July 2021 Top 10 Indie Songs playlist features a variety of strong indie/alt releases from artists and bands like Billie Eilish; Inhaler; Wavves; LUMP; Piroshka; Creeper; The Go! Team; A Place to Bury Strangers; The Goon Sax; The Flatlanders.
Month: August 2021
Ty Segall’s new video single and North American tour dates
One of indie/alt rock’s best artists of the past decade, San Francisco guitarist and songwriter Ty Segall, has dropped a new video single, “Feel Good.”
And, yes, it does feel good, in an edgy, swaggering way. “Feel Good” chugs along with a throbbing beat and spikey guitar riffs. Denee Segall lends sultry vocals and attire throughout. The storyline features the couple in various poses and driving an old 70’s gas-guzzler through the nighttime streets marked by vivid technicolor scenes.
It is from his riveting new album, Harmonizer, directed and produced by Joshua Erkman.
Segall also dropped a new tour list for a North American tour with the Freedom Band featuring of Ben Boye, Mikal Cronin, Emmett Kelly, and Charles Moothart.
According to Denée Segall, the track is meant to reaffirm the concept that whatever makes someone ‘feel good’ should be unrestrained, even encouraged “be it emotionally, physically, or beyond. It’s also about extending this sentiment to another who might desire this same sort of freedom but needs a little encouragement. It’s an ode to the joy that comes from loving and supporting one another unconditionally.”
Go-to assistant producer Cooper Crain was instrumental in creating the sound on Harmonizer. The LP is the first album to be recorded in Segall’s brand-new Harmonizer Studios.
From the blog Northern Transmissions: “Cooper’s own journey in rhythm, minimalism and DIY mines the depths around Ty’s vocal attack and the never-ending search for unfathomably corrosive guitar sounds. With an eye towards precision, feel, and explosive mass.”
Ty Segall & Freedom Band’s 2021-22 Tour Schedule
Fri. Aug. 20 – Las Vegas, NV @ Psycho Las Vegas
Sun. Sep. 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Mon. Sep. 6- Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Thu. Sep. 9 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
Sat. Sep. 11 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
Mon. Sep. 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Tue. Sep. 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom
Wed. Sep. 15 – Big Sur, CA @ The Henry Miller Library
Thu. Sep. 16 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Sat. Sep. 18 – Petaluma, CA @ Phoenix Theater
Fri. Oct. 22 – Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
Fri. Nov. 12 – Moreno Valley, CA @ Desert Daze Festival
Mon. Dec. 27 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Tue. Dec. 28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Wed. Dec. 29 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Thu. Dec. 30 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Fri. Dec. 31 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Mon. Jan. 31 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Lobero Theatre
Tue. Feb. 1 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Cocoanut Grove Historic Ballroom
Fri. Feb. 4 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Sat. Feb. 5 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Sun. Feb. 6 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
Tue. Feb. 8 – Sonoma, CA @ Gundlach Bundschu
Wed. Feb. 9 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Slo Brewing Co.
Tue. Jun. 14 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
Sun. Jun. 19 – New Orleans, LA @ Southport Hall
Wed. Jun. 22 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
Thu. Jun. 23 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live
Fri. Jun. 24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Sat. Jun. 25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Mon. Jun. 27 – Boston, MA @ Royale
Thu. Jun. 30 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
Sat. Jul. 2 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue Mainroom
Mon. Jul. 4 – Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom
Tue. Jul. 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
Album Review: The Zolas ‘Come Back To Life’
Like so many others, The Zolas had their plans to release an album in 2020 scuppered by COVID-19. Instead of just retreating and pushing back the release date, the Vancouver band launched a campaign they called ‘Z Days’ which promised a new single on the second day of each month. Fans of the band could rest happy on getting their Zolas fix (especially since it was back in 2016 they released their last album, the bright and infectious Swooner) as well as plentiful cuts that would appear on their delayed album.
The extra time also brought about a little extra focus for The Zolas into how to shape and sound the album. Inspired by 90s Britpop and described by frontman Zachary Gray as a “21st century heir” to Trainspotting and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, Come Back To Life borrows generously from the the era of Definitely Maybe and Screamadelica. There are smears of Oasis and nostalgic hat tips (and psychedelic waves) to the Happy Mondays across the album, but Gray and his band never get too lost trying to recreate the past.
If anything, props have to be given to Gray (and new bandmates, bassist Dwight Abel and drummer Cody Hiles, filling the gap left by departed keyboardist Tom Dobrzanski): they are a pretty convincing replica of the inspiring era. “Miles Away” jangles pleasingly as Gray ushers you to “lean back / don’t worry ’bout the feedback”, while “Let It Scare You” has a blissful summery air about it, channelling nostalgia from its echoey vocals through to its little hits of glockenspiel. If they were released 25 years ago, then tracks like these could have easily found an audience.
Elsewhere, they sound amazingly convincing as another band who made their name trying to replicate this era, namely Kasabian. Opening track “Violence On This Planet” cynically swaggers while “I Feel The Transition”‘s throbbing bass charges along as Gray takes on the topic of wealth disparity. Give either of these tracks that radio-ready shine on the trip hop beats and up the fuzz on the bass a little and you could have a track taken from somewhere between Kasabian and West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, if not just something ready to soundtrack a sequence of lads boasting their way down a street in a Guy Ritchie movie.
Gray’s old habits don’t die easily though, and if there’s a past he seems fond of recreating then it’s the flashy strut of Swooner. He has a certain way of inflecting his voice in the final bars of each of his lines, like he’s directing your attention to a particular clever word. It’s most evident on “Yung Dicaprio”, which manages to fuse together a bleary 90s “la la la” rush with that LA-like wearied glimmer; it sounds like two songs stuck together, but the trio do make it work. “Energy Czar”, on the other hand, has plenty of likeable features with its backing vocal touches in the chorus and stylish preppy guitar sound, but it also sounds like a rehash of familiar territory.
Where the album does excite is when Gray steps that bit more out of his comfort zone. Sometimes it’s a little feature, like on “PrEP” where there’s a noticeably emotional snarl in his voice as he shouts “I wanna scream until I burst,” addressing the HIV epidemic of the 1980s over thick, chugging bass. “Reality Winner” is a welcome instrumental turn that sounds equal parts indebted to trip-hop rave streaks from the Prodigy as it does to a modern dubstep pioneer like Burial. “Another Dimension” gets locked and lost in a gritty groove, but an elongated verse from Cadence Weapon is a highlight and surprise – it’s only a shame it doesn’t go on longer, especially when he starts to hit his lines against the snare with a pointed viciousness.
Final track “Wreck Beach/Totem Park” is also worth a shoutout, not just for broaching the difficult topic of Canada’s deplorable treatment of its First Nations, but also in how it manages to do it through a personal lens. “Songs I love to sing reveal themselves as requiems,” Gray carefully offers at one point as hazy synth chords blear in and out of view, like a fuzzy childhood memory coming to the front of your mind. The rise of the chorus is sweet and wistful (even though it’s tinged with darkness), but Gray sounds he’s retreating away from bleeding an intense emotional peak out of the song, like he’s aware this isn’t his area to broach. He’s reminiscing with a more informed mind, remembering fondly but with fuller context of life around him.
Like the album’s opening track, the closing “Wreck Beach/Totem Park” takes some six and a half minutes to spread out and explore the terrain, and it’s musical ventures like this that make Come Back To Life that few steps above the band’s previous efforts. The tone feels less pandering and hollow, and they’re actually sounds like there’s real weight and meaning behind some of Gray’s lyrics for once (which, thanks to the less airbrushed production, aren’t riding front and centre). While the album’s not without some clunky moments (mostly around the middle) and at points just feels like a continuation of what came before, Come Back To Life does an admirable job of balancing 90s sentimentality and the band’s own signature approach to writing. It’s a hard task to look backwards and forwards at the same time, but The Zolas do a pretty good job of it here.
The post Album Review: The Zolas – Come Back To Life first appeared on Beats Per Minute.
All Day Breakfast Cafe’s funky Afrobeat single ‘What If Nile Rodgers And Fela Kuti Were Friends’
London all-female band All Day Breakfast Cafe present their incredible 8-minute piece.
This composition, dedicated to two legendary music innovators, blends influences of funk and Afrobeat, the ‘70s vibe, and contemporary presets.
The nimble rhythms move from the Khruangbin-esque groove to dancey bass loops under the disco ball glow, meeting a variety of jazzy twists of the brass section and the psychedelic flute jam in the vein of Quintessence. With the third minute, the very pleasant, melodic vocals appear over guitar desert lounge.
“What If Nile Rodgers And Fela Kuti Were Friends” is saturated in a very surprising way, it’s a smooth and lively fusion.
By GTQLizer
Artist Spotlight: Americana Musician Charlie Marks
Nevada is not usually known as a place where Americana/folk music thrives.
But Reno-based musician Charlie Marks is setting out to change that. The DIY acoustic multi-instrumentalist and songwriter is hardly the Avett Brothers or Mumford & Sons.
On his latest album, Unbecoming, Marks utilizes mostly guitar and harmonica, drawing mostly from idols such as Bob Dylan among others.
The overall music production is a bit loose and imperfect, but that’s part of the beauty of his material.
A supporter of Marks’, simply known as John K, wrote: “[Marks’ music] feels like a distinctly Americana-inflected take on indie folk in the vein of genre stalwarts like The Tallest Man on Earth or Fionn Regan. A little rougher around the edges than those examples, but in a way that lends it additional authenticity rather than detracting from the experience
The recently-prolific artist has released two full LPs in 2021 – possibly another in the works?
Late last year, Marks dropped the terrific 14-track album, Honey Baby. On this recording, Marks ditches the guitar and harmonica and focuses solely on the banjo and vocals. Honey Baby, Marks crafts good ‘ole folk music heavily influenced by legends like Woody Guthrie and sounding a lot like the celebrated indie troubador The Tallest Man on Earth.
Honey Baby, is a welcomed arrival at a chaotic, even depressing, time. It has an ambiance about it that is much needed. We’ve listened to this album a few times now, and will again. It’s a reminder of the greatness of truly American music (which originally traces back to Scottish/Irish music) is an ode to, and a celebration of, down-home, roots-revival-loving Americana music.
The important distinction here is his mix of influences and traditions that are uniquely Americana – incorporating musical, stylistic and lyrical aspects of blues, folk, country, and gospel.
On track after track, Marks crafts terrific solo tracks, most notably with banjo and voice as the primary instruments – another common practice of roots-revival musicians. Right out of the gate, he leaves no doubt what river his boat will take you down.
The opening track, “Going Down That Road Feeling Bad,” is exactly what you’d expect from an Americana number – a little intro to the album.
After a few terrific tracks, like “Spike Driver Blues” and “Please See That My Grave is Kept Clean” and “He Was A Friend of Mine,” it becomes evident that Marks commands a trademark sound all of his own with impressive banjo-picking and his acceptably nasally vocals.
That’s a welcome, and pleasing, change of pace from all of the computerized/digitized and special effects music that tends to clog up the airways. We need artists like Marks to keep us grounded and to show musicians that sometimes all that you need is one, maybe two, string instruments, a unique voice, and a handful of well-written, original songs to make a mark.
There’s no shortage of fine, down-home Americana-driven tracks among the total of 14 songs. Others include, in the heart of the album, ”
Marks is also talented in the cover songs department. He delivers a haunting, banjo-picking version of “In The Pines,” easily one of the best creepy blues songs ever written (even though it is not exactly known who authored the song some 150 years ago). A cover of the traditional “Cumberland Gap” is also not run-of-the-mill.
It is comforting that Marks has the confidence in his art not to be afraid to be himself. For example, on the track, “Hills of Mexico,” Marks’ vocals strain a little too high in notes, and yet it doesn’t matter because it’s authentic and heartfelt. In fact, as we said, it’s comforting.
Marks was assisted in recording, and especially mixing and mastering, by producer Ryan Finch at Studio West in San Diego.
Therefore, it’s difficult to compare Marks’ music with bands like, say, The Avett Brothers or Mumford & Sons. That’s good though.
We have to say, that at least in our world, Charlie Marks has earned a spot among the ranks of artists like The Tallest Man on Earth, Justin Townes Earl (RIP), and others for this album release.
Marks belongs to a sub-genre of the Americana indie artist: stripped-down acoustic Americana performances with Marks’ nasally, imperfect, and yet perfectly-suited, vocals. None of his songs feature percussion or bass or even guitar anywhere on this entire album. It worked out nicely. So much so that we await his next release.
After listening to both of these albums, the comparison with The Tallest Man on Earth is so appropriate to describe Marks’ music to those who haven’t heard it yet. At the same time, it’s unfair because Marks is not copying anyone. He’s too talented and doing his own thing for that.
5 Tracks from Willie Dunn’s anthology, ‘Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies’
Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology, the compilation of the Indigenous Canadian singer-songwriter’s music issued by Light in the Attic Records back in March, is a joy that imparts two burdensome revelations. The anthology pulls from Dunn’s four studio albums recorded between 1970 and 1999. On each track Dunn cuts an imposing stature. He was blunt, poetic, focused, and diverse. His style ebbed between genres much like how he constantly migrated across Canada. Longtime friend and collaborator Obediah (Johnny) Yesno characterized Dunn perfectly; “… the audience always writes in to ask if the songs are on records. They’re not…most of the time you can’t even find him. He can’t stay in one place.”
Dunn was a singer-songwriter, an artist, a filmmaker, a leader, a teacher, and an activist, raising awareness and protesting on behalf of Indigenous rights. His activism extended to rerecording his own albums and donating the proceeds to Indigenous rights groups despite struggling with finances for most of his career.
The compilation’s first revelation is that recognition has eluded Dunn even beyond his unfortunate passing in 2013. Part of this was by his own admission. He refused record courtships from Columbia Records when signing would’ve had him in leagues with Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash.
The other tragedy is that Canada hasn’t progressed far from its colonial roots despite some pleasant lip service. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau still engages in misguided reparation attempts. Thus Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies is an essential listen beyond its high standard as Dunn’s music is as relevant now as it was when he recorded with the Akwesasne Tribe nearly fifty years ago. Dunn wove history and poetry, both Indigenous and English, into 22 tracks of the highest caliber. Here are five that highlight not just the pristine quality of his output but illuminate Dunn’s character.
The Ballad of Crowfoot
Dunn’s one-man folk epic recounts the story of Crowfoot, the Siksika chief who negotiated Treaty 7 on behalf of the Blackfoot community. Crowfoot has his land pilfered, his morals bullied into the signing of treaties, his guilt racked, and by the end of the ten minute ballad he witnesses the government’s refusal to honour trade agreements. After every wincing detail the chorus chops through with the promise of a better tomorrow. It echoes Crowfoot’s devotion to his clan combatting his doubt in his choices. Dunn shows how lofty hope is by concluding with the vague optimism of finding love as opposed to “usual treachery.”
“The Ballad of Crowfoot” is equally notable as a short film. Dunn directed the piece with grassroots funding and the Canadian government handling distribution. It was the rare combination of the system and radicals working in tandem. Often considered Canada’s first music video, the 1968 short is composed of archival tribal footage and photographs set to Dunn’s track. It was poignant enough that it entered the curriculum of classrooms across Canada.
Dunn’s track operates just as well without the context of the film nor its bleak imagery. His voice booms with the weight of a withering community, his depth mirroring the history and bloodlines Crowfoot upheld against the incompatible force of colonization.
Charlie
The tender, finger picked, “Charlie” is an astounding folk number. Dunn tells of Chanie Wenjack, a young Anishinaabe boy who died mere feet away from a CN (Canadian National) railway track after fleeing his residential school on October 23, 1966. The freezing snow wracks the boy’s small body and his thoughts wander towards his father and his deceased mother and the track grows colder as Wenjack’s time in the frigid winter crawls onwards.
“Charlie” marks a few recurring themes in Dunn’s life. Notably, his finances. He received $600CAD for recording “Charlie.” Dunn was grateful for the then large sum because he knew how brutal the music business was, how rampant exploitation ran throughout the system, and how broke he was. Dunn’s finances were never stable, he was forever in a state of possessing only enough to pass from couch to couch. Dunn wouldn’t find any financial stability until later in his life.
Years later Dunn re-recorded “Charlie” for Martin Defalco’s television series Adventures in Rainbow Country. He omitted any direct lyrical mentions of Wenjack to echo Defalco’s aim. Defalco extrapolated Wenjack’s passing to the flaws of the Canadian system. The track evolved from a singular heart-wrenching recount into a symptom of a larger virus.
I Pity the Country
Dunn’s most famous song houses his unique evisceration of colonialism. His stony delivery, deterrence of radio-palpable friendliness, and honesty disposed of any aesthetic poeticism – one of the lines is “Deception annoys me” and Dunn moves mountains with its simplicity – are the reasons “I Pity the Country” reverberates today and probably why it never grew on the airways. It was too raw. Even Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s fantastic cover from earlier this year is a totem of gathered dust from years of burial. Her version trembles with soot but shows Dunn’s words as ever relevant. Dunn is not so much jabbing into the gut of colonialism; he’s empathetic to the people and disheartened that a system has yet to remedy its colonialist scars. As an Indigenous man he’s furious, but as a Canadian he’s disappointed his country succumbs to such lows.
The Carver
Dunn was adamant about retaining his own image when Columbia Records tried to recruit him in the late ‘60s. They wanted him to play the cowboy and indulge in his country influences. And Dunn could’ve excelled as a country artist, “School Days” and “Crazy Horse” being two of his strongest takes on the genre. But he was far too rebellious to be confined by a lasso.
“The Carver” is Dunn’s most overt example of his wide influences and output. Dunn’s music, much like the man, couldn’t remain in one place for long. He bounded between genres while maintaining his own identity. “The Carver” is the sonic encapsulation of his propensity to remain in motion. Take it as a microcosm of Dunn’s large output palette. Even within the realm of folk Dunn was hard to characterize, and even harder still when he ventured outside of it.
“The Carver,” conceived during the recording sessions of “The Ballad of Crowfoot,” may be Dunn’s most divergent piece. The track is a psychedelic session where Dunn’s hearty register skips across the flowery guitars like a stone on atop a lake. Dunn never replicated the approach, at least not on any of Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies‘ other tracks.
Sonnet 33 and 55/ Friendship Dance
Dunn’s native heritage was as key to his artistry as his English blood. The singer is the mediator between both worlds on “Sonnet 33 and 55/Friendship Dance” as he was in real life. He coagulates tribal drumming (provided by Akwesasne Singers from a Mohawk Nation on the banks of the St. Lawrence River) with Shakespeare’s flowery prose. Dunn was a vested student of English poetry but melding Shakespeare with tribalism insinuates a deeper purpose. It’s the veil Indigenous people have to adopt in order to fit into Canadian society.
Dunn reimagines Shakespeare’s poetry as speaking to the image of the First Nations. He converts Sonnets 33 and 55 into celebrations of Indigenous identity. The prose, teeming with metaphor, gains traction from the rhythmic drums, bringing it closer to earth. Likewise Dunn’s pointed recitation adds a poet’s flair to the traditional accompaniment.
The post Five Essential Tracks from Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology appeared first on ForTheLoveOfBands. The post is from Colin Dempsey is a Toronto-based writer who covers music, dabbles in fiction, and spends too much time calculating his macronutrient intake.
The Ninth Wave’s new single and video, ‘Maybe You Didn’t Know’
Scottish indie rock/new wave band The Ninth Wave has dropped a new video single Maybe You Didn’t Know.
The Glasgow-based band’s new video is centered around car racing with the band members standing on blocks, dressed in car-racing uniforms as race cars drive in circles around them. The track is a mix of electro pop with intense percussion and under-stated keys that allow Haydn Park-Patterson’s vocals and chorus to blossom.
“The song is about finding comfort in the uncomfortable and being able to hide yourself behind an overbearing and engulfing undefined fear.”
Best 5 New 2021 DIY Song Submissions, Vol. III: Maquina Delirio, Rosesleeves, Breakup Films & More
Rolling right along with the best new DIY/indie tracks from our mailbox in this installment No. 3 of the Best New 2021 DIY Song Submissions, featuring artists and bands from Arizona to France, and Brazil to Israel. These are the best new DIY indie songs we’ve received via our mailbox.
Máquina Delírio – Florianopolis, Brazil
Rosesleeves – Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Breakup Films – Tel Aviv, Israel
Clint Slate – Paris, France
Victims of the New Math – Phoenix, Arizona
Máquina Delírio is an indie DIY duo from Florianopolis, Brazil. The duo’s new EP has just landed and it’s an interesting listen with a wonderful mixing of genres and influences. The opening track, “Cetacea,” is gripping and seductive, as well as timely, considering this is the year of the cetacea’s return.
Delírio adds and it “counts with the very special participation of a humpback whale, who kindly sang in the chorus.”
The duo features Erica Jung on drums and effects and Ricardo Marcin on vocals and strings. They’ve been playing and crafting songs together for four years.
After countless metamorphoses, the duo finally decided to record some of their tracks. The EP was recorded DIY after ‘countless metamorphoses.’ Major musical influences include Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Girl Band, Latin Music, IDLES, The Oh Sees.
Rosesleeves – “Growing Pains”
Rosesleeves is a 17-year-old experimental pop artist and producer from Buckinghamshire, England.
He delves into the boundaries between indie, alternative, EDM, and pop to create unique tracks full of feeling that take interesting new turns on tracks like his latest single, “Growing Pains.” The ambient pop-leaning track, Patel says, is based on a painful breakup with his best friend.
His musical influences, he says, are FKA Twigs, Bon Iver, Shrimp, Radiohead, and Purity Ring — as well as his friends and frequent collaborators Ezekiel and Noahh. Patel has also previously joined forces with upcoming artists such as Osquinn (formerly known as P4rkr), Midwxst, and Suckerpunk to create tracks that have been enjoyed by many.
About the track, he says: “The song doesn’t waste a second and starts with delicate vocals glistening against unorthodox piano samples and synths that bursts into a flood of alluring textures; thunder respresenting the storm of the last few days of friendship.”
Breakup Films – “Just Whenever”
Breakup Films‘ new single, ‘Just Whenever,” according to frontman vocalist and guitarist Ron Herscovici, “is a melancholic party song, incorporating musical themes borrowed from disco, dream pop and emo into an energetic ghost train, aspiring to create an atmosphere you can both dance and dissociate to.” That’s actually a great description that is evident after listening to the track a couple of times.
Breakup Films is a Tel Avi-based young band that formed in 2019 and have now released the debut EP My Head Is Always Somewhere Else .
The band infuses reverb-filled textures with straightforward, indie pop songwriting and has gradually gained a steady fanbase across the globe and nearly a half-million streams.
Major musical influences include Turnover, DIIV, The 1975, Neck Deep, The Smiths. Other band members are Hai Barbi – guitar, Shelly Reizis – vocals & bass, Noam Debel – drums. The band was founded in 2019.
http://instagram.com/breakupfilms
Clint Slate – “No Way Out”
The Paris-based indie musician Clint State has just released his latest single, “No Way Out.” The track blends a number of genres, including rock and folk, and is sweet and touching.
“Rock, pop, folk, electro and more fusion into a very personal recipe born out of guitar improvisations and spontaneous melodies,” Slate writes, adding that the new EP, The Silent Sea EP, “showcases a true team at work…to encapsulate all their influences and embark the listener on a unique and personal journey.”
Clint State was founded in 2015 after a Scottish nurse and a French musician meet by chance to write a song for a radio contest and things evolved from there. The duo’s musical influences are Queen, U2, Kate Bush, Clannad, NIN, among others. Clint Slate (vocals, instruments, production, songwriting) is backed by Iona James (vocals, piano, songwriting).
Victims of the New Math – “You’re Swimming”
The Phoenix-based lo-fi music of indie musician Thomas Young (vocals, guitars, bass and drums), aka Victims of the New Math, is greatly influenced by classic rock and indie rock, including artists like Guided By Voices, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, and The Kinks. His memorable new single, “You’re Swimming,” is great for a summer afternoon.
The band writes about the track: “You’re Swimming’ is a song about trying to see the best in things, to have a better outlook. I tend to get bogged down in the melancholy, and really wanted to write something more positive and uplifting. It’s still got some melancholy, but it’s got a really encouraging message.
Young has been making music since his teenage years in the late 1980’s, and has been releasing music since 2006. Originally a duo, with Thomas being joined by his brother Joe, the band was formed with hopes of capturing the great AM rock sounds from their childhood. Never much for learning other people’s songs, the brothers almost immediately tried their hand at writing. And, with a few small gaps, pretty much never stopped.
His new album, Heading to the Suburbs, is out now.
Top 10 DIY Indie Songs, June 2021
We were late to put together this DIY indie songs playlists for the summer due to a number of reasons, including the fact that we received double as many submissions in the past three months than in half of the year last year.
We hope that you discover some great indie rock songs, artists, and bands. This playlist features Peach Tinted; Quicker; The Ampersands; Damian Quinones; Ross Adams; Full Disclosure; Waiting for the Sun; We Are Monroe; John Lion and Luciano D’Lux.
It’s really difficult to put the songs in the playlist into a #1 to #10 order; so we didn’t really try. The same is true with all of our Top 10 Indie Songs playlists, whether they be DIY-oriented or highlighting the best in ‘mainstream’ indie songs.
Album Review: Wavves – Hideaway
Nathan Williams is no stranger to introspection; Wavves’ 2015 album V acted as his post-breakup lysis, reasoning with pessimism while attempting to maintain self-worth. He’s no stranger to attacking with melody like most would with insults, wrapping them around You’re Welcome like decorative paper – nor is he unfamiliar with upping his sound, see the orchestral conduct of Afraid of Heights.
But what happens when all of this occurs at once? The answer is Hideaway, an introspective wrestling match with anxiety that has seen TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek recruited as producer, generating a loose crunch amid organic rock, and a hell of a lot of melody on Williams’ part.
Melody acts as an angel looming over Williams’ shoulder, offering reassurance as he blows towards the opposing demon on Honeycomb. Never has the phrase “I feel like I’m dying” felt so breezy, but this clash of mental states makes total sense, and if more of a roar were required, Sitek’s involvement comes in handy on the bridge, as everything suddenly loudens to match madness.
It makes more sense than Sinking Feeling; a calm waiting to snap, perhaps too aloof to convey a genuine sinking feeling. No, Honeycomb resembles a ‘Help is on the Way’, which distracts itself with laid-back tuneage, the kind of ‘drinking beer, watching TV, playing cards’ music required to find blissful ignorance, before very tuneful guitar picking lightens the finale on Caviar.
Melody then supplies therapy on The Blame, which lassos a little rockabilly into the fray, like an old Beck track but more keen to pay homage. Any deviation is warranted, particularly as Williams begins the album by yelling “can’t talk now, I’m going through hell” on Thru Hell, capturing a restless mind that swells with the barn-like gruff of Sitek’s production.
The mind spirals on the uber-catchy Planting a Garden, as the narrator hates Susie for not loving him, but loving who she thinks he is. Williams’ vocals whirl inside and out as it he adds as many notes as possible to certain words, almost as if it’s a self-aware taunt.
And that isn’t where the taunting ends, though it can become too grating and playground-like on My Prize. The title track decidedly uses irritability as a taunt, a means for attention before it becomes clear Williams only wants attention from himself. He’s simply making sure to keep himself on his toes while attempting to decipher which aspects of his anxiety are based on logic – “the field looks so pretty but it’s covered in landmines”.
Nathan Williams vows to be the troubadour of his own uncertainty. And why wouldn’t he? When you’re capable of such melody that lingers on the mind, evocatively wobbling through each track to pass the old, grey whistle test, you’d probably recruit yourself to play at your funeral, if that were possible.
And alongside the thoughtful recruitment of Dave Sitek, hand-pumping Wavves’ punk backbone to a grand shift in size, it makes Hideaway the most compelling Wavves release potentially since King of the Beach.
The post Wavves – Hideaway appeared first on Indie is not a genre.
EP Review: The Len Price 3’s ‘The Strood Recording Company’
Christopher is a freelance writer/journalist residing in Texas and currently writing for several magazine publications. Prior to freelancing, he was the co-owner of Immediait, a media company that provided commercial enterprises with visual and written content for their social media platforms and websites.
In addition, Christopher spent four years as a reporter/staff writers for two Texas newspapers, The Fort Stockton Pioneer and Del Rio News-Herald.
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When I was a boy, a man used to wander the streets in our area dressed up and looking like Christ from a 1950’s film epic. Staff and all. He eventually shot a police officer and was then subsequently shot by another police officer. Everyone knew who he was just from his visibility in the community.
Noddy, a character in one of the new compositions from The Len Price 3 — based in Medway, United Kingdom — was a real-life man similar to the aforementioned one. However, the song isn’t only memorable for its lyrical content but the music that accompanies it. From its German count-in and opening chords to the distortion of its outro, “Noddy Goes to the Pentagon,” sounds like a lost psychedelica track from 1966.
“Noddy Goes to the Pentagon is about a local character, Medway character,” told Glenn Page, the band’s singer and guitarist, to For The Love Of Bands via email. “Anyone that lives here would know of him. I began to think he was immortal as he was around when I was a boy and I would still see him around until recently looking exactly the same. He would ride his bike around very fast while shouting and swearing at people quite randomly. Sadly he died in 2020.”
The band’s latest recording, The Strood Recording Company, is an EP follow-up to their self-produced 2017 album, Kentish Longtails, and delivers four infectious power-packed compositions that have something to say.
“We had originally set out to record an album and we recorded about 18 songs or thereabouts,” Page said. “We had them all mixed and ready by about the middle of 2020. When it came to it though, I wasn’t very happy with it. I felt the songs weren’t very good. So we settled on releasing what we thought were the best 4 songs as an EP.”
They didn’t disappoint. The songs tear through a musical landscape layered by a 60’s mashup discussing hippie posers, Noddy, Brexit and social anxiety.
“We’re really pleased with the sound of the EP. We might even venture to say it’s the best thing we’ve done from a sonic perspective,” Page admitted. “It’s the recording we’re most happy with sound wise anyway. Neil (Fromow/drum kit) takes the credit for that. He really did his homework and put in the effort to make sure it sounded good.”
Incidentally, there is no Len Price in the band. It’s Page, Fromow and Steve Huggins on bass.
Revolver comparisons have been made to Strood. Page told Fromow he wanted some of the Strood tracks to have a Revolver profile.
“A few people have commented that “Noddy Goes to the Pentagon” sounds like the Revolver / Paperback Writer / Rain recordings. So it looks like he got it spot on there, ” Page commented.
Interestingly, Page was listening to 70’s roots reggae and modern jazz during the recording of the EP. Yet, he fell back into first loves: the Who, Beatles, Kinks, Clash, Undertones and Ramones.
“I think the music of the 60s as well as 70s punk is in my DNA because that’s the style I’m always drawn to write in,” he said.
Lyrically, Page’s sharp and sometimes acerbic words are front and center. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly and has never been reticent to express it. “Weekend Hippies” is a prime example. The irony of its lyrics sung over a psychedelic sound accurately reflects the message of the song. It’s about a former co-worker of Page.
“They would always bang on about going to festivals, taking drugs, loving music and practicing meditation- mostly laudable things,” he explained. “Unfortunately that person was also a bully and was thoroughly unpleasant to people at work. It seemed to me that they were a peace loving hippie at the weekend and a total bastard during the week!”
And the soul-rooted, early Who-like “Got To Be Together,” is a kind of anti-National Front Disco track that is a pushback against Brexit.
“I was responding to all the division and partisan politics that had emerged from the whole Brexit debate and subsequent fall out,” Page said. “I’m not one for political statement in our music really. All I’m saying in this song is that I’m in favour of things that bring people closer together rather than things that divide and drive wedges between us.”
A sanguine message? A friend of Page pointed out that The LP3 frontman was mired in negative commentary.
“And he has a point because song writing is like a therapy for me,” Page revealed. “It’s where I deal with a lot of stuff that has been troubling me. Since he said that I’ve tried to make more of an effort to write at least some songs with a more positive outlook.
The Strood Recording Company is currently available on vinyl. The band’s preferred auditory delivery method.
“We’re vinyl fans,” Page said. “Lots of our fans are vinyl people too. We sell more vinyl than CDs when we’re on the road. We were drawn to the idea of something only being available in this one format. It’s not inconceivable that we might release it digitally in the future but we’re not planning on it at the moment.”
The post The Len Price 3 – The Strood Recording Company EP appeared first on ForTheLoveOfBands
Clairo’s new single/video ‘Amoeba’
If you follow music closely in the past few years, then you have heard a track or two from upstate New York recording artist Clairo.
Her new single, “Amoeba,” is already making the rounds across the webs and socials. The song is plated with soft, fragile vocals, boosted by reverb and other effects, and a fun, funky groove. The key here is the vocal work, which strays a bit from her previous singles because her voice is more dense and melancholic.
The New York Times wrote: ““Amoeba,” a highlight anchored by funky, insistent keyboards and a steady beat — a song that manages to brood and saunter at the same time. ”
Clairo, or Claire Elizabeth Cottrill, rose to indie stardom back in 2017 with her viral DIY YouTube music video for her lo-fi single “Pretty Girl”. Cottrill is one of many artists in the past two decades who started out in a bedroom and propelled to fame without a label, producer, agent or band.
It is a thrill every time a talented young person in somewhere USA, or anywhere in the world, writes, records and distributes a terrific original song that catches on/takes off in the right places and goes viral, establishing that artist almost instantly.
Cottrill signed with Fader quickly, and dropped her debut EP, Diary 001, in 2018, followed by the widely-acclaimed debut album, Immunity, in 2019. That album contained the hit songs, “Bags” and “Sofia”, the latter of which is her first single to hit the Billboard Hot 100.