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 Why Bonnie, Enumclaw, Kim Gordon, and more.
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Enumclaw – Home In Another Life
The best band since Oasis has returned, and, despite recent headlines, I’m not talking about Oasis. This distinction belongs to Enumclaw, the Tacoma, Washington four-piece whose strain of scuzzy, fuzzy indie rock landed them an album on Run For Cover. Home In Another Life, their second record, elevates the ’90s alt-rock stylings of 2022’s Save The Baby to soaring new heights with some of the sickest riffs you’ll hear all year.
Kim Deal – “Crystal Breath”
Kim Deal is one of the most influential figures in the wide, nebulous world of alternative rock. As a pivotal component of bands such as the Pixies and the Breeders, Deal’s work has always felt essential. She flaunts a songwriting style that proves catchy hooks and memorable choruses will always stand the test of time, if tunes like “Gigantic” and “Cannonball” are any indicators. As a cited inspiration for everyone from Kurt Cobain to Olivia Rodrigo, Deal has maintained relevance from the late ’80s to the present day. So it comes as a surprise that she is just now putting out her debut solo album, Nobody Loves You More. “Crystal Breath,” its lead single, shows how Deal has adapted her sound over the years: Guitar stabs and rumbling bass coexist with a filtered dance beat and choral vocal harmonies. She always keeps us on our toes; she’s the real deal.
Why Bonnie – Wish On The Bone
As Why Bonnie, songwriter Blair Howerton pens tender, heartbreaking paeans to lost youth and gained wisdom. Wish On The Bone, the follow-up to 2022’s 90 In November, takes the scaled-back ruminations of its predecessor and grants them a wider space, replete with wiry electric guitars, upfront drums, and even fiddles. On Why Bonnie’s new record, Howerton’s songs feel intimate and grand all at once.
Caribou – “Come Find Me”
After putting out an album as Daphni and doing some pop-up DJ sets in various US cities, Dan Snaith has resuscitated the Caribou name for a brand-new full-length, Honey. This marks Caribou’s sixth studio album, and, judging from the slate of singles Snaith has shared thus far, it’s gonna be great. “Come Find Me,” the latest preview, is built on aggressively side-chained synths that eventually yield to a thumping, four-on-the-floor dance beat. It’s French touch for the modern age, and a Canadian is leading the charge.
Blackstarkids – “Soulmatez!”
Blackstarkids have kept nostalgia from getting stale. Even amid the over-saturation of artists, festivals, and cultural trends that have revived the most garish parts of the 2000s, the Kansas City trio’s take on the Y2K blueprint has been exciting and fresh, rather than a lazy simulacrum of its most obvious signifiers. “Soulmatez!,” the lead single of their sixth and last studio album before a long hiatus, is tongue-in-cheek, relentlessly catchy, and sugar-coated without feeling saccharine. Consider it a reminder that pop music is often best when it’s a lot of damn fun.
Kim Gordon and Model Home – “Razzamatazz”
Kim Gordon is on a roll. Following her incredible new solo album, The Collective, and a one-off single in the form of “ECRP” is a collaboration with DC experimental duo Model Home. More toned down than the rowdy, rattling beats on The Collective, “Razzamatazz” demonstrates the Sonic Youth co-founder’s ability to dial things down while maintaining an aura of intense, eerie dread.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – “Grey Rubble – Green Shoots”
Post-rock legends Godspeed You! Black Emperor are back with a new album this fall. No Title As Of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead, their first LP since 2021, refers to Gaza Health Ministry’s death toll of Palestinians as reported on that date. Israel’s brutal genocide on Palestine is ongoing, and new figures report that Israel has now killed more than 40,000 Palestinians. “Grey Rubble – Green Shoots,” the lead single and finale of GY!BE’s forthcoming record, is a nearly seven-minute odyssey through droning guitars, powerful drums, and mournful strings.
deBasement – “Front Left Speaker”
Dance-punk has been resurfacing in the 2020s, but rarely has dance-punk actually, genuinely sounded punk. deBasement, the duo comprising Alli Logout of Special Interest and electronic producer Margo XS, are here to rectify that. As their new double single shows, the two artists unite their respective creative approaches for a heady, exhilarating take on underground rave. “Front Left Speaker,” with its Earth-shattering kick drums and Logout’s commanding delivery, is one of the most thrilling dance tracks released in recent memory.
Allegra Krieger – “Came”
In a little over a week, Allegra Krieger will release her stunning new album, Art Of The Unseen Infinity Machine. But just before it goes out into the world, Krieger has shared one last single from it. “Came,” as she puts it in a press release, navigates “depression and feeling stuck in destructive patterns.” But it’s just as much about breaking free of those patterns, too. Despite her lyrics about “the unraveling sense that you’re going nowhere,” Krieger sounds utterly transcendent.
Jamie xx – “Dafodil”
In Waves, the long-awaited sophomore album from producer Jamie xx, is out in a mere matter of weeks now. Strangely enough, that album might not exist without its latest single, “Dafodil.” As one of the first pieces of music Jamie wrote for the record, it’s the song that made him realize he was capable of making another LP. Featuring contributions from guests Panda Bear and Kelsey Lu, “Dafodil” establishes a calm, dreamy ambiance that juxtaposes the bass-heavy house beats we’ve heard previously from In Waves.
