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 Peel Dream Magazine, MJ Lenderman, Toro Y Moi, and more.
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MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
MJ Lenderman is one of the best songwriters of modern times. He manages to capture the quotidian absurdities of human existence in his musical character studies, infusing them with a canny balance of humor, wit, and empathy. Like he achieved on 2022’s breakthrough LP Boat Songs, he pulls off another slam dunk on Manning Fireworks, a record fraught with shameless candor and sizzling guitar licks. Call him indie rock’s Michael Jordan.
Toro Y Moi – Hole Erth
Chaz Bear is a musical chameleon, shapeshifting with each new release. Whether it’s the Alex G-indebted folk EP from last year, Sandhills, the psych-rock on 2022’s Mahal, or the groove-centric house beats on 2019’s Outer Peace, Toro Y Moi is in a state of constant reinvention. Hole Erth, the eighth studio album under the Toro Y Moi sobriquet, somehow fuses Bear’s past and present – chillwave, synth-pop, hip-hop – into a composite whole.
Midwife – No Depression In Heaven
No Depression In Heaven is a striking album title for Midwife, AKA Madeline Johnston, whose self-described “heaven metal” sounds uniquely despondent. Midwife’s skeletal melancholia, built on sparse guitar and gossamer vocals, is devastating, yes, but it’s also inviting. The lush ambiance beckons you like a lone, cozy cabin in a harsh snowstorm. By that metric, Midwife’s latest record is her most heavenly yet.
Peel Dream Magazine – Rose Main Reading Room
Joseph Stevens’ fourth album as Peel Dream Magazine is whimsical, wild, and wondrous. Rose Main Reading Room mines the orchestral pop stylings of early aughts indie rock while sounding purely endemic to Stevens’ universe. Woodwinds, strings, and horns abound, all performed with the playful imagination that could only occur on a Peel Dream Magazine record.
Jane Remover – “Magic I Want U”
Jane Remover has been on a run of excellent singles since her sophomore album, the post-rock opus Census Designated, dropped last year. She’s back with another new batch of them, one of which is “Magic I Want U.” It sounds like typical Jane Remover, which is invariably great, but it also sees her moving in multiple directions at once, merging ‘90s R&B with twinkly emo and her usual glitchy flair. It’s one of her best tracks to date.
Touché Amoré – “Hal Ashby”
Jeremy Bolm, the frontman of post-hardcore greats Touché Amoré, is something of a cinephile. In other words, he has a Letterboxd account. But you can glean Bolm’s interest in film from the fact that his band’s latest single is called “Hal Ashby,” named after the director of classic ‘70s movies like Being There and Harold And Maude. “A misguided Hal Ashby catastrophe / Not exactly something you plan to be / You gotta handle it gracefully,” Bolm sing-screams near the end, reflecting on the change he’s so desperate to accomplish. If his larynx-shredding vocals are any indication, then he’ll accomplish it by any means necessary.
Hinds – Viva Hinds
Hinds’ fourth album, Viva Hinds, is accurately named. After losing their rhythm section and reconfiguring themselves as a duo, Spanish indie rockers Carlotta Cosials and Ana Perrote rose to the occasion with what might be their strongest record to date. Although they seek some outside support, such as guest vocals from Beck on “Boom Boom Back” and Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten on “Stranger,” Viva Hinds is the product and celebration of an everlasting friendship between its two core creators. Viva Hinds!
Sleater-Kinney – “Here Today”
At the beginning of the year, indie rock duo Sleater-Kinney released their latest album, Little Rope. Recently, they announced a deluxe version of the record that’s slated to come out next month, and they’ve given us a teaser of those bonus tracks with “Here Today.” Like the album proper, “Here Today” is a remarkable display of the chemistry between Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, filled with two-part vocal harmonies and fiery guitars.
Future Islands – “Glimpse”
People Who Aren’t There Anymore saw Future Islands return to the outsized synth-pop of their most influential records. After all, it only feels appropriate to do so during the same year Singles and that famous Letterman performance turn 10. Plus, they’re back with a new one-off single, “Glimpse,” another journey through driving bass guitar, melodic synths, and Samuel T. Herring’s powerful pipes.
The Jesus And Mary Chain – “Pop Seeds”
Very soon, the JAMC will embark on a co-headlining fall tour with fellow college rock staples the Psychedelic Furs. Fresh off their first album in seven years, Glasgow Eyes, brothers Jim and William Reid have shared a new single just before they hit the road. “Pop Seeds,” with its fluttering synths and warm acoustic guitars, is a loving reminiscence on youth and the wide-eyed anticipation that often accompanies it.
