Some 2019 DIY indie debut singles and albums we’re listening to and sharing. Please note these are all Bandcamp debuts (support DIY!).
Per usual, a full and uninterrupted streaming playlist of all of the tracks are available at the end of this post and via our Spotify channel.
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In this installment:
Open Bar – Toronto, Ontario
Aftermidnite – Vancouver, British Columbia
Facekiss – Los Angeles, California
LJA – Los Angeles, California
Chemist – Denver, Colorado
Based out of the Ontario capital city of Toronto, indie band Open Bar made an impression on us a couple of months ago right off the bat with the exciting debut single, “Inner Monologue.”
We love the indie melodic sound with little else than a guitar, tambourine and the interesting vocals of skateboarders and DIY musicians Jordan Randal and Marc Glen.
Since that track dropped via their Bandcamp earlier this year, Open Bar has released three more accessible, lo-fi indie pop rock songs, including the terrific wordsmithing and vibe of “SurfBored”; the bright and upbeat, “Where’s Waldo,” and their newest single, the memorable, “Lazy J.”
MP3: “Inner Monologue” – Open Bar
The duo was previously known for a short period as Free Booze and before that, they were known as Radio Shack, but changed to Open Bar to avoid cease and desist letters down the road from Radio Shack the company.
Aftermidnite is a solo music project of Vancouver multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Alex Montenegro. The recent release of his debut album, which features the emotional title single, “Isla,” follows a period of drug abuse, divorce, heartache, and the birth of his daughter (Isla). That all happened within a year’s time, he says.
Now, Montenegro is on a path of recovery and rediscovery and music is one of the outlets helping him along. His biggest influences include artists and bands like Alvvays, Real Estate, Boy Pablo, Oasis, Hibou, and Day Wave.
MP3: “Isla” – Aftermidnite
The single definitely emits a sense of longing and of unconditional love; it’s inviting and warm lo-fi dream pop. Another track from Aftermidnite that we’re down with, and which Montenegro says is still in the works, is “12:16.”
“At 12:16 is a song about my wife. Growing up as young lovers, our “code” was 12:16. We are going through a long and hard process of rediscovering our love for one another. So this song was written with that in mind.”
The creator behind the one-man band, Facekiss, and pilot of his very own hippie time machine, is Los Angeles psychedelic musician and songwriter Michael Piccoli.
Other tracks from his debut EP, Not Listen To It, include the eastern-influenced tones and drones of the opening track, “Sunflower Girl,” with its rather long intro before the tambourine, distorted guitar notes and creepy dubbed vocals sneak in.
But for a song clocking at six minutes, the looping verse becomes a bit overly-repetitive. It would have been nice to see more effort on the lyrical side of things for this track.
MP3: “Revolution Waltz” – Facekiss
The fifth, and final track on the EP, “Let Me In” is quite different than the other tracks: darker, almost menacing with a bit of theatrical drama to boot.
After breaking up with his Boston band, Auva, Piccoli made the cross-continental move to Los Angeles where he started Facekiss and his own sound. We’re glad he did and look forward to hearing more as his project progresses.
Not surprisingly, Piccoli is heavily influenced by the sound of The Byrds, The Doors, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, along with modern psych-acts like Foxygen and Connan Mockasin.
Lead singer of the New Jersey indie band Bad Bearth, known as LJA, officially launched a DIY solo career in March (as LJA) with the release of his debut EP, Homely.
The EP is a mix of genres, styles, and sounds, including pop, soul, R&B, funk elements, but they are so finely mixed that it’s sometimes hard to easily distinguish them and yet you know they are there.
Moments of Beck-inspired sound effects also pop up here and there throughout, but never in an excessive or annoying way. Therefore, Ogawa is doing things that are not run-of-the-mill.
The EP features indie bedroom pop tracks like the experimental, hazy, lazy psych love song, “Across The River,” complete with tweaked out sound effects and somber vocals.
MP3: “Ginger Tea” – LJA
There’s also the interestingly-arranged “Creepy,” with its quick downbeat and repetition of the lines: “who’s watching me?” – similar, supposedly, to a mix between early-era Pink Floyd (when Syd Barrett was still with the band that he started) and Mac Demarco with bits of soul and R&B sprinkled in.
Others include the chilled, soulful, “Ginger Tea,” and the ironically – if slightly – brighter riffs and beats of “Dark Ice” and “Gloom.”
Nevertheless, the Hoboken musician prefers to describe his music as “DIY dark bedroom pop.” Ogawa played, recorded and mixed all of the instruments on the EP, qualifying him for ‘one man band’ status.
Ogawa’s top musical influences include Beck, Mac Demarco, Jakob Ogawa, and The Gloomies.
Chemist is a Denver rock band that has seen a steady rise in their fanbase and coverage since forming in 2017. That laid the way for the release of the band’s debut album, Reflect, earlier this year.
We’ve been listening to it on Bandcamp for weeks, and it’s still rocking. Is time the test of good music?
MP3: “Dissipate” – Chemist
The band’s fans agree. Standout tracks include “Dissipate,” with its heavy distortion, chunky rhythms, Tool-like vibe, and big rocking hooks.
The same is true for the explosive title track. Other tracks that will likely please their fans at live shows include “Jaded” and “The Road.”
The trio was formed when brothers Myles Cook (guitar) and Elliott Cook (drums) recruited bassist William Roland. The band’s influences include Incubus, Tool and The Beatles.
While on tour last month the band was in an accident while traveling across South Dakota. All of the band members are fine.
