Category: indie rock

New Video: Introducing the Swaggering, Bluesy Sound of Melbourne, Australia’s Kingswood

Comprised of Fergus Linacre (lead vocals), Alex Laska (guitar and backing vocals), Jeremy “Mango” Hunter (bass and backing vocals), and Justin Debrincat (drums and backing vocals), the Melbourne, Australia-based quartet Kingwswood formed in 2009. And […]

Over the last couple of years, Umeå, Sweden has developed an internationally recognized reputation as the home of burgeoning indie scene, as the Northern Swedish town is the home of artists such as Casja Siik, Old Man’s Will, RefusedMeshuggah, Tove Stryke, DeporteesLisa Miskovsky, and Frida Selander. And with the release of her first two, critically applauded full-length albums, Selander has been largely considered by many Swedish critics as her country’s closest thing to Patti Smith and PJ Harvey. Granted, those may be incredibly lofty but they also aren’t far off base, as Selander’s sound, as you’d hear on “Like A Cat” and on her latest single “Soon” off her forthcoming album I Hear Sunshine pairs blues-based rock chords, propulsive drumming, incredibly catchy, anthemic looks with Selander’s expressive and sultry vocals. It’s straightforward but in the case of “Soon,” the song possesses bluesy, boozy swagger that perfectly suits Selander’s vocals, which are feel warm and comforting, as though she’s commiserating with you and your pain.

Indeed, much like “Like A Cat,” “Soon” possesses a fearless honesty and emotional honesty that most music these days just doesn’t have — perhaps because the song comes from hard-fought personal experience, life altering mistakes. And thematically speaking, the song says you have to stop struggling against the tide and accept the fact that things happen at their own speed, and in their own way.

New Video: The Stunningly Gorgeous Visuals of Other Lives’ Video for “Beat Primal”

Currently based in Portland, OR, the indie rock trio Other Lives have received national attention and praise for a lush, orchestrated sound that channels Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The National and Ocean Rain-era Echo and the Bunnymen but with the sort of […]

The members of the Aarhaus, Denmark-based indie act Lowly — comprised of Nanna Schannong, Kasper Staub, Thomas Lund, Soffie Viemose and Steffen Lundtoft — can trace their origins to when the band’s members were brought together to complete a short, musical project at the school they all attended. But interestingly enough, the quintet quickly discovered that they had a musical chemistry and connection that suggested that their collaboration should continue.

The Danish quintet first received attention with the 2014 release of their debut single “Daydreamers,” which was praised for its playful arrangements and 70s pop sensibility — and “Fire,” the first single off the band’s forthcoming Sink Way Into Me EP consists of jangling and jagged guitar and piano chords and shimmering synths paired with ethereal harmonies and an uncanny sense of playful melody to create a song that sounds as though it drew influence from The Carpenters but with a highly modern sensibility — all while retaining an earnestness and sincerity at its core. 

New Audio: The Gorgeous and Atmospheric, New Single from Louisville’s Twin Limb

Comprised of Lacey Guthrie (accordion, keys, vocals), Maryliz Bender (drums, guitar, vocals), Kevin “Twinderella” Ratterman (guitar) and Sara Pitt (credited with “everything you see”). the Louisville, KY-based trio Twin Limb have purposely shrouded themselves in mystery […]

New Audio: Check Out Starlight Girls Dance-Floor Leaning, New Single “Lodestar”

Over the past five years, the Brooklyn-based sextet, Starlight Girls have developed a reputation for a unique brand of “noir-ish indie pop” and for a live set that employs the use of video projections that includes psychedelic imagery, stock […]

New Video: The Taut and Anxious, New Video for Viet Cong’s “Bunker Buster”

Over the past year, the Calgary, Alberta-based quartet of Viet Cong, comprised of Matt Flegel (bass, vocals), Scott Munro (guitar), Daniel Christiansen (guitar) and Mike Wallace (drums) have received quite a bit of attention across the blogosphere for […]

Originally founded as duo by its founding members Sarah Kinlaw and Bryan Keller, Jr., SOFTSPOT has evolved over the years into a quartet of friends with a long history of collaboration and creativity. Blake Bateh (drums) was recruited to join the band during the writing and recording of last year’s MASS, while Jonathan Campolo (synths) was recruited to flesh out the band’s live sound during the tour to support MASS.

Clearing, the quartet’s forthcoming full-length album, slated for release later this year will mark the band’s first full-length effort as a quartet as the material reportedly focuses on themes of exposition and openness as a means for connection and progression.

As the band explains in press notes, the forthcoming album’s first single “Abalone” stems from a desire for solitude and stillness and a tension between that desire and the urge for outside connection — and as a result, the single is a tense yet spectral song comprised of persistent drumming paired with syncopated bass chords, shimmering guitar chords, twinkling synth chords reminiscent of The Buggles‘ “Video Killed the Radio Star,” swirling electronics and Kinlaw’s lilting and ethereal vocals floating over the tense instrumentation to craft a song that feels like a feverish dream before it dissipates like smoke into the ether.