Tag: Indie Rock

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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.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie
  • Pop

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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.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie
  • Pop

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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.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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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.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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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.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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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.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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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.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Blue October – Moving On (So Long)

Blue October is an alternative rock band from Houston, Texas. They’ve been around since 1995 and scored a couple of big hits in 2006 with Hate Me and Into The Ocean as well as a good number of top 40 singles. I’ve never been that much into them but I’m reconsidering that because their 10th studio album, This Is What I Love For, released back in October, got a bunch of really great songs, such as Fight For Love, and today’s addition to the mixtapes: Moving On (So Long). I checked their back catalogue again and it’s better than I remembered. I’ve been wrong about them all this time.

Moving On (So Long) is a folksy track with a country vibe to it. The tune is certainly very radio-friendly but in a nice way. One of those songs that can lighten up your mood right away. Quite frankly, it is a great song to start your weekend with.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Folk/Indie

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Plain White T’s – Let Me Take You There

If you know only one song from Plain White T’s, it’s likely to be Hey There Delilah. By far, the band’s most successful single and a beautiful song indeed. That track was part of their fourth studio album, 2007’s Every Second Counts, which also featured a tune that I really loved back then called Let Me Take You There. I hadn’t listened to it in years until I stumbled upon it again earlier this week. It’s a gorgeous song that got overlooked due to the incredible success of that other song mentioned above. I hope you can enjoy this gem as this week’s #ThrowbackThursday entry.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative

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Kaleiders – Alright

If you’re a fan of The Gaslight Anthem, chances are you will like Kaleiders too. Although not specifically from Manchester, this four-piece band hails from nearby Warrington and aims to bridge the gap between melodic punk and indie rock, resulting in a sound not that different from the popular American band mentioned above. Alright, in particular, which was the first song the band ever recorded in 2016 but have now remastered to give it new life and a cleaner sound, gives me that vibe. This new version is part of the band’s brand new debut full length album: Melancholy Undertones.

A guitar-driven song, Alright is high in energy and riffs while also having an optimistic flavor. It’s evident that we have a talented band in Kaleiders, the question is whether or not they can be consistently good. Only time can tell but I like their odds. So far, so good.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Alternative
  • Punk-Rock