Because evil people have no songs – Indiepop findings and radio
Davina Shell from Amsterdam used to be in the Vancouver indiepop four piece Thee AHs, who put out four albums of dark, Beat Happening-coloured bubblegum pop between 2011 and 2015. Subsequently, Shell released a 7″ under her own name before choosing the moniker Ghost Thoughts and signing to the fabulous Jigsaw label from Seattle, where Ghost Thoughts’ debut EP came out in early 2017, a collaborative effort with a different vocalist for each of the songs. Read on
Our latest indiepop radio podcast is here, featuring too much of our own drivel but also seven fantastic indiepop songs present and past. Streamable directly below or from this Mixcloud link.
Strawberry Generation are a bunch of students who found eachother at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and formed a band, as students would do. Starting out by putting very different musical influences and favourites together, they finally settled for Canadian indie superdarlings Alvvays as a role model for their sugary brand of indiepop. Read on
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
Here’s our fourth offering of just under half an hour of indiepop radio, featuring new tracks by Store Front, The Belafontes, PeterLicht and more. Stream below or head over to Mixcloud to listen.
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
Our third short and sweet indiepop radio episode proudly features Lost Ships, Night Shop, and more. Stream directly below or listen to the show over on Mixcloud.
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