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 Kelly Lee Owens, Nilüfer Yanya, Cassandra Jenkins, and more.
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Sunset Rubdown – “Reappearing Rat”
For the first time since 2009’s Dragonslayer, Sunset Rubdown are back with a new album. The blog-rock outfit, led by Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug, will return with Always Happy To Explode this fall, and, in the meantime, they’ve given us a taste of what’s to come. “Reappearing Rat,” its lead single, resuscitates the instantly memorable indie-pop of the band’s peak. “The rat has reappeared,” Krug sings in the refrain. Fortunately, so have Sunset Rubdown.
Macseal – Permanent Repeat
“It just takes some time,” a certain emo band once said. Another certain emo band, the Long Island four-piece Macseal, have recontextualized that line for their own song, “Four Legs.” A lot of emo music reflects on the halcyon days of bygone adolescence and how, while frightening, aging is a worthwhile process on its own merits. Such is the thesis of Permanent Repeat, the sophomore album from Macseal, a record that concerns itself with familial relationships, domestic bliss, the hardships of touring, and the introspection that results from it all. Helmed by producer Billy Mannino, Macseal mines the past to better appreciate the present.
Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn – “Breath Out”
Many people know R&B star Dawn Richard for forming the girl group Danity Kane, but the New Orleans artist has taken a turn to the underground with an incredible run of music both solo and collaborative. The latter, with composer and multi-instrumentalist Spencer Zahn, came in the form of Pigments, released in late 2022. As a collection of ambient pieces built on synth pads, clarinets, upright bass, and Richard’s powerful, commanding voice, it was an unlikely match made in heaven. Such is the case with its follow-up, Quiet In A World Full Of Noise. Lead single “Breath Out” fortunately proves that Pigments was not a one-off, isolated experience, as atmospheric as it may have been. Richard and Zahn’s latest work grounds the two musicians as complementary collaborators, each bringing out the strengths of the other.
Floating Points – “Key103”
Sam Shepherd has had a dizzying past few years. From his 2021 collaborative album with Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra to composing scores for the San Francisco Ballet, it has been a while since Shepherd released a full-blown dance album. First and foremost, Floating Points is a dance project, and, despite a handful of one-off singles, the Manchester producer hasn’t made a proper electronic album since 2019’s Crush. That changes with the forthcoming Cascade, which pays homage to his upbringing in Manchester and how he became engrossed in its musical history. Lead single “Key103,” with its rigorous drums and deep bass, makes it clear that Shepherd wants to get the dance floor moving again.
Magdalena Bay – “Image”
Magdalena Bay, the indie-pop duo composed of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, are about to return with a new album, Imaginal Disk, next month. It’s a concept record tracing the adventures of a character named True, whose body has rejected an alien-created “disk upgrade” meant to explore the missing connection between apes and humans. If this all sounds gimmicky on paper, then that contradicts its execution. On “Image,” the two musicians craft an infectious synth-pop banger rife with arpeggiated synths, a groovy dance beat, and enveloping sonic details.
Cassandra Jenkins – My Light, My Destroyer
Cassandra Jenkins’ 2021 breakthrough album, An Overview On Phenomenal Nature, was phenomenal. So it’s no surprise that her new record, My Light, My Destroyer, is also phenomenal. Cosmic horns and strings adorn the record like sparkly, breathtaking holiday ornaments, and the New York songwriter expands her aural purview on tracks like the strutting “Clams Casino” and the crunchy “Petco.” Originally, Phenomenal Nature was intended to be her final record. As gorgeous as it is, let’s be thankful that it wasn’t.
Kelly Lee Owens – “Love You Got”
Kelly Lee Owens is here in color. It may seem trite to draw from the album art for a tidy metaphor about the album’s actual music, but it’s impossible to ignore. The black-and-white covers of 2017’s self-titled record and 2020’s Inner Song hinted at the dark, clubby ambiances within. Though Owens’ music remains as danceable and gauzy as ever on “Love You Got,” its individual elements ring through with disarming clarity on this preview of her next record, Dreamstate. Propulsive house beats support Owens’ most upfront vocal performance yet. Like filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s shift to colorful palettes on his late-career masterpiece, 1990’s Dreams, the Welsh electronic producer reinvigorates and refines her already-strong style.
Font – Strange Burden
The dance-punk quintet Font have had a meteoric rise, opening for artists like Water From Your Eyes and Yard Act plus performing on Austin City Limits’ main stage while having just a couple of tracks on DSPs. The Austin band is following up on all the buzz with their debut album, Strange Burden, a lean, muscular, and immediate record that clocks in at 28 minutes with seven songs. Shifting from LCD Soundsystem-esque synth-punk on “It” to The Bends-era Radiohead guitars on closer “Natalie’s Song,” Font prove they’re worth the hype.
Nilüfer Yanya – “Call It Love”
Nilüfer Yanya has officially pulled off a hat track for singles from her forthcoming third album, My Method Actor. Capping off this musical hat trick is “Call It Love,” an ode to trusting your instincts and letting your innate sense of self guide you through whatever challenges lie ahead. “Caught by a different tide and I’m thrown / Nothing for certain / Caught in the distance / Guide me alone,” she sings. On her latest song, Yanya conquers volatility through steadfast self-assurance.
Julie – “Clairbourne Practice”
Much like how Sonic Youth considered themselves artists first and musicians second, Julie is a band that consists of multimedia artists who also make music. From the serrated edges of their grungy, ’90s-esque punk sound alone, it’s apparent that vocalist-guitarist Keyan Pourzand, vocalist-bassist Alexandria Elizabeth, and drummer Dillon Lee have confidently staked their claim as an exciting new band. Following their 2021 EP is their full-length debut, My Anti-Aircraft Friend, scheduled for release this September, and its lead single, “Clairbourne Practice.” Here, Julie presents an unwavering vision of their art with a veteran’s conviction. Soon, they’ll be everywhere. They’re so Julie.
