I'm a week late. LAST WEEK was another week of fresh music and it's been an excellent few days for indie fans. My selection has remained quite conservative as there have been a couple of top names that have reentered the scene after having disappeared for a good while. So, even though I'm a few days late, here it goes. Top 5 new releases (of last week):
1. 20191009 I like her - Mac DeMarco
Mac DeMarco has been hoarding 9 hours of sweet little songs and instrumentals for years and decided to release them all at once in his new album One Way G. The album has 199 songs and no, I have not listened to them all. That's a full day of Mac DeMarco at the office and I like staying awake durimg work, thank you very much. What I've done is assumed that the ones with a title on them (not just a date) are actual songs with lyrics so I've listened to those.
This one in particular, I found that it was a hug to my soul as all of Mac DeMarco's love songs. His sound just really represents lying on a couch full of blankets and comfy cushions. There are monstera deliciosas in different parts of the room and a salt lamp on a tiny table. It also smells faintly of camomille.
This one in particular, I found that it was a hug to my soul as all of Mac DeMarco's love songs. His sound just really represents lying on a couch full of blankets and comfy cushions. There are monstera deliciosas in different parts of the room and a salt lamp on a tiny table. It also smells faintly of camomille.
The song itself, as with all of Mac DeMarco's music, is completely ruled by the guitars and the different arragements. Melodically and lyrically it reminds me of one of my favourite tunes by him which is Still Beating (2017) only it feels like the stripped down version of that.
2. Girl - Ashes To Amber
Kane Acosta (AKA Ashes To Amber) is back with a new single. It's great to be coming directly from an artist like Mac DeMarco, as we can clearly see fingerprints of his influence all over this tune and pretty much the rest of his work throughout the years.
Fun, easy, poppy and catchy. Ashes To Amber stays true to his West Coast skater surfboy sound but his voice holds a little melancholy to it this time which is the complete opposite of killer feelgood indie tracks No Diga Mentiras and Ultra Violets from his 2019 album JADE.
Girl continues with his recognizable psychedelic potion for soft headbanging but with more weight on acoustic guitars. In fact, the trademark electric guitars are just there to fill in for backing vocals (it's genuinely confusing how he makes the guitar sound like someone is singing oooh in the background).
I have a concern though, there is no way in this universe (or another) that this can be classified as punk. I say this because it's what he has written on his About page on the website. Punk is nowhere around, there's a good 100 miles of distance between Ashes To Amber and anything that resembles punk. And don't "Punk is a state of mind" at me because even if it is, this sound wouldn't be what my brain would be playing in that state of mind. It's what plays in the car when you're on your way to spend a day at the beach.
3. Oval Stones - Temples
Ah, good old classic indie band Temples. There's always a feeling of going back home when I listen to them. Oval Stones is part of their latest album Exotico, and as I mentioned in the introduction, it is just straight-up what I would call conservative indie. Maintaining that 2010s sound that my teenage self was obsessed with, the song is another one of those that you play on a joyful car ride. As a matter of fact, the official video for the song is a compilation of shots of the band playing concerts and driving about. All of it has been strained through the Valencia filter on Instagram which I'm pretty sure nobody has used since 2013.
Not as dark as The Horrors and not as energetic as Foster the People, Temples is like the baby bear's porridge in the Goldilocks tale. Especially now that they seem to have left behind the clear 60s influence we could hear in their debut work Sun Structures (2014).
The album is pretty decent, I particularly recommend the single Gamma Rays which is a little more upbeat and groovy.
4. Life Is Yours (Dan Carey Dub) - Foals, Dan Carey
Still on my teenage indie bullshit but with a twist, comes the Dan Carey remix of Life Is Yours by Foals. The original song was part of the album Life Is Yours which the British indie band released last year. Despite loving their stuff, it completely flew past my radar and I haven't given it the time it deserves. What happens is that I am so used to listening to the stuff they released when I was younger that it feels weird to give the new albums the same time and importance because I'm not the same person as I used to be. I'm sure that makes no logical sense but it is what it is.
Nevertheless, this remix, or dub or however you want to call it is a gamechanger because it feels like a cracking Foals tune but it sounds different enough to connect in a new way to the music. Also, I've always believed that Foals make music that goes really well with electronic sounds. The dub itself just sounds completely robotic in a happy way at first but takes a darker turn at certain points. Like wondering if your Rumba vaccum cleaner could kill you in your sleep one night.
The remix was part of a double single release. Dan Carey also made a rework of the Foals song 2am from that same 2022 album. It's darker and slower which means it actually makes sense to call it a dub. It resembles the classic reggae dubs with the reverbed and echoed lyrics.
5. As I Lay Chillin - Harmless
And to close off the week another single by a classic 2010s indie band. As I Lay Chillin has a more 90s American rock band sound to it but with the characteristic high-pitched guitar melodies that keep the song connected to the soul of Harmless. I particularly liked the song (aside from the nostalgia that can be seen throughout this post) because of the lyrics. I have a soft spot for heartbreak and especially when it comes into direct conflict with happy guitar arrangements. I want to be in that shitty houseparty in 10 Things I Hate About You and I want Harmless to play in the living room while I watch Heath Ledger not understanding what to do with the drunk girl that he fancies.
The single surprised me because I have the horrible misconception that everything that Harmless releases has to sound like Swing Ling (2012). Which it doesn't. Except for the vocals which are also hipster sad. (That is a very specific brand of sad).
So that's last week's top 5. Because it took so damn long for me to get around choosing them and reviewing them, I've decided to elongate this post and include this week's top 5. It's only fair. Plus, it's not all 2010's indie bands and I like changing it up. This week's top 5 tracks:
1. Coward - Matt Maltese, Biig Piig
Okay. I know. This is also indie. Matt Maltese is one of the big indie talents of late and he just released his latest album Driving Just To Drive. This is the only collaboration on the whole LP and it's with lofi queen Biig Piig, what was I meant to do? Leave it out of the top 5 picks? No sir. The song has the best of both worlds. Matt Maltese's delicate writing and piano work which never not works on its own is complemented by a lofi classic beat and Biig Piig's soft and airy vocals. A very powerful combo of elements that seem to have been created just so they could be brought together at some point. If you want to feel like the anime girl studying with the cat by her side just play this on in the background while you're trying to get some work done.
I also want to take the opportunity to recommend more Matt Maltese. During quarantine back in 2020, he, as everyone, got bored with merely existing and occupying space so he decided to make small little piano instrumentals that would represent his days stuck in the house. There's this one song Day 23 which, no exaggeration, could be one of the most beautiful pieces of music that has ever been created. It has a direct line to my heart and has the ability to make me cry and make me feel warm at the same time. I remember listening to it at the time and just feeling like Matt Maltese had created a small safe space for me. Problem? It's only found on his Soundcloud page. Nevertheless, I'm going to LINK IT here.
2. Pretty Pretty - Joell
Completely bursting that sweet Matt Maltese bubble here comes a little bit of sexy urban music. Who doesn't like autotune and and African beat? Nobody, that's who. It's impossible not to feel like summer is around the corner when Joell is releasing stuff like this. Part of the double single Pretty Pretty (which also includes the regretfully blander song RUN), UK artist Joell takes influences from both the British and the American trap scene and manages to merge it all together with warm vocals and that enticing afro beat.
I'll also come clean and say that there's no particular reason for this track to be on the top 5 as it's not going to break the world of trap at all. It's quite the simple formula in fact, but still it works well and more importantly, it doesn't get boring. It knows what it is and what it presents and that's good enough.
For me it's just as addictive as his top tracks AEIOU (2020) and Holla (2020). This last one was created teaming up with big name in the UK scene CHLOBOCOP and I'm ashamed to say that I shazamed it while watching a devastatingly terrible series on Netflix last year.
3. On & On (Again) - Confidence Man, Daniel Avery
Do you miss the early 2000s electronic music? Do you want to be transported to a time when low rise pants and puffy white jackets where the big thing and people didn't think you looked ridiculous when dancing in front of a fisheye lense? Look no further this tune is for you.
Australian party engineers, Confidence Man team up with British producer and DJ Daniel Avery and create a dancefloor corker worthy of 2002 (not derrogatory). Full disclosure? I don't really listen to either artists. Confidence Man made it big when they released Boyfriend (Repeat) six years ago but I haven't really explored that music much further. To me it sounds like perfect tv ad music (again, not derrogatory). On the other hand, Daniel Avery has been on the scene for years and I'm familiar with his work as a producer of other bands such as Metronomy more than for his own music.
Although, having said this (not meaning to be derrogatory), I really enjoy the collaboration single. It feels like Daniel Avery's very recognisable British electronic sound fits in very well with the carefree and rebellious (in a mechanical way) essence of Confidence Man. It results in something that sounds timeless but at the same time 2002 and that will hit hard this year. As you all know, the early 2000s are back in.
4. Wake up! - Hadren
For all of those of you who like freaky alien sounds. Here is one that takes the biscuit. Experimental Barcelona artist Hadren has just released a new album. It literally hurts my head to try to classify where to fit this music. Mostly working with electronic sounds the music manages to fit the harshest, ugliest sounds with the gentlest of vocals and moments, taking you from zero to lightspeed in a couple of seconds. I'm not going to lie, my ear is not yet used to enjoying all of this music but there are certain tracks that are worth mentioning for sure and this is one of them. Other tracks would be Nadie Sabe (2021), FACEF1ST (2021) in collaboration with another Spanish new vanguard artist mori and Tu Nombre (2022).
Quite mild for what Hadren usually is, Wake Up! has a pounding beat that reverberates in your chest cavity regardless of the volume you're listening to it to. The vocals are slightly distorted to make it sound like it's some sort of android singing. Then we're slowly teased by the acid loop sound we all recognise as it builds up. But the song never releases the controlled elements it juggles at any point, the climax comes in other moments of the album. It's a very good start to get into the world of Hadren.
I will give you some advice for free though. Don't bother putting any of his music on any of your Spotify playlists as it has a tendency to suddenlyy dissappear and never return.
5. Baby On The Way - Movie Monroe
More urban music. Let's go further back closer to basics. Buffalo rapper Movie Monroe has released a new sad sad sad sounding single called Baby On The Way and just simply by the guitar on the instrumental that he's rapping over, it deserves a spot on the list. Once you listen to the lyrics you understand the choice of melody as he is clearly expressing fears and worries about becoming a father and not being ready for it. We've had plenty of songs to drive to in this post and this is another one, but this one is to play when driving at 4am on an empty highway (not running away from your unborn child hopefully).
Maintaining that honesty and soft bases that made me like him in the first place with songs such as If You Had a Soul (2021) and Monumental (2021), this new single feels even more raw.
If you're looking for similar artists after having listened to Movie Monroe, definitely listen to Angelo Mota which has a very similar energy and Blvck Svm, who personally I like even more and shares that passion for soft instrumentals.
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