Tag: indie music

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Eighty Ninety – The Night Sky

Artist: Eighty Ninety

Song: The Night Sky

Genres: #indiepop

Location: New York City, United States

Release date: June, 2022.

Comment: NYC indie-pop duo Eighty Ninety was featured here first in March 2021 with their single Forever. They continued releasing singles during this time and last month they finally dropped an EP that contains not only those singles, including Forever, but also three brand new ones: “Walking You Home“, “Thinking of You” and the title track “The Night Sky“. The latter is my favorite one even though all songs got infectious hooks and superb production.

The Night Sky is a sweet and romantic song about seeing your whole future in the eyes of the person you fell for. In fact, if you’d like to make a mixtape for a loved one, this would be an ideal first track.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Pop

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The Head & The Heart – Hurts (But It Goes Away)

Hurts (But It Goes Away)

Artist: The Head & The Heart

Song: Hurts (But It Goes Away)

Genres: #indiefolk

Location: Seattle, United States

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: They’re not The Lumineers famous, but with 5 pretty successful studio albums, The Head & The Heart are definitely a well-known band. Named after the dichotomy of doing what your head says or following your heart, the band recently released their fifth studio album: Every Shade of Blue, which includes today’s recommended track: “Hurts (But It Goes Away)“. It’s perhaps the most upbeat track in that record and also a perfect piece of folk-pop. I particularly like the following lyrics that they sing in the chorus: ““tell me that I’m going to be okay, tell me that life’s going to find a way…”.

Unfortunately, this earworm doesn’t have an official video (yet) but here’s a live version they performed on Jimmy Kimmel’s show.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Gallipoli – Blurry Mess

Artist: Gallipoli

Song: Blurry Mess

Genres: #indiefolk

Location: Los Angeles, United States

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: Gallipoli means “beautiful city” in Greek. It is also the name of a region in Turkey as well as a military campaign during World War I. In fact, it was the ‘Battle of Gallipoli’ which inspired Aman Sheriff and Lucas McCone to name their LA-based indie folk act: Gallipoli, as a homage to their family history. Both musicians got several years of experience as music producers and film composers, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that they decided to make music together.

Back in April, they released On Vondo, their debut EP, which consists of four beautiful tracks and was written during the 2020 lockdown when the pair lived in North Macedonia for six months. All four tracks are really nice but my favourite, Blurry Mess, is simply special. I just love the switch in gears around the 2:30 mark. The song, which talks about an out of sync couple full of doubts, will remind you of artists such as Bon Iver and Lord Huron.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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The Trusted – Millennium

Artist: The Trusted

Song: Millennium

Genres: #indierock #altrock

Influences: Catfish and the Bottlemen, The 1975, Elvis Costello

Location:  Southend on Sea, United Kingdom

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: Continuing with the theme of T.A.M. regulars, we have today what could be The Trusted‘s best single to date: Millennium. A song about coming of age in the 21st century, this vibrant indie rock track combines traditional rock instruments with synths and other subtle electronic elements, giving it a sound that’s both modern and classic.

The Southend-on-Sea natives recorded Millennium in SS2 Studios and got help from producer Rees Broomfield and Grammy-nominated Andy Bradfield (Elbow, David Gray, Rufus Wainwright), who mixed the single. As you can see, this is a pristine and well-rounded track. Below you can find its lyrics video and, as a bonus, an acoustic rendition of this song that The Trusted performed flawlessly. Enjoy!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Indie

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Jillian Lake – Steady Hands

Artist: Jillian Lake

Song: Steady Hands

Genres: #indiefolk #singersongwriter

Location: Vancouver, Canada

Release date: April, 2022

Comment:  It is common knowledge that some of the best art comes out of feeling heartbroken. It was that aching feeling that inspired indie artist Jillian Lake to write Steady Hands, a luscious and stripped-down single that forms part of her brand new album Younger Then. After reaching over 100K plays on one of her most recent singles, Jillian is set to keep expanding her audience with her new work.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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Joe Holt – Who Cares

Artist: Joe Holt

Song: Who Cares

Genres: #indiefolk

Location: New York City, United States

Release date: April, 2022

Comment: If you like indie folk music, then you have to give this song, Who Cares, a chance. With its sweet melody and Joe’s ethereal vocals, it’s hard not to fall in love with this track that this talented #singersongwriter wrote during the pandemic to reflect the helplessness we were all feeling –and to some extent still feel–, at the time. Who Cares is the second single from Joe Holt‘s new full-length album, Tired of Trying. Having graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in 2015, this folk-rock artist has released four EPs and three full albums already, all worth checking out.

You can find the studio version of this gorgeous track in the mixtapes below but here’s a live rendition of it. Enjoy:

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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beabadoobee – See You Soon

beabadoobee - See You Soon

Artist:  beabadoobee

Song: See You Soon

Genres: #indierock

Location: London, United Kingdom

Release date: April, 2022

Comment:  When I first featured beabadoobee almost two years ago, she was still relatively unknown. Today, she’s an international alternative rock darling who is getting ready to release her sophomore studio album: Beatopia next month. For my return after a short break, I’ve decided to feature the second lead single from her new record, the enchanting See You Soon. While still being an #altrock song, it is less “grungy” than her previous singles and got more of an ethereal factor, particularly with the sticky chorus. It’s great to see her experimenting with new sounds instead of simply repeating the formula of her debut album, all this while still sounding great. That’s what sets great artists apart.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie

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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:

  • Everything
  • Indie
  • Pop

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Sugarcult – Do It Alone

Artist: Sugarcult

Song: Do It Alone

Genres: #alternativerock

Location: California, United States

Release date: July, 2006

Comment:  I hadn’t done one of these (#ThrowbackThursday entries) in a while, mostly due to a lack of time, not a lack of songs. In fact, I wanted to feature Sugarcult last week, after they kindly liked a tweet in which I mentioned them, but alas, I ran out of time. This band from Santa Barbara, California, started in 1999 and had a pretty successful debut studio album in 2001, during the hey-day of early 2000s punk-rock –by the way, last year they re-release that album in its 20th anniversary–. However, something I liked about them was that they were not afraid to experiment and try new sounds: none of their three studio albums sound alike.

Despite still being active (after a hiatus), they have not released a new album since 2006’s Lights Out, which is the one that features today’s track: Do It Alone. This song was the first single off that album and probably ahead of its time, because it wasn’t even as successful as the second single (Los Angeles). I think part of the reason why was that it sounded closer to the music of bands that were becoming popular then, like The Killers, than what Sugarcult had released before. It was our loss, though, because the single was really outstanding and perhaps, in a parallel world in which both track and album were a massive success, we would have had many more Sugarcult albums.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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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.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie