The “alternative” music genre is an ever-changing definition, aesthetic and landscape from the fashion or the politics, the cities and radio stations to the venues and the bands. From downtrodden to energetic, from chill to uplifting – the new alt has evolved.
Listen to Spotify’s THE NEW ALT playlist.
Hear them on today’s top indie rock playlists, ALT NOW, MARROW or Indie Rock Club -these bands are at the cutting edge of rock music be it chill rock or new noise. Where COUNTER//CULTURE has become a culture all its own — the fresh finds come from independent artists, indie darlings and second wave career rockers alike.
Listen to our list of new alt artists that will have great new music and touring in 2025.
half alive, Pom Pom Squad, Mobley, Dreamers, Balu Brigada
1. half alive
The trio from Long Beach, California, half•alive, have announced their highly anticipated third studio album, Persona. The album is set to be released on November 15th. The lead single, “Sophie’s House” sets the tone for the record. The track explores the nostalgic feeling you get from the years you spent under your parents roof and summer break from high school. Their newest single is accompanied by a music video directed by Joshua Taylor, a founding member of the band.
We’re a band from Long Beach, CA
If you want to stay in touch you can text us (562) 553-8226
2. Pom Pom Squad
Pom Pom Squad is the musical project of queer, multi-racial artist, Mia Berrin. Born in New York and bounced from town to town through her childhood, the project was born from a feeling of displacement. As a young black, Puerto Rican, woman growing up in predominantly white spaces, she found an escape through her love of music and film. Consuming everything from the candy colors and synth-pop of Heathers to the pastels and gloomy mellotron of The Virgin Suicides; John Waters’s campy, sleazy take on suburbia to David Lynch’s surreal one – and in the process, gained a particular appreciation for the heady mix of music and visuals. Starting in the New York DIY scene as a grunge act, Pom Pom Squad has since developed a unique sonic tapestry, incorporating Berrin’s love of modern pop, lofty orchestral arrangements, and confessional songwriting.
New album ‘Mirror Starts Moving Without Me’ out October 25th!
♡ get in, we’re going down f**ing hill ♡
3. Mobley
Acclaimed indie singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mobley returns with a rhapsodic new single, “Y’r Ghost,” via Last Gang Records / MNRK Music Group. Written, performed, and produced by Mobley himself, this release signals his reemergence from the studio, where he’s been fervently crafting the sci-fi epic foreshadowed on his late 2022 EP Cry Havoc!. That collection of songs, as captivating as they are catchy, saw Mobley traversing sinuous soundscapes to tell the story of Jacob Creedmoor, the mysterious figure featured in the art and videos for that project. “Y’r Ghost” offers a first glimpse of the next installment of this sweeping sonic and narrative world.
While the studio is his first love, Mobley is most at home on the road. The consummate frontman has played dozens of festivals worldwide (including ACL, Lollapalooza, Hangout, SXSW, Noise Pop, Reeperbahn, and Float Fest); and opened for the likes of Cold War Kids, Phantogram, James Blake, Bishop Briggs, WAVVES, ARIZONA, Dermot Kennedy, Sylvan Esso, and Matt and Kim.
The present moment finds Mobley focused on the future: “Living with and working through these songs and stories has been the most fulfilling challenge of my artistic life. I can’t wait to share it all and see the life it takes on when it’s no longer just mine.”
4. DREAMERS
From clubs & arenas to festivals including Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot, Firefly, Reading and Leeds, Los Angeles-via-Brooklyn band DREAMERS (Nick Wold and Nelson) has shared stages with the likes of X Ambassadors, The 1975, Bleachers, Catfish & The Bottlemen, & Weezer while garnering coverage from Fader, Entertainment Weekly and Paste, among others, and performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live. In 2016, the band released their debut full-length album This Album Does Not Exist, featuring the top 10 Alternative radio hit, the electro-sprinkled pop gem “Sweet Disaster.” Three other songs also charted nationally: the ’90s throwback “Drugs,” the crooning “Wolves (You Got Me),” and the soulful, brisk power-pop of their single “Painkiller.” In 2019 DREAMERS released LAUNCH FLY LAND, their second full-length album that spawned the top 10 alternative radio hit “Die Happy.” In 2020, the band released two more alternative radio hits: “Heat Seeker” ft. grandson which was featured in Spotify’s Rock This Presents…Best Rock Songs of 2020, & the dark-pop love song “True Crime” ft. DeathByRomy. In 2021, the band came back with yet another collaboration: DREAMERS teamed up with legendary rapper Big Boi & alt-pop disruptor UPSAHL for “Palm Reader,” off their EP of the same name, which also got the remix treatment by legendary rock band All Time Low. Kicking off 2022, the band will release the infectiously catchy “Black Confetti,” the first in a string of new music DREAMERS will release throughout the year.
5. Balu Brigada
Balu Brigada are a groove-pop duo from New Zealand made up of multi-instrumentalist, dual-vocalists and writer/producer brothers, Henry and Pierre Beasley. With a pop sensibility that sits a little left of center, their tracks prioritize prominent bass-hooks and punchy drums with natural quirk and relatability, drawing inspiration from a wide range of influences including indie pop and alt-rock.
Key to Balu Brigada’s magic is their inimitable brotherly bond, with their joy for – and gentle ribbing of – each other coming through in everything they do. Their musical conversation mirrors their real-life communication as songwriters and co-producers, finishing each other’s sentences both in everyday discourse and in song. The Beasleys have spent much of the past few years creating a unique future-facing sound of their own.
Balu Brigada. New Zealand to New York
Keep a close eye on these 5 artists as they’ll be sure to make a splash in 2025 and beyond, across the new alt, indie alternative and alt pop genres.
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