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 very best of the indie releases from the past seven days. This week we got the highly-anticipated and worth the wait new album from FKA Twigs, the final installment of Lucy Dacus’ 2019 project, and a collection of archival tracks from Foo Fighters .
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Foo Fighters — 01050525
I’m not sure what the Foo Fighters are up to, but they’ve been consistently releasing music from their archives over the last month or so. The most recent installment is the most all-over-the-place, but also the most comprehensive. It’s eleven tracks documenting the band’s process throughout the production of their 2005 electric/acoustic double-album In Your Honor. The archival release features one of the heaviest songs the band has ever put to tape in “FFL (Fat F*cking Lie),” a Jawbreaker cover, and other excellent b-side material that was hard to come by until now.
FKA Twigs — Magdalene
With five years between FKA Twigs releases, the wait for Magdalene was almost unbearable. But the resulting nine tracks were well worth the wait, darting between glitchy, dance-y pop and introspective, operatic reflection. Magdalene showcases the absolute best from one of our generation’s true singular artists.
Greet Death — New Hell
Shoegaze is a very well-trodden genre, one that people often enter to do not much more than experiment with an array of guitar pedals. This is not the case with Flint, Michigan’s Greet Death, whose new album takes the genre tropes to new heights and never ceases to push the boundaries. The tracks are rich with texture, and many of them stretch to longer than five minutes. This is a band that’s definitely not messing around. It’s time to start paying attention.
Macseal — Super Enthusiast
On their debut full-length, these Long Island emo rockers dial in their twinkly performances for the most focused music of their career.
Emo is a genre that has come and gone in waves, and while it seems like the latest “wave” is on its way out, Macseal’s approach to winning back the audience is summed up quickly in the line “everyone’s falling back in love,” which also happens to be the first line and mission statement of the album as a whole.
Steve. — You Can Do This, Too
Basement punk at its best, Steve.’s debut album delivers the fist-pumping, PBR-fueled numbers en masse across its ten tracks. The production reminds me of the self-titled Joyce Manor album, and it would be far from surprising if a track like You Can Do This, Too‘s “Axe To The Heavens” soon becomes as revered as a song like “Constant Headache.”
Lucy Dacus — “Fool’s Gold”
The latest and final installment in Lucy Dacus’ 2019 project, “Fool’s Gold” is one of the two tracks on the effort that is not a cover. It showcases everything we’ve come to know and love about Dacus’ songwriting, from her melancholy and introspective lyrics to her beautiful and ethereal vocal as she sings about shifting blame before the song ends somewhat abruptly. As winter approaches, “Fool’s Gold” is a great soundtrack to the approaching Thanksgiving season.
Higher Power — “Low Season”
The second single from Higher Power’s new record marks a shift in direction for the band. While their previous single “Seamless” still found them firmly devoted to their hardcore roots, “Low Season” takes on more of a 90’s alt-rock influence, reminiscent more of Deftones and Alice In Chains than Agnostic Front. The track features what is without a doubt the band’s strongest hook to date, one that will find you revisiting the track in the days and weeks to come.
Hit Like A Girl — “It’s Not Me”
While Hit Like A Girl has not officially announced their new project, they have been rolling out singles pretty consistently over the last few months. “It’s Not Me” is the latest release, describing the dissolution of a relationship in detail that is personal and, at times, excruciating. Count me in for the incoming full-length.
Dogleg — “Fox”
Dogleg arrives with a “hello” in the opening moments of their new single “Fox,” the band’s first release with esteemed indie-punk label Triple Crown Records. What ensues over the next nearly three minutes is a cacophony of punk rock madness that has launched the band into the forefront of the conversation around the evergreen potency of pure rock music.
Jehnny Beth — “I’m The Man”
Savages have been on hiatus since 2017, but singer Jehnny Beth has kept herself busy with collaborations over the last few years. Now, she has shared a solo track as part of the Peaky Blinders soundtrack, an industrial post-punk track that is equal parts enveloping and off-putting. “I’m The Man” is heavy, shocking, and very, very exciting.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. . Additionally, Dogleg is a management client of the writer.
