Did you know the legal marriage age in Colonial America was 12 until the Marriage Act of 1753? That’s a little history lesson for you, and it’s not necessarily relevant except when we’re discussing alt-rock albums that are turning 12 in 2026.
Alt-rock in 2014 wasn’t really booming as it had been in previous years. But while the year might not have been super fruitful genre-wise, the following three albums prove that, sometimes, you have to look up weird historical facts and connect some unrelated dots to find the real hidden gems.
‘The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets’ by The Marmozets
The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets is the September 2014 debut album of the English alt-rock-post-hardcore band Marmozets, and it’s a delight of punk-inspired noise, math-rock influences, and just a hint of Paramore. Becca Bottomley channels the essence of Hayley Williams in her clear, spitting, almost coy vocals. It’s a cheeky blend of “Yeah, you can sit with me” and “I will not hesitate to kick your a**” that made Williams famous, executed here with similar effortlessness.
Musically, the album is also a blend of styles, structures, and vibes that create an overall masterwork. This album came out in 2014, but it sounds so quintessentially 2007 that it’s almost a jump scare to look up the release date. The Marmozets released one other album in 2018 before going on hiatus, but they’re returning in May 2026 with a comeback album that hopefully retains the band’s incredible energy.
‘Blood’ by Pulled Apart By Horses
Pulled Apart By Horses released their third album, Blood, in September 2014. This went on to give the band their first Top 40 album in their native U.K. and also showed off their ability to experiment beyond just hardcore. Blood was essentially a vehicle for the band to tap into a more diverse alt-rock sound, giving the music room to move and breathe.
Listeners at the time found Blood to be more accessible than the band’s previous albums, which relied heavily on a niche experimental sound. Moving away from a singular style, Pulled Apart By Horses flexed the muscles of subtlety and range. This album was easier to break into, but that didn’t take anything away from its power or intricacies.
‘Stomachaches’ by frnkiero and the cellabration
Frank Iero’s alt-rock solo album Stomachaches was released in June 2014, following My Chemical Romance’s hiatus in 2013. Iero recorded every instrument on the album except drums, which were provided by Jarrod Alexander, MCR’s drummer since 2011.
Stomachaches has an interesting clarity that you maybe wouldn’t expect from the guy who started Leathermouth. But at the same time, it embraces a similar messiness. Essentially, it falls somewhere between the raw anger of Leathermouth and the tightly-controlled chaos of My Chemical Romance. It’s purely Frank Iero doing whatever he wants at a time when he could do that. Idiosyncratic, half out of step with itself, and constantly shifting gears, Stomachaches remains a true expression of Iero’s artistic ability.
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