Because evil people have no songs – Indiepop findings and radio
Here’s a post about a not new record by a not new band. I found Vancouver indie four-piece Peach Pit a few weeks ago when I was doing what we all should be doing from time to time – browsing the recent releases on the criminally undervalued Vancouver DIY label Kingfisher Bluez, who have had an amazing output of almost 100 singles and more than 30 albums since 2011. Read on
Among the vast scene of acoustic folk that’s been part of the indiepop world for many years now, Manchester’s Laurie Hulme is one of the most interesting and original artists – by virtue of his music writing but also by virtue of the subjects his songs revolve around. His 2016 debut was inspired by stories of (and hence a tribute to) his late grandfather. This gave the album its title and it also provided the band name he’s been using since, Songs For Walter. Read on
The guy on the left is Justin Sullivan. Yeah, I know, and no, not that one. This Justin Sullivan used to play drums in a US indie band called The Babies – a band led by singer and songwriter Kevin Morby that we have to confess we’d never heard of before finding Sullivan’s debut solo album, In The Break. Listening to The Babies, it is obvious that ignoring them for so long hasn’t been our smartest move, they’re really good. So their drummer has just released his own record under the moniker Night Shop. Read on
One of the most under-appreciated phenomena in pop music is bands that remain true to themselves in the course of their career. The dynamics of attention to the most recent song / release / show seems to require a constant need to re-invent oneself or at the very least make giant steps in whatever direction away from the last song / release / show. Read on
What to call this: You release your first record at the age of 17/18 to widespread international acclaim and excited cries of „flawless guitar pop“ and then follow it up two years later with something that will have no critic even think about the overused phrase „difficult second album“? We call it true class, yeah. The Goon Sax have just confirmed themselves as such a class act with album no. 2, We’re Not Talking. Read on
Ok, let’s get the unimportant bit of information that everyone focuses on out of the way first: yes, Alex Naidu used to be in Pains. There. So now let’s get on with the real stuff. For us, Massage seemed to have appeared out of nowhere but actually Bandcamp reveals they released their first EP in August 2016 and a little more research tells us they’ve been a band for five years before releasing their debut. So here they are now with Oh Boy, a full 12-track debut album that jangles as though their lives depended on it. Read on
When Michael Avishay disbanded his previous band Heathers and relocated from LA to New York in 2015, it took a while before he went back to writing songs again. Heathers had caused quite a stir on the indie scene, and rightly so. They were raw, angry, loud but with an underlying sensitivity that time and again returned to the surface of their songs. They released a couple of brilliant singles in 2013–2014, appeared on a few compilations and disappeared more or less on the eve of the release of their debut album. Read on
It’s a band that’s here to stay. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever formed in 2013. It took three years before they released an EP and now, five years into their existence, their debut album is out. We have no idea whether this happened intentionally or not, but it accounts for the accomplished sound they had from the start and it suggests they are not going to vanish soon. Read on
After a first split single release with the band Reporters that came out on Dufflecoat Records in August 2015, Young Scum properly appeared on the scene in 2016 with their 5-track EP called Zona. Read on
