Believe it or not, spooky season is here. The Halloween aisles are packed, the air feels just a little crisper, and the latest alternative, indie, and metal drops are setting the perfect vibe. Girl Tones deliver grit and groove, while Stain The Canvas brings darker tones on their high-energy release that fits right into your fall playlist.
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Girl Tones — “Cherry Picker”
Grunge fans, rejoice, duo Girl Tones is back with their new track “Cherry Picker,” and it is thrillingly fuzzy and fresh. Vocalist Kenzie Crowe shares, “‘Cherry Picker’ is the distortion of reality and the uncomfortability of death. I love this song because it’s a reminder to me that anyone, including myself, is susceptible to distortion.” Coming up this fall, you can catch the artists on the road at various festivals as well as supporting Cage The Elephant. —Maria Serra
Stain The Canvas — “what are we now?”
Italian emo rockers Stain The Canvas have returned with their latest release, “what are we now?” via InVogue Records. Alongside the new single, the band has also announced the release of their forthcoming album, Honey Rot, scheduled to arrive in December.
Of the new track, guitarist Lorenzo Accàttoli shares, “Sometimes we reach a point where all our convictions collapse. We take for granted the things that have worked for a long time simply because we’ve grown used to them. And when they start to crumble before our eyes, that’s when we realize that nothing lasts forever and anything can end at any moment. When this involves someone you thought you shared a deep connection with, only to discover you didn’t at all, you begin to understand how fragile and unstable relationships can be—and how complex we are as human beings, even when we seem to share the same goal.” —Paige Owens
Karen Dió — “Cut Your Hair”
Karen Dió just dropped the ultimate pop-punk song that gives a middle finger to all the people who love to comment on others’ bodies. The artist shares, “I used to get A LOT of comments from people online telling me ‘they like me more with long hair,’ which I think is bizarre. I forget how invasive and superficial people can be! So I wrote ‘Cut Your Hair’ as my final response to all of them. ‘If you don’t like me with my short hair, then you don’t like me at all.’” Catch Dió on tour this fall with Avenged Sevenfold in Brazil. —Maria Serra
Yam Haus — “Arrest Myself” / “Dollar Store Mansion”
Minneapolis indie-rockers Yam Haus are bringing the heat with not one, but two new singles, “Arrest Myself” and “Dollar Store Mansion.” Vocalist Lars Pruitt shares, “Sonically, ‘Arrest Myself’ is heavily influenced by my love for the band Cigarettes After Sex and Bruce Springsteen. I imagine this dark, smoky bar where a man falls in love for the first time in a way that’s more than just for a cheap thrill. My hope is that anyone who has fallen helplessly in love before hears it and is pulled back into that bittersweet nostalgic heart-bursting rush that they felt the first time they realized ‘Shit, I’m actually in love’.”
Pruitt adds of the second single release, “‘Dollar Store Mansion’ was a concept I couldn’t get out of my head for about 2 years. It’s about a character telling his lover they’re better off alone or with someone else. It’s a sad, self-loathing, albeit heartfelt and well-intentioned warning to their lover.” —Maria Serra
Vianova — “Squier Talk”
One of the most exciting and creative bands in heavy music right now, these Swiss superstars genre-bend and turn heads once again on “Squier Talk.”
The lead single off their debut album Hit It!, which they surprise-dropped at midnight, encompasses everything that has made them one of the most mesmerizing in the genre right now. Infectious riffs and unpredictable transitions leap from jazz to death metal. It offers a sense of urgency and rawness you can feel through your headphones and speakers. This is an instant album of the year contender. —Patrick Walford
Blessthefall — “Venom”
blessthefall’s long-awaited new record, Gallows, not only marks a triumphant return; it’s chock full of absolute bangers. “Venom” instantly stands out as the band firing on all cylinders from start to finish. Beau Bokan and Elliot Gruenberg prove once again that they are the metalcore vocalists’ version of Kobe and Shaq. Couple this with riffage that’s akin to their 2013 classic Hollow Bodies, and this is an instant Top 10 track. The 7+ years between Gallows and 2018’s Hard Feelings may have felt like a lifetime, but to say it was worth the wait would be an understatement. blessthefall isn’t just back; they’re better than ever. —Patrick Walford
Allie X — “Is Anybody Out There?”
Allie X is back with her first offering of 2025, “Is Anybody Out There?” The artist notes, “Every so often, I was drawn away from my computer, toward the piano. I was hearing these melodies and words that were totally out of place for ‘Girl With No Face’ – barely intelligible, as if a different person was writing them. Last summer, between tours, I found myself creatively restless. So I gave myself a challenge: to sift through this fragmented three-year archive of voice memos and try to turn them into actual songs.” Excitingly, this unique pop song is just one of a forthcoming drop, set for release later this year. More details to come. —Maria Serra
Ace Enders — “Damaged Goods”
Ace Enders, also known as the frontman for The Early November, dropped a solo single and music video for “Damaged Goods,” via Pure Noise Records. He says, “One night, after finishing a recording session for another artist around 8 PM, I was having one of those heavy days where I felt left behind and forgotten. Instead of going home, I stayed in the studio until midnight and wrote ‘Damaged Goods.’ It came from that dark place—the feeling that your best days and biggest opportunities might already be behind you. When you can see everything in the rearview but the windshield is foggy… things get weird. But in writing it, I realized there’s still hope even in those moments. Happiness can come from knowing someone else might learn from your mistakes. And if you’re lucky and are willing to learn how to clean the fog…maybe you even get another shot.”
The track is set to appear on his forthcoming LP Posture Syndrome, due out on October 31— his first album since 2020. —Maria Serra
Free Throw — “Mike Nolan’s Long Weekend”
Free Throw has teamed up with Dom Fox of Bad Luck for their latest offering, “Mike Nolan’s Long Weekend.” Channeling the core feeling of being misunderstood through an anthemic chorus, the track is the band’s first new release in two years. Frontman Cory Castro—fresh off a feature on Hot Mulligan’s latest album—shares, “When I write songs about drinking and the issues that come with it, sometimes people just treat it like a party song. In reality, I’m usually exploring a much darker theme. This song explores how sometimes there can be something a little more serious hiding slightly beneath the surface.” —Paige Owens
Gully Boys — “Break”
Ahead of their forthcoming self-titled album due out October 3, Gully Boys have dropped their final preview with the release of their new single, “Break.” The four-piece walks the tightrope between vulnerability and bitterness on the release, declaring in the chorus, “So come get your heartbreak/I wanna be your way out/Take the leap, make it easy.” The band shares in an Instagram post, “Some songs fall right out of us, but this one took some elbow grease to arrive at.” Gully Boys will be hitting the road supporting Durry next month following the release of their album. —Paige Owens
No Love For The Middle Child — “Broken Wings”
No Love For The Middle Child, aka Andrew Migliore, was busy writing and producing alongside mgk for his new album, lost americana. Now, the solo artist is back with his track, “Broken Wings,” a raw, somber piece that shows the artist’s full range of instrumental and vocal artistry and breathes life into the emo genre. Migliore explains, “‘Broken Wings’ is about a pessimist never being happy with what they have or for what they’ve already earned. If we can’t be happy and enjoy the ride, what’s the point of it all?” — Maria Serra
Bloom — “Tongue Tied” feat. Yours Truly’s Mikaila Delgado
Two Australian genre powerhouses, Bloom and Yours Truly’s vocalist Mikaila Delgado, have teamed up on the new track “Tongue Tied,” out now via Pure Noise Records. Bloom drummer Jack Van Vliet says, “This song marks new ground for Bloom and is our softest, cleanest song to date. A duet with Yours Truly’s Mikaila Delgado, ‘Tongue Tied’ is an honest look at being afraid to speak your mind, for fear of what will happen if you do.”
“While it begins as an acoustic track, electric guitars and drums barge into the song with energy midway through the second verse, and lead the song to a finger-pointing, sing-along refrain of ‘What am I without you.’ The song balances two clean voices as it balances full band and acoustic sections that flow naturally after the other, as the vocals balance honesty and fear in equal parts.” Bloom is also set to release their upcoming album,The Light We Chase, due out on October 31. — Maria Serra
Don Broco — “Disappear”
Don Broco has unleashed “Disappear,” a gloriously genre-blending track that demands the big stage. Equal parts haunting and vulnerable, it’s the kind of song you can already imagine screaming at the top of your lungs with thousands of others. The breakdowns hit with crushing weight, while the vocals weave seamlessly between delicate and ferocious—an anthemic statement built for catharsis and chaos. The band shares, “‘Disappear’ is about struggling to love and support someone living through something terrible. When the toll has become too much to bear, but is dwarfed by the guilt in knowing what you are feeling is nothing compared to what they are facing themselves.” Don Broco is set to perform at When We Were Young in October before hitting the road. Check out their tour schedule here. —Paige Owens
Mouth Culture — “Picking Wings Off A Butterfly”
Mouth Culture’s latest track finds frontman Jack Voss laying his heart out like an open wound with lyrics coming from a “tangled space where love, guilt, and self-awareness all blur together.” Vulnerable and unflinching, the song captures how we sometimes unintentionally push away the people while trying to figure ourselves out. Fueled by frustration and desperation, “Picking Wings Off A Butterfly” stands as one of the band’s most emotionally raw releases yet, arriving after the social media success of “Ratbag.” —Paige Owens
Trousdale — “The Ick”
We’ve all been there, right? When the person you have a crush on does something weird, gross, or simply annoying…and that romantic fascination fades? Trousdale encapsulates that feeling perfectly in their dazzling new song, “The Ick.”
Brimming with bubbly pop melodies and nostalgic synths, this is an anthem for Gen Z girlies everywhere. The trio says, “You know the feeling: one second they’re charming, the next they’re wearing flip-flops or talking in a baby voice, and suddenly you’re rethinking every life choice that led you here. The ick isn’t just a feeling—it’s a deep, existential betrayal. It’s realizing they’re not the flawless masterpiece you invented in your head, but rather a person who says ‘boys will be boys’ unironically. There’s no recovering from it, so we figured we might as well write a song about it. Call it a public service.” — Maria Serra
Blame My Youth — “Not Alone”
Blame My Youth, a dynamic rock project helmed by Sean Van Vleet, is back with a new track, “Not Alone”—preceded by “Something I Didn’t Ask For” and “Lose Somebody.” Despite its fresh and dance-inducing sonics, Van Vleet is highlighting something dark and personal. He notes, “‘Not Alone’ is for the part of me that’s still petty and has a wounded ego. I haven’t felt that way in a while, but it’s still fun to channel that energy and write from that damaged perspective.” — Maria Serra
Dark Divine — “Halloweentown II: Welcome Home”
Revealing the sequel to one of their biggest and most beloved tracks, Dark Divine tops the first installment in every way possible. From a few of the heaviest riffs and breakdowns in their careers to one of the catchiest choruses, “Halloweentown II: Welcome Home” is hands down the band’s best track to date. This ensemble is firing on all cylinders, and it feels like they’re on the cusp of becoming one of the scene’s biggest bands. — Patrick Walford
Catch Your Breath — “Dark”
A continuation of the story of their viral and gold-certified track “Dial Tone”, Catch Your Breath revealed “Dark” via Thriller Records. It marks another banger from one of the best up-and-coming bands in rock and alternative. — Patrick Walford
The Acacia Strain — “Swamp Mentality”
The third single from their upcoming album, You Are Safe From God Here, dropping on October 24, “Swamp Mentality” further proves The Acacia Strain‘s music is like a fine wine; it just gets better with age. From nasty neck-breaking riffs to Vincent Bennett‘s visceral vocals, the new record is quickly shaping up to be an all-timer. Make sure to go out of your way to watch the mind-melting music video as well! — Patrick Walford
