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Week 36 – Sept 5:// as we wave goodbye to Summer, we hit the stride of Autumnal releases – and the first week of September is kicking off with a mighty bang. Some familiars in here along with some new waves of exciting to get stuck into.

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The post-punk band from South London keep up traditions with Cutthroat – their potent post-punk encapsulating the roaring joyride of the ’20s; it’s here just for those who want to go fast for the fun of it.

A sonic steer away from their pensive build-ups in 2023’s Food For Worms – where you were rewarded for your attentiveness – Cutthroat, in comparison, just cuts right to the point. A sharp-witted macabre to life, shame music makes you want to drive your car off a cliff. Cutthroat just gets you to there faster.

While those may be disappointed with the more radio-friendly direction in indie rock, the album still holds up its own. The self-titled track is an attitude adjustment, an overindulgence of crazy indie hedonism. On the other side of the coin, contemplative Quiet Life plays out as the devil on the shoulder, a deep insecurity to the life chosen. To and Fro is an absolute screamer while Screwdriver checks out as a fan favourite this early on as a tense projectile of fast and frenzied. For something new, look no further than Lampião, a silver-tongued dialogue about the twentieth century’s most successful bandit leader.

While it doesn’t hold up with former projects, shame’s latest shows that they can keep up with all of life’s changes.

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Leave your problems at the door with a gorgeous dose of folk-rock, these three make it sound as easy as falling off a log. While Big Thief’s sixth, Double Infinity, sees them work as a trio for the first time ever, the vivid sounds coming out of the woods here still sound as wondrous as ever.

If there’s one thing that will stay consistent, it’s front-woman Adrienne Lenker effortlessly weaving together epic stories of grief and love in a passionate outcry of folksy slumber. Of course, let’s not beat around the bush here – 2022’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You is a tough act to follow. Not to mention, Adrianne’s own Bright Future in 2024 stirred up a lot of unpredictability for the bands’ eventual remit. This thinking was surmounted when the original bassist Max Oleartchik left the group. While Big Thief’s cohesion resembles strong as a quartet, the trio simply leaned into their new expansive state.

What tumbles out is a loose exploration of a band from a jam session amongst many collaborators and inspiring musicians. While the new direction looses sight of the intricate guitar plucking which is perceived as quintessentially Big Thief – not to mention the twee production render – what tumbles out of Double Infinity is something just as good. Marvelling at the vocals on Grandmother or the beautiful Los Angeles, the trio’s loose exploration of a jam session reveals a free-flowing aesthetic of a record that is often hypnotic upon listen.

I can imagine a lot of BT fanatics tuning out on this one though.

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Everyone’s favourite Scouser sextet return again with BUCK – arguably, at their most daring. No doubt emboldened by how well 2024’s Western Approaches went down among critics, the band glean from the positives and wade into the studio as quick as they left it last time.

As far as opening a record within the realms of alternative rock, I can go as far to say it doesn’t get any better than this. Crush, TX satisfies the big-chorus craving while Taste acts as a tense pre-cursor to American Nights & English Mornings, a blistering belter looking to no doubt break through to the audience across the pond.

Of course, Red Rum Club’s distinguished feature is used rather sparingly so when it comes around, it’s even more of a delight. Trumpet favourites include but are not limited to, Trouble In The Neighbourhood, a befitting big-scene soundtrack to Spaghetti Westerns or a Marachi mobster original.

As expected, there moments where its edge is lost as the off-beat Someone’s Baby Isn’t Coming can be mistaken for merely making up the numbers here, while Wish I Was Here is a lyrical layabout (the fill is tasty though) – but we still get a makeover look-in from the bands’ favourite closer live with Vanilla, which was a nice surprise.

A record coined with all the confidence and attitude you could ask for, BUCK is a frenetic romp of alt-rock that’s deserving of a band doing all the right things.

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Forever pushing the boundaries of ambient, techno and electronica, Akasha System brings his cosmic comedown another dose of healing with Heliocene – a vibrant purveyor of both space and sound as it gleefully glides over a multitude of sub-genres.

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Grandson brings his last-chance saloon of heavy riffs this year with INERTIA. A 29-minute hellfire for full-volume fanatics, it reaffirms that Twenty One Pilots are one bad press stunt away from a grandson arc.

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Perceived to be the follow-up of 2021’s If Words Were Flowers – one of the most pivotal soul records in the 21st Century – Curtis Harding shifts his visionary starlight to Departures & Arrivals, a self-produced fourth wildly eclectic with groove and grandeur as he portrays his first concept piece. Exploring the unease of being far from home, the full title of Departures & Arrivals: Adventures of Captain Curt plays out as a space operatic blending suave synths as a pilot navigates the daunting scope of space.

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Honourable Mentions…

• VONA VELLA: Bear Trap – A Nottingham-based quintet that do not do things by halves, release their latest Bear Trap. A dazzling display of doozy guitar arrangements and heady harmonies, VONA VELLA’s sonic dynamism is a marvel to fall into. Following from their deeply-rooted self-titled debut in 2023, the bold unit of VONA VELLA haven’t even begun on what they’ve got to say.
• knitting: Fold – Evoking the true spirit of ’90s alternative bands from the other side of the Atlantic with the likes of Pixies and Sonic Youth, the fully-fledged Montreal outfit of knitting is ferociously brash and temperamental in style. Brash riffs and incensed lyricism bring their latest Fold to light, their first new work since 2024’s Some Kind of Heaven.
• HONEY I’M HOME: Alive – Wistful shoegaze group bring debut single backing with Alive, a delightful follow-up to first Wishful Thinking. A song born out of adversity following from the bands’ rehearsal space burning to the ground, Honey I’m Home are on a introspective journey of their own as they navigate the harshness of life’s reality – all the while personifying a real beauty amongst their work.
• The Howlers: You Can Be So Cruel – London’s desert-rockers The Howlers look to regarner last years’ success from their acclaimed debut in a boldened direction. Hardened around those late-night rendezvous meeting strangers at an uncomfortable impasse, the attitude seems to have followed on from first release, Night Crawling.
• Fig Tape: Focal Point – A sonic powerhouse of derisive sounds that aren’t afraid to raise a few eyebrows or two, Elias Melkersen’s Fig Tape delayers modern life through other-worldly audio and distorted noise in a smorgsboard of lo-fi indie rock and ambient pop. A future voice in the new wave of alternative, Elias asks all the important questions like what does this button do? as he gears up for his debut record release in October.