So much terrific indie rock and alt rock music – from well-known to lesser-known to brand new artists and bands – crosses our wires and desks each week. Here is just a small selection of some of the best in recent weeks. More amazing posts – Best of 2021 Indie Rock; Best of 2021 DIY Songs; Best 2021 Indie Albums, are in the works.
Also, take some time to check out our new (and some still perfecting) pages covering Music Festivals; New Releases; Features; Cover Songs and New Songs.
Sea Power (formerly British Sea Power) – London, England
Colleen Green – Los Angeles, California
Sundog – Chugiak, Alaska
Katherine Priddy – Birmingham, England
The Wonderfool – Athens, Ohio
Sea Power – “Two Fingers”
The members of Sea Power, formerly British Sea Power, veterans of the U.K. indie scene for two decades, have officially changed the band’s name with new material.
“The band name was intended with a kind of wry humor. The idea of British sea power in the historical sense was an obsolete thing. It was now just the name of a rock band… Now, 20 years later, we’re recasting the name.”
It’s quite a crazy thing to really take in that this incredible band is 20 years on. Wow, the years really do fucking fly on by too fast.
Anyways the band’s newest album, Everything Was Forever, has spawned its first single, “Two Fingers.” The track has a strong modern alt. rock feel that should be interesting for the band’s long-time fans. The new album is set to drop in February 2022.
Colleen Green – “Someone Else”
Los Angeles singer/songwriter/guitarist Colleen Green‘s third 2021 single from her recent album Cool, “Someone Else,” is a deep, thoughtful track we really dig.
“This song is about double standards within a relationship, and how they can go both ways,” she said in a press release.
“It’s about coming to terms with you how you actually feel about something and taking responsibility for how that affects you. It’s about taking back power in a one-sided relationship and not letting someone else dictate your happiness. It’s about choices and the act of making them.”
From Hardly Art Records: “The track is a paean to power in which Green lets a lover know that double standards can go both ways. A groovy bass loop and zig-zagging guitar lines underscore her realization that happiness is in her own hands, and the vibe is set.”
Previously Green shared Cool’s first single, “I Wanna Be a Dog,” via a video for it. She is best known for the mini-Spotify hit, “Deeper Than Love.”
Cool is Green’s fourth album and the follow-up to 2015’s I Want to Grow Up. Green co-produced the album with Gordon Raphael. The LP was mixed by Brendan Eder.
Sundog – “Millennial Man”
The minimalist-driven “Millennial Man” from Chugiak, Alaskan funkadelic band SunDog grooves on 70s-inspired garage-rock psych. The airy vocals of frontman Abi Sparkman along with the soaring chorus stir with powerful guitars, driving drums, and bass from Deven Lind and Philip Giannuli.
The unconventional single is gripping and potent, one of a few on the band’s most recent album, Cabin Fever.
Katherine Priddy – “About Rosie”
Based in Birmingham, England, folk artist Katherine Priddy is a hypnotic singer-songwriter who encapsulates the rich and often solemn side of artists gone by such as Nick Drake and John Martyn, delivering each word with genuine warmth and charm. This is her latest single, “About Rosie.”
(From GratefulWeb) The Wonderfool – the recording project of Ohio singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Matt Vinson —has released “Cool Shade.”
American Songwriter unveiled The Wonderfool’s single raving that “Cool Shade” “evokes a hypnotic dream state…a shimmering texture, creating more melodic depth to the summertime song…‘Cool Shade’ furthers his folk agenda, moving with ease into a dynamic new soundscape.”
Notably one third of the chart-topping folk group CAAMP, Vinson says: “‘Cool Shade’ is a song about finding a nice quiet place in your mind & observing all the good in the world around you. We all share the feeling sometimes of thinking that there’s more work to be done; love to share – But chances are everyone around you probably thinks you’re doing just fine!”