Although October was a bit of a slow month for music releases, many big-name artists including Toby Keith and Selena Gomez released some hit albums. This week in music came the new Carrie Underwood album along with the underground punk band Seaway and the monthly Throwback Thursday album.

‘Storyteller’ by Carrie Underwood

Released: Oct. 23

Genre: Pop-country

Although Carrie Underwood is considered a country star, her music sounds pop and her lyrics are about country life. She starts the album off with the upbeat song “Renegade Runaway,” which is surprisingly good, definitely pop and about living in the Wild West. The album then slows down a bit with the extremely boring pop-country song “Smoke Break.” On songs like “Mexico,” Underwood shows that she is capable of making unique pop-country songs, but the majority of the album is mundane.

Download: “Renegade Runaway”

‘Colour Blind’ by Seaway

Released: Oct. 23

Genre: Pop-punk

Pop-punk music has hit the alternative scene hard lately, and it is almost drowning in the ridiculous amount of options. From Neck Deep, Man Overboard and many others, it may be hard to distinguish Seaway from the mass of bands, especially since they are so new. Although many pop-punk bands and songs sound the same, they are still pretty enjoyable. “Freak” by Seaway is definitely their anthem song of the album that has a fun vibe. “Big Deal” fails to be a unique sounding pop-punk song but still remains fun and exciting. “Growing Stale” is probably the most interesting song on the album since it has a bit of a different vibe than the other songs. Although the album is going to be enjoyable to fans of pop-punk, it would be nice to have a fresh spin on the genre.

Go download: “Growing Stale”

‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ by Oasis

Released: Oct. 2, 1995

Genre: Alternative

Happy “Throwback Thursday” to Oasis, the band that created the amazing song “Wonderwall.” Chances are, this second studio album is the best one ever made. With the hit songs like “Champagne Supernova” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” they made a name for themselves in the alternative-grunge world with these rock anthems. Although many today still enjoy all of those hits, they also have songs like “Hello” and “Some Might Say” which are not as popular but are still pretty rad and jam-worthy. Even though Oasis was a bit of a one-hit-wonder with this album, people who weren’t even alive when it came out still love the album today. Oasis is one of many bands that have helped shape the alternative scene, and for that, I’m thankful.  

Go download: “Hello”