1. SAYA
Alt-Pop album by Saya Gray
Saya Gray’s newest art pop release, SAYA is haunted by its opening refrain, “This is why I don’t spring for love.” But instead of harping on the same heartbreak across every track, Saya shatters the emotion into each individual part, suffusing each song with not only new instrumentation, but an increasingly nuanced emotion.
Top Tracks: H.W.B, Exhaust the Topic
2. Open Wide
Alternative Rock album by Inhaler
Inhaler is no newbie to the alternative scene, but the relative youth of the band has allowed each subsequent album to feel like their first (in a good way). While Cuts and Bruises saw the band perfect their rock sound, Open Wide is Inhaler’s most broad album yet, with electric grooves pumping up their iconic arena rock sounds.
Top Tracks: Eddie In the Darkness
3. Never Give Up
Folk Rock EP by Tors
Our first EP selection on the list, and a strong one – Tors’ newest release is a mix of anthemic folk rock and quiet emotion. Closing track “I Don’t Wanna Know” steals the show, one of few songs that can still pull off that uplifting feel, while “Dying Stars” packs enough emotion to be worth a whole album, much less just one EP.
Top Tracks: I Don’t Wanna Know, Dying Stars
4. 33 Degrees
Emo EP by Hey, Nothing
A true bummer album for the ages, but sometimes that’s just what you need. Hey, Nothing has mastered the nostalgia of the teenage idiot, and this album holds nothing (hey!) back. Those with few regrets might not find a lot of merit with the album, but to the rest of us, 33 Degrees offers a strange sense of togetherness and comfort despite its suffused sadness.
Top Tracks: Sick Dogs
5. Dealing with ghosts
Alternative Rock EP by Naya Mö
Okay, we realize it’s getting a little EP heavy at this point, but one listen to the latest from new indie alternative artist Naya Mö will drown out all your worries. It’s a short, guitar heavy album, but there’s something about it that really sticks with you. Hopefully it’s a sound we’ll see Naya expand on with a full LP release soon.
Top Tracks: Outsider
6. A Million Knives
Rock album by The Velveteers
The highest compliment we can give this album is its designation as “Scott Pilgrim Music” by WVUA’s own Kathryn Rachford. It’s nice to have a couple albums a year that don’t reinvent the wheel, but try to perfect sounds from earlier decades with their own flair. A Million Knives is the best of 2000s rock reinvented with the low electricity of modern alternative acts.
Top Tracks: See Your Face, Heaven
7. Bambi
Alternative Album by Anxious
There’s a certain line to walk with emo and punk inspired records; the legacy of the best acts of the 90s and 2000s can feel so dominant a shadow that it’s tough for bands to reinvent the genres, let alone exist on the outskirts. Anxious tries to change that with Bambi, and they succeed in a lot of ways. Jumping between a variety of sounds, both instrumentally and vocally, the LP charts a new course for the band that sees them embracing pop-punk roots and more modern emo inspiration simultaneously, and the result is refined and sharp at the same time.
Top Tracks: Some Girls, Tell Me Why
8. The Gift
Afrobeats EP by Suté Iwar
It takes a lot for electronic albums to make it out of the absolute ocean of dance music being created now. That said, Suté Iwar’s new release is a great example of how to blend R&B feels with electronic sounds, creating an atmosphere that ends far too soon.
Top Tracks: myfavourite.mp3
9. Oh, The Ocean
Indie Rock Album by The Wombats
I’ve got a love-hate relationship with The Wombats. Their hit song “Greek Tragedy” was one of the top soundtracks for my teenage life, but much of their music since has felt fairly blah. With Oh, The Ocean the band finds their place among similar indie acts like DREAMERS. While the sound jumps around a bit throughout the album, the tracks firmly convey a feeling of anxiety, but one that has a light at the end of the tunnel too. It’s a great album to pump yourself up before a party you didn’t want to go to.
Top Tracks: Blood on the Hospital Floor, Gut-Punch
10. Middle Spoon
Indie Pop Album by Cheekface
Closing out our list for the month is Cheekface’s newest record, led by the generational (within an online subculture) hit “Living Lo-Fi”. It’s impossible to ignore the rampant oddness of the album, but it’s eclectic sound makes for a fun listen that a select few will surely be putting into heavy rotation.
Top Tracks: Living Lo-Fi, Growth Sux
