After a series of singles throughout 2019 that gained more and more attention and love from bloggers, fans and playlisters, Brooklyn hip-hop artist, professional tap dancer and actor Leo Manzari is set to release what promises to be an epic album.

To help promote the announcement of the 2020 release, Manzari wrote, filmed and starred in a new video short tease called “Tattle Tale,” which will not appear on the album.

“‘Tattle Tale’ is a purging track,” Manzari says. “It’s a track that calls out those slacking on their responsibilities to be truthful and straight forward. It uses his creative and imaginative lyrics to playfully jump around the metronome, throwing all kinds of triplets, 16th notes, and 32nd notes.”

The song is filled with lyrical acrobats mixed with a hard, bass-heavy beat produced by fellow New York artist, VISIONNAIRE.

“There’s nothing cleaner than well-articulated lyrics, and precise word placement to make a good song even better,” Manzari says.

The song’s music video demonstrates the songwriter’s unique ability to direct pure emotion through every limb of his body. This double-time visual footage of Manzari’s performance entices the viewer to be hypnotized by every word, and really lock onto what every word means to the songwriter.

Some folks think that we should only feature “indie” music. Well, what is that? DIY hip-hop is also indie, by definition. Plus, we have no issue with broadening our listener base with some dope sounds from other genres – that, again, are still DIY/indie.

This guy is going to be big. In addition to a string of new singles, Manzari also appeared in Hozier’s new popular music video “Sweet (Almost Music)” and was the first tap dancer to perform with the Philly Pops Orchestra.

Leo Manzari’s Official Website

The just-released single “God Grant” from Worcester, Massachusetts duo The Dead Heads is not the ordinary track we receive, or post, at IRC.

The song could briefly be described as a frenetic, zany electro-experimental rock track of another kind.

“It is a song about a superhuman being that dresses cool while battling minotaurs, pixies, wizards and demons. He has occasionally been seen riding on a giant goat.”

The track also has a video gamey-sound with cartoonish vocals, fast melodies and electronic drums that then turn to backward beats with a ‘boing’ effect from a Yahama PSS-480 keyboard.

The music was developed along with the lyrics, which involve mythology and fantasy references, like ‘cutting off the devil’s hoof’ or ‘walking the Grant Lagoon.’

“The song turned out to be a great representation of what The Dead Heads are all about…fun, high-energy songs with some weird (and sometimes dark) twists and turns,” says vocalist, keyboardist and drummer Groady Guss. Along with his partner, Animal Anderson (vocals, keys, guitars), they are the band.

Of course, the looming question cannot be ignored: why are they named The Dead Heads if they have nothing to do with The Grateful Dead or the band’s music?

The duo, friends since childhood, actually took the name as teenagers when they first started experimenting with recording.

Thus, they are not those Dead Heads. Actually, they just liked how it sounded and had more to do with the original meaning of a dead head from years ago before the musical group was even formed.

“When we were kids in the late 1980s,” Guss says, “we had a Casio SK-1 sampling keyboard, which we sometimes still use, and a boombox to record with.”

“We would make cassette albums for ourselves filled with goofy, weird songs and parodies,” he continues. “At this time we were influenced by The Dr. Demento Show. We started using the name Dead Heads and it stuck.”

During the 1980s, on radio stations across the U.S., the Dr. Demento Show was a popular underground hit. The D.J., Dr. Demento, played unusual, strange, odd, irreverent and nutty songs that would otherwise never make it on to a mainstream radio station.

Therefore it’s no great surprise that the duo’s influences include artists like Frank Zappa, They Might Be Giants, Weird Al, and Devo, among others.

“We record mostly with keyboards; old 80’s and 90’s Yamahas and Casios to give our music that intentionally cheesy, poppy flavor.”

They also run an Internet radio show that includes Professor Dud’s Castle that focuses on indie and DIY, just like we do.

Listen to more Dead Heads’ on Bandcamp

September kicks off with indie rock songs from indie rock bands across North America and around the world. Here they are. Make sure to check out other posts for great indie songs and bands/artists. If you can share us on your socials, we’d appreciate it greatly.

Moonroof – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Melbourne, Australia
Toui Manikhouth – Hamilton, Ontario
Smoking Alaska – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Hayes & Conner – Chicago, Illinois
Avalon Highway – Midsomer-Norton, England

Moonroof – “Trojans”

Philadelphia-based indie band Moonroof creates its own brand of upbeat, catchy indie/alt-pop. They’ve also been fairly quickly building up a following in Philly and beyond with impressive must-hear tracks like the band’s newest single, “Trojans.”

The band says the song originated from one of the member’s attraction to someone they didn’t really click with but still pursued the relationship anyway.

“Something about the person kept him interested,” said drummer Dan Rendine. “We’ve all been there before – chasing after something we know we shouldn’t.”

As summer winds down for another year, it’s almost even more of a rush to share ‘summery’ tracks with our listeners (we have a number of them in the wings). This is one of them as are other tracks herewithin and in the yellow bar playlist at the bottom of the page (the best DIY of 2019).

“We really wanted a summer chill style song to pair with this melody so the guitars created that warm and sparkly tone that’s felt throughout,” Rendine adds.

In April 2018, Moonroof released the debut E.P. Good Luck Out There. The band followed that with three singles: “Honey Honey” last fall, followed by “Be Somebody” and “Home Alone” earlier this year.

The band members are Dave Kim (vocals); Dan Rendine (drums); Nick Cellucci (guitar, keys, vocals); Danny Walsh (guitar) and Kevin Randolph (bass/vox). The four then-students met in a Bloomsburg University dorm, where they graduated in 2017.

Moonroof’s music is unmistakably indie-pop; light, poppy vocals; soaring, ethereal guitar leads; steady, driving rhythms and funky bass lines with hip-hop/rock combo beat.

Originally called The Big Picture, the band started out playing acoustic sets at open mics for a few years – refining their craft – before “getting serious and moving on to bars and clubs like big bois [sic],” they write.

“[We’re] on a journey to conquer the underground Philly scene.” Some would argue they’re doing a good job of it.

This past June marked a milestone for Moonroof when they shared the same bill with The Lumineers, Death Cab for Cutie, Grouplove and others at the Radio 104.5 12th Birthday Show.

The band’s musical influences include The 1975, Two Door Cinema Club, and Last Dinosaurs.

Rolling Blackouts – “In The Capital”

Similar to past singles like “French Press” and “Talking Straight,” Australian indie rock band Rolling Blackouts’ newest single, “In The Capital,” has the same glossy, youthful glow and energy.

The track is the first new drop from the Melbourne quintet since the 2018 release of their debut album Hope Downs.

“I first had the idea for the melody and some of the lyrics when I was swimming,” said Rolling Blackouts’ Fran Kearney.

“It’s taken a while to finish the song, to make it feel like the initial feeling. I can’t neatly describe it, but something like connection despite the distance.

“I was thinking about transience and water and death and big cities and fishing towns and moon river.”

Rolling Blackouts has had a quick rise, some would say, including as a band to watch at the all-important 2019 South by Southwest conference.

NOTE: The band’s original name was Rolling Blackouts but was changed to Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever for a reason that is unclear.

Toui Manikhouth – “Is It Strange?”

The single, “Is It Strange?,” from Canadian songwriter, vocalist and musician Toui Manikhouth, is his latest beautiful track that is turning folks on with its gorgeous melodies and vocals.

His acoustic guitar playing is calm yet engaging. Recorded and produced at home, the single was mastered by Michael Chambers (Royal Wood, Paul Federici, Boy With An Atlas).

Born in Dunnville, Ontario, Canada and now living in Hamilton, Toui Manikhouth sets out to create music wildly different from past projects.

In 2016, Manikhouth (Man-ee-couth) released, This Service/The Fire, a collection of sweet, thoughtfully composed acoustic songs.

Interestingly, his other music endeavor is as a member of the metal rock band Hey Clown.

By entertaining these dual sides of his artistic personality, Manikhouth adds a well-rounded flair to his songwriting arsenal.

Smoking Alaska – “Through The Blue”

Dreamy guitars of warm melodic distortion, extensive, deep bass riffs and tight, creative drums are the main contours of the music of The Netherlands indie rock band Smoking Alaska.

This is true on the band’s most recent single, “Through The Blue.” The members know how to create a good atmosphere and then switch it up.

They are armed with songs that range from soft melancholic numbers to harder, more alt. rock-style songs.

The band’s main influences are Muse, Nothing But Thieves, STRFKR, Franz Ferdinand, and The Strokes.

Hayes & Conner – “No Need To Feel Wrong”

The first few seconds of the track “No Need To Feel Wrong” may remind listeners right away of Nick Drake’s style of guitar playing, wherein blues-folk meets the acoustic troubadour’s organic, rhythmic flow.

“After completing our debut album [2014], we let it sit for four years without promotion or show support,” says the Chicago music duo Hayes & Conner.

What happened earlier this year was a surprise to them both.

Back when they recorded the album, the duo didn’t think of that track as much more than a B-side when they recorded it.

They say the song is about unanswered questions: ‘What if? What could I have done differently or had I listened close enough?”

“When moving through such sadness and disappointment, it was a way to heal. It’s trying to show an appreciation in place of what could have been.”

Filled with sorrow and joy, and the unavoidable highs and lows of life, Hayes says the duo’s songs are “part of the journey of learning to trust, love and become.”

Their debut album, Talking to Myself, was produced by musician Evan Graham Dunn.

Avalon Highway – “Hungover In The Sun”

The U.K. five-piece indie-pop group Avalon Highway dropped their debut single, “Hungover In The Sun,” just recently.

While summer is near to the end, the song itself has a mean summer vibe that got some attention among bloggers and made the rounds recently.

The band’s driving, roots-influenced debut track was produced by the legendary producer and singer-songwriter Mike Batt.

During nearly a half centuries’ time, Batt has produced dozens of artists, including The Hollies, XTC, and Manic Street Preachers.

Hailing from Midsomer-Norton near Bath, England, Avalon Highway consists of five friends who have blue-collar day jobs and own a music shop in Bath. They’ve opened for bands like Toploader.

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.

Please follow and share to show your love. If you’re an artist or band, you can submit here.

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.

Here is an indie playlist mix of DIY songs from the following artists and bands across a number of genres and locations across the globe. Please like and share if you like this playlist. A full playlist you can stream uninterrupted appears at the end of this post.

The Directionals – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Virginia Leaves – Squamish, British Columbia
The Symphny – Johannesburg, South Africa
Attic Light – Kansas City, Missouri
Superocean – Portland, Oregon
Paint Me Naked – Cologne, Germany
Yukon Territory – Dallas, Texas
Sarah Zuniga – Athens, Georgia

The Directionals – This Milwaukee-based rock duo formed in 2011, back when IRC first featured them. The duo’s latest single, “Oracle Friends,” is booming with energy, featuring Mark Poe’s fine vocal and guitar work backed by drummer Bob Schabb’s uptempo back beat.

Since starting out, The Directionals has released two full-length records, an EP and a handful of singles. They’ve also toured the U.S. and are heavily influenced by The Cure, Green Day, The Raconteurs, and Pinback.

Virginia Leaves – A veteran indie rock band from Vancouver, Canada; the trio’s newest track, “Cover Song,” is one of the catchiest DIY tracks from Canada that we’ve heard so far this year.

Formed initially as an acoustic duo consisting of longtime friends Mike West (guitar/vocals) and Mike “Strides” Brown (guitar), Glenn Kelly (bass/vocals) and Brian Michals (percussion) joined to broaden the band’s sound. VL’s influences include DeerTick, Nirvana, Beatles, Lucero, and The National.

The Symphny – Born in the Kingdom of Swaziland and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, TheSymphny is the work of teenager Sitsandziwe Nkosi, who has been writing, recording and producing music since the age of 12.

Nkosi’s single is one of the smoothest, chilled R&B/soul DIY love songs we’ve heard all year. And we’ve been playing it over and over again for weeks.

While he refuses to name a single genre the style of his music, it is undeniably soulful. His musical influences include Boys to Men, Stevie Wonder, and D’Angelo.

Attic Light – This band is known for its vigorous and eccentric live performances throughout the Midwest and we’re going to bet that the band’s followers are going to dig the band’s latest emotional indie track, “Wasted,” which has some elements of 90s soft rock, if you will.

AT has opened for artists like alt J and Sunpilots and is influenced mainly by Prince, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and Muse.

Superocean – This Oregonian DIY band has found a cozy niche within Portland’s historic dream-pop scene, blending pop influences, jangly riffs, and a touch of 1960’s psychedelia.

Formerly known as CASTLES, the band has adopted its new name with enthusiasm. Their musical direction has also changed with a move towards more classical song structures and heightened pop sensibilities.

The new single, and accompanying music video, “Animal Caller,” was released last month along with the band’s latest EP. Superocean’s musical influences include Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Tame Impala, Sparklehorse, and Deerhunter.

Paint Me Naked – Cologne, Germany-based band formed in 2017 when old schoolmates Jannik Nitz and Mads Leander decided to record together again. The band’s dark, mysterious track, “Fantasy,” is driven by synchronized beats and synths.

Nitz and Leander wrote songs inspired by some of their favorite indie rock artists. The duo then added singer Alina Baur who helped guide the band’s sound to include more influence from 1980s new wave and dream pop. Smart move.

Yukon Territory – Dallas-based one-man band and multi-instrumentalist Marshall Stubbs’ recent debut album, Saint Elias, has been spawning a number of singles, including the most recent number, “Flight 6/26,” complete with it’s totally lo-fi DIY defiance.

“I believe this song makes sense as a stand-alone track,” he said. “Whereas my other songs are better in the context of the album. I used dirty acoustic guitar sound in the beginning of this song to contrast the clean tone I resolve to at the end.”

Stubbs musical influences include Neutral Milk Hotel, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Jane’s Addiction, and Jack White.

Sarah Zuniga – Athens, Georgia guitarist and vocalists Sarah Zuniga’s latest single, “Heart of Mine”, explores the toll anxiety takes on “our thoughts, love, and behavior.” Overall the track’s musical expression is contemplative, warm and hopeful despite the lyrical content.

Zuniga continues: “I wrote this song to help me accept it, but also express the frustrations of the inconsistencies of that very acceptance. Then there’s a cool funky- dance part to represent my light-hearted nature despite it all.”

The track also features Adam Smith on bass and electric guitar and Jason Parnell on drums.

Another playlist features new indie rock singles from the following artists:

Rhymes – Uppsala, Sweden
The Duskwhales – Washington, D.C.
Tekla Waterfield – Seattle, Washington
Liz Hogg – Brooklyn, New York
The Edwards – Chicago, Illinois

Rhymes – “Fyrisån”

Swedish indie band Rhymes’ latest single, “Fyrisån,” has received a good deal of play on Swedish Radio nationwide and has also become the band’s most popular song to date.

The single is “a hometown accolade” to the Fyrisan River that flows through the Uppsala region where the boys are from.

Interestingly, the song includes references to the Girls’ cover of Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” from 2009 and “celebrates the river’s unrelenting journey through the shifting times.”

The band opened for the band Slaves during a world tour. The Rhymes was formed in a basement in Uppsala, Sweden in 2016, and have since then played over 70 gigs in England, Germany, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.

The Duskwhales – “Today”

Washington D.C. indie rock, psych-retro band The Duskwhales not only lay down well-engineered sounds, but they are also somewhat of a miracle as well. The band drummer, Chris Baker, came down with cancer last year.

For months, he fought back and as of the past couple of weeks, he was one year into remission.

The band’s new single, “Today,” is described by Baker as a special song that “encapsulated my cancer experience in the style of 60’s inspired psychedelia with nods to The Monkees, The Beatles, The Turtles, and all the other lovable anthropomorphic bands from yesteryear.” Hot ditty!

With a new perspective and appreciation for life, Baker and his band members – Seth Flynn (guitar/vocals) and Brian Majewski (keyboards/vocals) – are geared up for a fantastic 2019.

The Duskwhales have opened for bands like Car Seat Headrest, Diane Coffee, Frankie Cosmos, and Little Green Cars. They are influenced by many bands, including those mentioned above, as well as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Elliott Smith, and Radiohead.

Tekla Waterfield – “Nice Try”

Tekla Waterfield is a Seattle based singer/songwriter, recipient of Listen up! Women in Music 2018 grant by the Allied Arts Foundation, long-time Seattle Tacoma International Airport performer, among various other recognitions and awards.

Her songs have been featured in indie films, including the upcoming 2019 release, Dakota, and she has had multiple songs from both of her independent releases receive radio play.

In addition to Waterfield (vocals, guitar), band members include Jeff Fielder (guitars, programming, synths); Andrew Joslyn (strings); Aaron O’Neil (drums), and Eric Eagle (percussion; engineering).

Liz Hogg – “This Is Trash”

At first, we thought the WiFi was tripping off and on but then realized it’s the way that this very different song – titled “This Is Trash” – was purposefully recorded (or is it played that way?), which is interesting, but not for three minutes. It came to us from indie DIY artist Liz Hogg of Brooklyn.

She has toured eleven countries playing numerous festivals and concert halls. Recently, she became the first American to win a fellowship to perform and study at the Lanciano International Guitar Festival in Italy. Her musical influences include John Frusciante, T. Rex, David Bowie, and Lou Reed.

The Edwards – “Northern States”

The Edwards have been carving a niche in Chicago’s gain-heavy garage-rock scene of latee thanks to a home-brewed mix of warm, swingy guitars, chill percussions, and breezy melodies. This is exemplified in the band’s most recent single, “Northern States”.

The band features Chicago music scene veterans Kyle Maurisak (Nativity Beds); Emma McCall (Moonrise Nation); Chris Deporter (Torres); Stuart MacFadyen (Strange Foliage), and Chris Murphy.

Opened for bands like Sun Cop, Pooky, Blind Moon with musical influences like Yo La Tengo, Deerhunter, Radiohead, Pavement, Grizzly Bear, and Wilco.