"catalogue" - julie
Genre: Shoegaze, Post-Punk, Grunge
RIYL: Slow Pulp, My Bloody Valentine

With their first release since August of last year, heavy shoegaze maestros and L.A. natives julie barge back onto the scene with “catalogue.” An anthem for the disassociators and self-deprecators, lead singer Alex Brady croons “I don’t feel anything now / and who would uphold / until I find it and run it all down?” Throughout the track, Brady’s velvet vocals draw on the despondence of the lyrics; the band feels stuck on goals they haven’t achieved and “fears [they] thought [they’d] shed.” Coupled with the medley of droning bass, screeching guitar, and thrashing drums, the track encapsulates the internal chaos that comes with trying to bottle this up. It’s an impossible combination, a simultaneous indifference and building anxiety that is bound to tear them apart. Such an agonizing game of internal tug-of-war eventually shatters in a cathartic explosion of distorted instrumentals toward the end of the song. Relatably anxious and apathetic, “catalogue” speaks on a phenomenon well-known to students trying to get through the end of the semester, providing an ideal backing track for your next breakdown in the dimly lit Leavey Library bathrooms.

-Gia Canto

"High Tea" - Hot Wax
Genre: Punk, Alternative Rock
RIYL: Dream Wife, Amyl and the Sniffers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Released on their newest EP, Hot Wax’s “High Tea” tells the all too familiar tale of a failed friendship merger, packaged in an intoxicatingly groovy track. As lead singer Tallulah Sim-Savage points out, it’s “about two people in your life who are very close to you but don’t mix well, leaving you in the middle feeling torn…. you have to spit out your doubt and let your bad feelings leave you. ‘High Tea’ is a song for people to let go and be free.” With “High Tea,” these angsty Brits find a way to translate the stress that accompanies this generally grueling experience into a catchy tune that is bound to get stuck in your head. But unlike the relationship they yell about throughout the track, Hot Wax feels like a match made in heaven. The perfect balance of power pop and punk, Sim-Savage’s electrifying vocals blend seamlessly with Lola Sam and Alfie Sayers' addicting riffs and potent drums. Looking on the bright side of the situation, Sim-Savage sings “At least it would give me inspiration / that I could shout about.”

-Gia Canto

NEW ADDS: Julie, Hot Wax