Tag: american band

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Coopertheband – Stuck

Some bands can’t hide how much fun they have playing music and Coopertheband is one of them. Made up of 5 self-proclaimed “music nerds”, this indie rock band from Tennessee has released two full-length albums, two EPs, and a bunch of singles already, with Stuck being the most recent one, released a couple of weeks ago.

This great song got top-notch production and a stunning bridge that elevates it to a whole new level. With a blend of indie rock and some electronic elements, the tune got the right ingredients to make you want to put it on repeat. The band wrote Stuck inspired by the current climate and it talks about that feeling we might get sometimes when we really want to do something but we get trapped by our own thoughts. Luckily for us, that wasn’t the feeling Coopertheband experienced when working on this magnetic track.

Stuck may very well be your next musical crush.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Toys In The Attic – Where Giants Sleep

Where Giants Sleep

There’s no much background info I can give you on Toys in the Attic. All I know is that this project consists of one person, based in Rhode Island and that he is pretty active on Twitter. According to his songs’ writing credits on Spotify, his name seems to be Alexander, but the fact that really matters here is that this artist is really passionate about making music of all genres, but mostly alternative and synth-based tunes. His catalogue is small but varied, with some songs flirting closely with dance music while others, like Where Giants Sleep, are mellower.

Where Giants Sleep is a catchy track that takes you on an auditive journey. It’s easy to imagine that you are driving through a scenic route when listening to this tune, and the destination is your happy place. By all means, check Toys in the Attic out and you can start right here, right now with this addictive track.

Update: Due to legal reasons, Alexander has had to change his stage name. While old songs will remain under the Toys in the Attic moniker on streaming platforms, new music will be released as Dreddbeat.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Electronic

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Monroe Moon – New American Housewife

Sometimes you got dreams to chase and other times, the dreams are the ones chasing you. You could say this is what happened to Heather Monroe when, one Christmas, her husband bought a full set of instruments for their children, hoping to get them into music. Instead, it was her who got that itch to start creating music. Before long, she was writing songs and becoming the lead singer for a 4-piece band out of Michigan that they decided to call Monroe Moon.

Last month, the band dropped a new EP, Joy, that features New American Housewife as its lead single. Within the alternative umbrella, this song got elements of rock, indie and synth-based pop, without falling entirely into any of those brackets. The track starts slowly with an eclectic but intriguing soundscape that explodes into a fantastic kind of chorus (the song structure is not the traditional one) at 1:43. The fact that it’s not repeated over and over in the way that conventional choruses are, leaves you wanting for more.

Don’t sleep on this great track. It is worthy of your attention. Check it out in the mixtapes below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Bronze Radio Return – Still Wandering

Given these options only, would you rather have several successful singles with millions of streams and TV placements while remaining relatively unknown, or international stardom without any successful single? I think most people would rightfully choose the former option and that’s precisely what Bronze Radio Return got going, to the point where they have been dubbed: “the band you’ve probably heard, but haven’t heard of.” Well, I hope that changes soon because this indie/roots rock band from Connecticut is actually pretty good.

With over 80 million streams on Spotify, quite a few high-profile placements like in the 2014 film St. Vincent , a few tv shows and commercials as well as playing the festivals circuit; this band can’t really complain about the level of success they’ve had since they started in 2007. Last month, Bronze Radio Return released this stunning single called Still Wandering (and they’re about to release a new one next week). The track reels you in from the very start and doesn’t let you go until its last chord. It is a song about being constantly searching for a dream, especially when you have none.

And if what you’re searching for is your next musical crush, stop looking. It’s right here.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Teen Idle – In The Morning

Teen Idle

Sara Abdelbarry is a 23 year-old music artist of Egyptian heritage who greg up in the suburbs of New Jersey. The boredom of suburban life and everything she went through growing up led her to start writing songs in 2018 as a mean to emotional catharsis, giving birth eventually to Teen Idle, her musical project.

Back in June, Teen Idle released her first EP, Insomniac Dreams, which consists of 6 tracks of what could be categorised as indie/dream-pop, with my favourite one being In The Morning. What I like about this song is that Sara’s ethereal vocals and pop flavour get infused with hints of alternative rock from the 90’s. I think Sara will inevitably get compared to Hope Sandoval/Mazzy Star and I can certainly see why, but I also think that she injects enough of her own identity to Teen Idle’s music to be able to stand on her own.

Listen to this rising star below and let me know if you disagree.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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Holly Jones – Believe

Few instruments are as capable of giving you calm and peace as a piano, and when it comes to piano compositions, I favor heavily the melody over everything else. This is why I like Holly Jones‘ latest piece, Believe, so much. The song’s beautiful melody takes you on a journey to the Sea of Tranquility and back, which is very much in line with what Holly had in mind when she composed the song. Her aim was to bring relief, reassurance and comfort during these uncertain times.

This contemporary classical pianist and composer is originally from Kentucky but now lives in Oklahoma. Her debut piano album was released in 2003 but it wasn’t until 2016 when she released her sophomore record. Since then, Holly has been getting new music out regularly, including Believe just this week.

Check her work out on your favorite streaming platform. In the meantime, you can relax on this Sunday afternoon listening to Believe here.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Relax

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Evaride – What’s It All For?

I feel like I should have known about American band Evaride for a while now. Formed by the former guitar player on Glee and one of the stars in Billy Joe Armstrong’s Broadway musical “American Idiot”, their debut single got over 4 million streams on Spotify and then the band got songs featured in video games and some tv shows. Their debut EP Vol. 1 got several heavyweight producers and sound-mixers involved such as Chris Lord-Alge. I mean, there was certainly some buzz about them. That being said, I only know about Evaride because they liked one of my posts on Instagram and it caught my attention because they had the verified badge.

What’s It All For? was the first song from Evaride that I played and it blew me away how well it sounded. The top-notch production made sense once I saw who had been involved, but besides that, it was a high-energy, catchy and fun pop-rock song like those from yesteryear that are not common anymore. Even better, the lyrics had a deeper meaning than what you would expect from such a fun song (and music video, see below), basically talking about all those little stupid things we tend to do or give importance to that are essentially meaningless, like people doing whatever it takes to get more likes on social media. What could be better than songs with great melodies and good lyrics?

It will be interesting to see how far Evaride will go in the next few years.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Pop

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The Mynabirds – Shake Your Head Yes

I’m almost cheating with this week’s Throwback Thursday. Yes, this song is certainly not new (2015), but I just discovered it (well, my lovely wife did) this year. What matters, anyway, is that it is a really good song and deserves to be on the mixtapes.

The Mynabirds, is the moniker under which American singer-songwriter Laura Burhenn has been working since 2010, who had also been part of different indie bands in the past. Her music as The Mynabirds can be catalogued as indie pop or altpop and Shake Your Head Yes is no exception to that. This earworm is a simple song consisting basically of a drums machine, a synth and Laura’s hypnotic vocals, but that’s enough to make you listen it on repeat for a good while, as the musical crush this tune is. You can find it in the Pop Mixtape below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Neon Trees – Used To Like

Neon Trees

Unfortunately, I don’t have much time to write anything today, so this entry will be an easy and short one. Neon Trees released a new album last week, I Can Feel You Forgetting Me, and even though its lead single debuted much earlier this year, I still think it’s the best track in the album. The band had a few hits in the early 2010s, like Animal, but hadn’t released any new material in 5 years. They came back with their trademark alt-pop sound but with a bigger 80s influence. Used to Like is a perfect example of that. Enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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KidEyes – Ready To Go

KidEyes

I can’t recall how I discovered KidEyes, an indie/altpop duo based out of Los Angeles. It was about a month ago, possibly through Instagram, but the specifics elude me. Regardless, I’m grateful for finding them because their music is incredibly enjoyable, and today’s featured song is a perfect example.

“Ready To Go” is the band’s latest single, released in June following their self-titled debut EP from 2019. Despite addressing feelings of being lost and disoriented, it’s a captivating indie pop track that could serve as the soundtrack to our peculiar year. Give it a listen here:

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Indie
  • Pop