Alternative New Music from Quarantine

One of the biggest disappointments this year for any music lover will be the rescheduled or canceled concerts due to COVID-19. Luckily, quarantine has been a great time for new music. These new alternative releases won't bring back the thrill of making it to the front row at your favorite standing room only venue or singing your heart out with hundreds or thousands of other fans, but they do bring something new to this otherwise boring time we're all living in.

The Wrecks - Infinitely Ordinary

The Wrecks released their latest eight-track album, Infinitely Ordinary, on May 1. The album features previously released singles "Fvck Somebody," "Freaking Out" and "Out of Style." As we face reopening in some areas with a continuance of social distancing, "We All Get Lonely" might hit a littler closer to home than it otherwise already would.

If you're looking for a little extra entertainment out of this one, the official "Fvck Somebody" music video is really something. The video does not include the whole band, and the ending is essentially chaos. It's not a bad way to lose a few minutes.

Bad Suns - "Unstable" & "I'm Not Having Any Fun"

Two new singles from Bad Suns dropped during quarantine. "Unstable," the more recent of the two songs, came out May 15. The songs act as a b-side for their last full-length album, Mystic Truth.

I added "I'm Not Having Any Fun" to my COVID-19 playlist right off the bat. The boredom of being at home constantly without school and work to keep me busy really hasn't been fun. It's gotten comforting to hear those words coming from a song like this.

All Time Low - Wake Up, Sunshine

All Time Low's latest album has been a blessing through all of this. The Band CAMINO and blackbear appear on "Favorite Place" and "Monsters," respectively. Some of the songs link strongly back to previous albums, which fans picked up on starting with the release of the first single back in January. I went more in-depth on the references in "Some Kind of Disaster" after its release.

The band is officially out of the Last Young Renegade era, and frankly, it sounds like they've moved back toward a Don't Panic sound on some of these new tracks. That tone shift really fits with where we are in the world right now, at least the way I see it.

Lauv - ~how i'm feeling~

Best known for the popular single "I Like Me Better," Lauv has knew music out that is definitely worth a listen.

Lauv's debut studio album came out in early March right before the shutdowns started, and it has just the right energy for life as we currently know it. The track names speak for themselves on that front, including "Sad Forever" and "Modern Loneliness."

The Aces - "Lost Angeles," "My Phone is Trying to Kill Me" & "Daydreams"

While these songs released separately, they're all now much easier to find and listed on Spotify under My Phone is Trying to Kill Me.

The three singles The Aces released during this pandemic are a teaser for their next album, Under My Influence, set to release June 12. It will be their second full-length album, and based off the songs they've already let out, it's going to be another good one.

While there are some reopenings starting, the likelihood that life will be back to normal by the time this album drops is still pretty low. So if you enjoy the singles, the new album just might be the next thing for you to look into in terms of new music while working, studying or lazying around at home.