The past couple of months have brought about the influx of newly-released albums from a variety of different artists. However, the big-name celebrities, such as Olivia Rodrigo and Doja Cat, have overshadowed audience reactions to smaller, Indie or alternative artists, or other celebrities whose album promotion didn’t succeed as well. As an avid listener of artists I feel like nobody has heard of, I want to share some of my favorite albums that were just released recently.
1. i miss you already + i haven’t left yet by del water gap
Del Water Gap, or S. Holden Jaffe, is a solo artist from New York whose music mostly falls into the Indie or alternative music categories. He’s had a couple of “hit” songs, such as “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat,” but most people do not seem to know who he is. Despite this song being featured in Amazon Prime Original The Summer I Turned Pretty, he remains fairly underground. His second album, I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet is reminiscent of his older music but is much darker and moodier than what I’m used to hearing from him. Jaffe highlights deeper topics like love, loss, and his struggles with sobriety in a beautifully-created and cohesive album. Some of my favorites include “Gemini,” “Doll House,” and “We Will Never Be Like Anybody Else.”
2. dancing, alone by ten tonnes
I hesitated including this album on this list because Ten Tonnes (also known as Ethan Barnett) is an artist I can guarantee virtually no one has heard of. However, he deserves more listeners , so I won’t gatekeep the fun, eccentric, rock-esque tone of this man’s music. His music is thoughtful and vibrant, segueing between different genres, from ballads to rock to pop. Hailing from the United Kingdom, Barnett released his second album four years after his first, with a new sound catering to the times and trends of modern music. Some of my favorites include “Monday Morning,” “The Joke Got Old,” and “Heart to Break.”
3. snow angel – reneé rapp
I only found out about Reneé Rapp from the HBO Max original The Sex Life of College Girls, but I’ve since come to realize that she’s a talented woman in a variety of different fields. She played Regina George on Broadway’s production of Mean Girls and has also been releasing her own solo music. A couple of her songs got popular on TikTok, but I only recently began listening to her songs. This album is beautifully written, covering the tumultuous ups and downs of a relationship, and I really enjoyed each and every one of the songs on the album. Some of my favorites include “I Hate Boston,” “I Wish,” and “The Wedding Song.”