The following indie rock artists are five indie bands to watch in 2019 (Vol. I) from around the globe (no overly produced, ‘top 40’ radio-sounding, auto-tune shit):
Luxury Mane – St. Petersburg, Florida
Moonroof – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Exiled – Bristol/Sheffield, England
Buttness – Shymet, Kazakhstan
The Beths – Auckland, New Zealand
NOTE: To stream all of the tracks uninterrupted in this post – a total of 10 – there is a full playlist at the end of this post.
Luxury Mane – “Rushed”
The Floridian DIY band Luxury Mane claim to be “the godfathers of St. Petersburg, Florida indie rock,” and from the sounds of a string of recent singles, they may not be posing.
The impressive track, “Rushed,” is just one of the latest standout tracks from their new album, Domestic Bliss.
At a time when people don’t listen to a lot of albums, this is one to dive into. LM weaves garage, psych, pop and new wave sounds with a variety of guitar textures – crunchy, woozy, reverb-heavy and fuzzy.
Then there is the infectious title track from the new EP – “Domestic Bliss” which is another terrific high energy indie pop rock song perfect for a sunny spring day.
Thanks to their engaging sound, the band has built a solid following in the Tampa Bay area club scene in recent years, opening for artists like the late Jay Reatard, Of Montreal, Natural Child, Monotonix and the Lemonheads.
The band is fronted by guitarist and vocalist Billy Summer, who grew up the son of two classical music performers. In the Tampa Bay Area, the band’s 2014 album, Natural Beauty, was played repeatedly on popular radio shows like WMNF’s rock programs. The band was also voted the ‘best rock band’ of 2014 by readers.
Formed in 2012, the trio features former members of the multi-award-winning alt-rock outfit, The Semis, and takes a straight-ahead approach to rock arrangements in the vein of The Smiths, Television Personalities, and Joy Division.
Moonroof – “Be Somebody”
The group Moonroof is a Philadelphia-based indie band that knocks out catchy, upbeat indie pop/indie rock with a definite a reggae influence with obvious influences that include Last Dinosaurs, The 1975, The Strokes, and Vampire Weekend.
The band’s latest single, “Be Somebody,” fits exactly those elements and is one of the most memorable of 2019 as well. Another recent track, “Honey Honey,” is even more evidence of why the band is featured in this series.
The guys met at Bloomsburg University and began playing acoustically at open mics for a few years before graduating to bars and clubs. Back then they were called The Big Picture.
“Each of us brings a different background of musical interests and influences, culminating in the sound you hear from us today,” bassist Kevin Randolph says. “To keep things simple, we call it our own brand of indie pop.”
Moonroof has opened for The Association, Rome Hero Foxes, YJY, Cold Wrecks, Hang Tight. The other band members are Dave Kim (vocals); Nick Cellucci (guitar, vocals); and Dan Rendine (drums).
Exiled – “Luna”
The recently dropped track, “Luna,” comes from the UK-based indie rock band Exiled, comprised of four students from the Bristol-Sheffield area.
In the past year or so, the boys have picked up a local following, which is no small thing in this musically historic, and competitive, area of England.
The band, which has been praised on BBC Introducing, describes its sound as “the love child of a steamy one night stand between The Wombats & Catfish and The Bottlemen.”
Exiled’s guitar-led sound makes for “good times, rough nights and growing up” the trio, with Bristol and Brummie roots, exclaims. Another great track for the band is the upbeat “Block 2,” which dropped at the beginning of the new year and should be a mini indie hit somewhere.
The band members are Max Clutterbuck (lead vocals/guitar); Henry Robinson (bass/vocals/keys), and Ethan Reeves (drums/vocals).
The guys have opened for artists like Plastic House and Catfish and The Bottlemen; musical influences include Panic at the Disco, Good Charlotte, Green Day, and Muse.
In addition, a collective love for indie pop and surf rock laid the foundations for the band’s sound; with further influences from Circa Waves, Hockey Dad and The Night Cafe.
Buttness – “Cryo Mind”
In 2018, we featured the indie band (with a funny name) The Buttness from the city of Shymkent in Kazakhstan.
The band’s new 2019 single, “Cyro Mind”, has won favor among indie fans in their country and here in the cafe. It’s just one of a number of terrific tracks on the band’s third album, Under Fret.
The duo behind the music consists of founder, vocalist and bassist Yerlan Akhmetov, both big fans of Radiohead and The Cure, which is evident on the superb, under-the-radar debut album released last summer.
Another standout track on the album, among others, is “Under Fret,” complete with its quirky and nearly strained singing of Zarpullayev , and yet somehow it’s alluring. It’s not screeching. He sings like this – almost silly – on a number of tracks. It’s weird. We like weird. We like different.
Buttness debut album, All Holes Are Black, dropped in 2016 – when they first caught our attention.
The duo has released an album each year from 2016 through 2018 and cites musical influences like Charlatans UK, Dinosaur Jr., The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cure, and Blur.
In May 2018, the Kazakhstan government blocked Soundcloud and two dozen other sites for being “extremist”.
Zarpullayev wrote in protest: “I have no possibility to contact you via Soundcloud. Anyway if you have happiness to listen outside Kazakhstan I [will] try to load new music there!”
The Beths – “Uptown Girl”
Hailing from New Zealand, and newbies at SXSW 2019, the punk-pop band The Beths serve up impulsive, hook-driven, melodic tracks with fast, grungy guitar riffs.
The new single, “Uptown Girl,” from their debut album, is a perfect example. The band has been creating a buzz almost everywhere they go in recent years and were among the top “bands to see” at SXSW 2019.
Another terrific track from the band that will give listeners a broader spectrum of their subject matter and sound is the undeniably, and perhaps ironically, upbeat, “You Wouldn’t Like Me.”
Fronted by vocalist and guitarist Elizabeth Stokes and guitarist Johnathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclar and drummer Luketinia Johnston were added while at the University of Auckland.
After making waves across New Zealand and Australia, Carpark Records took note and signed them.