Alternative Press

April cover star SOFIA ISELLA has never been interested in making you comfortable.⁠ Across four self-released EPs, she has built a world of sharp lyricism, eerie intimacy, and brutal honesty — the kind that holds a mirror a little too close. With her new EP, Something is a shell ., she leans even further in: darker, rawer, and fully exposed.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in bio for the full story.⁠ Plus, watch a bonus behind-the-scenes interview.⁠ ⁠ Photography @alexisjadegross ⁠ Interview / Editor in Chief @annazanes ⁠ Content Editor @neville__hardman ⁠ Video @rhschaefer ⁠ Audio @nickgrayalways ⁠ Photo Assistant @ashleydarianolah Chief Creative Officer @joshmadden ⁠ Lead Designer @robortenzi

WATER FROM YOUR EYES for AP MARCH ‘26 For a decade, @hellothisisnate and @heretonetwork have been making puzzling, deadpan pop that warps all sense of the genre’s definition. It nods to New Order and nu metal, Charli XCX and classic bluegrass — with one constant: track by track, @waterfromyoureyes asks the unanswerable question, “What is the meaning of life?” In a few weeks, they hit the road with @yelyahwilliams on her highly anticipated solo tour. The path here has been anything but linear — back in Chicago, they began the project as a couple, and over the course of four albums and three EPs, they wound up as friends and collaborators who, alongside peers like @geesebandnyc , @fantasyofabrokenHeart , @modelacrtiz and more, have become key players in NYC’s mushrooming indie music scene. 🔗 Read the cover story and listen to their full interview on AP’s In Session podcast. Photography @a_damp_owl Story / Editor in Chief @annazanes Content Editor @neville__hardman Podcast Producer @nickgrayalways Lead Designer @robortenzi Photo Assistant @voyeur1 Thanks to @nikolas_soelter

HAYLEY WILLIAMS: ARTIST OF THE YEAR This year, @yelyahwilliams has held tragedy in one hand, and triumph in the other. Rather than recede, she danced onstage with Deftones, Turnstile, and sat on the roof of the American Football House. She has purged anger and pain into a spectacular solo album. Surrounded by friends, and loving fans, the story she’s begun telling isn’t about Paramore’s frontwoman anymore. It’s just about Hayley—someone she’s still getting to know. Sitting down with AltPress editor Anna Zanes, Hayley digs deeper into what led up to Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, from brutal emotions to having a spiritual experience at a concert. 🔗 Watch and read the cover story at the link in bio …But be ready for more at 10AM 👀 Photography @zacharygray Interview / Editor in Chief @annazanes HMU @colormebrian BTS @elisejosephjames Production @joshbeech Content Editor @neville__hardman Lead Designer @robortenzi Location @petitermitagehotel Thanks to @lhodgy & @meghelsel

And that’s a wrap on day two of Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival. Columbus showed up loud, rowdy, and sunburned, packing the grounds from the first riff to Shinedown’s closing set. 📸: @whoiscoop @nathanzucker @catievioxcaptures @stvthrasher @justnjames_ @ness.holt

Each Friday, the AP editors are sharing their “A-sides.” From @casi_rightnow ⁠ to @__thegarden__ , these are the songs from this week that we’ve got on 🔂. Tap into our selections at the 🔗 in bio

🪰 Deftones released the single "Change (In the House of Flies)" on this day in 2000.⁠ ⁠ Peaking at No. 3 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart, the rock-radio smash single might be the Deftones' most well-known song, but it hardly represents a watered-down or commercialized version of their sound. To the contrary, between "Change"'s swaying guitar line, driving bass and inescapable earworm chorus, the song is Deftones through and through.⁠ ⁠ Indeed, "Change" may serve as the benchmark for whether or not you're willing to fully drown in the band's spell. Singer Chino Moreno's harmonies are flat-out intoxicating; the ways in which his voice can match up with the dreamy qualities of the rest of the instrumentation, hypnotic.⁠ ⁠ Representing the first single off 'White Pony,' the title "Change" reads as extremely self-referential. It lets the world know of the group’s full metamorphosis from a NorCal aggro skate-metal crew into an act with higher aspirations, that their moments of early beauty were no accident and that they'd finally achieved the sounds they were striving for all along.

Hayley Williams and Julien Baker performing Parachute at The Wiltern for the LA final show of Hayley’s tour 📸 stan.bran/TT

There's more where that came from ⤵️⁠ 🔗 Hit link in bio to see what's new in the AP Shop.

Our latest fan poll is here. What are the angriest emo songs?⁠ ⁠ Check back for the results next week

@tysonritter and @nickolas_wheeler of @therejects took us through Sandbox — their first new album since 2012 — song by song. Its ethos? Embracing the chaos.⁠ ⁠ “[Sandbox] is touching on some things that are reconciling youth, finally having to stand on your own two feet as an adult, and also facing the outside world, which is just so oppressive,” Ritter tells AP. “This is a record that has helped me survive in these modern times. Not only where I am in my life, but in the world.” ⁠ ⁠ AAR pick back up with their House Party tour later this year, and you can help map out the routing. 🔗 in bio ⁠ ⁠ Photo by @aknightp

Earlier this week, @eartheater announced her new album, Heavenly Body: If I’m the Bottle You’re the Message, written in the wake of motherhood. Lead single “Paradise Rains” is a reflection on returning to her childhood farm after 20 years: “So many memories, good and bad, were resuscitated… and calloused tensions dissolved and got washed away by the showers of deep love with my new little family.” 🔗 in bio⁠ ⁠ Photo by @vidarlogi

Day 1 of Sonic Temple was stacked, to say the least ❤️‍🔥 Keep your eyes peeled for more festival updates from Columbus as the weekend continues!