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 Mannequin Pussy, Beabadoobee, Dawn Richard, Ian Sweet, and more.
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Jane Remover – Census Designated
For an artist who is only on her second full-length album, Jane Remover is already one of the leading voices in her genre. Her strain of digicore — a mesmerizing blend of Midwest emo, synth-pop, and shoegaze — led to an entirely new term during her initial rise on SoundCloud: “dariacore.” Inspired by a near-death experience while traveling across the country during a blizzard, her new album, Census Designated, reckons with existential dread and violent romance. “I bite my lips, pucker up / I go to Hell sometimes,” she sings on the standout “Lips.”
Dawn Richard – The Architect
Dawn Richard has had an incredible past couple of years. From 2021’s titular tribute to New Orleans’ second line tradition to last year’s ambient-jazz opus with Spencer Zahn, Pigments, Richard is on a hot streak. That continues on her newly released EP, The Architect, which includes two new songs, the six-minute, bouncy “Your Love / Legends” and the glitched-out “Babe Ruth,” alongside her 2022 one-off single, the highly groovy “Bubblegum.” Simultaneously futuristic and steeped in NOLA’s rich musical past, The Architect is further evidence of Richard’s undeniable artistic prowess.
Beabadoobee – “A Night To Remember”
Beabadoobee is best known for mining ’90s alt-rock and Britpop and infusing it with her own modern twist. Whereas last year’s Beatopia doubled down on that style, she tries out something completely new on “A Night To Remember.” Alongside Laufey, Bea’s new single is a loungey, warm jazz number with a bossa nova backbone. It sounds weird on paper, but she executes it with aplomb.
Ian Sweet – “Smoking Again”
Jilian Medford’s last album as Ian Sweet, 2021’s Show Me How You Disappear, reckoned with addiction, doubt, and existentialism. On Medford’s upcoming fourth album, Sucker, she reaches the light at the end of the tunnel. With newfound self-assurance, the Los Angeles indie-pop songwriter constructs some of her most instinctual, visceral music yet. The melodic “Smoking Again,” a document of relapse, unearths new layers within Medford’s artistry, presenting an emotional transparency that lends that much more depth.
Mannequin Pussy – “I Don’t Know You”
No one really captures the sorry state of the world quite like Mannequin Pussy does. The Philly punk rock quartet is known for scrutinizing Christian hypocrisy, police brutality, and the pitfalls of capitalism while limning those topics with bright guitars and punishing drums. Ahead of their latest album, I Got Heaven, they’ve shared the blistering title track and, now, the swooning, ruminative “I Don’t Know You.” The latter, with synth beds courtesy of new official member Maxine Steen, spotlights a softer side of the band, evincing their wide range as one of the best punk bands on the planet.
Enumclaw – These Are Some B-Sides
Tacoma, a now-vital scene within larger conversations of PNW indie rock, is home to Enumclaw, who put the city on the musical map with last year’s incredible Save The Baby. Billed as the “best band since Oasis,” they follow up on the hype with a new, three-track EP, the Toro y Moi-produced These Are Some B-Sides. Featuring the yearning, tuneful “Lost And Found” and the brief, light-hearted “F*ck Love, I Just Bought a New Truck,” Enumclaw prove once again that they’re the best band since Enumclaw.
Tanukichan – “NPC”
Shoegaze and Y2K pop are both in full swing. Whereas most artists reviving these sounds fall distinctly into one genre or the other, Hannah Van Loon, who makes dream-pop under the moniker Tanukichan, merges both seamlessly. Written and produced alongside Toro y Moi, Tanukichan’s sophomore album, Gizmo, showed Van Loon at her catchiest yet. Her 2018 releases, the EP Radiolove and the LP Sundays, chronicled Van Loon’s despondency and anxiety. She trades despair for disinterest on “NPC,” which she says in a press release is about mundanity and “maybe avoiding some responsibilities.”
Helado Negro – “LFO (Lupe Finds Oliveros)”
Helado Negro, real name Roberto Carlos Lange, makes music that blends the chugging guitars of rock and the wistful synthesizers of ambient. Somewhere in the middle, he strikes a balance that’s groovy yet gauzy. It’s a rare strain of art that feels grounded on Earth while gesturing toward the clouds. On the lead single from his forthcoming album, Phasor, Lange pays homage to two pioneering, influential figures in his music. “LFO (Lupe Finds Oliveros)” is a tribute to Fender amp wiring wiz Lupe Lopez and Deep Listening creator Pauline Oliveros. In name alone, it’s symbolic, hinting at the multifaceted talents of Lange himself and his respects to those who inspired him.
Drop Nineteens – “The Price Was High”
“Time is of the essence,” goes the opening salvo of Drop Nineteens’ first album in 30 years, Hard Light. The shoegaze legends never thought they would reunite, but then they realized the preciousness of time itself. After their seminal 1992 record, Delaware, became a cult classic and they had developed an unexpected fan base in their time away, one of singer Greg Ackell’s friends from the early days of Drop Nineteens reached out to him, just to see if he wanted to play music together. Once Ackell understood how integral music was to his livelihood, he gathered the crew once again. On the latest preview of Hard Light, “The Price Was High,” Drop Nineteens sound both rejuvenated and at ease. It’s another promising preview of a grand return.
Jaws Of Love. — “Change (In The House Of Flies)”
Although Local Natives just released Time Will Wait For No One earlier this year, vocalist-keyboardist Kelcey Ayer also makes music under the alias Jaws Of Love.. His latest single is a sparse rendition of the Deftones White Pony classic “Change (In The House Of Flies).” Whereas the nu-metal legends’ version seethes with distorted fury, Ayer’s version broods with its plaintive, piano-led composition, and it’s a great showcase for Ayer’s alluring vocal talents.
