Did you know some people dress up as past versions of themselves for Halloween? That’s because there’s nothing scarier than never changing. Before you start thinking that we’ve given you a new costume idea, please remember that no one will know it’s a costume when you wear your ill-fitting hole-filled Against Me! shirt from ten years ago. Mainly because you just wore it last week, and probably the week before that. Maybe you can pull it off next year, but first you’ll need to actually consume some new music and show consistent growth in your personality. No one’s saying it will be easy. In fact, it might be completely impossible. We’re risk-takers though, and we think we can help by presenting you with eight new songs that should pry your rotting music out of 2005 and into the now.
boygenius “Afraid of Heights”
It’s hard to believe that anything was left on the cutting-room floor of an album as triumphantly good as boygenius’s “the record.” The group’s newly released “the rest,” however, encourages us to imagine the impossible. With four incredible outtakes that are somehow better than anything your band has written in the last four years, this EP pushes the already stretched bounds of boygenius’s songwriting sensibilities. Highlight ‘Afraid of Heights’ wouldn’t sound out of place on Lucy Dacus’ most recent record, but is made quintessentially boygenius via the chemistry Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker conjure alongside her within the track.
The Beths and Car Seat Headrest “Brand New Colony”/“We Looked Like Giants”
Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service are currently winding down the fall leg of their collective anniversary tour, leaving thousands of thousands of dismantled relationships in their wake. Now, two of their excellent openers, The Beths and Car Seat Headrest, have announced a split 7” with their renditions of classics from both indie legends. The Beth’s take on ‘Brand New Colony” – which features Pickle Darling – adds a notable shouldn’t-work-but-totally-does twee layer to the arrangement, whereas Car Seat Headrest adds their patented subdued-but-still-heavy-as-fuck stylings to “We Looked Like Giants.”
Guided By Voices “For The Home”
Having just celebrated their 40th anniversary with a hellaciously great show in Dayton, OH last month, Guided By Voices have just announced their third – yes, fucking third – album this calendar year, aptly titled “Nowhere To Go But Up.” The lead single “For The Home” clocks in at a staggering 4 minutes and 38 seconds, which by GBV standards may as well be a mini-rock-opera. What the track lacks in Robert Pollard’s famous brevity, it makes up for ten-fold in hooks. Hovering over a vintage rock shuffle are the staples that have made Guided By Voices such consistent indie-rock legends for these past four decades with an added expansion for evolution in tow.
Many Eyes “Revelation”
No matter whose side you took in the soap opera level drama of ‘Every Time I Die’s sudden and embittered breakup, one fact was unanimously agreed upon: Keith Buckley’s vocal and lyrical talent is nearly unmatched within the metallic hardcore scene. This truth is incredibly evident in his new project Many Eyes, who just released their first single “Revelation.” The new group features guitar, bass and drum work from the iconic Bellmores (Nick and Charlie Bellmore) who add an incredible wallop to Buckley’s already thunderous refrains. The new sound feels almost… well… revelatory and it serves as proof that people can always move on. But not you. Not after what you’ve done.
Paramore, Wet Leg “C’est Comme Ça (Re: Wet Leg)”
When Wet Leg isn’t playing “Chaise Lounge” for the umpteenth time at some wildly huge show, they’re quietly watching their star rise higher and higher. This meteoric rise now includes a pit stop in the land of Paramore, who has just released an album that features artists reimagining the songs from their latest record “This Is Why.” If you didn’t know any better, you’d likely think that “C’est Comme Ça” was already a Wet Leg song. This might be due to the band’s signature Britpop arrangement, subdued delivery of the lyrics, or perhaps the French chorus that may as well be the sequel to ‘Chaise Lounge.’ Either way, it’s a fun ride and an excellent contribution to an already packed guestlist. We only wish your cover band could have an ounce of their personality here.
Joey Nebulous “Blame”
Chicago’s Joseph Farago is making power-pop – or “gay pop music” according to his Insta bio – for the ages. His latest album, “Joey Spumoni Creamy Dreamy Party All The Time,” has been painstakingly crafted for years. Unlike yours on the bedroom EP you started recording in 2015, Farago and company’s hard work has clearly paid off. There is rarely a speck of sonic real estate wasted as Farago’s falsetto soars above the mix. This is especially true of album highlight “Blame,” whose lyrics detail the importance of self-love when fledgling romances turn stale. A sentiment you would probably relate to if you stopped texting your ex for, like, even a second.
Knuckle Puck “Losing What We Love”
“Who do we become?’ ‘Where does the time go?” Two of a plethora of questions many of us are afraid to ask. Fortunately for us, Chicago’s Knuckle Puck doesn’t know the meaning of the word fear. They go there. They ask the hard-hitting questions that make our Managing Editor lock herself in her office for hours hoping the noise machine she had installed is loud enough to muffle her sobs. It sadly isn’t, but we don’t mind seeing as the band’s latest single “Losing What We Love” has us wholeheartedly saying “same.”
Because we know you’re lazy and unwilling to look up these songs yourself, we’ve compiled these and other songs into an ever-growing and increasingly disorienting playlist, which you can follow here.