Category: 2019 Best Indie

It’s hard to believe another year is almost over. The best new indie and DIY songs for December 2019 include tracks from indie rock artists and bands from places as far away as Sweden and Ukraine and as close to home as Connecticut and Ontario. Happy Holdays and don’t miss our alt/indie Christmas songs playlists.

Rvana Shmata – Kyiv, Ukraine
Ali Hugo – Toronto, Ontario
Mårten Lärka – Jättendal, Sweden
FatGrip Band – Hartford, Connecticut
Jody Cooper – Leipzig, Germany

Rvana Shmata – “Well Hello”

The Kyiv based duo, Rvana Shmata, perform a genre of rock they call ‘Rawk,’ which means raw rock. This is indeed the case on the duo’s new raunchy noise rock single, “Well Hello.”

The track has gained traction in Ukraine and beyond since its initial release. The drums are powerful and almost overwhelming while the bass skims along with electric guitar in tow, but further down on the noise register, which is an interesting choice that creates a unique effect.

The song’s rhythm is really interesting and the vocals from multi-instrumentalists Max Prudeus (bass guitar, keyboards) and Andrew Zakharin (drums, backing vocals) are intense; even a bit evil, hoping along the smoking guitars.

One of the band’s branding efforts, you could say, is Rvana Shmata’s announcement earlier this year that all of their music videos “will be connected into the single story,” which they will continue to label as Episodes. The videos will all be based in the fictional city of Shmatville.

On Halloween eve the band dropped, ‘Episode One’, which is actually a teaser video for their first music video in which a news reporter announces two famous fictional musicians had been kidnapped.

Last month Rvana Shmata released Episode 2 – their first official music video. In that video, the story goes a bit deeper into the actual kidnapping of the musicians. The soundtrack to the video is “Well Hello.”

Ali Hugo – “Marching Saints”

While the brand new eccentric single, “Marching Saints,” from Canadian artist Ali Hugo may not have much to do with marching, or perhaps even saints, the track echoes the quirky sounds and vocals of made famous by British pop of days of old, but in a totally unique way.

Together with his unconventional, raspy – perhaps even childish – vocals and a steady romp of percussions, Hugo may not have any trouble appealing to the outer limits of the indie spectrum.

The track is the lead single from Hugo’s upcoming new album, Hope For the Meek. A Toronto-based singer/songwriter and professional multi-instrumentalist by trade, Hugo released his 10-track solo debut, Tears Of A Broken Heart, back in 2015 (featured on IRC).

Hugo is credited with all of the writing, arranging, producing and recording of instruments, plus mixing and mastering of the final tracks.

In 2015, he had “adopted the DIY approach to making music” and released an instrumental album, New Generation Farahan.

A single from the album, “Tears Of A Broken Heart” was popular on world music radio charts. But a disagreement with a label led Hugo to plan the newest release on his own indie label, Belief Records.

“I keep reminding myself that I’m only human and this DIY approach has its limits,” Hugo says. “I mean I’m still obligated to promote ‘Time Machine’ especially now that it is picking up in Honduras, Turkey, and Japan.”

“But I’m also receiving pressure from my hardcore fans to announce the expected date for the release of my new album. “That’s why my team and I decided that we should at least have the first single out by this Christmas.” Mission accomplished and a solid single to go out front with.

Hugo started his professional singing career at the age of eight when he joined the family band LEO as the lead singer. After high school, he completed the recording of his debut. He recorded at Toronto studios including Metal Works Studios and Studio 9. He graduated with honors from the University of Bedfordshire in England.

Ali Hugo Instagram

Mårten Lärka – “You’re Gonna Sing My Songs”

Underground Swedish songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Mårten Lärka just released his first album in English after nearly two decades of building his reputation as a solo artist. Previously, he released albums only in Swedish and French.

His new proto-punk-leaning single, “You’re Gonna Sing My Songs,” was written in fifteen minutes while sitting in a garden.

Within less than two months, Lärka says, the single was produced, recorded, mastered and released – one of his “quickest productions ever.” Percussionist Martin Hellquist played drums, bass, and backing vocals while Anders “Bodinrocker” Bodin managed the lead guitar work.

Produced by The Banana Boys, the single was recorded at Henhouse Studio; mixed by Caroline Wickberg at Welfare Turquoise Floor and mastered by Frida Claeson Johansson at Svenska Grammofonstudion.

The song has a bit of the sound of a Stiff Records’ single circa 1978. A quite persistent song.

Lärka has opened for artists such as Stefan Sundström, Britta Persson, Anders F Rönnblom, Eldkvarn, SHIMA, and is most influenced musically by Jacques Brel and Chuck Berry. (The Sweds have had a love affair with the godfather of rock – Berry – since the early 1960s)

https://facebook.com/martenlarka

Fat Grip – “Name In Lights”
Rock Revivalists with great vocals, catchy singable songs, Marshall amplified guitars and drum/bass grooves return with it’s newest single “Name In Lights” from their anticipated new album of the same name.

“The inspiration for our new song and video is simply the struggle to achieve some success yet still thinking of what could have been had things worked out from the past. The video highlights the drummers thoughts of the past, the work put in and now achieving success but in a different way with a new band this time.”

Connecticut rock band from the Hartford area, concentrating on writing catchy radio-friendly music and memorable live performances. Sounds like a cross

The trio is vocalist and guitarist Jimmy Sixx, bassist and vocalist Matty Whitepants and drummer Jimmy “Sly” Petano.

Your favorite rockers from West Hartford perfoming a wide variety music for the occasion from music showcases showing off their radio-friendly originals to Party Rock Favorites for your local Club/Bar venue.

Over past decade became one of the most popular new punk bands in Hartford.

The band members’ biggest influences are Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Green Day, Weezer, and The Beatles.

Jody Cooper – “Song for the Oppressed (Cruelty Dies)”

German multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Jody Cooper has many guises. His songs reflect a love for experimental music and melodies.

Many of his musical tastes and preferences were influenced by his parents’ record collection. They owned vinyls upon vinyls of artists and bands from The Beatles to Kraftwerk; The Who to Crowded House, and Elton John to Mike Oldfield.

His new single, “Song for the Oppressed (Cruelty Dies),” together with the new music video, is dark and authoritative – fairly well done for a DIY low budget video.

Inspired by the great songwriters of the past, Cooper’s music combines his distinctive voice with powerful lyrics that “look beyond the surface, to tackle the reality of things and the uncomfortable truths they tell,” he says.

In 2017, he released his crowd-funded and ‘most ambitious project to date’ – a concept album, Serenades & Odes to a Cracked World (Part 1), full of themes of disintegration combated with integration.

“With everything that’s happening in the world,” he says, “the time has come for people to start engaging with the problems around them in an attempt to make a positive change. This album is my attempt.”

His lyrics “look beyond the surface, to tackle the reality of things and the uncomfortable truths they
tell,” he says.

Cooper had the unusual experience of growing up an English boy in a rural northern Scotland town.

“As a child, people would look at me strangely because I spoke ‘funny’,” he says, adding, “so I learned to embrace that and combine it with my love of performing in order to feel accepted.”

Cooper earned a degree in music at the University of Liverpool and released his first album in 2007. He has toured Europe and also worked with artists like Seal and Jon Bon Jovi. He moved to Leipzig, Germany a few years ago to work on his new album.

https://facebook.com/jodycoopermusic

Admit it or not, the bow is one of the most neglected accessories in the family of string instruments. We mostly put our attention and effort to the instrument itself as we have the perception that it’s the only factor that affects your performance.

While that is true, little did we know, the bow plays a vital role in producing quality and inviting sound. Taking cello as an example, if it weren’t for its bow, today’s tone and sound of this instrument won’t be versatile.

Going deeper into taking care of a bow, the hair in the cello bow also affects the effectiveness of your performance. Bow hair breaks, wear out and gets dirty with frequent use that’s why it should be rehaired at least once a year.

In rehairing, you should guarantee that the following signs are already visible:
– There are a lot of broken hairs.
– There’s a lot of hair loss in the middle part.
– It has discoloration and unpleasant smell.

Guide in Changing the Bow Hair

Changing of bow hair can be done either by a professional or by yourself through following these steps:

• Cut the purchased cello bow hair for about four (4) inches from both ends
• Wipe clean the metal of the frog and its button
• Remove the tip block and clean the stick
• Remove the ferrule ring before removing the slide
• Using a pencil, loosen the slide slot then remove the block
• For the frog’s mortise, you should cut the block and it should match the length of the mortise
• You can now tie the hair and cut it properly
• Add some crushed rosin into it before burning the end of the hair
• Place the hair in the block mortise hole to keep it flat and fitting
• Add crushed rosin at the end of the block before putting it back to the mortise hole
• Give the hair a little pull to ensure that the block would not move
• Trade the slide in the slots on the frog before changing the ferrule ring
• Produce a new wedge and spread the hair across the ring to test the wedge. You should guarantee that it’s evenly spaced before measuring how far the frog should be to reach the grip
• Create the tip block then comb the hair until it’s smooth
• You can wet the hair but refrain it from reaching the wedge
• You can now tie the hair to the tip block mortise
• After tying, cut the hair and put in crushed rosin before burning the end of it
• You should comb the hair again then flip it to tie the end into the block mortise
• Put in some rosin at the end of the block

You can now lubricate the bow screw then flip the hair again to replace the frog

• At this point, you should tighten the hair a little and adjust it if needed

and

• Apply rosin when the hair is already dry.

After replacing the bow hair, the sound may feel different, but it is perfectly normal. It’ll go back to its original sound through minor bowing or pressure adjustments. However, if you’re still a beginner, it’s best to get your bow re-haired by a professional to prevent it from incurring any damage.

The last best new indie songs playlists for November concludes with indie rock from Chicago and Philadelphia; the return of an Austin-originated indie band; an overseas band from Finland, and two singles from female artists out of Oklahoma and New Jersey.

Tiny Kingdoms – Chicago, Illinois
Lightouts – Brooklyn, New York
Sture – Seinäjoki, Finland
Asher Evergreen – Tusla, Oklahoma
The Ten Year Program – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sarah Sunday – East Brunswick, New Jersey

Tiny Kingdoms – “Tides”

The new song “Tides” is an energetic, melodic new indie rock single from the Chicago four-piece band Tiny Kingdoms.

The track features a memorable guitar hook and an ambitious chorus that drives the single forward with a rock and roll verve.

The accompanying music video is “an Alice in Wonderland type experience as the video follows the protagonist through a dreamlike adventure…the main character encounters a variety of odd characters as she travels through obstacles in an attempt to escape,” says drummer Jake Newling.

In addition to Newling, this promising band also includes guitarist and vocalist Nico Miura; bassist Nick Collis, and guitarist Ryan Mitchell.

The band thoughtfully balances various genres, such as rock and pop, to create a sound anchored by melodic guitar hooks, chugging percussions and robust, post-punk-style vocals. Their tracks are sonically robust and full of catchy harmonies.

Earlier this year, Tiny Kingdoms had a successful appearance at SXSW as an official artist after dropping the debut Stay.

They are influenced by, and fans of, artists such as Circa Survive, Taking Back Sunday, The Dangerous Summer, Everyone Leaves, among others.

Lightouts – “Lucky Strikes”

With band members living in various locales – Brooklyn, Austin, and even the Peruvian Amazon – of the western hemisphere, indie rock band Lightouts managed to write and record their first album in nearly five years via long-distance collaboration.

The release, titled Wake, has spawned the new single and accompanying video, “Lucky Strikes.”

To the dismay of fans, the band was on a bit of a hiatus.

“The greatest achievement on Wake, apart from the songs themselves,” explains guitarist and keyboardist Gavin Rhodes, “is making time seem to stand still,” Rhodes adds.

“Family commitments, geographic hurdles, vaporizing vocalists — all played a role in the unusually lengthy interval between Lightouts albums,” Rhodes says, adding: “day jobs, kid-raising, ayahuasca experiments, and shaman-searching to the mix.”

All of these things have informed the band’s latest work, something their fans have been waiting for since Lightouts debut E.P., More Than Ever, in 2015.

That recording was unusual, but exciting, by the very fact that ex-Dead Kennedy’s vocalist Skip Greer sang on the E.P. (DK fans take note)

In addition to Rhodes, the permanent band members include Greg Nelson (lead vocals, guitars); Dean Perry (bass guitars), and Josh Fleischmann (drums) first got together as an official band back in 2013.

That year’s debut release, Want, landed on a number of best of 2013 lists, and was also featured on IRC.

Sture – “Fabricated”

The powerful “Fabricated” is the first single from Seinäjoki, Finland indie rock band Sture’s upcoming debut album, Broken English.

The single was conceived at the last minute during a jam session. “We hit it perfectly and it fit nicely with our mood. We caught it using a cellphone,” according to Bohdan Holovan. Later, the band was able to use the moment captured live to construct a final version.

“While recording this song, we tried to create a simple, childish and naive sound without over-producing the track.”

Holovan said that he used a late 1980s Korean Stratocaster clone guitar and a “super cheap” Danelectro T-Bone distortion pedal plugged “into decent studio equipment.”

The album was recorded during the summer of 2018. At the same time, Holovan moved his family out of Ukraine to Finland. The other band members are in the process of moving to Finland, Holovan says.

Originally from Ukraine, the band started in 2016 as a “girl/boy duo” of drummer Katherine Martynova and guitarist and vocalist Bohdan Holovan.

The two met while attending the Ukrainian university in Zaporizhia, a “once-great industrial hometown.”

Sture’s debut single, “Elza Never Told You,” was released in July of 2017 followed a few months later by the single “Keyboard and Pillow.”

During this period, the duo transformed into a trio by bringing on bassist Maxim Fedoseiev.

For the past two years, Sture has been performing live shows and plan to continue to in Finland.

The band cites their biggest musical influences as The White Stripes, Blur, Oasis, The Stone Roses, and Pixies, all of which have informed their garage/indie rock and Britpop sound.

Asher Evergreen – “Rejected”

The debut release from Brooklyn-born, Tulsa based, recording artist Asher Evergreen, “Rejected,” is an indelible number with a catchy modern pop sound full of powerful lyrics, delicate harmonies and of course, her strikingly husky soul vocals.

With her striking green hair, Evergreen catches people’s attention, but it’s really her music that gets noticed more than anything as soon as people hear it.

Her musical journey from humble musical beginnings up to now, with her own compelling debut release and a new single, has been one of perseverance and pure love for music.

Moving around a lot as a youngster she learned to substitute enduring friendships with music, turning to her songwriting and spoken word while developing a keen talent, and unique style, as a pianist and vocalist, as well as her unique style.

The green hair is just a small part of Evergreen’s personal identity. She aims “to bring positivity and ‘greenness’, the color of life, to people everywhere,” she says.

“It’s not just about entertaining the crowd to me, it’s about bringing them into my world, and visiting theirs.”

She certainly has made a mark with her breakout into the brave world of being noticed for her natural and acquired talents.

The Ten Year Program – “Ambient Wet Dreams”

Philadelphia indie rock project The Ten Year Program was brought to fruition by two longtime friends and musical partners.

Multi-instrumentalist Ian Richards (guitar, bass, drums, synth) produced, engineered, wrote, and recorded the music while vocalist Jack McCracken carries the vocal duties.

The band’s single, “Ambient Wet Dreams,” has actually been out for a bit, but we like it so much that we added it to this playlist. The song starts with a wall of guitars.

The use of pedal tones effectively adds to the urgency of the work. The rhythms are clever, at times intricate, utilizing hemiola to create the illusion of competing time signatures. No one element detracts from the whole.

The duo has a wide range of musical influences, including bands like Glassjaw, Deftones, Sunny Day Real Estate, Deftones, Glassjaw, Pearl Jam, Jimmy Eat World, and Green Day.

Sarah Sunday – “Mental Zoo”

Calling her music ‘Europop Revival’ East Brunswick, New Jersey alternative pop musician Sarah Sunday has just released the audio and music video for her newest single, “Mental Zoo.”

The single has a strong playful edge with notable vocal hooks, pulsating downbeats and a tempo that flows evenly with a vein of pop and punk.

The sound and style of Europop and new wave that burned up the airwaves in the 1980s is alive again through Sunday’s embracing of retro vibe revival through channeling of pop and rock genres of the era, from post-punk to pop.

retains the same anthemically euphoric edge of your more conservative EDM Pop hits. Sunday verses the lyrics with an innocently playful vocal approach which gives the track an incredibly distinctive edge while doing nothing to compromise the accessibility of the single.

Sunday says her music is “inspired by a plethora of iconic female vocalists from Avril Lavigne to Debbie Harry.

A colorful character by her own words, Sunday also rides her fashionista verve wearing retro clothes and makeup with the angle towards punk rock. Yes, there are a lot of genres, but that is the nature and strength of indie rock.

The first indie songs playlist for November features exciting new DIY indie artists and bands from across the States, plus an artist from The Netherlands.You can browse other 2019 playlists too in other posts – some getting hundreds of likes on Facebook and other socials.

Please share and enjoy. Have music to submit?

Loud Library – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Desilu – Austin, Texas
Paul Vernet – New York
Distant Creatures – Washington, D.C.
Ugochill – Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Loud Library – “Recycle Bin”

Formed in 2018 as an alternative pop band, Milwaukee outfit Loud Library are making a splash lately and their new kinetic single, “Recycle Bin,” is proof perfect.

The song is a full-throttle indie-pop track with enduring energy, catchy hooks, and strong vocal work.

“It was meant to have a catchy rhythm and be a fun tune,” says vocalist and bassist Ben Smith.

Light strums on an acoustic guitar start the intro coupled with gentle vocal harmonies and the line: ‘I’m falling on my face again,’ which the band says is basically “about going back over and over again through the same routine until one spirals out of reach.”

“The song mainly speaks about a person being in situations where they hit rock- bottom over and over,” says Smith, “but ultimately he doesn’t throw in the towel. It’s just recycling back to Point A.” A satirical vocal with a falsetto tone comes in at the conclusion of the track.

A summer-feeling piece, “Recycle Bin” also includes a trademark indie “ooooo” chorus. The band wanted to make the track as memorable as possible and feel – and are correct – this type of chorus sticks in people’s heads – with some even wanting to play it again just for that aspect.

There is some really remarkable vocal work going on at the outro of the track. We cannot think of when we have heard such unique vocals. It’s impossible to forget.

“It tries to emulate someone actually falling in a downward spiral,” he says, continuing: “The outro was something fun, something different from the other parts of the song with the singer repeating the phrase like he’s in a loop.

“Overall, this was a song that meant to sound energetic, hopeful, with portraying the message of mishaps that happen.”

The other band members are Garrett Holm on guitars and Judicael Bationo on drums. The band’s influences are Maroon 5, The Talking Heads, and FUN.

Desilu – “Dunes”

Another unordinary love song comes from Austin psych art-rock band Desilu. The band’s new track,
“Dunes” is a trippy post-punk “rendition” of the classic tale about an Egyptian mummy searching for his long lost love.

The synthesized tones supporting the traditional overdriven punk rhythm were created using an Earthquaker Devices Rainbow Machine, Red Panda Tensor, and Korg Minilogue.

Very little studio production was put into “Dunes,” the band says, allowing the song to retain its organic and live presence. The song was inspired by the relentless heat of the summer months in Austin. It gets real, real hot these days. It was hot back in the day; but not like in the past decade.

The band is Darryl Shaw-Rockley (guitar); Joe Johnson (bass); Tyrone Webster (drums); Lisa Taylor (synth), and Zane Andrews (guitar).

They are one of Austin’s many excellent bands that don’t get the recognition they deserve; or that they maybe would get elsewhere where there is less competition.

We have seen this often with Austin-based bands – too many good bands went to Austin in the past two decades and it’s changed the entire culture. Look at SXSW these days – it’s become over-corporatized.

For many, it’s a thrilling cultural experience, but most ultimately find they’re “just another good band” in a town that has more bands per capita than probably anywhere else in the U.S.

We’ve heard plenty of artists and bands say they probably could have made a bigger impact and received more attention if they stayed where they were or if they moved to a city other than Austin. It’s a tough town to make it as a band. Desilu is one band that has beat those odds.

The band members have unique musical influences are many: Gold Leather, Mars Teller, Bridge Farmers, Cortége, Flyin Lion, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Black Basements, and What Tyrants.

Their general interests range from “guitars; effects pedals; synths; massive evil robots and tiny adorable robots; dinosaurs, and vinyl records;” to “UFOs; ghosts, monsters, and Sister Act 1 and 2.”

Desilu official website

Paul Vernet – “Skipping Stones”

Paul Vernet is an upstate New York ‘new’ classic rock artist.

Many people are confused by the term but it’s basically about bringing fresh sounds and production to the classic rock sounds that have dominated music for at least four decades and is still kicking in many places today, particularly outside of the United States as far as fan volume goes.

But Vernet is committed to making an impact right on American soil with a sound that is not the ordinary bar band style.

A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, Vernet’s full musical biography is something of a mystery.

His new single, “Skipping Stones,” from the album Burning Sounds, features a long and storied history in rock and roll.

The single is punchy, solid pop-rock track with airy guitars and chugging rhythms with a real sense of appreciation for the sonics of classic rock while also making its own style and songwriting.

The track oozes with catchy melodies throughout interrupted by keyboard interludes and atypical guitar solos.

The song is ultimately about loss and grieving: ‘Guess I’ll just have to throw this pain away/all it does is make my heart skip/like a little black stone/on a frozen lake.’

But Vernet doesn’t make it a sad or depressed-sounding song – perhaps in a way to cope. Rather, it’s an uplifting song that subsequently wins in the end.

Interestingly, his biggest musical influences are Burl Ives, Tiny Tim, and The Troggs.

Last spring Vernet’s single, “Pregnant Widow,” from the album, Burning Sounds, got picked up by New Rockstars playlist and accumulated nearly 10,000 plays on Spotify alone just from that placement alone.

“I had hoped that would mean there would be some spillover to my other stuff, but that really hasn’t happened yet,” Vernet says.

That is the feeling of many artists and bands today. Racking up 10, 20, 30K plays on Spotify feels great for a few weeks until it drops and fades off.

That’s not Spotify’s fault. And it’s not the fans’ fault. That is the time when an artist needs to be serious and invest some resources into building on that momentum so that it doesn’t fizzle away. But that is easier said than done; many artists and bands don’t have the big funds the agencies require.

Distant Creatures – “What Became of the Girl”

Washington D.C. indie rock band Distant Creatures has dropped their final album after officially disbanding earlier this year.

While the band’s followers may not be happy about the news, they cannot deny the impressive last recording, aptly titled Whorl. The track picked for promoting the album is the impossible-to-ignore song, “What Became of The Girl.”

When it comes to dream pop in particular, these cats delivering it up in barrels of shimmering guitars and synth layers melded with an overall optimistic vibe despite lyrics that are often sad and lovelorn.

Library Group Records assembled this 12-track collection of the band’s unreleased recordings for a posthumous album that the band’s hardcore fans have been waiting to get their hands on.

Much of the album is inspired by real-life experiences, “realizations of hurting the ones we love the most and searching for forgiveness,” the release states.

The recordings reveal the band’s penchant to blend indie pop and shoegaze against rich glittering tapestries and stories of heartbreak and redemption.

Whorl was mixed by Collin Warren (Wicked Sycamore) and mastered by Sarah Register (Depeche Mode, Asobi Sesku, Brand New).

It’s impossible of course to talk about the album without mentioning the infusions and elements of folk, brass and classical string instruments to help create the dreamy, lush world the band was known for in the D.C. area.

Distant Creatures formed in 2015 and has opened for rising indie stars Hatchie, Land of Talk, Fanclub, Sound of Ceres and Winter.

Ugochill – “Familiar”

Ugochill is a music project of Serbian/Dutch Amsterdam-based veteran musician and indie artist Alex Rado.

Rado functions as a standalone independent artist, producer, and promoter, but his works also include collaborations with various friends and artists from around the world.

The latest single “Familiar” is an original, retro-rock guitar-based instrumental track that also has an accompanying music video produced using various visual elements from a group of content creators.

The band says the song is “about reaching that point in life when things stop looking new but become rather familiar instead; the transition from child to parent.”

The track is from the forthcoming album Chill em All due to drop soon. Rado’s musical influences are Pink Floyd, Joe Satriani, Mike Oldfield, and Jeff Beck.

https://www.facebook.com/ugochill

It’s just about time for fall and new indie and DIY rock songs, plus artists and bands to share. There are some hot tracks here and promising artists, so please share if you dig any, some or all of them.

This playlist features more of the best new indie singles for September 2019 – and the last blast of summer – kicking things off with the brash, lo-fi garage rocker from Nashville musician Ian Ferguson, followed by new overseas indie rock bands like This Daze (Norway) and Charlywood (Austria), a track from a DIY artist in Toronto and a ska/surf band in San Diego.

If you have your own music to submit for play to thousands of indie lovers every week, check our Submit Music page. The full playlist, uninterrupted, appears at the end of this post.

Ian Ferguson – Nashville, Tennessee
This Daze – Bergen, Norway
Charlywood – Vienna, Austria
Lennox C.B. – Toronto, Ontario
Sitting on Stacy – San Diego, California

Ian Ferguson – “Worried Walk”

Nashville native and regionally-respected musician Ian Ferguson was offered a major label contract as a teenager (as part of The Kingston Springs) but it turned it down. That was a few years ago.

Recently Ferguson dropped his debut indie solo album, State of Gold, a compendium of garage rock, power pop, psych and shoegaze mixed with folk.

Completely immersed in the writing and recording of the album for a number of years, Ferguson performed and recorded every instrument, including guitar, bass, drums, and vocals on State of Gold. He also mixed and mastered the album.

The songs’ messages range from political and social to personal, touching on everything from dictators and Seinfeld to home recording and love.

The track that got us is the blazing 60’s-style lo-fi noise single, “Worried Walk.” It has such an intensity and garage rock vibe. It’s bad.

The single is one of many impressive tracks on Ferguson’s fine solo effort. He now has a band and they are performing gigs.

Listen to State of Gold on Bandcamp

This Daze – “Young”

Delivering what could be described as ”angsty-but-cute indie punk”, the new indie rock band This Daze finds inspiration for making music through endless day-dreaming, long hours jamming and a desire to stay young forever.

Hailing from Norway, the quartet set out to record during the sunny summer of 2019, resulting in their first youth-fueled single ”Young”.

The song takes a look back at when they were in their teens and had few worries; now growing up into adults, they yearn for those halcyon days.

The chord progressions are fantastic and the melodies are riding on warm sun rays as we lament the passing of summer. The band really takes off on this single. You’ll likely play it more than once.

The members are guitarist and vocalist Erlend Eggan and Martin Engelien, plus bassist Martin Ringerud and drummer Hallvard Løberg Näsvall.

They are currently working on a new single and music video. We will be looking out for more from This Daze soon.

Charlywood – “Television Glamour”

Austrian songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Andrew Charlewood is the founding member behind the recently-formed band Charlywood.

His band just dropped their debut album, with the unconventional, tongue-in-cheek title, aloadasongs. The LP was mastered by producer Martin Scheer (Hearts Hearts, Junior Kelly).

The lead single from the album is the brashy 80s-styled rock song, “Television Glamour,” featuring high decibel keyboard riffs together with furious drums, vocal work and a flare of new wave and disco.

The music video was released on Sept. 5, 2019.

After studying pop music at Derby University, Charlewood moved to Vienna where he attended Robert May’s School and QMC. There he met a number of other musicians and expanded his musical knowledge.

Charlewood recruited Fabian Lewey (guitar, vocals); Leo Ihrybauer (drums) and Simon Müller (bass). The band has been gigging around the U.K., including a show at London’s Street’s Sanctuary.

The band’s musical influences include The Libertines, Foo Fighters, Ben Folds, Incubus, The Arctic Monkeys, and The Beatles.

Lennox C.B. – “She Gets Me High”

Toronto songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lennox Campbell–Berzins, aka Lennox C.B., is a professional Canadian musician who also fronts the musical projects Ruby Cikada and Broken Wolves.

His recent debut album, Night Light, is a dream/psych-pop recording that is an enthralling trip through sounds and melodies, lyrics and rhythms. He is also now beginning work on a follow-up album release.

C.B. performed and recorded all of the instrument tracks, including guitar, piano, drums, and bass. He also mixed the complete album. A music education background from York University (Toronto) helps too. His long-time collaborator James Mulvale handled the mastering job.

Night Light is a dramatic departure from C.B. and Mulvale’s previous work and will continue to be a template for their work moving forward.

One of the album’s standout tracks, “She Gets Me High” was inspired by a broken relationship. The creation of the song “was one of those divine moments of inspiration where it all came together in one take – the chorus, the verse, and the bridge,” C.B. says.

One of C.B.’s good musical friends said the song sounded like Beach House instrumentally. “That was easily one of my proudest moments around the entire album production process and seemed to confirm everything I was doing.”

The album, he says, is inspired by artists and bands such as Beach, Mac Demarco, Weezer, and The Beatles.

Another standout track, “Zelda”, was initially written about a “lost connection” Lennox had with a woman at a party. Therefore he changed the name of the woman to his favorite Nintendo gaming character.

“Growing up, the world of ‘Zelda’ was a place that captured my imagination and was of enormous influence on me musically.”

“This song particularly displays the full array of instrumentation I used on this album,” he adds, including “slide guitars, digi-guitar, harp harmonics, and Yamaha CP35 to bring to life the pixelated world of that 8-bit era that has become a nostalgic fountain for our millennial generation.”

Sitting on Stacy – “Chest Hair”

Sitting on Stacy is a San Diego, California indie rock band with a ska/surf vibe.

The band’s brand new album, Perfectly Sane, was just released and features the thrilling ska/surf-leaning track, “Chest Hair,” and a video to boot shot out on the beach.

The track reminds us of bands like Sublime and 311 from back in the day. (That’s a true compliment).

These guys have the verve, talent and ambition to make it big in the ska/surf scene, which spans the world from California to Hawai’i to South Africa and Australia.

The band’s first EP, Goat Soup, was released under their former name Paper, and includes rough mixes and demos of songs that had been written during their first years. Since their name change, they’ve released now two albums, an EP and three singles.

The band features college students and members Hoyt Yeatman (lead vocals/guitar), Kyle Hart (bass/vocals) and Leland Schenck (drums).

SOS has performed at numerous venues in the San Diego, Los Angeles, and Ventura County areas, including Kaaboo Del Mar (SD), The House of Blues, The Vortex, The Mint (West Los Angeles/Los Angeles), The Canyon Club (Agoura), among others.

The top 10 indie songs playlist for June 2019 includes songs from exceptional artists and bands like Australia’s Strangejuice; Canada’s Culture Reject; Chicago’s Engine Summer, among many others.

The Top Ten Indie Songs for July will be coming soon. Enjoy this playlist of dope tracks!

The tracks that made it into this playlist came from the following posts from Indie Rock Cafe June 2019

We’re overflowing with great indie songs! We think you’ll agree there are some solid DIY indie songs in this newest playlist that you probably won’t hear anywhere else.

As summer heats up, these are just in time for July listening, and we’ve been listening and enjoying them immensely from the following indie artists and bands:

Damen – Gothenburg, Sweden
Whalers – Austin, Texas
LUTE – Manchester, England
Marty – Nottingham, England
Night Lights – Los Angeles, California
The Mayan Factor – Baltimore, Maryland
Movie Club – Venice, California

The full playlist is at the end of this post for those who prefer to stream while doing other things.

Damen – “Sagrada Familia”

The indie band Damen (which means ‘lady’ in Swedish) hails from the former shipping port of Gothenburg, Sweden. They are fresh off an appearance at the Great Escape Festival in Brighton and the release of a hot new single titled, “Sagrada Familia.”

This song is one of the best surprise indie tracks we’ve heard so far this month. It’s impossible to miss – perhaps irresistible for some – thanks to its heavily melodic indie pop vibe flowing from fuzzy, shimmering guitars, upbeat drums and bass lines, and impressive vocals.

Vocalist and guitarist Danial Bin Ismail wrote: “It’s about coming to grips with the idea of starting a family; all of the doubts, but also the desires.”

Damen also features Adrian Gejrot on drums, David Nordell on bass and Gustav Bondesson on lead guitar.

The single is the first single from the forthcoming 10-track debut LP set to drop this coming October. We’ll be looking forward to the release.

Follow Damen on Instagram

Whalers – “Keep It Quiet”

In preparation for their first new set of songs since 2015’s Death Drive EP, Austin’s Whalers have released a new single, “Keep It Quiet.” It seems like a good follow-up to the Damen track.

The indie pop rock track “Keep It Quiet” drifts on top of a wavy, synthesized guitar hook, fat drum rolls, driving bass lines and the determined vocals of Gus Smalley.

The track is short and sweet clocking in at 3:11 minutes of raw energy. According to Smalley the musical parts of the track were written amidst a flurry of listening to post-punk/new waves acts like Wire, The Buzzcocks, and Talking Heads. (Great choices!)

Smalley says the song is “loosely” based on an “interesting evening” in which he was invited into a house party only to be threatened with physical violence. Thankfully, nothing happened.

Accompanying this single is the official music lyric video animated of a different sort created by guitarist Kyle Rother on an iPad. The video itself is a crazy and strange trip with surfing brains, man-eating whales and a defaced Mona Lisa.

Like thousands of other DIY bands we’ve featured since 2007, the Whalers have found their niche and built a following in the competitive ecosystem of Austin. They’ve performed on some of the city’s best-known stages, which is no small achievement in a spot like Austin where artists are always vying for any stage time.

The band members include guitarists Dan Martin and Kyle Rother; vocalist Gus Smalley; drummer Milos Bertram and bassist Todd Horner. The full album WxW will be out Fall 2019.

Listen to more Whalers on Bandcamp

LUTE – “Fears”

Plenty of people, even these many years later, talk about the “death of rock music.” We’ve been hearing that for decades. This next track might just restore some folks faith that rock music can still be surprising, fresh and hard core.

Take the raging new single, “Fears,” from the Manchester prog metal rock band LUTE. From start to finish it drives forward like a buzzsaw with fast-switching guitar chords and signatures that create cinematic soundscapes amid the crunching rock backdrop.

The band is obviously not just your average band. They sound amazing and the overall production quality of the song is better than most we receive. We’ve played it at least half a dozen times in the cafe.

South Manchester songwriter/producer Ed Truscott, the founding member of LUTE, works tirelessly in his musical man cave experimenting with guitar chords, ever-changing time signatures and soaring vocal harmonies to produce cinematic soundscapes along the lines of artists like TOOL, Opeth, King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Metallica

LUTE’s lyrics explore the daily routine of a 9 to 5 life and the anxieties it brings and to highlight “the ongoing desires of faceless workers in faceless offices to break out of endless cycles of repetition” and to “find…solace in LUTE’s musical dystopia.”

The track is also making the rounds on blogs and radio in the U.K. It’s time now to get these guys some U.S. love.

LUTE’s self-produced debut album is Learning Through Progression.

Follow LUTE on Facebook

Marty – “Worst Case Scenario”

Hailed by the BBC and other outlets for their debut single, “Fame,” the all-female Nottingham band Marty have followed that up with an emotionally charged pop song.

This is evidenced by their packed shows, radio play and now their glittering follow-up single, “Worst Case Scenario.”

The sophomore single, “Worst Case Scenario,” drives forward with conviction and through rounds of insightful verses and glam-rock style harmonies and choruses.

Compared to their debut single, the trio’s newest single sounds more musically and lyrically mature while maintaining an accessible danceable, glimmering pop song.

“Fame” received enthusiastic reviews from radio hosts like the BBC Introducing’s Dean Jackson who said the song “really did set the email system a blaze; people love this track!”

The BBC has also been playing and hailing “Worst Case Scenario,” recently exclaiming that it’s “a glittering journey of indie rock goodness.”

Aimée Stones is the vocalist and guitarist; Rhianne Mee is on keys and vocals, and Krista Ford plays drums and sings as well.

The three met while attending Nottingham Trent University and bonded through a collective love of music. Previous to that, they had all been solo artists.

Since first meeting and rehearsing together, the three young women have worked on a bunch of material, they say, most of which will appear on their debut EP set to drop later this year.

Follow Marty on Instagram

Night Lights – “Talk to Me”

The next track is from the L.A. indie band Night Lights. Based in Los Angeles, the indie-pop trio’s latest track is the summertime-feeling, sticky-sweet pop dance number “Talk to Me.”

Bursting with energy, fast rhythms, and bright colors, this track could also be a workout song.

Interestingly, the band members are all originally from other countries: Mauricio Jimenez (Mexico), Yusuke Sato (Japan) and Dag Hanken (Norway).

Many of us have an old friend from our high school or college days that we were attracted to, but the friendship was so great we just didn’t want to ruin it with something more.

In hindsight, as the song explores, things may have worked out as one wished if they had overcome their fears. The voice that keeps saying: “what if?”

The Mayan Factor – “Hope”

Based in Baltimore, Maryland, the five-piece band The Mayan Factor has carved out their own niche in the area’s music scene over the years and have gone national and international with fan bases in the U.S. and Mexico.

That’s not surprising on the inspiration new single, “Hope,” accompanied by a dazzling animated music video.

The single is a solid recording all around and hard not to play again. It’s full of conviction and excellent instrumental and vocal work.

There are a number of carefully composed parts to it delivering soft, bright, acoustics that soon build into a full-on roaring crescendo marked by the versatile vocals of Lenny Cerzosie Jr. and the powerful chords and beats of guitarist and backup vocalist Brian Scott; bassist Kevin Baker; drummer Dan Angermaier and percussionist and back-up vocalist Jason Sage.

The band, which first formed back in 2002, experienced initial success with the release of their debut album, In Lake as well as their follow-up 2005 album release, 44.

Both albums, the band says, are big fan favorites at their shows. Sadly, in 2011, tragedy struck the band with the sudden loss of their original vocalist, Ray Schuler.

Encouraged by family, friends, and fans, the band regrouped and brought Cerzosie Jr. aboard. The following year, in 2012, they released their third album, Yesterday’s Son.

In the time since Cerzosie’s induction into the tight-knit band, TMF has released three singles – “Ascension,” “Whispers” and now “Hope.” They are currently working on a new EP to be released later this year.

The Mayan Factor Facebook

Movie Club – “Navy Seal”

Formed in October 2018 with Jessamyn Violet on drums and Vince Cuneo on guitar, the Venice, California-based indie duo, Movie Club, initially came together to perform a show at Fonogenic Studios on the same stage as legendary guitarist Robbie Krieger of The Doors.

Only three months after that, the band dropped their eponymous EP, Kraken, with producer Matt Wignall (Cold War Kids, Wargirl) and bassist Erick Coomes (Dr. Dre, Snoop).

Fast forward just a few months to June 2019: Movie Club just dropped their instrumental sophomore EP, Hammerhead, which features the fast-moving single, “Navy Seal,” a tribute to the late surf guitar legend Dick Dale.

The track harkens back to a time when surf rock became a national craze for a few years back in the early 1960s after Dale released his 1961 track “Let’s Go Trippin.”

Strangely enough, the same day that the band recorded the single they heard of Dale’s death. That’s freaky, huh?

The darker “Whirlpool” mixes electronic elements rich with textures and boosted by the heavy surf rock tones while the more intense “Rogue Wave” hums along with undulating tripped out guitars.

Psych surf rocker “Triland” has a demonic bass line and flowing guitars with hints of jazz-infusions and is one of the more accessible songs on the album.

If you’re a fan of lo-fi, retro surf rock, this might be your ticket.

Considering the popularity of some of our Soundcloud playlists published on this blog in the past few months, we decided to share another one.

Most of these tracks were sent in by the artists and bands themselves via our submission form. The majority are DIY artists that few people have heard of. Maybe that should change.

This playlist spans the spectrum of music genres: indie rock, dance, Americana, pop, acoustic, R&B, and soul. All of the artists are DIY.

The highlighted artist is a young, new Amsterdam indie rock band called The Vices. They are making noise with two hot tracks out right now. So we are featuring both. Enjoy and please share!

Featured below:

The Vices – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Aaron Taos – Brooklyn, New York
Everybody Loops – Los Angeles, California
Austin David – Los Angeles, California
Velvet Tides – Birmingham, England
Astronaut – Denmark, New York
S.T. Manville – Midlands, England
Toui Manikhouth – Hamilton, Ontario
Jack Simchak – Brooklyn, New York

The new indie singles playlist features the following recommended artists and bands:

Engine Summer – Chicago, Illinois
The Study Abroad – Denver, Colorado
Family Animals – Scranton, Pennsylvania
Para Lia – Cottbus, Germany
Cape Francis – Brooklyn, New York

Engine Summer – “Exit”

From the get-go, we love the raw, zany, bluesy, funky groove of Chicago indie rock band Engine Summer‘s new indie single, “Exit,” from the fine 2019 LP, Indiana.

The band shines on track after track on this seven-song album. And we’re going to say that if you like the single track here, then who cares what we say about the album – listen to it yourself.

Listen to great albums people and please buy some from time to time (preferably via Bandcamp) to support bands like we feature all of the time on IRC.

Engine Summer is just really original and special. We love how they smash the mold and shake things up with clever, creative and fun music mixes of various genres, styles, and themes.

Guitarist and vocalist Jeremy Marsan described it this way: “We play groovy punk in the vein of Wire, Neu!, and CCR; a little swampy, a little psychedelic, a little dancey.”

We also get vibes of The Fall, CAKE and Talking Heads when listening to these guys’ latest albums, and even some of their past releases. The band obviously benefits hugely from the undeniable talents of drummer Ryan Ohm and bassist Ben Kostecki.

On Summer Engine’s Bandcamp page, supporter ‘Heather’ wrote about Indiana: “Have you ever wanted to live within a song’s groove? Or how about the album as a whole? Yes, please,” citing her favorite track as the unforgettable “Hot Glue.”

Marsan talents have graced the pages of IRC previously when we featured his solo work as an Artist to Watch five years ago.

Since then, Engine Summer has opened for Ra Ra Riot, The Symposium, The Walters and many others. Their biggest influences include Wire, Neu!, Sonic Youth, Parquet Courts, Deerhunter, and CCR.

One of the things that we really dig about Engine Summer’s music is the chugging guitars, confident swagger, and the whimsical in-your-face ‘this is how we’re doing it” reckless abandon.

It’s good to still see some punk ethos in the indie rock scene. If you’re in Chicago, and these guys are playing, make a go of it. We think you might agree after listening to this album and absorbing other tracks like “H.F.” and “I Am A Pilgrim.” There’s not a throwaway song here.

The Study Abroad – “Picturesque”

The Study Abroad is a Denver-based indie rock duo featuring the talented guitarist and vocalist Christian Fickling at the helm.

The duo’s dreamy, shoegaze-inspired style makes TSA an immediate standout from your average indie shoegaze band. Fickling is a big fan of Slowdive, The Stone Roses, and My Bloody Valentine.

This is apparent on the band’s new single – the dreamy, hazy, “Picturesque,” which dropped officially last month. The track features jangle guitars, soaring synths and Fickling’s emotional, soft vocals. It’s fitting for a lazy summer afternoon or a morning drive as the sun ascends the azure sky.

The single came together over a period of months, Fickling said, as different styles “like dream pop and shoegaze were mixed to create their own indie rock flare.” That is true.

There is a sense of authenticity in TSA’s music that is not always present in other bands who style their work after their favorite artists and genres.

The blending of genres is clearly noticeable as the listener absorbs the song. “The looped the main lead was created with different progressions over the top of it,” Fickling said.

Fickling’s vocals were recorded and mixed with guitar and bass parts previously recorded on a collection of Fender guitars. Fickling received mixing help from engineer Nick Nodurft.

Drummer John Wilson, the other half of TSA, then laid down the drum parts afterward in order to fit the beats into Fickling’s overall composition.

TSA’s debut single, “Dreamcatcher,” was released a few months ago and is the track that got things going for TSA. We’d say this is a band bleeping brighter on the indie radar right about now.

Para Lia – “Hawk Hill”

German alt. rock duo Para Lia has been dropping a series of singles from the blazing good debut album, Soap Bubble Dreams, for the past few months now. On Soundcloud and other platforms, the songs have racked up many thousands of plays and have enjoyed high engagement from fans.

The duo’s latest single, “Hawk Hill, is an indie pop-rock track from their new three-track EP of the same name.

Right out of the gates, the track grinds with multiple-layered guitars and a strong backbeat, creating an ominous feel. The creepy vocals of vocalist and guitarist Rene Methner are eventually softened by deeper melodies and the wonderful backup vocals of his wife, Cindy Methner. If you’re a fan of ’80s and early ’90s alt-rock, chances are you’ll dig this track.

People have compared the sounds to Interpol, Editors, Arcade Fire, The Last Shadow Puppets, and Sebadoh.

“Hawk Hill is about my love/hate relationship with the small insignificant town of Falkenberg, where I spent my childhood,” Rene Methner said.

“In German, ‘Falke’ means hawk and ‘Berg’ means mountain. But in fact Falkenberg has no hawks or mountains. The words ‘Hawk Hill Lane’ popped into my head one day while working on a guitar riff – it was a ‘Penny Lane’ moment, reminding me of the street I walked down every day to go to school. The vocals reflect today’s view on a town with the same fate as many small towns in rural East Germany.”

Interestingly, even though they first met in a different city as adults, the couple actually grew up in Falkenberg – on the same street. Life is more interesting than fiction as the saying goes.

Family Animals – “The Modern Life”

Ominous-sounding and yet somehow joyful – that’s the haunting new single, “The Modern Life,” from DIY band Family Animals.

There are Beatlesque psychedelic and experimental components also at work in this intriguing track from the band’s new album, The End is Mere. This is an entertaining and solid album that we urge folks to give a listen to on Family Animals’ Bandcamp page (use Bandcamp to get music please! support artists and don’t buy from corporates like Apple, Google, and Amazon).

Hailing from Scranton, Pennsylvania, Family Animals is comprised of three devoted musicians and life-long friends who share one vision: musical freedom. They are brothers Anthony Viola (drums, guitar) and Jesse Viola (guitar, keyboards), and Frank DeSando (bass).

The band has shared the stage with the likes of The Menzingers, Tigers Jaw, Motionless In White, Captain We’re Sinking!, Three Man Cannon, The Sw!ms, Crobot, The Extraordinaires, And the Moneynotes, Heavy Blonde, Badfish. Their musical influences include The Kinks, Ween, Dead Kennedys, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, and Nirvana.

Other standout tracks we’re digging: “Nuclear Confusion,” “Captain Z Bop’s Friendly Friends,” and “A Speaker in Your Stereo.” Again, great album. Listen to it.

Cape Francis – “Button Up”

Cape Francis is the solo project of Brooklyn musician Kevin Olken Henthorn, former singer and songwriter of Stone Cold Fox.

Following the break up of SCF, Henthorn started Cape Francis as a way to “connect a natural flow of instrumentation and storytelling.”

It seems to have worked out as tracks like the splendidly melancholic “Button Up” clearly demonstrates. Released earlier this year, it’s an emotionally raw love song with impressive writing and wonderfully versatile vocals delivered by Henthorn.

From start to finish, “Button Up” is an enthralling and uplifting track, and just one of a number of memorable, beautiful songs on Cape Francis’ debut album Falling Into Pieces.

According to Henthorn the LP “examines the themes of closure, identify and moving past failure through these lenses.”

One of the aims of the album, he said, is the focus on “finger-picked electric guitar, surrounded by simple arrangements of percussions and synthesizers,” adding: “Cape Francis pulls from folk and modern influences.” More so, he does so with his own signature sound.

Henthorn’s musical influences include Sigur Ros, Beach Boys, Bon Iver, Johnny Cash, Angel Olson, and Father John Misty.

Now that summer has unofficially started, it’s time for another eclectic mix of singles from DIY artist and bands that we’ve been listening to lately. A full playlist of all of the tracks appears at the end of the post. Chances are you won’t hear this much fine ‘under the radar’ music anywhere else.

Waley Brown – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Saneit – Washington D.C.
The Astronots – Los Angeles, California
Revolvers – London, England
The Age of Colored Lizards – Oslo, Norway

Waley Brown – According to the prolific, self-taught Milwaukee DIY musician Aaron Mustas, his music, which he releases as Waley Brown, is “a manifestation of material human sludge, cosmic love, and sadness.”

This is perhaps no better demonstrated than on songs like “A Valentine’s Day” – which is by no means a sweet and cuddly song. It’s gloomy and dark like others that he’s been dropping all year on this Bandcamp. “A Valentine’s Day,” he says, is a tale about “the profound emotions and sadness one can feel” on that day.

A more recent track, “Will You Dance With Me,” is decidedly upbeat, which one supposes would make sense even for a ‘dark’ artist. He is also a multi-instrumentalist, playing all of the instruments on his songs, as well as mixing and mastering.

Now that’s bad-ass DIY. Mustas is also not a newbie to the music world; he has opened for bands like Slightly Stoopid and Twenty One Pilots. The track is from his May album release, SILK.

Writing songs since he was 14 years old, he says, Mustas has been recording for the past decade, amassing over 500 personal recordings, and greatly encouraged by musical influences that include Leonard Cohen, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Nirvana, Joy Division, The Smiths, and David Bowie.

Saneit – This Washington D.C. vocalist and musician’s electro R&B pop sound – which veers more towards ccommercial than indie – by Saneit Monet is usually not what we listen to here in the cafe, but this track really deserves kudos, especially for the fact that she is a relatively unknown ‘bedroom’ artist.

Afterall, she sparked a mini indie hit on Soundcloud with th slick R&B-drive single, “Sprung,” from the new EP Crush. It’s always reassuring when an artist can produce this level of recording totally DIY-style. Keep eyes and ears out for this D.C. artist.

The Astronots – The new single, “Settle Down,” from L.A. indie garage band The Astronots narrates “the feeling of anxiety and being trapped inside yourself,” according to the band. The song nicely presents resonating guitars, throbbing basslines and eerie layered vocals.

Founding members are Niko Giaimo (vocals, guitar) and Allee Futterer (vocals, bass) combine elements of a “quintessential Los Angeles upbringing, classic rock, and west-coast cool.” The trio was completed with the addition of guitarist Eddie Campbell.

The Astronots polished garage sound has lent itself to placements on tv and film as well as curated playlists and blogs. The Astronots’ song, “Black Milk” – from the 2017 E.P. Strange Terrain – was featured on the CBS hit television show Life in Pieces.

Revolvers – The London indie rock band is a four-piece outfit inspired by the “classic rock of the 60s and 70s and modern indie.”

The band has gigged all across the city for the past few years and built up a following. Last year they released a well-received debut EP and started recording at Kore Studios for their follow up EP.

The sophomore EP is being unveiled by the release of a series of singles, with the first being “True Love.” We dig the track. Arctic Monkeys, QOTSA, Oasis, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Foals are among Revolvers’ biggest musical influences.

The Age of Colored Lizards – Norwegian noise-pop trio TAOCL been dropping a number of slick singles in recent months, including the memorable “I’ll Be Waiting.”

The band was formed in 2016 by guitarist and vocalist Christian Dam upon the release of the debut single, “It’s All Gone.”

Following band changes and the release of two EPs, Cockroach Clan drummer Cato Holmen and lo-fi musician and bassist Fredrik Ness Sevendal joined the band to release the debut album, Daydreamer.

The Age of Colored Lizards has been compared to bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Jesus and Mary Chain.

Here are some of 2019’s best indie videos that we’ve been watching lately, two of which include videos from bands with members who are also well-known young actors. You can also see more new videos on our Music Videos page, which is updated regularly.

Calpurnia – Vancouver, British Columbia
Angel Du$t – Baltimore, Maryland
Wallows – Los Angeles, California
Better Oblivion Community Center – Los Angeles, California

Calpurnia – “Cell”

This young new band from Canada is not your ordinary band; two of the members are teen celebs: Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) and Malcolm Craig (Bates Motel, Frequency) met in 2014 during a music video shoot for PUP’s single, “Guilt Trip.”

At that time, the two had not yet appeared in their respective film series. But they decided to start a band anyways and recruited viral-video guitarist Ayla Tesler-Mabe.

Last year, Calpurnia dropped the debut single, “City Boy.” Now they are back with this exciting new video and Dino Jr-like track, “Cell.” The video was filmed and directed by Pooneh Ghana and the band.

Without having any released music at the time, Calpurnia has opened for Tenacious D, Mac DeMarco, and Weird Al Yankovic. We’re not teenie-bopper types, but at the same time, we know a great track and video when we hear/see it.

Angel Du$t – “Big Ass Love”

Based in the city of Baltimore, indie rock band Angel Du$t includes members of hardcore outfits like Turnstile and Trapped Under Ice.

Who can forget the band’s 2016 hook-driven, brash and raucous album, Rock the Fuck On Forever.

At this moment the band is in the studio working with producer Will Yip (Turnstile, Code Orange, Title Fight) on a new album. “The songs are very much Angel Du$t, while the production is some whole other shit,” the band stated late last year.

The new release will apparently be dropped later this year. Angel Du$t was founded in 2013 by Trapped Under Ice frontman Justice Tripp and Turnstile drummer Daniel Fang, and features bassist Nick Heitman and guitarist Pat McCrory.

Wallows – “Are You Bored Yet?”

The L.A.band Wallows’ new official video for “Are You Bored Yet?,” featuring Clairo, has received almost two million views. In February they dropped “Scrawny” which earned a spot on our Top Ten Songs playlist.

It’s just a coincidence that another band fronted by a child star actor has also dropped a hot new video lands in this post. Dylan Minnette landed a bigtime role in the teen drama 13 Reasons Why. The popularity of that show put the spotlight on his band, Wallows, which had already existed for a couple of years.

The band, featuring childhood friends guitarist and vocalist Braeden Lemasters (and fellow actor on Men of a Certain Age) drummer Cole Preston, and of course Minnette himself, a vocalist and guitarist like Lemasters. They met as teens in school band class and formed the trio.

Nonetheless, Wallows, with the benefit of two high profile band members, but more so thanks to their dynamic 80’style sound, then hit it good last year with the release of the debut EP Spring. The band’s debut album, Nothing Happens, dropped March 22nd.

Better Oblivion Community Center – “Dylan Thomas”

Better Oblivion Community Center is the new and fascinating folk-pop collaboration between Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers, which has spawned the recently released self-titled debut album.

So far, the track “Dylan Thomas” bubbled up to the Top Ten Songs playlist, which was not terribly surprising. It’s great music and a cool video.