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 Flyte and Skullcrusher. Check out the list below:
Flyte – This Is Really Going to Hurt
The English indie band from London has released their sophomore album, This Is Really Going to Hurt, via Island Records. Before this announcement, the band released an upcoming single, “Under the Skin.” On top of the new album, the band will also release a pen album book. Here’s what lead singer Will Taylor had to say about their latest single.
“Under the skin is a build-up of tension,” Taylor explains. “It warns of imminent chaos. An ode to a relationship that’s on the brink of destruction. I hope we never have to write a song like it again, it was a very dark time.”
Skullcrusher – Storm in Summer
Singer-songwriter Helen Ballentine, also known by her stage name, Skullcrusher, has announced a new album, Storm in Summer, via Secretly Canadian. This is the singer’s second album, following her debut self-titled album from last year.
“I wrote ‘Storm in Summer’ after releasing the first Skullcrusher EP,” she said in a statement, referencing her self-titled 2020 debut. “Over that summer I thought a lot about what it means to really put myself out there and share something personal. I felt so vulnerable and overwhelmed by the fact that these songs I had written in private were exposed and likely being misinterpreted or disliked. I think the song really tries to communicate these anxieties in a cathartic way while also leaning more into the beauty of relinquishing part of myself.”
Small Black – Cheap Dreams
The Brooklyn-based indie rock band Small Black are back with their fourth studio album, Cheap Dreams. This is their first album since their 2015 Best Blues. On top of that, this is the band’s first album with a new record label, 100% Electronica. Small Black has released their first three albums under Jagjaguwar. Here’s what frontman Josh Kolenik had to say about their latest single, “Duplex.”
“We finished writing & recording ‘Duplex’ way before the world shut down last March, but the lyrics seemed oddly prophetic to me as we were doing the final mix. ‘Walking in the house alone / Pray on the ottoman / Amen for one.’ I was originally thinking about the absurdity of feeling alone amid the 9 million of us in NYC and yet suddenly, we were all isolated without much of a choice in the matter. In those weeks spent listening to the quiet out our Brooklyn windows, only broken by the occasional siren, unsure where the city or the world was headed, the song took on a new meaning.”
The Spirit of the Beehive – Entertainment, Death
The Spirit of the Beehive, an alternative rock band from Philadelphia, has released their fourth studio album, Entertainment, Death via Saddle Creek. This will be the first album with Corey Wichlin on various instruments and vocals. The band released the first album, “THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN’T DO,” earlier this year.