This column covers what we're listening to from the far flung branches of Indie music. Read on for tips from lo-fi to shoegaze, post-punk to emo, indie-folk to art-pop, and anything between.
Black Belt Eagle Scout Mother Of My Children
The debut record from Washington native Black Belt Eagle Scout has been in heavy rotation for us. It has that minimalist indie-folk magic, not unlike those brilliant early Cat Power records, one of which KP sighted as her favorite record in our recent ‘First, Last, and Favorite’ column! This is one of those records where every time we play it in the store someone asks about it. We’re loving it.
Nothing Dance On The Blacktop
There’s a lot more going on with Nothing than simple shoegaze revivalism. Their new record Dance On The Blacktop has more heaviness at it’s core, sonically and emotionally. Their juxtaposition of sensitivity and pure volume still sounds great, if anything the new one plays a little closer to some of the 90s masters of that style.
LUMP Self-Titled
Lump is the newish collaborative project of singer/songwriter Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay from the under appreciated UK electro-acoustic ensemble Tunng. The combination of Laura’s gorgeous voice with this project’s eerie and innovative productions makes for a great record. Fans of Broadcast or Portishead should give this a listen promptly.
Guerilla Toss Twisted Crystal
Manic oddballs Guerilla Toss are somehow getting both stranger and more listenable with every record. Their sound is a psychedelic neon mess of sound, though somehow still more than a little bit funky. Frontwoman Kassie Carlson has a crazy energy that really carries these tunes and puts this group over the top.
Big Red Machine Self Titled
What are two borderline rockstars to do when they want get together and try some new ideas and get away from the pressure of their main gigs? Get an alias. This is Aaron Dessner from the National and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Both are taking risks in the studio here, though the results are certainly adjacent to their main creative vehicles. This should be exciting for their fans, but also listeners who just enjoy talented musicians cutting loose and trying out new ideas.
Deaf Wish Lithium Zion
Australia has had a glut of great and grimy punk and punkish bands over the last decade or so. Deaf Wish is certainly at the top of that class. With Lithium Zion, their latest LP on Sub Pop, their sharpening their sound further. They’re noisey and direct, imagine if Sonic Youth had totally given in to the urges of their inner-punk-band back in their prime and you can imagine the sounds here.