Sløtface – Come hell or whatever

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

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Phoebe Bridgers – Sidelines

Phoebe Bridgers

Artist: Phoebe Bridgers

Song: Sidelines

Genres: #indie

Location:  California, United States

Release date: April, 2022

CommentPhoebe 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.

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Emarosa – Attention

Emarosa - Attention

Artist: Emarosa

Song: Attention

Genres: #altpop #indiepop

Location:  Los Angeles, United States

Release date: July, 2022

CommentEmarosa is a band originally formed in Kentucky in 2006, but they have transformed themselves in such a way that they sound today like a completely different band, and I don’t mean simply the fact that they got a new lead vocalist, Bradley Scott, circa 2012. They went from being a post-hardcore act to an indie pop marvel with some synth-wave and 80’s music influence. Their last full album, Peach Club (2019), charted on the U.S. Billboard charts and led them to a successful nationwide tour.

Last month, Emarosa released a new indie pop song, “Attention”, that is incredibly catchy. The best way I have to describe it is: I guess this is how the child of George Michael’s “Freedom” and Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose” would sound. Give it a listen and let me know what you think!

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Metric – Paths In The Sky

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.

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Lit – Lullaby

Artist: Lit

Song: Lullaby

Genres: #alternativerock

Location: California, United States

Release date: June, 2004

Comment: A couple of weeks ago, I featured one of Lit’s new songs and this time around, as this week’s #ThrowbackThursday post, it’s time to put under the spotlight one of their most beautiful songs: 2004’s Lullaby. I loved this sweet tune, which guitarist Jeremy Popoff wrote for his then young son after months away in tours, years before I even considered becoming a dad, so don’t feel like you need to be one in order to appreciate it.

Lullaby was the ninth track in the band’s self-title album, aka the black album. Unfortunately, it was never released as a single, so chances are most people have never heard of it. If you’re one of them, I hope you fall in love with it today.

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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

CommentCovered 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.

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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!

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NERiMA – Amnesia

“Amnesia” by Nerima

Artist: NERiMA

Song: Amnesia

Genres: #alternativerock

Location: Toronto, Canada

Release date: July, 2022

Comment: When I featured Toronto-based band Nerima for the first time over a year ago, they were working on their debut EP and I’m happy to report that Have More Fun, which is how they called it, is finally going to be available next week. Earlier this month, they dropped a new single called “Amnesia“, which didn’t disappoint. After listening to it the first time, I told Connor, the bassist, that it reminded me of Letters To Cleo, a band that had a few indie hits in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The funny thing was that neither Connor nor the other band members had ever heard of them. At least, after listening to “I Want You to Want Me”, they agreed with me. I’ll focus on that instead of the fact that I’m getting old.

Amnesia, whose lyrics tell the story of a person with dreams bigger than reality, has also been compared to Paramore and Avril Lavigne, two acts that I guess need no introduction. Whatever artist Amnesia reminds you of, the bottom line is that it is a great track by a young and talented band. May their music-industry dreams become a reality.

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Lit – Do It Again

Artist: Lit

Song: Do It Again

Genres: #alternativerock

Location: California, United States

Release date: May, 2022

Comment: Do you remember the band Lit? Their hits Miserable, My Own Worst Enemy, and Over My Head, were almost ubiquitous between 1999 and 2002. The band has actually been active, without any breaks, since 1988, which is quite an achievement on itself, especially after their drummer at the time, Allen Shellenberger, died of a brain tumor in 2009. Even though they never went away, they never hit the same highs as before. That being said, I think that could change now because last month they released their sevent studio album, Tastes Like Gold, and I honestly think it is the closest they have sounded to their heyday since then. Do It Again is one of the record’s lead singles and I find it catchy as hell. If you like their old hits, you will enjoy this tune too.

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Metric – Black Sheep

Metric - Black Sheep

Artist: Metric

Song: Black Sheep

Genres: #indierock #alternativerock

Location: Toronto, Canada

Release date: August, 2010.

CommentMetric 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.


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