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 Boygenius, Jenny Lewis, Clairo, The Drums, and more.
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Boygenius — The Record
Even if you’re not interested in Boygenius, it’s likely your social media timelines were engulfed in The Record discourse. However, it’s much more pleasant to listen to these songs without tuning into the internet’s opinions; listen to “Satanist” in a field and feel the world around you become electric. Their best moments are ones like those, laden with noisy instrumentation and pop melodies, like on the infectious “Not Strong Enough,” which opens with a startling image: “Black hole opened in the kitchen / Every clock’s a different time.”
The Beths — “Watching The Credits”
Expert In A Dying Field was one of the best indie-rock records of 2022, and this track was recorded during the making of that album. It’s a great example of their signature brand of emotive power-pop; the instrumentation is infectious and ebullient, while Elizabeth Stokes sings of disillusionment: “I spend all day putting out fires / Listening to choirs singing / The end is nearing.”
Panchiko — “I Know”
It’s been over 20 years since cult-followed band Panchiko called it quits. 2000’s D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L is a significant record to many internet users, and now their new song “I Know,” an entrancing dose of dream pop, is exciting a lot of them now. In a press release, they described writing it: “Sat on the sofa. Surrounded by snacks. Games consoles and music machines were sampled, lyrics mumbled and 3 chord progressions were strummed over drum loops and blips & bloops.”
Scowl — “Psychic Dance Routine”
Scowl are getting ready to release Psychic Dance Routine, a scathing EP to follow their ruthless 2021 full-length debut How Flowers Grow. Following singles “Opening Night” and “Shot Down” is the title track, a tame but electrifying burst of post-hardcore. “I could be animal, for you I can’t resist / No spirits in my dreams / No psychic dance routine,” Kat Moss lilts, her voice volatile.
Jenny Lewis — “Psychos”
Jenny Lewis is back with the announcement of her first album since 2019. Joy’All arrives in June and “Psychos” is a pleasant taste. Against a mellow, twangy sound, she sings softly, “I am a rebel / All American made / Jesus Christ and the devil / Yin and yang.” Each line captures the acerbic wit she’s known for: “I’m not a psycho / I’m just trying to get laid.”
The Drums — “I Want It All”
There’s a subtle darkness to The Drums, whose brand of indie rock exudes ecstasy. Their new song “I Want It All” opens with the dismal lines, “I sensed a hesitation / The first time that you held me / So I closed the eyes of my heart / So I didn’t have to see.” Despite this, the sound is bright and dreamy, as if to disguise the pain.
Cheekface — “Popular 2”
Cheekface make catchy, jingle-like anthems about our current dystopia. “Popular 2” is an entertaining hit at surveillance culture: “I just want to be popular to watch / In the movie you put on from the camera on your porch,” Greg Katz quips. You’ll be tempted to chant along: “This is private property! This is private property!”
Clairo — “For Now”
https://clairecottrill.bandcamp.com/track/for-now
On Bandcamp, Clairo shared this new piano-driven track “For Now,” a stripped-down love song that used simplicity to its advantage: “Loving you is simple, sweet / And I’m bound to fall,” she lulls earnestly, unafraid of ultimate vulnerability, which feels like a return to her earlier material.
Hand Habits — “Something Wrong”
“Something Wrong” is an off-kilter ballad, blazing with a vibrating rhythm and a texture of electricity. “I’m aching / To see you again / Mistaken / Beginning inside of the end,” Meg Duffy intones with a confrontational voice. In three minutes, the sound culminates into a hypnotizing mess that ends jarringly.
Jess Williamson — “Hunter”
Jess Williamson’s “Hunter” is a country gem, made beautiful with her stunning vocals crooning breathtaking lines like, “It’s a life of delusion and love is the cure.” The images she conjures are poetic and tangible: “My love is purе as the universe / Long as an ashtray,” she sings arrestingly.
