Tag: indie music

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Au Gres – At Home In The Dark

Au Gres - At Home In The Dark

I’m here for the outstanding guitar solo in the bridge of At Home In The Dark. It really elevates the whole song to another level: from nice to really good. The tune is the second single from Michigan based-artist Au Gres  (aʷ grā), which is the musical project of singer-songwriter Joshua Kemp, who conceived the whole project in his bedroom with, according to him, unimpressive equipment. Au Gres‘ music is a blend of indie rock with bedroom pop and that is particularly true in this new release, which Joshua refers to as being “indie pop with teeth”.

At Home In The Dark is also a love song whose theme is promising one’s partner that you will help them feel at home during the good times but specially during rough times too. You can read a wonderful review of this song at our friend Jeff‘s essential music blog: Eclectic Music Lover, or just listen to it right away at the links below. Whatever you choose, you won’t regret it.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Carson Rowland – Miss Hollywood Wannabe

To be honest, when I heard that Carson Rowland was an actor who started on Nickelodeon and was now trying his luck as a musician as well and that he had a new track that perhaps was about a fellow actress and former love interest who was obsessed with making it in we Hollywood, I never thought that I was going to like the song. What can I say? We all have our biases. The truth is that Miss Hollywood Wannabe is catchy as hell and Carson is actually a nice singer with an enjoyable voice. Even the lyrics aren’t as cheesy as I thought they were going to be. He is way better than your average young heartthrob actor turned pop star. Not only that, he’s even completing a degree in Neuroscience with a 4.0 grade point average. Talk about judging a book by its cover.

If you don’t hate good hook-ridden pop songs, give Miss Hollywood Wannabe a chance. It’s as good as they come. If Carson Rowland continues down this road, he has a real chance to become a much bigger star.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Mystery Rose – Stability

Pop-punk is far less popular today than 15 years ago but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t young artists exploring that genre. We have featured a few here already and today’s artist is another example. Mystery Rose is a 17-year-old indie artists from L.A who writes and records her own music, which ranges from Amy Winehouse-style blues ballads to the genre mentioned earlier. Unlike most teenagers in the music business today, she is not interested in fame, which is why she chose the Mystery Rose moniker. She can show her face from time to time but, for the most part, she prefers to remain largely a mystery.

Mystery Rose‘s debut album, the cleverly titled Socially Distant, will be released this year and its first official single is Stability. A catchy tune about feeling vulnerable after a break-up, it reminisces early ‘00s indie rock tracks, While it doesn’t get bonus points for innovation, it delivers way more than enough in terms of quality rock music. Definitely, check this young artist out.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Punk-Rock

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Cloe Wilder – I Wanna Be Alone With You

I can’t believe indie-pop singer/songwriter Cloe Wilder is just 14-years-old. Her single I Wanna Be Alone With You, from her just-released debut EP Teenage Lullabies, is as catchy as it comes. Lyrically, the tune is probably what you would expect from a teenager but musically the track is flawless within the indie pop genre. It got more hooks than a fisherman’s kit. When you add it up and also take into account Cloe’s voice, can you blame me for having trouble believing her age?

As many other artists nowadays, the Florida-based songstress started her career uploading covers to her Youtube channel. With her talent, the sky is certainly limit. I just hope she keeps true to herself writing music that she likes as opposed to simply what they think is going to sell. Only time will tell but she could certainly become something special.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Tobisonics feat. Costi – Eye of The Storm

Eye Of The Storm is the latest track from Tobisonics, the musical project of Luxembourg-based electro-synthwave artist Toby Davis. For this tune, he got the collaboration of London-based hip hop artist and rapper Costi and mixes in samples of President John F. Kennedy’s famous inaugural speech. Now, I’m usually not keen on tracks so close to the rap and hip-hop genres but the truth is that I really dig this one. I find the chorus extremely catchy and the sampling of Kennedy’s speech (as well as its message) was a master stroke. For an in-depth review and description of the track, please visit this post written by our friend Jeff from Eclectic Music Lover. As usual, it’s excellent form start to finish.

Toby created Tobisonics in his mid-30s after losing nearly two decades to chronic anxiety and depression. I’m glad he rediscovered his love for making music because he’s obviously talented enough to create interesting pieces. It’s never too late to do what you love.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Jenny Kern – Coming Back For Me

Coming Back For Me is an introspective indie pop track about solitude and self-acceptance. What I really like about it is the fragile atmosphere that Canadian-born singer/songwriter Jenny Kern surrounded the track with. The layered production and the ethereal vocals make the whole listening experience a very appeasing one.

Jenny Kern is based out of Brooklyn, NY these days. She’s been active since 2019 and got invited to tour Europe after her 2019 single Slow Burn got some global attention. She started 2021 on a roll, releasing Coming Back For Me in January and getting ready to drop another single in March. If you enjoy dreamy altpop and honest songwriters, you should check Jenny out. Her music will definitely be up your alley.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Taylor Castro – Breathe

Ignore for a moment the picture above. If you just listened to Miami-based singer/songwriter Taylor Castro‘s voice, you would find it hard to believe that she’s only 21. She really got a strong voice that will prevent her from sounding like your typical female pop artist. Knowing how to write a hook does help her too. She’s been active in the music business for 3 or 4 years already but was particularly successful last year, with nearly all of her singles from 2020 reaching over 1 million views on Youtube. She’s dropping a 10-track album, Girl, Afraid later this year featuring those songs along with new tunes.

Breathe is one of Taylor‘s new tunes for 2021. Written during quarantine (shocking, I know) in the midst of a rage, it gave Taylor a way to deal with the frustration and calm herself down. It got a catchy melody and a crisp production, as it’s usually the case with any good alt-pop song, but makes this tune particularly interesting is Taylor‘s powerful voice. I think the future is extremely bright for this young talented artist.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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Allison Lorenzen feat. Midwife – Vale

Denver-based artist Allison Lorenzen is one half of the synth / percussion duo School Dance, which allowed her to learn the tropes of composing beautiful vocal melodies across minimalistic backgrounds. In January, Allison put all those skills on display with her first release as a solo artist, Vale, for which she got the help of slowcore multi-instrumentalist Madeline Johnston, aka Midwife.

I really like the deceiving simplicity of the track but I also find the main melody quite catchy. Vale is another word for valley, which is often used metaphorically to describe feeling low or depressed, which is the meaning the word has on this ethereal song. Luckily, that’s far from the feeling you get when listening to Vale: the elation of having found a great tune. Check it out below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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BILYK & Endless Melancholy – Far Away

BILYK & Endless Melancholy - Far Away

Far Away is a really captivating track. Musically, it is reminiscing of the works of acts like Morcheeba, Massive Attack, and even Mazzy Star; which makes sense because Canada-based singer/songwriter BILYK grew up listening to all of them in Western Ukraine. She has been collaborating with Ukrainian ambient/downtempo project Endless Melancholy, resulting in several stunning songs. One Day You Will Be Free, one of their previous collaborations, got featured in one of the renowned Buddha Bar compilation albums. I honestly think that Far Away is even better.

The combination of Endless Melancholy‘s chill ambient electronic background and BILYK‘s gorgeous and soothing vocals result in a truly spellbinding tune. I should also mention the equally outstanding music video, filmed on the shore of the Baltic Sea on Rugen Island by Roman Hense, which you can find below. Watching the beautiful cinematography with Far Away playing in the background is indeed a fascinating experience.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie
  • Chill Out

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Misao McGregor – She Was Worlds Above Me

At a minimum, what you should know about Misao McGregor is that she’s a singer/songwriter who composes charming music that has roots in indie, pop and soul. You don’t need to know that she’s based in Los Angeles, California or that she was classically trained as singer and pianist, but it adds a little bit of context to her story and it is always nice to have context. Similarly, we absolutely don’t need to know that she’s openly gay, mixed-race American-Japanese and non-binary femme in order to appreciate her music, but it is nice that she generously shares that info because it helps us put everything in perspective. It gives us another lens through which interpret her lyrics and plays and connect with what she’s trying to say.

Misao recently self-released her debut album, Kid In The Corner, which is an autobiographical look into her first 24 years of life and the experiences that made her who she is today, good and bad. The whole album is worth your attention but I particularly liked She Was Worlds Above Me. Not only does it have stunning hooks and great vocals but also a deep meaning. I’ll let Misao explain it herself in the video below. All I can add to that is that I hope you give this talented artist a chance.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie
  • Pop