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.

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The Royal Foundry – Little High Little Low

The Royal Foundry - Little High Little Low

Artist: The Royal Foundry

Song: Little High Little Low

Genres: #indierock #altpop

Location: Alberta, Canada

Release date: April, 2022

Comment:  If you just listened to Canadian alt-pop quartet The Royal Foundry‘s latest single, the extremely infectious Little High Little Low, you would never guess that they were once a folk duo, with real life couple Jared Salte and Bethany Schumacher at its core. The band has achieved certain recognition in their home country but this track about the importance of mental health and learning how to handle high and lows, could be the one that puts them firmly on the radar at an international level. It you like The Strumbellas (I do, a lot), you are going to love this. Enjoy!

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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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Rosehip – Twilight

Photo credit: @olicutter

Artist: Rosehip

Song: Twilight

Genres: #chillout #lofi

Location: London, United Kingdom

Release date: February, 2022.

Comment: Inspired by the eponymous 1850 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (sampled at 1:16), Twilight is a relaxing and melancholic lo-fi single from London-based producer Rosehip. The poem describes the ocean though the eyes of a child who’s looking at it, in the middle of a storm, from the comfort of home, and that’s the feeling Rosehip wanted to evoke in the listener too: feeling comfortable during turbulent times.

Twilight is part of Stargaze, the new EP by this talented artist. Despite starting pushing the boundaries of lo-fi recently (2020), Rosehip has already achieved over 8 million streams on Spotify. Once you listen to Twilight, you will see why.

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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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Skinny Dippers – Wedding Ring

Artist: Skinny Dippers

Song: Wedding Ring

Genres: #indiefolk

Location: Brooklyn, United States

Release date: February, 2022

Comment: When most people hear the words: indie music, they think of songs similar to Wedding Ring, such as New Slang by The Shins (which was also part of the famous Garden State Soundtrack discussed recently here), so when you hear the second single off NY-based indie project Skinny Dippers‘ upcoming debut album, that’s what you’re going to get: a perfectly fine example of #indiemusic. From the warm guitars to frontman Ryan Gross‘ gentle vocals, this clever song about realising a little too late that the person you have an affair with is wearing a wedding ring, will certainly leave you looking forward to The Town & The City, their debut 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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Stumble Steady – Transducer

Artist: Stumble Steady

Song: Transducer

Genres: #indiepop #alternativerock

Location: Florida, United States

Influences: Cage The Elephant, The 1975, Dayglow

Release date: March, 2022.

Comment: Talented musician Garrett Kealer has been featured on T.A.M. as Stumble Steady a couple of times before (here and here), and a lot has changed since the last time that happened (almost exactly one year ago). For starters, Stumble Steady is no longer a solo act, as you can see in the video below. Co-vocalist Cara Harpest debuts in the bands’ new single, Transducer, which is certainly their catchiest track so far. As usual, the song’s lyrics were inspired by Garrent’s experience with OCD, with the idea behind it being taking all the negative energy coming from dealing with that illness and transforming it into something positive. Well, that’s exactly what they achieved because there’s no room for negative emotions when yo listen to such an effervescent tune. Enjoy!

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The Auxiliary – Overture

Photo credit: Paul Storey

Artist: The Auxiliary

Song: Overture

Genres: #chillout #dreampop

Location: North Carolina, United States

Release date: January, 2022.

Comment: Russell Howard, the talented musician behind The Auxiliary, has been making music professionally most of his life, mainly as an acoustic singer-songwriter supporting acts such as The Lumineers and Sister Hazel, but it wasn’t until he decided to leave behind the boundaries of that genre and embrace what really inspired him, that he found what he didn’t know he’d been looking for. Overture is his debut single as The Auxiliary, and this one turned out to be a gorgeous electronic soundscape with ethereal vocals and reverberated synths. It feels like the soundtrack of a dream. Don’t miss it.

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