familiar instead.
Synthesizer – A Place to Bury Strangers – [3.5]
For a long while, music and technology worked in tandem, but the moment it crossed over into artificiality and threatened the integrity of the art, ambivalence crept in. Suddenly, everything that was authentic was praised, and the synthetic aspects of technological advancements became a ridiculed entity. A Place To Bury Strangers has always existed at the odd intersection between now and then, but even in their most digitally embracing moments, it’s all about celebrating the basics.
“It’s pretty messed up, chaotic,” said Oliver Ackermann of Synthesizer, “But it feels really human.” To describe the latest record as “real” wouldn’t be too distant from what it actually represents—the album itself is made up of a circuit board that can be used to build the instrument, symbolising the interactive nature of art that refocuses creativity by looking back at the successes of the past. Within its walls, noise and energy escape with the fervour of a late-night improvised jam, jarring in its desire to disrupt anything resembling perfect—but that’s the entire point.
The Hard Quartet – The Hard Quartet – [3.5]
The blues got stoned and it gave birth to The Hard Quartet. It is often the case that yesterday’s young radical becomes today’s centrist dad, but the four-piece behind this self-titled racket have not shackled themselves with middling safety, nor have they tried to cling to nostalgia, they’ve mutated slacker sensibilities into something strangely muscular.
The group consist of Emmett Kelly, known for his work with Ty Segall and The Cairo Gang, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement and The Jicks fame, Matt Sweeney of just about everything, and Jim White of the Dirty Three. They came together after circling around each other for long enough that they figured they might as well become a foursome. The result melds each of their skills into a solid corpus.
It’s a riff heavy volley of rugged indie rock. Yet, it is also more than happy to abandon these riffs in favour of spirited noise. The production, similarly, flits between these two poles of lo-fi studied carelessness and really quite crisp and anthemic high-end culminations. This creates an interestingly textured record with a truly idiosyncratic identity to boast – a patchwork of all that’s best about its four proponents – but within the heady mix, it can often be all too keen to court jarring dissonance that lands just the wrong side of harsh.
The Last Flight – Public Service Broadcasting – [3.5]
The concept album is so often viewed as the peak of musical expression and artistry; difficult to master but utterly groundbreaking if you manage to pull it off. Speaking both to their skill and ambition, Public Service Broadcasting have carved out a name for themselves almost solely based on the creation of concept albums. Since their formation in 2009, the London band have used music and composition as a means of exploring important moments and figures within the world of history and culture. Their latest target is Amelia Earhart.
Let us deal with the elephant in the room first and foremost: Public Service Broadcasting often build their work around audio recordings, samples, and soundbites from the time period or historical event that their music pertains to. For arguably their greatest work, The Race For Space, for instance, the band used news reports from the time, presidential speeches, and audio exchanges from the Apollo missions themselves. However, there are not many recordings of Amelia Earhart, so many of the samples used on The Last Flight were recorded by actors like Kate Graham, using Earhart’s writings and a biography of her to influence the recordings.
The Last Flight might not seem as authentic as some of Public Service Broadcasting’s previous work, thanks in part to the fabricated samples, but that should not take away from the incredible concept at the heart of the band. For over a decade now, the band has been operating largely on its own wavelength, creating a sound and atmosphere unparalleled by virtually any other artist currently in operation.
The Clearwater Swimmers – The Clearwater Swimmers – [3]
Despite being named after the band, The Clearwater Swimmers’ album began as a series of solo demos. Captured in one take in raw, acoustic forms, the songs were just shells of ideas from Sumner Bright. But when the rest of the band got involved, spreading the group across the two points of New England and New York, that’s when it all came together.
Across the album, it’s like hearing a bunch of puzzle pieces come together and thinking, “Ah, yes! That makes sense.” Part of that means that there isn’t much that’s experimental or unexpected here, but that’s not necessarily a critique. The result is something foolproof and consistently good, as the album is undeniably built as a sum of great parts.
From start to finish, the quality is high and consistent. However, if there is criticism to be handed, it’s because of that very reason. In areas, it feels safe playing when a band that is clearly this capable and talented could be pushing things further or daring to take some risks, even if that takes the form of Bright daring to leave the safety of the rock band for a second and give his original demo sound more space to breathe.
Mighty Vertebrate – Anna Butterss – [2.5]
Jazz, as a musical style and genre, boasts such a rich and varied history that it can often be difficult to find new ways to explore the scene. For Adelaide-born musician Anna Butterss, this idea has never particularly stopped them from continuing to explore and be innovative within the jazz scene. Having worked with an impressive roster of artists, from Aimee Mann to Andrew Bird, it is fair to say that the artist’s sophomore record, Mighty Vertebrate, has been hotly anticipated. Whether or not it lives up to the hype is another story entirely.
Butterss, both as a composer and songwriter, has undeniable talent, and many of the songs on Mighty Vertebrate – particularly towards the end of the tracklisting – are genuinely enjoyable and impressive feats of jazz-influenced innovation. Unfortunately, though, the overarching sound of the album often fails to be captivating due to a lack of diversity or originality. Even on some of the more enjoyable instrumental moments, the album’s colossal overproduction seems to overshadow the clear musical talent of both Butterss and their band.
