Kami Kehoe – Test Dummy

Artist: Kami Kehoe

Song: Test Dummy

Genres: #indiepop #altpop

Location: Las Vegas, United States

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: A song about heartbreak, Test Dummy is a hauntingly melancholic tune that grows on you with every single listen. Promising Las Vegas-based artist Kami Kehoe wrote it after a heartbreak and in the process showed us that she got what it takes to make outstanding music. Definitely someone to keep an eye on. Check her out.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

MONOWHALES – New Threads

Artist: MONOWHALES

Song: New Threads

Genres: #indierock #altpop

Location: Canada

Release date: April, 2022

CommentMONOWHALES were featured here more than one year ago and now they’re back with a new single that, while sounding different and fresh, is also very good. This time they delight us with a bedroom pop tune centered about coming of age as an adult.

New Threads is a real earworm. Check it out.

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Rose-Erin Stokes – The Same Way

Rose-Erin Stokes
Photo: Andrew Sowka

Artist: Rose-Erin Stokes

Song: The Same Way

Genres: #indiefolk #singersongwriter

Location: Ontario, Canada

Release date: April, 2022

Comment:  This sweet and gorgeous song goes hand in hand with its quirky music video, which is basically a short film directed by Andrew Sowka. The song, part of Rose-Erin’s upcoming LP, When The Sun Goes Away, is a guitar-based indie-folk tune that somehow reminded me of Regina Spektor‘s Us, even though the two songs don’t sound alike. I guess it is the way how Rose-Erin sings “all along”. Anyway, please enjoy this magical song/music video.

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Sigrid – It Gets Dark

Artist: Sigrid

Song: It Gets Dark

Genres: #indiepop #altpop

Location: Norway

Release date: March, 2022

Comment: Norwegian singer Sigrid got an international pop hit with Sucker Punch, from her eponymous debut album. That song was catchy and I did like it, but the young artist still managed to surprise me when I listened to It Gets Dark, a lead single off her brand new sophomore album: How To Let Go. This song is next level good. Check it out.

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Sasha Alex Sloan – WTF

Artist: Sasha Alex Sloan

Song: WTF

Genres: #indiepop #altpop

Location: Los Angeles, United States

Release date: March, 2022

Comment: WTF got some rather depressing lyrics but I fell in love with it anyway. As soon as Alexandra Artourovna Yatchenko, aka Sasha Alex Sloan (and formerly: Sasha Sloan), started singing: “Same shit, different year”, I was spellbound. One of the lead singles off Sasha’s sophomore album, I Blame The World (which is going to be released next week!), this honest track is definitely a #musicalcrush. Hopefully, there will be a few of those in the new album.

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Cassidy Mann – Since I Met You

Artist: Cassidy Mann

Song: Since I Met You

Genres: #indiefolk #singersongwriter

Location: Toronto, Canada

Release date: March, 2022

Comment:  I’ve mentioned before that a certain song would have fit well in Garden State‘s award-winning soundtrack, but in Since I Met You’s case, that was absolutely what the songwriter intended. Talented artist Cassidy Mann wrote it after rewatching that movie and getting inspired to make something as magical as that soundtrack. She managed to do it, by the way, as this track is a beautiful indie song with a delicate electronic background that complements the acoustic brushes really well. Also, is it just me or does Cassidy sound a bit like Phoebe Bridgers‘?

Since I Met You is one of six songs tyou can find in If It’s Not Forever, Cassidy Mann’s debut EP. The sky’s the limit for her.

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Love You Later – Keepintouch

Artist: Love You Later

Song: Keepintouch

Genres: #indiepop #indierock

Location: Nashville, United States

Release date: March, 2022.

CommentLove You Later is the #altpop solo project of Lexi Aviles, a 23-year-old artist who has opened for the likes of OneRepublic and has won the attention of multiple tastemakers in the US. After listening to her effervescent new single, Keepintouch, it’s easy to understand why. The infectious earworm, inspired by Love You Later‘s discomfort with being alone, is one of those lighthearted songs sometimes you just can’t get enough of.

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Ryan Wright – A Dream I’ll Forget

Artist: Ryan Wright

Song: A Dream I’ll Forget

Genres: #indiepop #altpop

Location: Northern Virginia, United States

Influences: The Smiths, The 1975, Lana Del Rey

Release date: January, 2022

Comment: “A Dream I’ll Forget” is an ethereal and soothing indie pop song by Virginia-based artist: Ryan Wright. It is part of an eponymous EP released earlier this month, her first one. It is quite fitting that the song talks about a dream as it certainly feels like one. The lush synths complement Ryan’s vocals pretty well, which is why you don’t want this tune to end. Ah and she was born in 2002. The sky is really the limit for her.

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JOBIE – Scorpio

Photo credits: Elaine Tantra

Artist: JOBIE

Song: Scorpio

Genres: #indiefolk #singersongwriter

Location: Boston, United States

Influences: Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers, Tom Petty

Release date: November, 2021

CommentJosie Arthur, aka JOBIE, is a young and talented indie folk singer-songwriter used to playing at house shows and bars in Boston. She has released three singles so far, and even though Scorpio is the latest one, it was actually the first song JOBIE ever recorded. Written about the universal experience of being infatuated with someone you don’t know at all, which happened to her when she started college, this honest and raw tune features just a guitar and Josie’s sweet vocals. Check it out!

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Angela Sclafani – Bell Jar

Photo: Jules Miranda

Artist: Angela Sclafani

Song: Bell Jar

Genres: #indie #indiefolk

Location: New York City, United States

Influences: Regina Spektor, Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones

Release date: February, 2022.

CommentAngela Sclafani is an independent #singersongwriter from New York City who has released three EPs so far and won numerous accolades as a songwriter. Her new single, Bell Jar, was inspired by Sylvia Plath‘s 1963 novel and is full of evocative lyrics that encourage listeners to challenge those social conventions that keep them down. Melodically, the track reminds me not only of the artists listed as Angela’s influences but also Lisa Loeb and even Sarah McLachlan. If you like sweet melodies with great lyrics, you’re in for a treat.

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