Now that summer has unofficially started, it’s time for another eclectic mix of singles from DIY artist and bands that we’ve been listening to lately. A full playlist of all of the tracks appears at the end of the post. Chances are you won’t hear this much fine ‘under the radar’ music anywhere else.
Waley Brown – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Saneit – Washington D.C.
The Astronots – Los Angeles, California
Revolvers – London, England
The Age of Colored Lizards – Oslo, Norway
Waley Brown – According to the prolific, self-taught Milwaukee DIY musician Aaron Mustas, his music, which he releases as Waley Brown, is “a manifestation of material human sludge, cosmic love, and sadness.”
This is perhaps no better demonstrated than on songs like “A Valentine’s Day” – which is by no means a sweet and cuddly song. It’s gloomy and dark like others that he’s been dropping all year on this Bandcamp. “A Valentine’s Day,” he says, is a tale about “the profound emotions and sadness one can feel” on that day.
A more recent track, “Will You Dance With Me,” is decidedly upbeat, which one supposes would make sense even for a ‘dark’ artist. He is also a multi-instrumentalist, playing all of the instruments on his songs, as well as mixing and mastering.
Now that’s bad-ass DIY. Mustas is also not a newbie to the music world; he has opened for bands like Slightly Stoopid and Twenty One Pilots. The track is from his May album release, SILK.
Writing songs since he was 14 years old, he says, Mustas has been recording for the past decade, amassing over 500 personal recordings, and greatly encouraged by musical influences that include Leonard Cohen, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Nirvana, Joy Division, The Smiths, and David Bowie.
Saneit – This Washington D.C. vocalist and musician’s electro R&B pop sound – which veers more towards ccommercial than indie – by Saneit Monet is usually not what we listen to here in the cafe, but this track really deserves kudos, especially for the fact that she is a relatively unknown ‘bedroom’ artist.
Afterall, she sparked a mini indie hit on Soundcloud with th slick R&B-drive single, “Sprung,” from the new EP Crush. It’s always reassuring when an artist can produce this level of recording totally DIY-style. Keep eyes and ears out for this D.C. artist.
The Astronots – The new single, “Settle Down,” from L.A. indie garage band The Astronots narrates “the feeling of anxiety and being trapped inside yourself,” according to the band. The song nicely presents resonating guitars, throbbing basslines and eerie layered vocals.
Founding members are Niko Giaimo (vocals, guitar) and Allee Futterer (vocals, bass) combine elements of a “quintessential Los Angeles upbringing, classic rock, and west-coast cool.” The trio was completed with the addition of guitarist Eddie Campbell.
The Astronots polished garage sound has lent itself to placements on tv and film as well as curated playlists and blogs. The Astronots’ song, “Black Milk” – from the 2017 E.P. Strange Terrain – was featured on the CBS hit television show Life in Pieces.
Revolvers – The London indie rock band is a four-piece outfit inspired by the “classic rock of the 60s and 70s and modern indie.”
The band has gigged all across the city for the past few years and built up a following. Last year they released a well-received debut EP and started recording at Kore Studios for their follow up EP.
The sophomore EP is being unveiled by the release of a series of singles, with the first being “True Love.” We dig the track. Arctic Monkeys, QOTSA, Oasis, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Foals are among Revolvers’ biggest musical influences.
The Age of Colored Lizards – Norwegian noise-pop trio TAOCL been dropping a number of slick singles in recent months, including the memorable “I’ll Be Waiting.”
The band was formed in 2016 by guitarist and vocalist Christian Dam upon the release of the debut single, “It’s All Gone.”
Following band changes and the release of two EPs, Cockroach Clan drummer Cato Holmen and lo-fi musician and bassist Fredrik Ness Sevendal joined the band to release the debut album, Daydreamer.
The Age of Colored Lizards has been compared to bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Jesus and Mary Chain.