October has been a slow month for me in terms of music. There were not many releases that I was interested in so I only have two to share with today. Interestingly enough, both of the albums I’m going to talk about today were released on the same day; October 20.

The first release is probably my favorite one. I first found out about this group a few years ago when I saw them perform as an opener for Hands Like Houses. Ever since I had kept an eye on them, and gradually started to listen to them more. Needless to say I was excited to see that they were releasing a new album this year.

I The Mighty released “Where the Mind Wants to Go / Where You Let It Go” on October 20 of 2017 and it is one of my favorite Alternative Rock albums of the year. To me, the album has a feeling of early 2000s alternative rock but with a modern twist to it. There is something nostalgic about the melodies in some of the songs that takes me back to 8th grade.

Songs that I would suggest to check out, and possibly my favorites off the album, are “Pet Names” and “Escapism” those two songs are ones that I believe embody the feeling of 2000s alternative rock throughout the melodies. I The Mighty’s unique blend of instrumentation has always been one that I admired in their music and I’m glad that it carried through to this new album. Any of my alternative friends who have not checked them out yet, please do; you won’t regret it.

I The Mighty are currently on tour to promote their new album, you can check tour dates and ticket availability here.

The second album that I had on repeat this month was Niall Horan’s debut solo album, “Flicker.” Although its categorized as a pop album, I would say that it falls under the sub-genre of indie pop because it does have a more coffee house vibe to it than most pop albums.

Coming from one of the biggest boy bands from the 2010s, Niall has really set his place as a solo artist and showed with this album his artistic abilities. My favorite songs off the album are “Fire Away” and “On My Own” but the songs collectively work together to create an all around great album and an even better debut album.

Even if you are not a fan of One Direction, I do suggest you give Niall Horan’s album a listen because it is not like One Direction or the music he did with them. Niall Horan is currently on tour to promote the new album, for more information on dates and ticket sales you can go to his website here.