BY: JOEY REAMS
On Fridays, the world is blessed with new music from a handful of artists. To help you find your next favorite album, we’ve discovered what new alternative and indie albums have been released. Some notable artists this week include Arcade Fire, Black Honey, and Foster the People. Check out the list below:
Alice Phoebe Lou – Glow
South African singer-songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou is back with her 3rd studio album, Glow. It’s been two years since Lou has released an album. Her most recent release was “Witches/Touch,” which was released last year.
“I spent more time alone than I ever had,” Lou said in a press statement in December. “I shaved my head. Had an ego death. Fell in love. Had my heart broken. I was a raw little mess. And that was what I wrote about.”
Arcade Fire & Owen Pallett – Her (Original Score)
Canadian indie-rock band Arcade Fire teamed up with Canadian multi-instrumentalist Owen Pallett to release the original score of the 2013 film Her, directed by Spike Jones. Although the film has been out for a while, the soundtrack has been unreleased until today. The album doesn’t have any lyrics, but it’s still a powerful indie soundtrack nominated for the best original score at the 86th Academy Awards.
“There is a mysterious alchemy in the way sound and picture work together, notes and moods shifting and reacting to one another like a kaleidoscope,” said Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler. “And even in the absence of visuals, the emotional landscape still remains. We hope you have a moment of stillness to get lost in the music as we did writing and recording it.”
Black Honey – Written & Directed
British four-piece indie rock band Black Honey have released their sophomore album Written and Directed. This follows the band’s debut self-titled album, which was released in 2018. Since then, the band has released a handful of singles, with the most recent being “Disinfect” earlier this year.
Chad VanGaalan – World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener
Canadian musician Chad VanGaalan has released his 9th studio album, World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener. This is VanGaalan’s third studio album in two years, with two album releases in 2020. Although the artist does enjoy talking about his garden, this album is more symbolic of his own life.
“It is hard to grow stuff here,” VanGaalan said. “A lot of my family live out west and they just throw seeds to the wind and hack it back. I was using it more or less as a metaphor for my own ability to ruin a situation with an existential crisis at any moment.”
The Knocks & Foster the People – Melody & Silence
Indie rock favorites Foster the People have teamed up with The Knocks, an American electronic duo consisting of Ben “B-Roc” Ruttner and James “JPatt” Patterson, to release some of their favorite covers they’ve done together. The two groups joined forces to release Melody & Silence, an indie-electronic EP that features covers of The Verve, Back, and Moby.
Michael Beach – Dream Violence
Australian singer-songwriter Michael Beach has released his fourth full-length studio album, Dream Violence, via Goner Records. The album was directed by Oscar O’Shae and is Beach’s first full album since his 2017 Gravity/ Repulsion.
“My hope is that something gets communicated that makes people think outside of themselves or their surroundings,” O’Shae said. “To ask questions, and consider the effects of their decisions. To communicate some essential part of the human spirit that understands intuitively how to feel connected to each other rather than divide, exploit, separate, ignore, and all the other heinous shit we have the ability to do with each other.”
Middle Kids – Today We’re the Greatest
Australian alternative indie rockers Middle Kids have released their studio album, Today We’re the Greatest, following their 2019 EP New Songs for Old Problems EP. The three-piece band’s debut album, Lost Friends, won the Australian Album of the Year at the 2018 J Awards.
“This is a simple song about people being tiny and our lives being fleeting but also that we are epic and great,” said lead singer Hannah Joy regarding the title-track song. It’s finding the beauty and majesty of the everyday. LIFE IS GORY AND BORING SOMETIMES: it’s both hectic and mundane and we have to accept both.”
Tearjerker – Deep End
After about five years with no new music, Tearjerker has returned with a new EP, Deep End. The last time the Canadian indie band released anything new was their 2016 EP Really Into You. The band released the music video for “Deep End” just a few days before this release.
“‘Deep End’ was birthed as an improvised riff at a crowded (pre-COVID) housewarming party in 2019,” said lead singer Micah Bonte. “It’s the sort of creative moment that’s usually lost to time and hazy memories. But after discovering a friend’s Instagram story that captured the riff, we were able to use it as a foundation to build a classic Tearjerker song that feels like it should be rolling over the end credits of a movie.”