Best new indie rock songs, indie news, best bands, reviews
Author: Max Hammer
Discovering and sharing the best DIY/alt/indie/underground music you've never heard. I've been writing about music and other topics since the mid-1990s. We are also music industry professionals - PR; promotion; management; branding; etc.
The offbeat, punk-fueled single “Television” from San Diego alt. band King Whisker is a weirded-out, scrappy riff that sounds like a blender mix of Devo, The Talking Heads and Weezer.
The single is set to appear on King Whisker’s upcoming 2021 debut album. The band is DIY’ing the project from top to bottom – recording, producing, and distributing it on their own, and by their own terms.
Recording in a 10 by 12-foot tiny room, the track is a nod to the BLM movement that swept across the United States in 202o.
Recorded by diverse artists that include members who are gay, non-binary, multi-racial, female, bi-polar, and autistic, the recording features hand-made and hand-modified instruments, cables, and pedals.
Frontman Charlie Rohlfs says that rather than waiting out the pandemic to do anything, the band took online classes from Berklee, scraped together funds and whatever gear and equipment they could muster, and hit the ground tearing.
The other band members are Jeremy Houtz (drums); Alex Warton (guitar); Ash Busse (keyboards) and Kevin Reith (bass). Their influences ranged from Pixies, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, The Police, Queens of the Stone Age, and more.
IRC is excited to introduce all eyes and ears on this page to Eau Claire, Wisconsin forklift driver, Ross Lucas, who moonlights as a musician in his off-hours.
Lucas’ wonderful track, “Under The Sun,” is a sparsely filled, experimental composition fashioning a skinny rhythm on electric guitar and Lucas’ strangely interesting vocals and lyrics – which are spoken more than they are sung. It reminds some of Mac DeMarco.
He says that he failed music in his freshman year of high school and promptly left school to start his first band Wussbudget. Lucas never looked back, opening for bands like Tenement, Arms Aloft, and Savage Unicorn.
He moved to the U.K. following the break up of the band. During his two-year sojourn, Lucas wrote a flurry of new songs while managing to “get kicked out of a couple different bands for failing to sound like either John Squire or Tom DeLonge.”
“Under The Sun” is one of those salvaged tracks. This is what we love about indie – you don’t have to fit into a box.
Lucas is a one-man band and multi-instrumentalist. He plays, records, mixes, and masters his tracks laying down all of the work on guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. “Under The Sun” is off of his 2020 EP, Pastoral Paragraphs, a recommended listen.
With the backing of an all-star cast of rock musicians and producers, singer, songwriter, and screenwriter Pennan Brae’s 2020 album, 2 Below 0, is a rock lover’s record produced by genuine rock and roll veterans.
The album essentially is the musical soundtrack for Brae’s indie film of the same name. It’s part of a series of albums written, recorded, and released by Brae in recent years.
He released his first feature film soundtrack, The Astronot, in 2019. We thought that would be a great starting point for indie music fans that may want to check out his trilogy.
On The Astronot, there are plenty of solid tracks, some of which were repurposed for his second album in the trio, Gravity.
The top tracks that carry through the series are, in our opinion, “Strut 1980s,” “Crashland,” “Walk With Me” and “Synergy,” the latter of which is featured also on this year’s 2 Below Zero.
“Crashland” is a chugging, brooding rock number that is ripe to kick-back with on a hot summer day. His music is clearly influenced by rock styles of the 1970s and 80s.
The song was recorded at Blue Light Studio in Vancouver with additional sessions in L.A. It was produced by Kirk Kelsey and mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios.
Over the years, Pennan has filmed music videos in Bangkok, Osaka, Oregon, Hawaii & Vancouver. His 8th album, ‘2 Below 0’ dropped this year. He is currently writing his next film and album both of which are set for release this fall.
“Walk With Me” came about, he says “while playing a foot drum with an acoustic guitar. The two instruments locked in to create a driving beat and rhythmic hook. It turned out to be a simple song structurally and hence the lyrics reflect this also,” he says.
“I wanted to harken back to the early days of 1950s rock and roll in an efficient and straight-ahead structure. It was an honor to have legendary drummer Steve Ferrone and INXS bassist Garry Gary Beers provide a tight and rocking rhythm section throughout the track. The rock & roll nature of the song needed that.”
“Crashland,” he adds, served as the main single from the soundtrack and musical theme of The Astronot. “The lyrics convey a space theme which reflects the nature of the film. 1970s rock and roll is a major influence and I sought to keep the guitars honest and upfront.”
“Once again, Steve Ferrone & Garry Gary Beers provided the rocking rhythm section. I also love the background vocals which singer Tianna Ireland provided.”
While it is nearly impossible to list all of the contributing musicians and which songs they performed on one by one, the musicians include drummer Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Eric Clapton); bassist Garry Gary Beers (INXS); vocalist Tianna Ireland; Grammy Nominated musician Eric Alexandrakis.
That said, Brae wrote and composed all of the music on the album.
The music of the Brooklyn artist Andres Javier – who uses the moniker ‘Huella’ – doesn’t fit into a particular genre, and in many respects is genre-less.
His four-track urban vibe-heavy E.P., Reckless, is a testament to this fact incorporating and mixing pop, hip hop, rock, reggae, and soul – all within a little over 15 minutes.
It also speaks to his talents as an artist who is not trying to appeal to a particular audience but instead to be true to his work.
The track, “Trouble,” is an upbeat jazzy pop track with elements of jazz and soul. In fact, it’s the kind of track you might hear flowing out into the streets along Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Creative and intricate.
Notable musicians who contributed to the project include bassist Rodney Skeet Curtis (Parliament, Funkadelic); trombonist Reggie Watkins (The Temptations, Jason Mraz); keyboardist Jacob Bergson (Jojo Mayer, Nerve); and soul singer Ada Dyer.
Reckless was mixed by seven-time Grammy Award-winning engineer Michael Brauer (Coldplay, John Mayer), and mastered by another Grammy winner, Joe LaPorta who has worked with the late David Bowie, among other big artists.
“The musicians performed with passion and heart, the engineers brought their A-games, and the final product is better than anything I could have imagined,” Javier says.
Songs like the pop melodies of “The Function” and the more mellow, horn-booming reggae/R&B of “Trouble” in addition to the timely “New York City” theme and the powerful Motown-inspired soul of “Show Me” make the E.P. one of our favorites in the DIY realm so far this miserable year.
Portland, Maine post-rock, ambient musician Andrew LaVogue delivers a perfect respite from our chaotic world with his glorious and bold guitars on the single, “Oh, Sunny Day!”
This is an instrumental that may make you feel better thanks to the warm chords and strings from LaVogue’s fingers. While he describes his sound as more post-rock or ambient-leaning, this track hits us more as a warm desert rock track more than anything else.
The fact that there are no vocals allows the listener to really focus on LaVogue’s wonderful instrumental work – no vocals required.
Originally from the Midwestern U.S., he moved to coastal Maine for a quieter life. “I have spent most of my time in bands…[as a] touring guitarist playing all over the US and Canada,” LaVogue says.
“My music is a mix of acoustic roots, fingerstyle guitar, accompanied by surf swells, and psychedelic flourishes. Sort of like John Fahey meets Pink Floyd.”
IRC’s playlist of the top indie rock Halloween songs of all time features indie bands like Radiohead, The White Stripes, Pavement, Belle & Sebastian, The Black Keys, The Killers, Built to Spill, Beach House, Coma Cinema, The Black Shades, Starlight Mints, and many others.
It’s that time of year again where the spooks, ghosts, goblins, and Donald Trumps of our planet set out to play tricks and frighten and creep. And we also know that the older kiddies will be doing plenty of tricks and treats and twerking at Halloween parties across the nation.
We also have more Halloweenish tracks to share on his Halloween playlist, including some newer ones from 2020. These include the track “Halloween Monster Blues” and the video you can watch here.
Top Indie Halloween Songs Playlist
Click the button and the playlist will play uninterrupted.
The July 2020 Top Ten Indie Songs playlist features an intriguing line-up of exciting indie artists and bands from across the U.S. and around the world.
When it comes to something like raising money to purchase essentials for the homeless, we are all ears.
When awareness of the homeless is elevated in song, that is even more special.
These two important aspects of society and culture have merged into a unique – and good – band called Nikki and the Human Element.
The New York indie band was founded in 2017 by New York City songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Dr. Niki Neretin.
She is the director of Homeless Services for the Institute for Family Health aiding clients in soup kitchens, shelters, and on the street.
It may seem naive or sound like a cliche, to say that there should be no homeless persons in the richest country in the history of the world. Dr. Neretin and the band that she recruited regularly play packed live shows in the city.
Armed with her band’s compelling new debut album, Elemental, Dr. Neretin rips into themes around motherhood, medicine, marriage, and menopause backed by raw blues and catchy rock-pop musical landscapes.
Our fans will be home to relieve their babysitters and get good nights’ sleep or be ready to go out and party all night long.
“We do a fundraiser at each gig,” Dr. Neretin says, “and have collected over 1,000 pairs of socks for the homeless,” adding; “a portion of the proceeds [from album sales] will go into a fund to help my clients when they are housed in order to buy essentials to create a home.”
There are some notable songs on the Human Element’s album, including “Pictures” which she says was inspired by a visit to a Nazi propaganda camp.
“They staged benign pictures of the Jewish inmates in order to confuse the world into believing that life wasn’t as brutal as it truly was. Social Media also has a way of confusing us into believing things that are not real.”
It is not the most uplifting album – in fact, much of it is dark. Dr. Neretin touches on many sensitive and horrifying subjects, including sexual assault.
The organization she works for, Health Save, is a grass-roots movement with the ultimate goal of educating others on the benefits of a vegan diet within schools, jails, hospitals and
In the past, Dr. Neretin has fronted a number of bands including the popular Pretenders tribute band Nikki and the Tattooed Love Boys and an original rock band called Dysorderlies.
As we slowly and carefully emerge, the newest batch of 2020 indie songs we’re listening to include the following artists, and most especially the newest from Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien. The full playlist for all of the songs in this post is featured at the end of the post for uninterrupted streaming. Please like and share this post (Like and follow on FB and Instagram )
EOB – London, England – “Olympik” Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – Los Angeles, California – “Phenom” State to State – Los Angeles, California – “Undead Love” Grenon – Manchester, New Hampshire – “Imaginary Friends” Alec Danger – Helsinki, Finland – “Ghost Notes”
Coming Up Next: Dream Pop Artists; IRC Indie Rock Showcase Hour; Top 10 and more album reviews from talented and exciting artists and bands you’ve probably never heard of before.
EOB – “Olympik”
EOB is the solo project of Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien who released his debut album Earth recently, featuring the new single “Olympik” that has a Zooropa-era U2 vibe.
He also recently shared the nine-minute long “Brasil,” via a video/short film. The song also featured Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, as well as drummer Omar Hakim and The Invisible’s guitarist David Okumu.
The was recorded in Wales and London and also features Laura Marling, Portsihead’s Adrian Utley, bassist Nathan East, and Wilco’s Glenn Kotche.
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – “Phenom”
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down’s new album Temple spawned the latest single and video “Phenom.” The video was shot via Zoom and features Thao Nguyen and various dancers broadcasting from their homes.
A regular music video was originally scheduled to be shot in late March but the covid-19 outbreak forced the team to improvise. Erin Murray co-directed and choreographed the video along with Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux and producer Victoria Fayad.
Nguyen issued this press release statement about the “Phenom” video: “We were due to shoot the video for ‘Phenom’ with Erin and Victoria in L.A. in late March. That shoot was of course rightfully canceled in mid-March, and the fate of any kind of video and release of ‘Phenom’ was very much in question.”
State to State – “Undead Love”
The new single, “Undead Love,” from the Los Angeles atmospheric alt. rock band State to State, is the latest booming track from the fairly popular southern California outfit.
The band was met with almost instant success thanks to their first hit singles “We Are The Reckless,” (featured on The Howard Stern Show) and “Get Away”, which spent seven weeks at #1 on LA’s legendary rock station, KROQ.
Another track, “The Shifter” is a crowd favorite and has some likeness you could say to the newest single.
Before the days of Covid-19, S2S sold out shows at the Troubadour and The Roxy and held residencies at The Hotel Café and The Viper Room. They also toured on the final Vans Warped Tour and appeared Milwaukee’s Summerfest.
Grenon – “Imaginary Friends”
Punk inspired pop-rock band Grenon consists of a rag-tag bunch of teenagers from Manchester, New Hampshire that says they suffer from “too many feelings”. That’s hard to tell on the new upbeat-sounding DIY pop single, “Imaginary Friends.” The band says the song is an “anthem for the lonely.”
The band is Kacie Grenon (lead vocals/guitar); Nick Turgeon (lead guitar, vocals); Zachary Stone (drums), and Spencer Gregory (bass, keys, vocals).
The single is the advanced track from the band’s upcoming five-song debut EP, mental hell[th]™, is set to drop in a few weeks.
It’s “edgy wholesome vibes” are likely to appeal to an indie rock audience that likes unabashed celebration and embrace of rock and pop sounds.
The song was released earlier this month, the band says, in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness month.
Alec Danger – “Ghost Notes”
A cosmic musiconaut residing somewhere between Helsinki & Berlin, Finnish musician Alec Danger operates at a rare intersection between prog rock, 80s-influenced pop, and electronic music.
With a sharp focus on the lyrics, he touches on themes such as the bleak and silenced nuances of human relations, anxiety, dystopian/utopian future visions & the dangers of the information technology. In addition to a failing marriage, Danger heart-broken and searching, wrote the new single “Ghost Notes.”
“I think the movie Her had a big influence on me as well as Orwell’s 1984. Back in those days, I felt like I had little control over my own life, neither in terms of technology, nor relationships, so I was mixing these themes while writing.”
The song started with a bass riff that he says “provided the harmonic frame” while the piano motif was built around the chorus. “It was originally just a power chord piano sample,” he adds.
At Kaiku Studios, in Berlin, he was “around the owners and industry stalwarts, Jonas Verwijnen and Janne Lounatvuori, and their support and advice helped me a great deal during the process. As a result, I cut out unnecessary parts of the song, worked on the structure & started using better, high-quality plugins.”
He also had access to vintage analog synths like the Roland RS09, Korg Trident, Roland Paraphonic 505 & Moog Taurus Bass Pedals.
“I thought that once I was in Berlin, I would be going all techno and using a lot of software but it turned out the other way around.”
Russell Ockmond and his wife are The Goldilocks Enigma, a musical ministry of sorts they say.
Their hippie-like new song, “Free Will Isn’t Free” is from a personal perspective of being outside and looking in on the current state of our world.
“Although humanity touts their superiority over the beasts of the field, we aim to wield our personal desire to be free to make any choices while discounting their obvious endings,” says Ockmond.
The single was recorded in southeastern Louisiana in a home studio with traditional stringed electric and acoustic guitars, bass, and drums using Sonar Platinum as the main DAW and mastered with Ozone 9 within Soundforge 13. It is just one of a 13-track album the duo plan to release soon.
“TGE stays away from utilizing auto tune although it can be tempting to ‘perfect’ our vocals we would like to keep the human feel of being sung in a shower, on a train, in a field, on a plane,” Ockmond says.
Influenced by rock legends like Chuck Berry and Johnny Thunders, Connecticut, lo-fi indie/alt. rock duo Tate & Silas wrote and recorded a homage to their heroes and to the classics with their own new track, “Rock and Roll.”
The duo – featuring Tate Brooks and Silas Lourenco-Lang – recorded the track live in a shed in Branford, giving it an extra dose of DIY authenticity and cred.
On “Rock and Roll” Brooks commands the guitar parts while Lourenco-Lang bangs out percussions on bass and a kick drum. The duo’s skills and talents, as well as the feeling they put into their music, comes rocking through on every second of the track. Additionally, they use their many influences and styles intelligently.
They insist that their “line-up was born out of necessity” bordering on destiny perhaps. Originally a trio, the rambunctious duo’s drummer backed out before their first show at a music festival.
Not wanting to let down fans, Tate & Silas went on and inadvertently ‘found’ their sound pulling from the knowledge and influences of their classic rock heroes.
Before the era of Covid-19, the duo had developed a reputation for controversial, energetic, and genuine live shows.
While playing shows throughout the tri-state area in support of their previous record last year, Brooks was gifted a Gibson Les Paul for his birthday. This, along with some new recording equipment, inspired the duo to move in a new direction.
Therefore, they put their DIY recording skills to the test, meticulously setting up mics, and adjusting tones until the sound was just how they wanted it.
The core tracks – rhythm guitar, bass, and kick drum – were recorded live in Brook’s shed. They took those recordings to a computer to overdub vocals, bongos, and lead guitars and finalized the new track.
The duo has released three LPs and one EP via the Tate & Silas Bandcamp page.
These difficult times call for more and more great new music from DIY/indie musicians and bands that you’ve probably never heard of before in this indie songs playlist.
In This Installment:
Joneser – Kiev, Ukraine Delyn Grey – Toronto, Ontario Andrew Thoreen – Saint Paul, Minnesota Alex Izenberg – Los Angeles, California Falling Into Red – Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Joneser – “Miraline”
The Kyiv-based trio Joneser is the musical project of vocalist and songwriter Stas Verechuk. Joneser’s terrific new track, “Miraline” is something to behold and fitting for the times: dark but optimistic and hopeful.
The mix of indie electro-pop and R&B is done well; not a sound we often hear out of the Ukraine. The ringing of the calypso sound effect followed by warm synths and soothing choruses makes “Miraline” a standout track of the week.
“I wrote the song Miraline 3 years ago when there were terrible trials in my life,” says Verechuk.”At that time, after some very tragic events in my life and I started to have panic attacks and stopped sleeping. Waves of anxiety rolled one after another and I could not do my business.”
“I woke up at 5 in the morning, trembling under the covers and did not understand how I could survive this day,” he adds.
He realized that the only thing he could do is what he liked to do the most. “I paused the work for half a year, bought a motorcycle, installed Cubase 9.0 on my laptop and began to study it online eating tons of cherries.”
Verechuk produced a demo recording of the song, playing the guitar and singing all the vocals. In the ensuing three weeks, he wrote an album of 12 songs. “I was a lawyer from Kyiv (Ukraine) and I was 38.”
When he started the project in 2017, there was a “new wave of Ukrainian music based on indie and electronic sounds, heavy vocal lines and dreamy melodies. The trio also features Andrey Bogdanov (drums) and Alexey Yuriev (guitar).
The bold new single “Battle” the title track of Toronto singer/songwriter and musician Delyn Grey.
While strong and fearless, Grey’s music itself thinly veils an underlying darkness and vulnerability. Her sorrowful lyrics speak to the ‘battle’ of fighting things like depression.
Vibey alt-rock Grey’s distinct marriage of influences ranging from garage rock to R&B music makes for a revolutionary, angst-riddled, and compelling performance in-studio and on stage.
“I want to make music that’s fearless. I don’t want people to hear it and think I play it safe. I want people to listen to it and go, ‘That was heavy. Didn’t think it would hit me like that’ The cool thing is that I’ve had 12-year-old Disney-crazed kids and 55-year-old classic rock fans tell me they love it.
Her influences include mainly Nirvana, PJ Harvey, and Jeff Buckley. The other band members include guitarist Justin Abedin; pianist and keyboardist Joel Visentin; electric/synth bassist Kyle Tiexerira and drummer Chad Davis.
“When I turned 17 I fell into the heaviest depression, ever. I chose to take advantage of it, and what was trying to break me. ‘Battle’ is the product of my resistance, acceptance, and fight during that time. Vocalizing my frustration, fear, and anger is what eventually got me through it. My hope is that this song will find people that need it, just like it found me.”
Sound plays a much larger role in the ebb and flow of life on our planet than most people fully appreciate.
Andrew Thoreen – “Sum is On My Brain”
The moody track, “Sum is On My Brain” from the diverse and skilled Minnesota musician Andrew Thoreen is off of his E.P. Songs of Isolation for Rock Quartet.
“This song was written during a period of isolation,” Thoreen says. “It’s about the grief and anxiety that we all face in our number-driven world. Even though the sum of our progress and identity is important and gives us insight in many ways, ultimately the substance of the things we create is what gives us meaning.”
He says that he wrote the acoustic ballad-style number as a “reminder of the importance our culture seems to place on social media and ‘numbers’ – or ‘reach’ – that does not give us a meaningful identity or purpose. That has to come from somewhere else.”
Appropriate for these strange times, Songs of Isolation for Rock Quartet is a recommended listen for folks in isolation – a worldwide phenomenon affecting every country in the world; literally, billions of people share a common fear and change in behaviors because of Covid-19. We all know that the life we knew before February 2020 will never be again. This changes everything. T
Thoreen is a multi-talented musician and also an avant-garde traditionalist with outsider art sensibilities. He is involved in a number of other musical projects from the art-pop duo, Har-di-Har, to collaborations with J.E. Sunde, Eric Mayson, and John Mark Nelson, and his chamber-pop recording project, Andandending.
His music walks the line between experimental and pop, jazz and classical. Thoreen’s writing and arrangements in this group belie the depth and artistic temperament that isn’t often found in pop music — especially so early in a musician’s career.
Since 2015, he’s done session work and recorded for Eric Mayson, John Mark Nelson, J.E. Sunde, Kristin Andreassen, Sister Species, Adam Zahller, Waldemar, YYY, Caley Conway, Batteryboy, Eustace the Dragon, This is Daybreak, Dana T, and Brian Just.
Alex Izenbeg – “Disraeli Woman”
California indie singer/songwriter Alex Izenberg has dropped his first new song in years titled “Disraeli Woman.”
It’s the first release for the chamber pop/indie rock musician since his 2016 debut album Harlequin, and also features a B-side, “I Don’t Want You To Hurt Anymore”.
The Los Angeles-based musician said he “became emotionally unstable, beset by a failed relationship and inevitable post-debut questions about what came next” after his initial indie-level rise.
Izenberg went through a whirlwind of emotional difficulties during this time he says. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2012 and says music became his “lifeline.”
Regarding the accompanying video for the song, Giraffe Studios summed it up like this: “Our shoot was a joyride in a ’76 Cadillac gliding across Los Angeles with a Super8mm camera hanging out the back.”
“We started on a dewy morning in Chatsworth, Alex’s hometown, and ended 36 hours later with old friends under the pink glow of a magic Malibu sunset… We hope that this video serves as a peephole into the brilliant, spontaneous, and beautiful world of Alex Izenberg.”
Falling Into Red – “Reckoning”
Pennsylvania band Falling Into Red‘s blazing new single “Reckoning” is a dark, roaring rocker with cinematic arrays and blazing guitars that in some ways is fitting for the times.
The single is from the Pittsburg duo’s debut self-titled album.
“Don’t let the doubts creep in when your world is closing in,” says vocalist Amy Gainar. “The song combines the futuristic electronic sounds of the cosmos clashing along with more traditional hard rock instrumentation.
“These hard rock elements with supporting cinematic undertones are the core of Falling into Red’s sound,” she adds.
With a background in music theory and composition, vocalist and producer Scott Gainar worked diligently at recording, production, and mastering, while his wife Amy’s gifts include creative writing and lyrical abilities, in addition to her fine vocal work.
The duo’s influences include Breaking Benjamin, Alter Bridge, Starset, as well as various cinematic composers, including James Horner and Hans Zimmer. . Falling into Red’s tour plans are currently on hold and they are continually working on new music.
The offbeat, punk-fueled single “Television” from San Diego alt. band King Whisker is a weirded-out, scrappy riff that sounds like a blender mix of Devo, The Talking Heads and Weezer.
With the backing of an all-star cast of rock musicians and producers, singer, songwriter, and screenwriter Pennan Brae’s 2020 album, 2 Below 0, is a rock lover’s record produced by genuine rock and roll veterans.
The playlist below features the best songs (that we’ve heard) for August 2020.
