Content Breakdown
MØL – Young
Sugar Horse – Would You Like Me To Be The Cat?
Spanish Love Songs – Lifers Too ft. The Wonder Years
Karen Dió – I Hope You Know
Second Harbour – Mourning Dove
Good Sleepy – ZZZ
The Gloom In The Corner – Angel’s Wrath Whiskey
Blanket – True Blue
Harker – Redacted
–
Newish Music Playlist Update
Every week, our inbox is flooded with new singles from across the alternative scene, and while we’d love to highlight them all, there’s simply too much great music to keep up with. That’s where Already Heard Recommends: Songs of the Week comes in. We sift through the latest releases to bring you a handpicked selection of the standout tracks you need to hear.
Whether it’s rock, punk, emo, hardcore, metal, or something in between, we cut through the noise and bring you the songs that deserve your attention.
MØL – Young
Having revealed details of their long-awaited new album, ‘DREAMCRUSH,’ last month, Danish metallers MØL shared the record’s second single this week. ‘Young’ sees the quintet dive into familiar territory; sharp black metal. With Kim Song Sternkopf throat-shredding screams leading MØL‘s dense pursuit, it’s momentarily broken up by glistening, rising guitars. Bringing together assured brutality with beauty, it’s a visceral taster of ‘DREAMCRUSH’.
Although ‘Young’ is a new track, for MØL guitarist Nicolai Busse, its origins stretch back over a decade. “’Young’ is a song that has travelled through time. The chorus is one of the first pieces of music that I wrote for MØL back in 2012, at a time when I was living outside Denmark,” explains Busse. “I have returned to it a number of times throughout the years, but I was never able to make it right. So it was only when revisiting it for this record that it finally clicked in my head, and I was able to write the rest of the music. The song for me represents a time in my life second guessing myself, trying to stand on my own.”
‘DREAMCRUSH’ by MØL is released on January 30th, on Nuclear Blast.
Sugar Horse – Would You Like Me To Be The Cat?
Bristol four-piece Sugar Horse delivered not one, but two singles this week. The first is an 11-minute epic number called ‘What’s Your ETA? Let’s Have A Tear Up’. The track is dedicated to Palestinian people, with the band encouraging donations to UNWRA.
The second track released, ‘Would You Like Me To Be The Cat?’, is a calmer offering yet retains the quartet’s experimental edge. Utilising atmospheric layers, ‘Would You Like Me To Be The Cat?’ unravels itself across six-plus minutes, with reverberating guitars throughout.
Having “done the whole “Endless Space Doom” thing to death” (according Sugar Horse themselves), both new tracks begin a new chapter for the band. “Sometimes you’ve just gotta pretend to be The Cure, and there’s no better time than the present. We wanted to come back with something new and something grand. I think with both of these tunes you can see little peaks of the ideas we have in store for folks in the coming years,” the band shared when discussing their new material. They also shared what ‘Would You Like Me To Be The Cat?’ is about.
“Lyrically this song is about how confusing this silly and terrible world we live in is. How living at the centre of Empire can make you feel crazy/ill/abhorrent, simply for believing things that are morally righteous, or even just factually true. Good people are smeared with shit every day for simply stating what they believe to be just. It’s a terrible world, but we have each other, and I hope that’s enough.”
Sugar Horse will round off the year with a hometown show on December 18th at The Croft.
Spanish Love Songs – Lifers Too ft. The Wonder Years
‘Lfers Too’ originally appeared Spanish Love Songs‘ ‘No Joy Sessions’ EP this past summer. However, it’s been given a new lease of life thanks to The Wonder Years’ Dan “Soupy” Campbell.
As the opening track on Spanish Love Songs just-released ‘A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time’ EP, it sees frontman Dylan Slocum carry the weight of the world on his shoulders in his usual reflective manner. He goes on to direct his anger at his parents’ generation while feeling guilty about his own generation. It’s complemented by jangly guitars and crystal synth keys.
As for Campbell’s cameo, it is the result of a relationship between the band and The Wonder Years vocalist that has blossomed in recent years. “Very few people have championed us as much as he has over the past 5 years,” says Spanish Love Songs‘ Slocum. “I’m forever grateful that he’s become a friend, and more importantly, someone whose work pushes me to try to be better.”
For Dan “Soupy” Campbell, the chance to work with Spanish Love Songs was a no-brainer. “I love this song and I love this band. I don’t think I’ve ever said yes to a feature so quickly,” he explains. “The way that Dylan and Spanish Love Songs capture the decay at the heart of the American facade is singular and haunting, and I’m honoured to lend my voice to it.”
‘A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time’ by Spanish Love Song is out now on Pure Noise Records.
Karen Dió – I Hope You Know
Brazilian punk rocker Karen Dió continues to gain momentum and has delivered another infectious single with ‘I Hope You Know’.
On the surface, it’s a pounding, bubbly number with a raw, gritty undertone. However, the London-based Dió considers the track as “an awkward love letter and self-diagnosing note” to her unusual behaviour, and her second-guessing if her habits would turn off her eventual husband.
“During the pandemic, I started to notice loads of weird behaviours, like: I can’t stand hearing someone chew. That really freaks me out! That’s just one example. Around the same time, I met my husband, and our relationship was so perfect that I was worried I would ruin it when he started to learn all my weird things,” Karen Dió shares. “I wrote this unconventional love song, hoping that he would still love all the sides of me. And he does.”
She’ll be playing a headline show at The Underworld in London this week on Tuesday, 25th November.
Second Harbour – Mourning Dove
Taken from their upcoming EP called ‘Coalesce,’ Canadian trio Second Harbour show plenty of promise on ‘Mourning Dove.’ Thriving with urgency, their sound harkens back to 2000s emo-rock, akin to Taking Back Sunday, with Xavier Morency’s lead vocals having a sense of desperation to them.
Joined by his brother Vincent and drummer John Muggianu, Second Harbour has been releasing music independently for five years. And while they remain to be DIY as possible, their debut EP sees the three-piece join up with the SharpTone Records roster. For Xavier, it meant writing a collection of songs that defined who Second Harbour are, even if it meant writing “the most painful” song he’s ever written in ‘Mourning Dove’.
“I spent a lot of time making sure they [the lyrics] could be read differently than they were heard, and I couldn’t be more proud of the song we built around them,” says Xavier.
‘Coalesce’ EP by Second Harbour on December 12th on SharpTone Records.
Good Sleepy – ZZZ
Having previously been signed to No Sleep Records, and shared stages with names such as Hot Mulligan, Arm’s Length, and Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Central Massachusetts emo outfit Good Sleepy should already have a bigger profile. Nevertheless, on the evidence of new single ‘ZZZ’, that could all change.
Taken from their forthcoming second album, ‘Constant Humming,’ ‘ZZZ’ roars out of the speakers with intent. While 2021’s ‘everysinglelittlebit’ leaned into their Midwest emo roots, vocalist Thomas Sullivan feels ‘ZZZ’ is an indication of “a step in a different direction”. It exemplifies the raw, dynamic, and emotionally resonant sound that appears throughout ‘Constant Humming’.
“With our first single, ‘TRAP’, we were focused on releasing a song that was familiar to our fanbase, while also showcasing a development in our sound. “ZZZ” is the result of lots of new influences that we have had since our last LP,” Sullivan states. “It’s fast-paced, fun, and hard-hitting all the way through. We had a blast playing this song on tour over the summer and seeing people move to it. It’s definitely one of our favourites off of the album, we’re stoked to finally be getting it out there.”
‘Constant Humming’ by Good Sleepy is released on February 13th.
The Gloom In The Corner – Angel’s Wrath Whiskey
Aussie metalcore group The Gloom In The Corner continue to build their theatrical brand of “cinema-core” as they prepare to release their third album, ‘Royal Discordance,’ early next year. The latest preview, ‘Angel’s Wrath Whiskey,’ channels ‘Three Cheers…’-era My Chemical Romance with its rampant arsenal of guitars and breakneck drums.
With ‘Royal Discordance’ described as a “concoction of chaos and revelry,” ‘Angel’s Wrath Whiskey’ sounds like a solid entry point to The Gloom In The Corner‘s conceptual battle between light and dark. As it builds to a rapturous conclusion, the quartet embark on a scathing breakdown, complemented by haunting orchestration.
“Angel’s Wrath Whiskey lives up to its namesake,” the band shares of their new single. “The first four shots are great, but too much of it will have you breaking down as hard as the end of the song.”
‘Royal Discordance’ by The Gloom In The Corner is released on February 27th on SharpTone Records.
Blanket – True Blue
North West shoegaze specialists Blanket tend to produce lush atmospheres, yet as new single, ‘True Blue’, shows, they are equally vulnerable and immersive. Serving as the title track from their upcoming album, the track swirls in a layered sea of reverb, allowing Booby Pook’s sparse words to be just that more impactful. Complemented by a stirring lead guitar and penetrative percussion, it’s Blanket at their most alluring.
“When we wrote True Blue, it felt like the whole thing finally fell into place — the vibe, the lyrics, the meaning — everything started to make sense. The track, and really the whole record, is about brighter days, a bit of nostalgia, and finding beauty in the small, quiet moments. We used samples from films like Nomadland, which felt right and added to the atmosphere we were trying to build,” Blanket explained as they announced ‘True Blue’. “At the heart of it, we were chasing something honest — a kind of raw emotion. We spent a lot of time making sure the way we played and produced it matched that feeling. There are a lot of bends, unresolved progressions — moments that hold tension. We wanted to create something that doesn’t give everything away too soon. So when the release finally happens, it carries more weight. It’s all about that feeling of waiting — and then the payoff.'”
‘True Blue’ by Blanket is released on January 16th on Adventure Cat Records.
Harker – Redacted
Fresh off the back of making their US debut, Brighton punks Harker give us a brief taster of their yet-to-be-announced new album with ‘Redacted’.
Distilled to under two minutes of urgent, melodic punk, ‘Redacted’ is a cutthroat example of Harker‘s impassioned hooks. “‘Redacted’ is about the past you’d rather forget — mistakes, regrets, and once-friends that haunt you,” explains vocalist and guitarist Mark Boniface. “Sometimes it’s better to coil yourself away from situations that cause recurring pain. Protecting your own existence is key to moving forward.”
Newish Music Playlist Update
With over 80 tracks being added to our #NewishMusic playlist over the past seven days, there is plenty of music to get into.
Notable tracks include those from Bad Omens, HEALTH, Don Broco, Rob Zombie, Converge, Lamb of God, and Magnolia Park.
You can also hear new songs from RØRY, Svalbard, Footballhead, Volumes, Shinedown, Shields, These New South Wales, and much more.
While Good Charlotte, Airbourne The Bouncing Souls, and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes all get into the Christmas spirit with festive tracks.
| Airbourne – Christmas Bonus Alchemize – Do You Feel Alive? All The Damn Vampires – Into The Night Argovia – Mountains Avalanche – Down for the Count Bad Nerves – Loner Bad Omens – Left For Good Balboas – Florida Man Between The Buried and Me – Overture Bite Down – Say Something Black Water County – Wreckless Blanket – True Blue Bouncing Souls – Home for the Holidays Bowling For Soup – Actually Romantic Broadwing – If U Let Me Carsick – Concrete Cold Night For Alligators – .44 Lifeline Colossal Rains – Deadlights Comastatic, Ryan Oakes – SWAY[ED] Converge – Love Is Not Enough Courtney Hadwin – Changes Crooked Fingers – Cold Waves Cut Short – The Worst Of Myself Des Rocks – The Juice Dewey – Jinx Don Broco – Euphoria Dream Nails – House of Bones Dweller – Caught In The Light |
echochamber – Devil May Cry Footballhead – Used To Be The Gloom In The Corner – Angel’s Wrath Whiskey Good Charlotte – Fairytale of New York Good Sleepy – ZZZ The Halo Effect – Shoreline Harker – Redacted Health – SHRED ENVY Hogh Regard – Grow Hudson Freeman – If You Know Me / Wild Horses Lamb of God – Parasocial Christ Libbianski – Continue the Sad Lionheart – Bulletproof Long Distance Calling – Hazard (Live At Lichtburg) Lucid Express – Something Blue Magnolia Park – Chasing Shadows Making Blind Eyes – Reign Man/Woman/Chainsaw – Only Girl Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – All I Want For Christmas Is You Melonball – Silence = Compliance Møl – Young New Miserable Experience – Ordinary People Point North – DEAD 2 ME Public Figure – The Enemy realwell – Honey Redwood – Hallway (In The Dark) Rifle – No King |
Rob Zombie – Heathen Days RØRY – DEAD GIRL WALKING Satin Puppets – Tonight You Belong To Me Second Harbour – Mourning Dove Self Deception – Time’s Up Sex Mask – Blisters (ft Noah Learmonth) Shelf Lives – 2phoneS Shields – Parasites Shinedown – Searchlight Silent Child – WAIT! Stare At The Clouds – The Patient: Fray SUDS – Heavy in the Air Sugar Horse – What’s Your ETA? Let’s Have A Tear Up / Would You Like Me To Be The Cat? SUNBENDR – Crime Wave Sunset Detour – All I Am Is Me Svalbard – If We Could Still Be Saved The Halo Effect – Shoreline These New South Wales – PIG / BIRDBRAIN Thrice/Less Gravity – Black Honey (Lofi) Ty Freeman – Monareen Tyketto – Higher Than High UKofA – Watchtower Uncultivates – Flatley Unseen Faith, Distant – Fractured Will Vana – Pray Volumes – Bad Habit xSERAPHx – In Certainty / New Life Transcribe Zero 9:36 – Holding On Zu – A.I. Hive Mind |
The ‘Newish Music’ playlist is also available on Apple Music.
Have a song to consider for a future edition of ‘Already Heard Recommends? Tell us about it here.
We are an independently owned website run by one person (Sêan Reid). By supporting AlreadyHeard on Ko-Fi, you can help cover hosting costs and keep the website ad-free.
