aldrch Unveils Exhilarating Debut Album 'industry standard'

Out today via Epitaph Records, rising NYC alt-star aldrch unveils his debut album, industry standard.

aldrch (real name Sam Richman) has been on a swift upward trajectory since signing to Epitaph last year, releasing a handful of singles and collaborations, most recently his Gossip Team split EP with friends and labelmates poptropicaslutz!, hailed by idobi as “seamlessly crafted...[capturing] the Gen Z experience in glitchy, auto-tuned perfection.” 

Striving to create something culturally relevant to the New York music scene that surrounds him, aldrch draws inspiration from various iterations of indie sleaze over the album’s eight self-produced tracks, leaning into driving drumbeats and dynamic basslines as synths dance boldly over them.  

Together, they deliver an electric reel of twentysomething snapshots, equal parts vulnerable and provocative, dosing out sharp pangs of indie nostalgia including his full-circle redux of MGMT’s iconic 2007 hit, “Kids.”

"‘Kids’ has always been one of my favorite songs since I was little,” aldrch explains.  “Throughout my life, I would rediscover it, and every time it was this crazy rush of nostalgia to a simpler time of my life.  To me, the song is about growth, a theme that is personified in my album. industry standard is a metamorphosis, so it just felt right to include a redux of the song that has helped me grow in my love for music." 

The album is further bolstered by guest appearances from alt acts Curtis Waters, Madelline, poptropicaslutz!, Stevie Bill, and co-producer Jacob Geoffrey, maintaining the collaborative ethos of the digital spaces in which he came up as he steps out from them.  “It's been really cathartic for me to land at a place in which I feel like I'm making the music I have been waiting to make for my whole life. The internet hyper pop scene is incredible, but having music that feels ‘boots to the ground’ is really special,” he shares. 

Fresh off a nationwide summer tour with poptropicaslutz! plus special guests like Chloe Lilac and Sophie Powers, aldrch is catching the eyes and ears not only of his peers, but those at DSPs with over 200K monthly listeners and key editorial backing from Spotify on The New Alt, Today’s Indie Rock, Indie Pop, New Noise, RADAR US, and more, as he continues to emerge as a multi-talented indie force.

Photo Credit: Lucas Om