Today drops the fifth installment of the wildly popular DIY series, Best New DIY Music of 2015. Obviously, many of our readers/listeners want to hear more talented and promising unsigned bands that are currently under the radar (but shouldn’t be). We’ll keep delivering them because there are so many that simply do not get coverage, and for that, music lovers are the ones who really lose out.
There is truth to the complaint by an increasing number of true indie music lovers that ‘indie music’ is becoming too mainstream. In some respects, that is absolutely true. At the same time, people are smart enough to know that real indie music is more DIY than it is commercial. This is part of the reason why we almost exclusively focus on DIY and small label bands; we’re trying to keep it real; after all, many of the popular and well-known so-called ‘indie’ blogs these days have the same 30 or so artists and bands on constant rotation, while many others are just copy cat, cookie-cutter blogs that do little more than regurgitate coverage of the same buzz bands, songs and albums over and over again to the point of nausea. This compels indie lovers to desperately seek out music that is fresh, authentic, raw, original and ‘best kept secrets,’ if you will. We do our best to fill the gap.
This installment includes bands from Peru to England, Washington DC to Los Angeles, and Australia to Costa Rica representing a wide spectrum of genres from post rock to ambient, pop to post punk, grunge to garage rock, and electro to R & B.
In This Installment
Astronaut Project – Lima, Peru
The Stereophones – Los Angeles, California
Mittenfields – Washington, DC
Fire Fences – Bridgend, England
Sea Ghost – Los Angeles, California
Lorna – Nottingham, England
Young Scum – Richmond, Virginia
Staffords – Melbourne, Australia
Science of Sensations – San Jose, Costa Rica
Astronaut Project – Astronaut Project EP
From the elevated capital city of Lima, Peru, the DIY entity, Astronaut Project, was created by singer/songwriter and musician Alberto Zegarra in 2014. Zegarra crafts beautiful, catchy electro, dream pop recordings like the unforgettable track, “Night,” and songs like “Lejos De Aqui” and the demo “Setiembre.” His music has been played on radio and television throughout Latin America. Now it’s time for America to hear his remarkable music.
Zegarra describes his style as “independent music for free minds without any obstacles to creating the music and sounds you want.” Astronaut Project’s self-titled, debut EP officially drops on June 12th, but he has shared a couple of advance tracks with IRC. Zegarra’s musical influences include Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age, Alice in Chains, Prodigy, and Nine Inch Nails.
“Night“ – Astronaut Project from Astronaut Project
“Lejos de Aquí“ – Astronaut Project from Astronaut Project
“Setiembre“ (Demo) – Astronaut Project from Astronaut Project
The Stereophones – Girls EP
A few years ago, two brothers living in the Los Angeles sprawl, Kayhan Ahmadi (vocals, guitar and drums) and Kevin Ahmadi (guitar, bass), began to write and record catchy, melodic, guitar-driven pop rock. Calling themselves The Stereophones, the Ahmadi brothers honed their skills and perfected their songs, which include subjects about heartbreak, fighting, irony, love, drugs, “the economic meltdown, and slimy Hollywood agents.”
Get ready to dance when you fire up the anthemic song, “Where Have You Been,” a celebratory, upbeat number with a grooving rhythm and sing-a-long chorus about how awesome it is to live in California (albeit the severe drought). Next, the track, “Shot Down,” is also uptempo and uncontainable. Both tracks are from the band’s debut EP, Girls. There’s no question these guys pump out memorable dance pop rock songs. Their favorite bands include Weezer, Radiohead, Death Cab for Cutie, Nada Surf, and Smashing Pumpkins.
“Where Have You Been“ – The Stereophones from Girls EP
“Shot Down“ – The Stereophones from Girls EP
Mittenfields – Optimists
In 2008, teenage bassist and vocalist Dave Mann and his friend, guitarist Sam Sherwood, began kicking out songs together in an industrial park on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.. That began the journey of the indie rock band Mittenfields. Initially, the duo experimented with instrumental tracks that included various combinations of strings, keys, and horns, among other instruments. But when they met up with an aggressive drummer named Brian Moran, Mann and Sherwood ditched “the fancy stuff in favor of a three-guitar lineup,” recruiting two additional guitarists, Donald Seale and Michael Ball. Mittenfields was then where it needed to be, they felt, and with endless rehearsals over a two year period, they finally released their debut EP, The Fresh Sum, in 2011. The EP received critical praise from the D.C. press and music blogs.
Mittenfields’ songs like “Goliath FTW” and “My Mind is an Avalanche” made the rounds on local and college radio nationwide; local press and blogs picked up on the buzz with positive reviews. In the ensuing months, Mittenfields found themselves sharing the stage with bands like The Amazing, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Paperhaus, Left & Right, and Deleted Scenes. The EP demonstrates the band’s love of bands like Pavement, Broken Social Scene, Dinosaur Jr, Krill, Built to Spill, and the Pixies.
And then, as Sherwood says, “life happened.” The maturing band members took job offers, moved to new residences, got married and started families. Fast forward to 2012. The band reunited and earnestly entered the studio to record their debut LP, Optimists, which just dropped in April. It includes the transformative title track included below (followed by a track from the debut EP).
“The writing and recording process,” Sherwood said, “was certainly informed by our on-going frustration and bemusement with the fundamentally ridiculous proposition of being full-time functional adults while keeping a rock band going. We hope that this record can connect with listeners by drawing from across the indie guitar rock canon to synthesize something new, while also speaking to the panics, joys, and pains of settling into modern adulthood.” Growing pains expressed in rock music? No way.
“Optimists“ – Mittenfields from Optimists
“Goliath FTW” – Mittenfields from The Fresh Sum
Sea Ghost – Nothing Is Cool
Combining elements of punk, post punk, surf, garage rock and grunge, the Los Angeles rock duo, Sea Ghost, featuring Nick Coffey on vocals and guitar, and Hannah Pfeiffer on drums, opt for fast-driving, maniac guitar rock, as evidenced on songs like the surf punk/grunge inspired “Stupid Surf Song” from their new EP, Nothing Is Cool.
“We mix genres in our music,” Coffey said, adding: “We both grew up watching MTV and skating our way through the 90’s; I think you can hear that in our sound – a self-loathing; but some fun too.” Coffey was first acquainted with Pfeiffer after seeing her posting on a band directory website and contacting her.
You can hear the influence of Nirvana in the duo’s music; they certainly blast out a terrific wall of noise for a simple duo. At times, Coffey’s vocals are strained and a bit out of key. There’s definitely room for improvement there, and in the overall production value of their recordings. But for a lo-fi musical start-up, Sea Ghost kick ass. What this guy/girl duo need is just the right producer and engineer who knows how to shape their sound to realize what Sea Ghost is truly capable of.
We found Coffey’s perspective about indie rock compelling: “It’s the song you write in your bedroom while playing to your closet. It’s the DIY ethic and the passion you obtain knowing you will probably never make money off those songs, but you put everything into it anyway. There’s something beautiful about that.” Not surprisingly, Coffey and Pfeiffer are fans of Nirvana, as well as John Lennon, Warpaint, Pixies, Hole and Frank Sinatra. That’s an interesting mix of musical prodigies.
“Stupid Surf Song“ – Sea Ghost from Nothing Is Cool
“Nothing is Cool“ – Sea Ghost from Nothing Is Cool
Sea Ghost on Facebook
“Melted” music video – Sea Ghost
Lorna – London’s Calling Me
Lorna is a six-piece dream pop band from the U.K. music centre of Nottingham who dropped their new album on April 18th. Modeling their style after bands like Yo La Tengo, American Analog Set, Teenage Fanclub and The Psychedelic Furs, Lorna have built up a following in the U.K. and Europe, as well as in the States, over the 15 years that the band has been together. We were enthralled the first time we heard their new album, London’s Calling Me, especially the synth pop goldies, “Wayne Mills” and “As She Goes By.”
The band members include Mark Rolfe (guitar, vocals); Sharon Cohen Rolfe (drums, vocals); Andy Bullock (bass, vocals); Madeline Leverton (violin); Matt Harrison (guitar, flute), and Rein Ove Sikveland (viola). Over the years, the band has opened for indie giants like The Psychedelic Furs, and bands like Midlake, Mark Gardener, and The Pernice Brothers.
“Wayne Mills“ – Lorna from London’s Calling Me
[Watch YouTube video for “Wayne Mills”]
“As She Goes By“ – Lorna from London’s Calling Me
Fire Fences – Pocket Full of Stones
In the south Wales town of Bridgend, there’s an up and coming new indie rock quartet of teenagers named Fire Fences. Inspired by a range of U.K. bands from Bastille to Deaf Havana, Fire Fences bust out of the gates in 2015 on the energetic guitar rock single, “Pulling Teeth.” The first few seconds of the song’s intro guitar riffs sounds very much like U2’s opening riff in “I Will Follow,” but after that, Fire Fences’ song goes on its own path. The band told us they’ve heard this comparison before, and that it is just a coincidence. (What would be the odds of that?)
With instruments ranging from acoustic guitars to a fully equipped rock drum kit, the band strikes a compelling balance between full-throttle rock and acoustic pop. The band members, who range in age from 17 to 19, have already achieved limited success in the U.K. over the past 18 months, with performances at celebrated venues like The O2 Academy Islington (London), The 229 Great Portland Street (London) and The Fleece (Bristol). In September 2014, Fire Fences released their debut EP, Roses From Dust, which did fairly well in radio play and sales for a brand new band hitting the competitive U.K. rock scene.
In less than eight months since their debut EP, the band dropped their sophomore EP, Pocket Full of Stones, on May 1st, from which the songs featured below are taken. The band members are Aaron Wyn Nicholas(guitar, lead vocals); Dylan Wictome (bass, vocals); James Lee (drums) and Will Davies (guitar, vocals).
There’s no question that their song writing and performance skills sound well beyond their years. However, as some reviewers have aptly pointed out, their sound is, at times, crossing the line from what we would normally consider ‘indie rock’ towards the more packaged and perfected ‘top 40 acoustic rock sound.’ This dilemma, we surmise, is more likely the result of a management team the band signed on with rather than their own vision of how they want their sound to be. Or maybe not.
“We just write and play the music we love and if people love it too, then that’s just a bonus,” Nicholas said.
“Pulling Teeth“ – Fire Fences from Pocket Full of Stones
“Call of the Wild“ – Fire Fences from Pocket Full of Stones
Young Scum – Autumn August
Richmond, Virginia DIY band, Young Scum, combines the lilting jangle of The Byrds with the heavier pop sensibilities of Teenage Fanclub. The band has a bit of a task ahead of them because Richmond is historically a city known for its punk and metal scenes. The band members, as frontman Chris Smith contends, are well aware of the challenges they face “in a land devoid of traditional ‘indiepop’ bands.”
But anyone who is a fan of the post-punk, noise-pop/jangle pop era of music, which greatly influenced the founding and direction of indie pop and rock during the 80’s right up to today, will find solace in songs from the bands debut EP, Autumn August, including tracks like “Met You At A Party” and “Blue Slurpee,” to name a couple. “Chiming guitars, bouncy bass, and thrown-down-the-stairs drum fills, create the sound that make up Young Scum’s jangly pop. The best kind of indiepop: that kind that makes you cry and dance at the same time.”
Their indie pop/rock heroes include hallmark bands like Guided By Voices, Weezer, Pavement, and Camera Obscura. Young Scum have opened for Gold-Bears, Left & Right, Wish List, and Pile. In addition to Smith, the band members include Ben Medcalf on guitar, Jason Pirault on bass, and Taylor Haag on drums.
“Met You At A Party“ – Young Scum from Autumn August
“Blue Slurpee“ – Young Scum from Autumn August
Staffords – Doubting Thomas Anonymously
Originally conceived as a punk rock-inspired three-piece band in 2011, Staffords (formerly The Staffords), from the Australian city of Melbourne, ripped it up at various venues big and small for nearly two years in the lead up to the release of their debut EP, On The Make in 2013. Together with frequent performances in and around Melbourne, and praise of their debut EP, the band received notice in the music press outside of Australia and grew an enthusiastic following in their home city, opening for artists like Ash.
Lead vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mike Barnes worked earnestly after the release of On The Make to craft songs that were no longer punk rock, but more so melodic pop combined with psych guitar rock, which is apparent on the 2014 debut LP, It Kills Me. However, prior to its release, the band’s original line up dissolved, much to the disappointment of their loyal followers.
That left Barnes with a sleuth of new songs that he could not perform live or record with the help of a band. Rather than quitting on Staffords, or engaging again in the arduous task of forming a new band, Barnes decided instead to record a new album completely solo. During this period, Barnes’ palette of instrument capabilities evolved from mainly guitar to include keys, synthesizers, bass, and drums, recording each track and then mixing and mastering them himself.
In advance of his new LP, Doubting Thomas Anonymously, sent us the wobbling, grooving psych pop track, “White Chrome” and the fuzzy guitar pop rocker, “Poor Folks Live,” both of which are terrific teasers for the upcoming album. His musical influences, which you can hear interspersed in the music, include The Nerves, The Kinks, Buzzcocks, Big Star, and Beastie Boys. The video for White Chrome was a Featured Music Video on YouTube’s main page.
“White Chrome“ – Staffords from Doubting Thomas Anonymously
“Poor Folks Live“ – Staffords from Doubting Thomas Anonymously
Science of Sensations – Science of Sensations
For fans of ambient instrumental stoner post-rock, you’ll want to kick back, close your eyes and tune into the next couple of songs from the band Sensation of Science, based in the lovely tropical paradise of Costa Rica. We don’t know much about them other than the band members – Esteban Aguilar (keys and guitar), Javier Aguilar (bass), and Sergio Gutiérrez (drums) – met in 2010 and discovered a common love for ambient instrumental rock.
The chill, jam-heavy songs they supplied us with from their self-titled debut LP, like “Melancholia” and “The Valley,” are truly accomplishments in writing and recording for a new band with few resources. Science of Sensations, perhaps aptly-named, lean towards progressive and psych instrumentation infused with a heavy dose of post rock variances in the songs that keep them from being too repetitive or flat. The band’s musical influences include Pink Floyd, God is an Astronaut, Porcupine Tree, and Opeth. We’ll be keeping an eye on this talented trio.
“Melancholia“ – Science of Sensations from Science of Sensations
“The Valley“ – Science of Sensations from Science of Sensations
