Eve 6 – Inside Out

Do you like the ‘heart in a blender’ song? If this question does not ring a bell to you, then you are not following Eve 6 on Twitter and, therefore, missing out on what has become one of the most entertaining accounts on that social media platform. Max Collins, the band’s frontman, became hyperactive with the account towards the end of 2020, tweeting whatever comes to his mind, from stories about other ‘nineties bands’ (as he usually refers to them) to his opinions about any subject. Sometimes he is joking and sometimes he’s telling the truth but often it is not obvious to figure out which tweet is which, with Max even referring to the whole stuff as a form of art. One of the funny things he’s been doing is asking different personalities and celebrities, from Kamala Harris to Taylor Swift, if they liked the ‘heart in a blender’ song. The Rolling Stone magazine even wrote an article about it.

Inside Out is the heart in a blender song and let me tell you, I’ve always liked it. It was part of Eve 6‘s debut album from 1998 and reached the number one spot on the Modern Rock charts. The band from Southern California broke up in 2004 but luckily got back together in 2012 and released a very nice album that year, Speak In Code. While they haven’t published any new music since then (other than a live album), they’re still together, although with a new drummer. Hopefully, there is some new music coming song. In the meantime, enjoy this week’s #ThrowbackThursday tune.

I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rinds

But the lack thereof would leave me empty inside

Swallow my doubt turn it inside out

Find nothin’ but faith in nothin’

Want to put my tender, heart in a blender

Watch it spin around to a beautiful oblivion

Rendezvous then I’m through with you

Eve 6, Inside Out

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Xavier Valdez – Bear

Xavier Valdez is a singer/songwriter from California who debuted as a solo artist in 2020. However, he used to play bass and provide backup vocals on LA-based band MR CALL, so he wasn’t a neophyte to the music business. His style is indie rock with nice pop touches that make it really enjoyable. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that his sound is completely unique, but it’s certainly distinctive enough to be refreshing.

After releasing a few singles in early 2020, Xavier compiled them into his debut EP, Sun, in August. Then, in November, he dropped a brand new single, Bear, that really reflects everything I said above about Xavier’s sound. While Bear is the track I am recommending today, check out the Sun EP too. Xavier Valdez is certainly a talented artist who knows how to make appealing indie music.

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Josh Stevens – Hello Darling

Josh Stevens has either been nominated or won quite a few awards, including the Grammys, mostly as a music producer. He got all that success working with dance and/or hip-hop artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Steve Aoki and Pitbull. So, naturally, he now sings and writes indie rock songs. And, let me tell you, he’s quite good at that.

Late last year, Josh released a superb track called Hello Darling, which he wrote for her daughter. It is an upbeat and anthemic song with neat production and great, emotional vocals. The track even features some sleek guitar riffs that are just the cherry on top. Quite simply, it is a really great tune.

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almost sex – charmer

Nick Louis, who is a Brooklyn-based multi-instrumental singer songwriter who’s been involved with other bands and is skilful at writing catchy hooks, met HW LaSota, who is an architect and writer, online basically by chance. That led to several months of remote collaboration and eventually to the formation in 2020 of almost sex, which they describe as “a folky alternative post punk rock indie pop duo“. Nick is the lead singer and instrumentalist while HW writes the lyrics. provides harmonies and plays several instruments. They haven’t told me this but I guess the band’s name is meant to imply that their music is almost as good as sex. Clever.

The duo has released two singles so far. The first one, Knockoff, was more acoustic, revealing the folky alternative side of almost sex. The second single, on the other hand, relies more on a groovy electronic soundscape that hypnotizes you for the duration of the track, helped in no small part by HW LaSota‘s subtle harmonies as her voice combines pretty well with Nick‘s. Charmer is inspired by the story of the snake and the charmer (hence its cover art above) and closes with a cool coda that contrasts nicely with the rest of the track. Let me put it this way, this song could have been part of The Neighbourhood‘s debut album and been one of its highlights, that’s how good it is.

Pay attention to almost sex because they really got a promising future.

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Five Days North – Take Me Higher

Five Days North must be the band with the highest aggregate IQ. Really. Most, if not all, of the members of this five-piece act from Manchester are scientists or doctors. I don’t think there are many bands out there that can claim that. Their specialty in music is indie pop and they’re quite good at that, even winning a few competitions for unsigned bands in the UK.

Take Me Higher is just exhibit A of the knack they got for catchy melodies. The track, which was written as a collaborative piece amongst the band members, got colorful synths and incisive bass lines that make the whole song really hard to resist to. Released in 2020 after the lockdown, Five Days North have not been able to play it live yet but it will probably become one of the highlights of their live gigs once that becomes a thing again. In the meantime, you can improve your day by listening to this cheerful song below.

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Deep.Sleep – You and I

Deep.Sleep is an indie rock band from Newcastle upon Tyne that, at least before 2020, was turning heads touring the UK and even The Netherlands pretty successfully. Their music is generally upbeat and anthemic, not that different to bands like The 1975. The Geordie band has spent this year honing their craft, resulting in the release of their latest single, You and I. It is a song about anxiety, specifically the one frontman Dan Frend felt a few years ago when his then-girlfriend moved away to study and the fact that he felt he had to tough it up because of the toxic masculinity mindset that surrounded him. He managed to find a way to make it a light-hearted and catchy tune, and that in a nutshell represents what is great about this promising young band.

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The Lutras – Give It Up For Christmas

Don’t worry. I’m not going to start spamming you with holiday-themed songs. You can get plenty of those pretty much everywhere else. The thing with Give It Up For Christmas is that it got a couple of nice things going for it: first of all, it is actually a really good song, and, on top of that, it is a charity single with ALL proceeds being split between the Music VenuesTrust #saveourvenues campaign and Shelter. The catchy single was released earlier this month and counted with the collaboration of over 40 musicians and artists, including Edinburgh’s The Phoenix Choir. If you like alternative rock songs, you’ll like this track regardless of your position towards Christmas tunes. The fact that Give It Up For Christmas supports two well-deserving charities is just the cherry on top.

With regards to The Lutras, they’re one of Scotland’s hottest emerging rock bands, topping a public vote across nearly 1000 artists to be crown winners of Firestone‘s annual search for the UK’s best independent music artist in 2019. After originally starting in 2013, it wasn’t until 2016 that this 4-piece band recorded its debut EP and things really started to take off in 2018. This year was lining up to be huge for them with a really busy schedule but then coronavirus happened. Luckily, from the sound of their latest single, it seems The Lutras will be able to pick things up right where they left off.

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Fonzy & Company – Hella Sweet

When I first heard of Fonzy & Company, I could have sweared they were from Nashville or Missouri, not Bristol, England, with members from across Britain and even New Zealand. This alternative rock band certainly flirts with the Americana sub-genre and that still holds true with their latest EP released last month: Is It Me?, which has six tracks including its lead single, Hella Sweet. Their style is guitar-based and got the peculiarity of having multiple vocalists with Olivia Jury’s voice being their secret weapon.

Hella Sweet is a fun and uplifting track that showcases all of the above. You could argue that they’re not breaking new grounds with it but as you can see in the video below, the band had a lot of fun playing this song together and they were able to transmit exactly that. When the music is this good and amusing, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. If you like Americana rock, make sure to give Fonzy & Company a try.

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Lone Kodiak – Bones

Lone Kodiak is an alternative rock band based out of Los Angeles, even though it started in Portland, Oregon, when Dainéal Parker and Daniel Alden met as teenagers. They have released one EP and a few singles since 2017 but are expecting to release their debut full-length album next year. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of bands such as Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, and Explosions In The Sky; Lone Kodiak‘s music is a dynamic mix of meaningful lyrics, engaging rock and layered vocals; and the best example for that is their latest single, Bones: an exciting sign of things to come.

Bones is a stunning track with poignant lyrics about life’s ephemeral essence. It got some cinematic vibes and an interesting melody. The vocals from Dainéal are great too, as his voice reminds me of Johnny Rzeznik‘s, which is perfect for pop-rock. Unfortunately, for now there is no video/audio track for this song on Youtube, just the teaser that you can watch below. Header over to the mixtapes you can find at the bottom of this page for the full song. It deserves a listen.

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30 – Lost In Colorado

Accurately self-described as genre-fluid, 30 is a versatile singer/songwriter from Massachusetts with over 220k monthly listeners on Spotify. In his latest EP, The Introspects Of A Psycho, which is a philosophical introspection into the life of a girl spiralling out of control who is important to the narrator, the artist moves swiftly from rap and hip-hop to alternative rock. While the former genres aren’t really my cup of tea, I certainly dig 30‘s rocker side, such as in the appealing Lost In Colorado.

This tune is a stripped down, guitar-based track with metaphorical lyrics and an engaging melody. The chorus, in particular, is one of those that keeps playing in your head long after the song has ended. It is obvious that 30 got a creative mind that will push him to explore different styles. Hopefully, he will keep a balanced approach and continue embracing his alternative side from time to time.

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