Salt Lake Alley - Always Out Of Time (2026) [Hi-Res]

A project established by two veterans of the Stockholm indie scene to delve into (circa) 1980s inspirations like post-punk, new wave, jangle pop, and indie pop, Salt Lake Alley combined these styles while favoring post-punk on their 2020 full-length debut. While they leaned more heavily into jangle and indie pop with the follow-up, their third album, Always Out of Time, finds them expanding their lineup to four and committing almost fully to a giddy, bittersweet indie pop veiled in shimmer and echo. Members Gustav Tranback, Mikael Carlsson, and later personnel Fredrik Jalker and Thomas Aherne hail from like-minded and not-quite-as-like-minded Swedish acts such as the Honeydrips, the Garlands, and Paper Hearts, among several others. They open the album strongly with a title track that begins with a glistening and yearning melodic guitar hook before launching into racing, euphoric layers of skittery drums, syncopated guitar rhythms, and singing synths, something like the Smiths' "This Charming Man" but on steroids. Also distinguishing this new lineup are rich harmony vocals, which are on full display in the song's intro and choruses. Much of the rest of Always Out of Time continues in a similar vein but without repeating itself and while inhabiting an atmosphere a little closer to earth. This includes songs such as the darker, melancholy-singed "I Miss You" and the more refined "Still We Carry on Like Sheep," which still glints but with less sustain, almost seeming folky in the process, but only by comparison. A small handful of the songs diverge into purer '60s psych-pop ("But the Rain, It Kept On Falling") or slightly bluesier fare ("Lady Godiva"), but have the effect of allowing the album room to breathe rather than going offtrack. Sure enough, Salt Lake Alley bring the record home on a pair of lively, uptempo ditties that invite a full-album replay. © Marcy Donelson /TiVo