Tag: indie music

Posted on

Julia Michaels – All Your Exes

Julia Michaels - All Your Exes

Julia Cavazos, better known as Julia Michaels, made a name for herself writing hits for other pop artists such as Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and Shawn Mendes, just to name a few. Then, in 2017, she wrote a song that she liked so much that she kept it for herself. That tune, Issues, became a hit and even earned her some Grammy nominations (whatever that’s worth). Julia is a established solo artist now and earlier this year released her debut studio album: Not In Chronological Order, which features the single being featured here today.

I hadn’t paid that much attention to Julia before because most of her songs tend to be mainstream pop tunes that are not typically my cup of tea. That being said, I happened to listen to All Your Exes and found it so good that I had to write about it here. It starts as a decent pop track led by an acoustic guitar and Julia Michaels‘ great vocals. So far so good but nothing to write home about. Then the chorus starts and it becomes a very different song, swapping out the acoustic guitar with a gritty electric one. The end result is one of the best #poprock tunes of the year, which comes accompanied by a fun music video that nods to a few psychological thrillers. Well worth your time.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Pop

Posted on

The Hisunz – CNTRDCTNS

CNTRDCTNS sounds great. Period. But when you are told that it is just the second single The Hisunz have ever released, then you can’t help but feel blown away. Well, I guess it helps a lot to have the guidance of another band that has been around for a long time now: The Ting Tings, who co-wrote and produced some of their songs. The Hisunz were formed in East London but both of their members, Emma Barber and Alex Roman, come from Spain. In fact, they’re currently in that country preparing their debut album.

The Hisunz cite The XX as one of their influences and you can definitely sense that in CNTRDCTNS, which mixes layered guitars and atmospheric electronic sounds with dreamy vocal melodies. It’s a mesmerizing indie rock song that you will want to put on repeat. Highly recommended!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie
  • Pop

Posted on

The Rising – So Alive

So Alive came up a few days ago while I was working and it immediately made me look at what other music this little known #alternativerock band called The Rising had released since then. I didn’t know much about them and So Alive was their only song in my library. Sadly, my research revealed bad news only.

The Rising was formed by Australian singer Michael Johns, and if that name rings a bell to you is probably because he finished in eighth place on the seventh season of American Idol (2008). The Rising’s first and only album, Future Unknown, was released in 2003 and then again in 2008 after Johns’ appearance on the aforementioned TV show. It never really sold much but Michael was then able to release a solo album in 2009 that sold 20,000 copies. The really sad news was that Michael passed away in 2014, aged just 35, of dilated cardiomyopathy. Way too young.

So Alive might be a little known song but that doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of your attention. There are plenty of little gems out there that never received a fair chance. As a tribute to Michael Johns, I thought of sharing one of his best songs with you in this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry in case you weren’t aware of it. I really hope you can enjoy it!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

Posted on

TROUBLESHOOT – Inside My Head

I’ve been sick for the past few days, which is the reason why I wasn’t able to post anything since Saturday. Inside My Head is the song I was planning to write about on Monday but things didn’t go as planned. Anyway, that’s life.

I wrote about British artist Troubleshoot four months ago when he released his song Worst Bad Habit and now he’s back with a new track that sounds even better while maintaining a similar musical style. He got help from sound engineer Alex Edge for recording, mixing and mastering Inside My Head, which will be part of Troubleshoot‘s forthcoming debut album and one of his favorite tracks. The song talks about the ideal work Ben has created in his head, which contrasts with the toxic place he perceives the real world to be nowadays. The end result is a powerful and catchy alternative rock song like those that were popular 20 years ago.

Check it out below and support this up-and-coming music artist.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

Posted on

almost sex – Blue Heaven

almost sex - Blue Heaven

It’s hard to believe that we’re already in June. It was more than 6 months ago when we were introduced to alternative act almost sex back in January. Since then, they have released a few more singles and even an acoustic EP so to say that they have been very active in 2021 would be an understatement. Each new song has been considerably different to the previous ones and their latest single, Blue Heaven, is no exception. I think it is the one I have liked the most since Charmer, but that does not mean that their others releases are not worth your time. They are.

What I really enjoy about Blue Heaven is its groovy backing track. I don’t know how Nick and Warren do it but it is kind of addictive. You can’t get enough of it. The vocals match the infectious rhythm perfectly well, resulting in a well-rounded song that you will want to play on repeat. Again and again. Check it out below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Indie
  • Pop

Posted on

The Black Mamba – Love Is On My Side

I was busier than expected this week, which is the reason for the short amount of updates here. I hope I can compensate for that by featuring here a great song that was totally overlooked at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

If you have never heard of that contest (it is not very popular in North America), our friend Jeff from the great Eclectic Music Lover blog, offered a concise summary when he reviewed the winning song from this edition, which wasn’t my favorite but I didn’t dislike. There is something you need to understand about Eurovision: most people watch it –and we’re talking about more than 200 million worldwide– not because of the quality of the contestants but to laugh at some of the over-the-top and often ludicrous acts that some countries send to this contest each year (for example, this one). A jury from each country awards points to 10 other countries, which accounts for half of the total amount of points. The other half comes from popular vote (people can’t vote for the act representing their own country). However, quite often political reasons influence how the country juries vote and the general public regularly selects the most extravagant acts, which means that the winning song is rarely the most deserving one (I mean, this song won in 2018). Therefore, if you don’t hate the winning song, you can consider yourself satisfied.

All that being said, this year’s edition was better than expected in terms of the quality of the contestants. Most of them were at least decent and a few were even more than good. In my opinion, by far the best entry was the act representing Portugal: The Black Mamba, and their song Love Is On My Side. It finished in 12th place but as I explained above, that doesn’t mean much. What really matters is that the tune, which was the first Portuguese song in the contest performed entirely in English, is outstanding. It starts with bluesy undertones reminiscing of rock tracks from the 1970s, which contrasts very well with the catchy chorus more typical of an #indierock track. It also helps that the band’s frontman’s, Pedro Tatanka, voice is really distinctive and perfect for this kind of music.He wrote the song inspired by a sex worker the band met during a trip to Rotterdam in 2019. Written from her perspective, it reflects how all hope is not lost even when life does not go as planned.

I hope you enjoy Loves Is On My Side as much as I did.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

Posted on

SR-71 – Last Man On The Moon

SR-71 - Now you see inside

If you have heard of SR-71 at all (the band, not the aircraft), it’s probably because of their 2000’s hit single Right Now, which got a lot of airplay back then. It was their only hit from their underrated debut album, Now You See Inside, but I consider it to be barely the fourth best song on that record. The band from Baltimore, Maryland, went on to release two additional studio albums before calling it quits in 2004 (they had a brief reunion playing some shows together around 2009) and SR-71‘s frontman, Mitch Allan, is still active today as a pretty successful music producer. While they never had another hit as big as Right Now, it could be argued that one track from their last studio album was even bigger because the version of 1985 played by Bowling For Soup became a huge hit without most people even being aware that it was a cover.

Anyway, going back to SR-71’s debut album, the song I tend to play again and again is usually Last Man On The Moon. I love those drums and the overall melody of the track, as well as the way the bridge transitions back into the chorus. The lyrics are enjoyable although not as good as the lyrics for another track in that album: Alive, but I will leave that for another post. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry as much as I do.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Punk-Rock

Posted on

My Favorite Highway – Getaway Car

My Favorite Highway

Earlier this week, I mentioned My Favorite Highway as an “obscure” reference. That’s because after one album and a couple of EPs as independent releases, they only released one full album, How To Call a Bluff –in 2008, and then re-released with a couple of extra songs in 2009 under a different label–, as signed artists before quickly disbanding in 2010. Some of their songs from that album appear on some popular shows around that time and they toured with artists such as Hellogoodbye and Kelly Clarkson; but, nevertheless, chances are that you have never heard of them. They never became that popular.

That is a shame, though. This band, originally formed in 2004 by two brothers from Fairfax, Virginia, was really good at writing infectious #poprock tunes that you simply could not get enough of. I think the best example of that was their single Getaway Car, which has a chorus to die for. I really mean it. No matter what mood you are in on any given day, as soon as that chorus starts, it is impossible to remain neutral to it. As this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry, please let me introduce you to a #musicalcrush of mine from the late 2000s. Hope you like it!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

Posted on

Lost In Japan – Lonely

Lost In Japan - Lonely

Lost In Japan is a Canadian band whose members have never actually being lost in that Asian country. That being said, I dig that band’s name and, more importantly, their indie rock music. With a sound reminiscing of Arkells and My Favorite Highway (obscure reference), Lost In Japan have received plenty of support in their hometown of London, Ontario, and even amassed over 500k streams for their debut album (2018). They’re getting ready to release a sophomore EP and Lonely is its latest leading single.

Frontman Addison Johnson wrote Lonely three years ago while he was on tour. He wanted to channel the loneliness he was feeling while away from his family. Eventually, after other band members added their input to it, the tune morphed into the version we can listen to now. What I really love about Lonely is the infectious chorus that Addison delivers flawlessly. It’s a really catchy tune that I’m sure you will enjoy.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

Posted on

YumeMike – Dream Out Loud

YumeMike

Yume means ‘dream’ in Japanese and that is the reason why YumeMike chose that moniker, even though he’s actually Italian. He grew up playing bass in multiple #punkrock bands but, as a solo artist, he traded the bass for synths, creating an interesting variant of #indiepop with a strong #poppunk flavour. He cites The Naked And Famous and The Killers as influences, but if you want to have an idea of what he sounds like, think Owl City meets Angels & Airwaves. YumeMike’s ‘dream’ is to inspire and elicit warm feelings through his music. If you like positive messages, this is the artist for you.

Dream Out Loud is part of YumeMike‘s debut album, Light In The Mirror, released in February but that he started working on back in 2019. The track is perfectly on-brand with the artist’s style of uplifting synthpop music but I have to say that the overall production/musical arrangement is really impressive considering he worked on it alone. In fact, YumeMike just released an instrumental version of his debut album that is just as good too. This Italian artist is seriously talented and deserves to be on our radars. Check him out.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop