Latest Posts

War Strings – “All My Little Games”

August 13, 2023

War Strings, aka Andrew Stogel, hit us hard with the jangly heartwrench of latest single, “All My Little Games.” Jangly chords start this one off and stay constant throughout, while nimble basslines, punchy drums, and vocals dripping with sincerity help to keep that gut punch feeling always present. It’s accompanied by a music video that brings a perfect visual to the song – blurry and confusing, like the emotions that are conjured when one listens to “Games.” About the song, War Strings explains: “All My Little Games’ is about reckoning with heartbreak. Realizing the ‘fixes’ cause more pain.” You can find “All My Little Games” on Spotify or YouTube (below).

Elle Belle – “Saturday”

August 9, 2023

Elle Belle is one of many projects on front man Christopher Pappas’ plate, including but not limited to: making music for Nasa, a musical, and a couple TV pilots in pre-production. “Saturday” is the second single released in anticipation of his newest album How Do I Feel, out September 1 from Little Record Company – a name fans of Rilo Kiley would recognize as being owned by Pierre de Reeder. Pappas shows off a bit with deliciously dulcet voice and understated piano throughout, evoking comparisons of Jacks Mannequin (Andrew McMahon’s erstwhile side project), Stars, or the aforementioned Rilo Kiley. (Kelly, you know who you are and I’m pretty sure you’d enjoy this). The production value is through the roof and well worthy of a listen. There’s a cool little effect that I don’t have a name for (but surely exists) that happens with the piano you should listen for too![...]

The Pretty Flowers – “Wildflowers”

August 9, 2023

LA based quartet and floral aficionados The Pretty Flowers bring us their third single, “Wildflowers,” from their newest album A Company Sleeve (July 14, Double Helix Records). The lyrics deal in part with the challenges of a soul suck corporate job, while the instrumentals lean into a brand of guitar rock popularized by the Superchunks, Teenage Fanclubs, and Wilcos of old. “Wildflowers” is both ode to and a way forward for bands looking to recapture and refine some of the old magic, while bringing their own spin on it (they even have cassettes for sale). Give “Wildflowers” a listen over on Spotify or Apple Music and be sure to check out the rest of A Company Sleeve if you’re feeling the vibes. A Company Sleeve by The Pretty Flowers

The Strayngers – “I Try”

August 9, 2023

Lead by Shane Tanksley, The Strayngers are in the business of lucid dream pop; described by Tanksley as “…ethereal guitar and synth sounds accompany[ing] classic melodic vocals…[with] tight grooviness from the rhythm section.” Let me tell ya, business is a-boomin’ with their new single “I Try,” off of their forthcoming album Existential Sadness. Nestled amongst the aforementioned ethereal guitar and synth sounds, Tanksley’s voice stuck out the most for me – seemingly drifting amongst the various tracks like a cloud (shaped like a dog, don’t ask me why). tldr; Fans of a more morose Phoenix or Alvvays would find a lot to enjoy here, Tanksley definitely elevates a crowded field with his impeccable composition and effortlessly delivered vocals. Be sure to check out “I Try” on Spotify or Apple Music, and if you like what you hear be sure to check out their other tracks as well!

Middle Priest – “Act Your Age”

August 7, 2023

LA-based indie rockers Middle Priest have just released the electrically slick single “Act Your Age” off their forthcoming EP I thought that I was far away. The new cut has fat drum punches that lead you into a cavalcade of guitar bursts that shine with a southern rock flair and will have you imagining a perfect summer breeze kissing your cheek. Middle Priest’s vocals on “Act Your Age” weave into the rhythm with a serpentine southern slickness that excites the listener as it coils until a cathartic hollering, “whew” in the center of the track. Their bridge uses that same anticipatory energy by tying the ends of the verses inside of it together before dropping the vocals and releasing an incendiary, hair raising guitar solo. Let this new indie group wow you with this fresh cut that rattlesnakes and rocks. Fans of Raconteurs, Kurt Vile, War on Drugs, and Wilco[...]

Sea Lemon – “Vaporized”

August 7, 2023

Seattle’s Natalie Lew, under her moniker Sea Lemon, is excited for her upcoming EP release titled Stop at Nothing, due out August 25th of this year. This will be following her debut album that germinated during pandemic isolation and found life in the 2022 release Close Up. The upcoming EP has Lew pushing to define her artistic voice after a promising freshman album where the young artist was trying on various sounds while finding that unique one that fits best. “Vaporized”, the latest single to come from that project, is an upbeat, shoegazey indie cut that is a perfect example of that sound. The new song is stuffed full of melancholic beauty, with twinkling guitar lines that tumble and cascade onto each other like ocean waves. Warm layers of expansive bass create a plush underpinning for Lew’s lyrics to sit upon, all of which are kept buoyant with a steady rock[...]

LEX – “vodka soda”

August 7, 2023

Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Alexis Onyango, aka LEX, has just released the bubbling neon chameleon that is her electro pop track “vodka soda.” Turn it on and bliss out as the chopped and screwed electro textures titillate and transport your consciousness.  Effervescent audio samples dance with rubbery bright synths before Onyango’s pure-toned pop vocals pierce the swirling maelstrom and hold your heart like the gaze of your summer crush. She sings about the kind of love that’ll have you listening to music you hate just to be with them. The production is filled with nostalgic and saccharine electro blurts, bursts, and edits that echo deep into your young heart and animate your hips, toes, and head until you’re doing a dance that feels like the manifestation of the ghosts from summers past and present. The intricate single builds on the work of LEX who has released singles “Skin Off My Back” in[...]

PYNKIE- “Plz”

August 7, 2023

Lindsey Radice, aka PYNKIE, hails from New Jersey and forges her music career when she isn’t helping people as a full-time registered nurse. She has just released a slammin’, kaleidoscopic dream pop single with “Plz.” The high energy, dreamy indie rock cut encapsulates the cathartic cruise of a windows-down music-up joyride where your emotions simultaneously find purchase and get drowned out. Radice’s hazy vocals glide on top of and blend into a bed of fast paced layered guitar, warm strings, and metronomic drums that click by like tires slapping highway spacers. The bridge becomes a rhythmic, multicolored haze with her singing falling back before snapping the track back into place with pleasing authority. Radice is riding the wave of momentum she created with underground Soundcloud beginnings that she bridged into the lauded release of her debut album, 2018’s neoteny. “Plz” will find its home on her forthcoming album Songies which[...]

¡Ponce! – “The Anatomy of Emotion”

August 7, 2023

¡Ponce! is a mysterious indie/emo mathcore band from…somewhere. As per their Spotify bio: “¡Ponce! is a band formed at the dawn of time and eternity. They are well established among the canthrian plains of nerfisec as the greatest arithmetic based group of heroic musically inclined magic users to ever exist.” I won’t even bother explaining emo mathcore because I forgot my protractor in my locker from the early aughts, but if you’ve ever listened to anything remotely emo and imagined it sped up you’d have an idea of ¡Ponce!. That’s an incredibly oversimplified explanation, but the best contemporary comparison would probably be something like Tiny Moving Parts, Cap’n Jazz, or Algernon Cadwallader. Give ¡Ponce! a listen over on Spotify and let us know if you’d like more emo mathcore in your life!

Sarah Crean – “Wasted Youth”

August 7, 2023

Dublin-based musician Sarah Crean‘s latest single “Wasted Youth” off of her August 2 EP Death By Laundry. Drawing inspiration from acts such as Japanese Breakfast and Men I Trust, Crean has crafted a smooth, guitar forward track that feels a bit 90’s to me (in the best ways). Spearheaded by a steady acoustic guitar with hints of piano and punctuated by a fun meandering electric riff, Crean croons throughout “Wasted Youth” about the duality of youth/older selves. Speaking to that, she had this to say: “The song itself goes back and forth between acceptance and rejection of the fact while processing as the song progresses – almost like I’m trying to reach out to my younger self from my current state as an adult. I myself have (and always have had) a hard time forgiving people and letting things go…” Be sure to check out “Wasted Youth” and the rest of the[...]

Candy Moore – “Laugh at Nothing”

August 7, 2023

“Laugh at Nothing” is the newest single by Candy Moore – the stage name of Australia-based musician Calum Newton. The song is a pop-forward track about dating someone dealing with depression and recognizing that their happiness is outside of your control. Even with the heavy subject matter, his background in mixing and producing shines throughout with a very well-put-together lo-fi gamut of guitar and understated bass. Fans of Day Wave would find a lot to enjoy here, production value being chief among that. Be sure to check out “Laugh at Nothing” on Spotify or Bandcamp, you’ll certainly enjoy it and some of his other tracks – especially “Afterglow” (another catchy banger).

Peach Cooler – “You Talk Too Much”

August 4, 2023

Retro, sun-soaked, sassy, and fun are four perfect ways to encapsulate the newest single from Peach Cooler, “You Talk Too Much.” Punctuated blasts of retro guitar energy kick this one off before launching into “I’m feeling spicy, I’m real hot right now.” PC repeatedly tell someone who is ostensibly annoying to “shut [their] pretty little mouth” while keeping things lighthearted and fun with their beachy, guitar-driven energies. Fans of The Beths, Vampire Weekend, and a happier Clairo will go crazy for this one. You can find “You Talk Too Much” on both Apple Music and Spotify. Enjoy a live session of the song below via YouTube.

TANDM – “Sirens”

August 4, 2023

“Sirens” is the newest single off of Toronto duo TANDM‘s EP of the same name. Made up of Maxine Beck-Sinderby and drummer Thomas Franklin, their flavour of indie-pop scratches a lot of itches with Maxine’s heartfelt vocals leading the charge. While their indie rock speaks for itself, woodblock plips and organ-soaked explosions help to separate this one from the pack. Speaking to their music, she had this to say: “…the music is much more about the transition, post teenage angst. The upcoming songs are about the progress and the ‘moving on’ of past troubles, and how we overcame them.” Fans of Alvvays, Men I Trust, and Foyer Red would find a lot enjoy here, between the impeccable song composition and pop-forward guitar (not to re-mention the heartfelt vocals). You can find their EP and past works on Spotify or Apple Music.

The Slashes – “Dead Majesty”

August 3, 2023

Hailing from So-Cal, self-described “borderland post punk” group The Slashes brings us a goth-tinged delight with “Dead Majesty.” The bass does much of the heavy lifting with some sick riffs, but singer Esteban Rene keeps things spooky with his haunting voice and ethereal sounding guitar. Fans of Interpol, She Wants Revenge, or The Cure will find lots to dig into on this one… Evoking the usual Cure and Interpol comparisons is easy to do, and even accurate to a point, but The Slashes put forth a good case with enough to differentiate them from contemporaries in the genre. You can hear “Dead Majesty” and more of the band’s tracks over on Spotify or Bandcamp. Be sure to let us know if you’d like to hear more from this band or post punk in general! Dead Majesty by The Slashes

Bogan Via – “Everything’s Ok”

July 30, 2023

Bogan Via is an Arizona-based duo comprised of Bret Bender and Madeleine Miller and “Everything’s Ok” is their latest single (and synth pop is their game). Delightfully twee upon the first listen, “Everything’s Ok” has a bit more bite as you pull it apart and reveals a bittersweet song dealing with grief, goodbyes, and eventually healing. Bender and Miller harmonize together seamlessly and drift apart as they trade verses and play off of gossamer synth repeating throughout, reminiscent of Beach House or Still Corners. This contrasts nicely with past works which include some tracks with less emotional oomph and more musical oomph, along with light hip hop influences. Bogan Via honestly looks like a riot to hang out with, a quick perusal of their Insta has everything from brooding album cover looking filtered pics, to Eric Andre, to fun live shots. Be sure to check out “Everything’s Ok” over on[...]