Category: Indie

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Northwest Stories – That Isn’t Me

Photo credits: Alyssa Fink (@limitlys.photography)

Artist: Northwest Stories

Song: That Isn’t Me

Genres: #indiefolk

Location: Idaho, United States

Influences: Ben Rector, Novo Amor, Bon Iver

Release date: June, 2022

Comment: That Isn’t Me is a gorgeous folk song about focusing on what’s good in life instead of feeling stuck. Northwest Stories‘ lead vocalist, Adam Fink, got a calming voice you won’t want to stop listening to but, on top of that, they recording this song in 432 Hz as opposed to the standard 440 Hz, in order to make it even more soothing. Trust me, it works.

Northwest Stories is composed of Adam (vocals, guitar, piano) and RJ Rouse (background vocals, producer, engineer) and even though most of their songs are written about God, their music can appeal everybody, not just Christians. That Isn’t Me is a great example of that. Enjoy this lovely track!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Blue Cove – Thrive

Artist: Blue Cove

Song: Thrive

Genres: #shoegazepop #90srock

Influences: Slowdive, Alex G.

Location:  Chicago, United States

Release date: June, 2022

Comment: Life is funny. Stephanie Nikolas and Eric Breden were high school friends and neighbors, but it wasn’t until they were in their 20s that they started to see each other as partners, both musically and romantically. This sparked Blue Cove into life, which they describe –accurately, I must say– as a blend of modern indie pop with the “nostalgic shoegaze sensibilities of the 90’s”. With a DIY mentality, Steph and Eric do everything related to Blue Cove, and I mean everything, not just mixing and producing their music: from designing their own merch and artwork to capturing their own press photos to filming their music videos. From what I can tell, they’re pretty good at all of those things.

Thrive is the title track of Blue Cove‘s forthcoming debut album (to be released in October), and it is both dazzling and delicate, if such a combination is indeed possible. Think Mazzy Star, but more dynamic. Lyrically, the song talks about thriving despite dealing with social anxiety and negative thoughts, something a lot of us can relate to. Unfortunately, there’s no music video for this vibrant track yet, but you can check below a little guitar piece they wrote and uploaded to Youtube. Absolutely gorgeous.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Indie

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Sløtface – Come hell or whatever

Artist: Sløtface

Song: Come hell or whatever

Genres: #indierock #alternativerock

Influences: Caroline Polachek, Haim, Taylor Swift

Location: Stavanger, Norway

Release date: June, 2022.

Comment: Sløtface used to be a Norwegian punk band with certain notoriety in some music circles, but earlier this year they announced that it was becoming the solo project of frontwoman Haley Shea after the amicable departure of the other band members. With this change, came as well a transition to a slower and moodier sound, inspired by those artists mentioned above. I have to say that I hadn’t listened to Sløtface before, so I cannot comment much on the band’s previous releases, but I’m digging this new sound.

Back in June, Haley/Sløtface released two new singles co-written between her and producer Mikhael Paskalev: Beta and Come hell or whatever. Both are really good but the latter is the one I’ve been playing on repeat. Check it out

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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Phoebe Bridgers – Sidelines

Artist: Phoebe Bridgers

Song: Sidelines

Genres: #indie

Location:  California, United States

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: Phoebe Bridgers has been featured here before and she’s pretty much everywhere these days, so I don’t think you need me to tell you who she is. What you may or may not know though is that she recently released a brand new song for the tv show Conversation With Friends, and it is truly gorgeous. She started to write Sidelines with her drummer, Marshall Vore, but left it unfinished while they focused on some other things. When the folks from the tv show reached out to her, she and Marshall decided to finish it and I, for one, am glad they did, as it is too good to be left unreleased.

It is probably my favorite Phoebe Bridgers song.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Indie

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Metric – Paths In The Sky

Artist: Metric

Song: Paths In The Sky

Genres: #indierock #alternativerock

Location: Toronto, Canada

Release date: July, 2022.

Comment: When I featured Metric‘s Black Sheep about two weeks ago, I mentioned that they had a new album (Formentera, named after the Spanish island where the band recorded it) that was quite good. I also said that I was going to feature one of their new songs soon and here I am making good on that promise. Paths In The Sky is Formentera’s closing track and even though it hasn’t been released as a single yet, I think it is quite possibly the best song in that record. It is a flawless tune.

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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Goldpark – Covered In Sunshine

Artist: Goldpark

Song: Covered In Sunshine

Genres: #indierock #altrock

Location: Nashville, United States

Release date: June, 2022

Comment:  Covered In Sunshine, from Nashville’s indie-rock trio Goldpark, gives me strong 1990s #poprock vibes. Something like U2 from that decade meets Blur. The song is the second single off the band’s forthcoming EP “Lady Lightyear“, and talks about the effect stepping outside has over your anxieties and fear. Who didn’t feel relieved after a long day studying or in an office as soon as you left the building? Yeah, that feeling.

Formed in 2019, Goldpark released their debut EP just last year but in such a short period of time, they have been able to tour the US in solo gigs, as supporting acts, and participating at festivals. They work very hard and will reap the benefits of that sooner than later. Listen to Covered In Sunshine here.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Indie

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Colour Tongues – Midnight Island

Artist credit: Mordolff
Layout and design: Azhmeer Kahn

Artist: Colour Tongues

Song: Midnight Island

Genres: #indierock #altpop

Location: Vancouver, Canada

Release date: May, 2022

Comment:  Let’s start August with what folks in the UK call a banger. Midnight Island is a super infectious indie rock track by Vancouver-based band, Colour Tongues. It is inspired by young love and early romances and its goal is to transport you back to your youth, that point in time when we all felt anything was possible. It is the title track of a brand new EP produced by Matt Di Pomponio.

Led by an Australian native, guitarist and singer-songwriter James Challis, Colour Tongues survived all kinds of adversities, from mountain blizzards to car crashes, from the moment the band started in early 2018. Luckily for us, those experiences have guided them to where they are today, delivering great indie rock music to us. Let’s enjoy Midnight Island!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Indie

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Burlington – Mind For Mind

Artist: Burlington

Song: Mind For Mind

Genres: #indierock #altrock

Influences: Sam Fender, The 1975, The Wombats

Location:  London, United Kingdom

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: Some people have a gift for making addictive melodies without much effort and I believe that is the case of Matthew Ellis, a London-based producer/singer/multi-instrumentalist who releases a “chill-in-the-park” kind of indie rock music as Burlington. In April, he released his debut album, Daylight Sipping, with several examples of what I said above, That being said, the opening track, Mind For Mind, is my favorite one. I just love that guitar riffs that introduces you to the song and the overall vibe of the piece. It could fit in a Coldplay album (one of the good ones).

The most amazing part is that Burlington recorded this album alone in his spare bedroom, except for one track that he co-wrote with two friends (Roots). Just imagine what he could have done in a professional studio. Seriously, check this talented musician out.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Indie

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Metric – Black Sheep

Artist: Metric

Song: Black Sheep

Genres: #indierock #alternativerock

Location: Toronto, Canada

Release date: August, 2010.

Comment: Metric is as close to being indie-royalty as you will find in the world, and this electronic-leaning band from Toronto is back with a new album, Formentera, that is really good (spoiler alert: I will feature one of its songs in the near future). While we wait for that, as a #ThrowbackThursday post, we could listen again to one of their most popular songs: Black Sheep. Even though it wasn’t included in any of Metric’s studio albums, the song became popular when it was featured heavily on the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World movie, which became a cult hit.

As an interesting tidbit, actress Brie Larson is the actual singer in the version you hear in the movie (which you can listen to in one of the clips below), not Emily Haines (Metric’s lead singer). There’s some debate on the internet about which version is better. Both of them are pretty good.

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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The Faim – Me Because of You

Artist: The Faim

Song: Me Because of You

Genres: #indiepop

Location: Perth, Australia

Release date: May, 2022

Comment:  To say that Me Because of You is catchy does not make this jam justice. With an incredibly infectious rhythm and lead singerJosh Raven’s flawless falsetto vocals, this synthpop tune will hook you up from the moment it starts playing. It is part of Talk Talk, the Australian four-piece band’s brand new album, but it is also the first song the band has ever self-produced. It’s safe to say that they did a remarkable job at it.

The Faim achieved international recognition with their debut album State of Mind. Talk Talk will probably make them stars.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie
  • Pop