Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week, we got new music from Japandroids, Wild Pink, The Linda Lindas, and more.
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Alan Sparhawk – “Can U Hear”
It feels impossible to talk about Alan Sparhawk without also talking about Mimi Parker, Sparhawk’s bandmate in Low and wife who died in late 2022. Low had an incredible run, an inimitable catalog spanning decades, from 1994’s slowcore opus I Could Live In Hope to 2021’s noisy, BJ Burton-produced Hey What. Sparhawk, as a part of the grieving process and the desire to continue making art, has returned with new solo music, his first album since 2006’s Solo Guitar. “Can U Hear,” the lead single of White Roses, My God, is Sparhawk’s most electronic material yet. While Low’s last two records dabbled in synthesizers and digital manipulation, “Can U Hear” doesn’t pick up where those albums left off, and it’s for the better; it leaves Low’s legacy untouched, captured in brilliant amber. Pitch-shifted vocals and glitchy drum machines abound, paving a new path for Sparhawk to walk.
Japandroids – “Chicago”
The musical equivalent of Uproxx’s very own Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen have returned. Japandroids, one of the ultimate Indiecast duos, have announced their fourth and final album, Fate & Alcohol. While it’s sad that Japandroids is coming to a close officially, it’s fun to hear David Prowse and Brian King make their exit with a sense of fiery urgency. Lead single “Chicago” conveys that urgency with its brisk pace and suffocating guitars, ensuring that the beloved duo go out like an explosive firework.
Nicole Miglis – “Lure”
Nicole Miglis’ new solo music plays like a real-time documentary. Written via a portable setup while on the road, the Hundred Waters vocalist wrote songs for Myopia, her forthcoming solo debut, as they came to her naturally. Going solo can sometimes feel like a contrived effort toward reinvention. On her new songs, including the latest single “Lure,” Miglis doesn’t force a new style so much as she scans out and organically expands her core sound, composed of piano arrangements, orchestral pop, and her gossamer voice, all before shifting to an arpeggiated-synth dance loop fit for a club. “Lure” doesn’t sound myopic in the least.
Los Campesinos! – All Hell
The UK’s only emo band are back in action. It has been seven years since the Welsh septet has put out a new record, and they’ve self-released and self-produced the immaculate All Hell, their seventh studio album. Straddling the line between late-aughts blog rock and early-10s Tumblr emo, Los Campesinos! have created an album that perfectly encapsulates what makes this band so campy and, by that extension, so damn fun.
Jasmine.4.t – “Skin On Skin”
The latest signing to Phoebe Bridgers’ Dead Oceans imprint, Saddest Factory Records, is also its first UK signing. Jasmine.4.t, the indie-pop project of Jasmine Cruickshank, comes to the label armed with an excellent new single, “Skin On Skin,” produced by Bridgers herself and her other two Boygenius bandmates, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus. “Skin On Skin” shifts from a gentle, Perfume Genius-esque aura before it quickly opens up halfway with ‘90s alt-rock-tinged guitars, as Cruickshank’s winsome voice serves as the tune’s melodic through line.
Oso Oso – “That’s What Time Does”
Jade Lilitri, the leading figure of emo stalwarts Oso Oso, is a big fan of surprises. Sore Thumb, the fourth Oso Oso album, was a surprise drop in early 2022, but this time around, Lilitri is giving us plenty of time (three weeks, a lot by his usual standards) to bask in the glow of this exciting news. The next Oso Oso record, Life Till Bones, will be released on Aug. 9. In the interim, he has shared “That’s What Time Does,” a banger abundant with the Long Beach, NY band’s core signifiers: sunny guitars, Lilitri’s pristine yet raw vocals, and a chorus so catchy it’s stuck in your head even after only one listen.
Chat Pile – “I Am Dog Now”
Chat Pile is moving from God’s Country to a Cool World. After outlining the faults of the U.S. on their 2022 debut with seething excoriations like “Why” and “Slaughterhouse,” the Oklahoma City sludge metal-meets-noise rock quartet takes their anti-capitalist ethos to a wider, global stage on their forthcoming second record, Cool World. “I Am Dog Now,” the lead single and album opener, sets that stage perfectly. When frontman Raygun Busch screams “Trash mouth, veins full of garbage,” you can practically see his vocal cords ripping apart. Gritty basslines and disgusting (complimentary) guitar tones ensue, setting up Chat Pile for what is sure to be one of the best albums of the year.
Wild Pink – “The Fences Of Stonehenge”
John Ross is among the most consistently excellent songwriters in indie rock. Under the name Wild Pink, Ross has refined and expanded upon the heartland rock template he set out with on his 2017 debut. Along the way, the New York songwriter has steadily evolved his sound, culminating in the ambitious, sprawling ILYSM in 2022. For Dulling the Horns, the first Wild Pink album for Fire Talk, Ross has condensed its predecessor’s towering sentiments into a tighter package. It’s more concise but no less affecting. As the stellar lead single “The Fences Of Stonehenge” shows, it marks another worthy entry in Wild Pink’s no-miss catalog.
The Linda Lindas – “All In My Head”
School sucks. So goes the typical adage of suburban youth stuck in the malaise of classes, homework, and the general restrictions of teenagedom. It may suck even more if you’re also a touring musician with gigs opening for Rancid and Green Day, the progenitors of suburban angst. Such is the case for The Linda Lindas. With several members still in high school and a viral performance of “Racist, Sexist Boy” at the LA Public Library under their belts, their strain of summery pop-punk has kept them plenty busy. No Obligation, their forthcoming sophomore album, solidifies that notion even further. Their new single “All In My Head,” with its roaring choruses and pristine production, once again ensures their virality wasn’t a flash in the pan. It was merely the beginning.
Drug Church – “Demolition Man”
Drug Church are sticking to what they know. And that’s a good thing; Drug Church do what they do incredibly well. On the cusp of their fifth album, Prude, the Albany band have planted their proverbial flag in the hardcore scene. Patrick Kindlon’s signature half-sung, half-screamed vocals, Nick Cogan and Cory Galusha’s fat riffs, Chris Villeneuve’s punishing drums, and Pat Wynne’s gravelly basslines alchemize into one of modern punk’s defining sounds. Just as they have been doing since 2011, they’ve created that alchemy again on lead single “Demolition Man.” The video stars Bill Wiff, whose famous I Think You Should Leave line comes through loud and clear in the band’s new tune: Drug Church just go fuckin’ nuts in there.
