Latest Posts

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[...]

MÒZÂMBÎQÚE x Destiny Molina x The Philharmonik – “Embrace”

July 30, 2023

Laden with effects, gratuitous synth, and collaborating with Destiny Molina and The Philharmonik, “Embrace” is the glitzy, impeccably produced single off of artist MÒZÂMBÎQÚE’s EP Peril 1998. There is a lot to unpack here and multiple listens are rewarding, so I would definitely recommend using that repeat button for a few takes. Born Andrew Smith, MÒZÂMBÎQÚE came about after a post-college backpacking trip to Africa. Drawing from that experience and his love of the outdoors, MÒZÂMBÎQÚE likes to translate that for his listeners; “It’s like passing on a nostalgic experience or good memories.” If you’re reading this and thinking “Well Chris, I only like the freshest indie music with guitars and stuff, why this?”  I’d probably say something like “Give it a listen, it has great beats and a fantastic jumping off point, even if you’re not much of an electronic music listener. You should go to Spotify or Apple Music and[...]

Mali Velasquez – “Tore”

July 30, 2023

“Tore” is lead single off of Mali Velasquez‘s forthcoming debut album Green, which drops October 13. Introspective but not to the point of excess, “Tore” is Velasquez’s ode to her own self-sabotage and, as she put it: “… I have no idea how to combat being embarrassed all the time still, but explaining it some has helped…I put a lot of my ideas of not knowing how to feel or what to do or eat or wear into this song.” The understated instrumentals enhance Valasquez’s strong vocals throughout the track and invite comparisons to sad-girl indie darlings Phoebe Bridgers or Lomelda without being a carbon copy. We’ll hopefully see another single before October 13, but for now feel free to check out “Tore” over on Spotify or the 90’s vibe music video available on Youtube.

Rilo Wye – “Cold Front”

July 30, 2023

“Cold Front” is the latest single from LA artist Riley Sieverts and his newest project, Rilo Wye, and it is anything but cold. A diddly of a guitar intro gives way to a tight bass line and Sieverts’ relaxed vocals; the latter certainly informed growing up around Rastafarian and surf culture in Honolulu. As he put it, “Surfing was my first passion. As a kid I spent hours watching old surf videos, and that vibe hovers in the background of every track I make.” His straightforward yet relaxed style is reminiscent of Rex Orange County, Crumb, or a slightly less whispery/depressing Sufjan Stevens. Fans of all three and everything in between would certainly find something to enjoy with “Cold Front,” which you can find on Spotify along with his 2022 EP Better for Whatever Reason. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on “Cold Front” and if you’d like more[...]

Le Big Zero – At Arm’s Length

July 25, 2023

The perpetually rotating (but nevertheless crucial) members of Le Big Zero (LBZ) have persevered through a lot… Think cross-country moves; DIY tours; and the aforementioned revolving door of necessary-but-temporary bandmates. Since you’re reading this review, it’s clear they’re still alive – the band’s proverbial heart kept beating by mainstays Michael Pasuit and Ben Ross. They’ve been joined by Katie Cooney and Lukas Hirsch, who have been with the band since 2022’s A Proper Mess. In case you missed it, we wrote about the excellent “Beach Séance” from that offering last year – be sure to check it out here. But we’re not talking about 2022 right now – we’re here to talk about Le Big Zero’s most recent output, At Arm’s Length. For a band named after literally zilch, nil, nada, this quartet pumps out a lot of sound… And uniquely too. Fans of Speedy Ortiz; Foyer Red; Pavement; and Les[...]

Far Caspian – “Pool”

July 25, 2023

Irish singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Joel Johnston, aka Far Caspian, has evolved into an musical auteur, rising in popularity on the back of a pair of EPs and debut album Ways to Get Out, the artist has become fully self-contained. He directs his own videos, shoots his press shots, creates his own artwork, and started a record label (Check our previous features on Far Caspian Here, Here, and Here). His debut album has garnered over 30 million streams since its release late in 2021, which is all the more impressive as the project started in 2020; the impetus of Far Caspian being as a Soundcloud feature to garner interest in Johnston’s production talents. He continues the momentum with sophomore album, The Last Remaining Light and with the ineffable and captivating single, “Pool.” The single pulls on your heart and entrances like an Elliot Smith cut, dazzles you with production and[...]