Month: April 2019

Indie Rock Cafe’s latest new playlist of DIY indie songs from the following artists and bands:

FantasticBoom – Dallas, Texas
Jingo Kong – Bergen, Norway
Under The Rug – Los Angeles, California
Kris Kelly – Brooklyn, New York
Shockmop – Brooklyn, New York
Dusty Cubby – Everett, Washington

FantasticBoom – “I Thought I Could Save You”

Having left behind work on a PhD in the philosophy of religion to pursue music, Dallas songwriter and musician Mark Cuthbertson established a moniker, FantasticBoom.

After many months of work, including help from some reputed fellow musicians, Cuthbertson emerges with the new debut album, How To Build A Hole, featuring standout singles like the impressive overall production of “Gabby”; the captivating “I Thought I Could Save You” and the intoxicating, slow-burn of “Meg.”

The songs for the album were “written purely on acoustic in order to ensure substance, then recorded as peculiar sonic colors,” Cuthbertson says. “The lyrics are about things that ache me: epistemology, theology, heartbreak and my substantial failings.” (Ouch, don’t be so hard on yourself dude.)

Cuthbertson, who plays almost every instrument but drums, received top-notch help from respected musicians like Jesse Chandler (Mercury Rev and Midlake) on winds and acoustic piano; Bucky Wheaton (Land of Talk) on drums, and Jace Lasek (The Besnard Lakes) on production.

His musical influences include Talk Talk, Broken Social Scene and Radiohead while his music itself crosses genre lines from indie rock to alternative to indie pop. The album dropped in late January and is well worth a listen on Bandcamp.

Jingo Kong – “Olivia”

Norweigan singer/songwriter and musician Per Vidar Staff has premiered his debut track, “Olivia,” under the new moniker, Jingo Kong, the former name of the long-time band PV & The Hehehes.

The song is a heartfelt, poetic and beautifully crafted acoustic track, featuring just Staff himself on guitar and vocals. “Olivia” has been featured on a number of Spotify playlists, music blogs and Norweigan radio.

In addition to performing in his native country and Europe, Staff has also performed in the U.S. as a touring musician.

It was then that he met Grammy-winning guitarist and producer Paul Nelson (Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy) in 1999 during the recording of Staff’s debut EP and invited him to the studio. During that session, Nelson ended up playing guitar on the track, “Summerdays.”

The song went on to become something of a hit record that summer in Norway and was used in a popular TV commercial.

Jingo Kong is set to drop more new and exciting singles throughout 2019. You can follow him on Facebook.

Under The Rug – “Manila & Grey”

Based in the sprawl of Los Angeles, alt-rock DIY band Under The Rug’s signature sound is an eclectic mix of rock and 90’s grunge.

This is clear on the band’s latest single, “Manila and Grey,” from the band’s recent album drop, Pale King. The song is a slow-burning, angry rocker with psych and blues guitar influences and anguished vocals embellished by heavy percussions and organ grinds.

Bassist Jesse Holsapple says the song is about working a long day at the office and the frustrations it brings on people. “It’s a concept album about day jobs…[and an] honest complaint about the way it feels to be part of the awkward working class in the US at the moment.’ The band self-produced its debut album.

UTR first formed (originally under the name Moo) in 2012 when UC Santa Cruz students Casey Dayan (lead vocals, guitars), Sean Campbell (guitars) and Brendan McQueeney (drums, percussion) realized a shared love for classic rock, grunge and funk/soul music.

Holsapple met Dayan in another band before joining UTR. A few years ago the band moved to LA to be around a bigger audience and greater opportunities.

They are influenced by bands such as Alabama Shakes, Soundgarden, Jeff Buckley, Pearl Jam, and mewithoutYou, and say they blend “the do-it-yourself attitude of bands like Vulfpeck with modern alt-grunge rock.”

Kris Kelly – “Birthplace”

Brooklyn-via-Austin singer/songwriter and musician Kris Kelly moved to NYC at the age of 17 to attend New York University, where he majored in classical vocal performance and music composition.

During that time and in more recent years, Kelly has performed his compositions for a range of instruments from voice and flute to violin and guitar.

Now, some years later, he is reflecting back on his youth and his roots on the emotional song, “Birthplace,” from the new album, Runaways.

Throughout the song, Kelly explores the idea and concept of examing one’s birthplace and “what that means on a deeper level.”

The indie-folk elements nicely complement Kelly’s thoughtful lyrics and the official music video for the song (which runs six minutes longer) is provocative, strange and visually compelling.

Kelly then spent five years traveling through South America with just his guitar and a suitcase. Spending most of his time in Argentina and Brazil, he met his husband, and through his experiences, along with “love, loss, discovery, and growth,” wrote Runaways.

Contributing artists where many: John Philip Shenale (Tori Amos) on string/wind/horn arrangements; Todd Sickafoose (Ani DiFranco) on bass; Brian Griffin (Lana Del Rey) on drums; Dave Levita (Alanis Morrisette) & Benji Lysaght (Father John Misty) on electric guitar, and Dave Palmer (Fiona Apple) on keyboards.

Kelly self-produced the album and it was mixed by Noah Georgeson (Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Andy Shauf).

Shockmop is a three-piece indie rock band from Brooklyn that is taking on the DIY scene from all sides, including releasing a new, and original, video for the mainly acoustic track, “Condoleeza.”

Shot in Ridgewood, New York, the video follows band members through various scenes in an apartment complex without the usual editing of big-budget music videos. The effect works.

“[It] was One-take, one performance and all the happy accidents and limitations that come with it,” vocalist and guitarist Jacob Goldfine said. “Collaborating with New York DP Armaan Virani, the band broke into the drummer’s apartment, scaled ladders, and sprinted across rooftops to capture the live rendition on video.”

The other two band members are Sean Mowry (drums) and brother Sam Goldfine (bass, vocals). The band actively performs at venues across Brooklyn and Manhattan.

The band is currently in the process of recording a few new tracks which we plan to release over the course of Summer 2019. They also made a sweet cover of The National’s “Sorrow.”

Dusty Cubby – “Everett”

While we have never been big fans of most emo pop, every once in a while there is some that filters through. Lately, we have been listening to some tracks from the new album, Town Story, by Seattle trio Dusty Cubby.

The tracks that have grabbed our attention the most are “Everett” (an emo ode to the Washington city of same name) with their rawness, lo-fi poeticism and emotions-on-sleeve brevity.

They also do a pretty interesting cover of Lil Yachty’s “Minnesota.”

The band members are Cade Miller (guitar, vocals); Danny Schwartz (bass) and Kade Samson (drums).

Our latest indie music songs playlist, or ‘fresh tracks,’ features the following bands. If you like any of these artists, show your love! You can also stream all songs uninterrupted at the end of the post. Enjoy.

La Palma – Philadelphia-via-Washington D.C.
Para Lia – Cottbus, Germany
Natural History – Salt Lake City, Utah
Sleeptape – Brighton, England
Jarod Grice – Denton, Texas
Asila – Los Angeles, California

La Palma – “One Foot In”

La Palma is a musical duo of Chris Walker and Tim Gibbon, based out of Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, respectively. Their self-titled 2019 debut album weaves together kaleidoscopic layers of melodies and rhythms.

Working between two cities, the duo’s self-produced and self-released debut album was created correspondence-style, sharing recordings back and forth “to build textured compositions that glean from everyday sounds and experiences, steeped in beachy psych-pop and indie folk. ”

The first single from the release is the discordant, industrial-mocking and theatrical, “One Foot In,” which also has of course a macabre connotation. Oddly, for those who are familiar with the Hare Krishna ‘theme song,’ the latter part of the track sounds like but totally on acid. Very interesting, even at little more than 90 seconds. In fact, the release is very interesting and what we like to hear as far as bands being experimental and taking chances.

The two multi-instrumentalists and vocalists originally met years prior in D.C.’s music scene, while members in the bands Kittyhawk and Let’s French.

Para Lia – “The Man Who Went Away”

The release Soap Bubble Dreams is the electrifying debut album from the German indie/alt rock duo Para Lia. Based in Cottbus near Berlin, Para Lia’s release last week has been greeted with rave reviews across the web and with singles like the tantalizing love song, “Romancero,” and alt. rock wonders of “The Man Who Went Away” gaining radio rotations in the U.S., U.K., Europe and Australia.

All ten songs on the album come together to culminate in a recording brimming with towering, melodic guitars; colorful analog synths; textured, driving percussions, and a distinctive lead guitar sound that flows seamlessly from song to song. On top of all of that are the symbiotic vocals of husband-and-wife duo Rene Methner and Cindy Methner.

Soap Bubble Dreams celebrates the indie/alternative rock sound of the 1990’s along with the stylistic elements of 1980’s darkwave and psychedelic prog rock. Particular comparisons can be made to bands like The Cure, Dinosaur Jr., and New Order.

The guitar work and vocals are the trademarks of the duo’s songs; René Methner’s vocals stand forefront, enhanced by the near-ethereal vocals of Cindy Methner’s on songs like the new wave-heavy “Beautiful Delay” and “Over It,” to name just a couple.

Buoyed by such well-paired vocals, the album bubbles with melodic-atmospherics, ringing guitars, dark retro sounds and accomplished originality.

The other standout songs include the industrial-like murkiness of “Leaves of Grey”; the driving pulse of “Wait”; and the banging title track, which chugs along with a New Order-like tempo and haunting vocals and synth effects.

As with so many of the tracks, the lightning guitar riffs are just strong enough to be in the forefront, but smartly, the engineering is such that they don’t ever over-power the other song elements.

The standout closer, “Who Gets Fooled Again,” received a bunch of plays, likes, follows and positive comments via Soundcloud alone. Additionally, the wonderful “The Man Who Went Away” and “Why Higher and Away” have received play on indie rock radio stations worldwide.

Stream Soap Bubble Dreams on Bandcamp.

Natural History – “It’s A Start”

Formed in Salt Lake City last year, the indie trio Natural History has just dropped a pair of enthralling new singles from the debut album, The Long Mountain.

These include “We’re In Trouble” the indie folk of “Words and Verse” – which breaks into a full band effort in the second half of the track. Perhaps the most upbeat and accessible track on the album is, “It’s a Start.” Overall, the recording is tight, folksy and full of acoustics and piano.

The songs were recorded in a secluded winter cabin in the wilderness of Oakley, Utah. To get to the cabin, the band members had to haul their equipment up a ‘long’ mountain in a sled hitched to an ATV’ just to get to the cabin where they subsequently set up a temporary studio.

“We worked 14 hour days, stopping only for meals and the occasional ATV excursion to feel the cold mountain air and re-calibrate our minds,” says vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Austin Archer.

The other band members are drummer Whit Hertford and producer Chris Bjornn (Us Thieves, BOSS TV). Over the years, Archer and Bjornn have recorded albums together and played in other bands.

They describe their sound as a “rich folk sound drenched in Americana with a focus on driving beats, soaring anthemic melodies, and tight harmonic undertones.”

Sleeptape – “Midnight”

Brighton band SleepTape’s new single, “Midnight,” is an edgy, taunting blaze of rock guitars, tempting percussions, and snarly, dark vocals with stops and starts of exhilarating ferociousness.

And yet the choruses are a different matter, with soaring guitar lines, huge atmospheres and creeping close to anthemic proportions.

Bassist Elliot Johnson says the band’s new single is “about looking for self-validation or self-gratification through going out drinking and enabling the darker sides of a persona, projecting a false over-confident version of yourself.”

The band members – which also include Jonathan Lott (vocals, guitar); Luke Rogers (guitar) and Dan Butterworth (drums) – are heavily influenced by Biffy Clyro, Lower Than Atlantis, and early era Foals.

Last year the band made waves in the northeast UK with their debut single, “Benefit” and the follow-up “Nadir,” with rotation on BBC Introducing. That helped fuel a string of sold-out shows which continues into 2019 with the release of this track and last month’s exciting, “Run.”

Jarod Grice – “Signal”

Singer-songwriter Jarod Grice from Denton, Texas (outside of Dallas) has established himself among other artists like Norah Jones, Pearl Earl and Brave Combo.

Grice has just released his first single, “Signal,” with 6:4 Records – also based in Denton.

The song has a soft sadness about it expressed with slight acoustic contributions and quietly soaring synths until it builds into a more melodic and hopeful composition.

As the song blossoms, the obvious influences of folk, Americana, rock – and some soul and R&B – are etched in the strings, piano, bass and vocal expressions of “Signal” from start to finish.

It’s not surprising then that one of Grice’s influences is Gregory Alan Isakov, as well as Wilco, The Beatles, and Allen Stone.

Asila – “Paranormal”

Originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, the female-fronted alt. rock band Asila, now based in Los Angeles, California, is making noise with their new and punchy single, “Paranormal.”

The song is full of blazing guitars, booming drums and bass and the raucous vocals of lead singer Hana Mutfic. The band plays with plenty of grit, heart, and soul. The production quality is also solid.

After recording a debut album under the band name Revery in 2016, the band felt a name change was due to reflects their change in sound and direction.

In March of last year, Asila released their first music video and single ‘Resistance’ and are in the processes of finishing up their debut album, Acid Rain.

The band members, all solid players, include, in addition to Mutfic, Richard Globisch (guitar); Adrian Patterson (bass) and Taryn Young (drums). They are fans of Halestorm, Evanescence, Incubus, Iron Maiden, Muse, and many other artists and bands.