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 Wishy, Charly Bliss, Wild Pink, and more.
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Wishy – Triple Seven
What if Jimmy Eat World made Siamese Dream? What if Cocteau Twins opted for much punchier production? What if the drums were mixed louder on Loveless? Wishy poses and answers these hypothetical questions on their debut album, Triple Seven, an immediate standout in a plethora of indie rock records drawing from shoegaze, dream-pop, and ‘90s emo. Led by the core songwriting duo of Nina Pitchkites and Kevin Krauter, the Indiana-bred five-piece cements themselves as one of the best new bands around.
Fievel Is Glauque – “As Above So Below”
Listening to a Fievel Is Glauque song is like exploring a dungeon in a roguelike video game. You never know what type of room you’re about to enter or the enemies and power-ups within it; everything is a complete surprise, no matter how familiar you are with the game itself. But even if you are familiar with Fievel Is Glauque’s game, their unpredictable blend of jazz fusion, math rock, and post-punk never fails to surprise. Such is the case with “As Above So Below,” the lead single of Rong Weicknes, their second album. Vocalist Ma Clément and keyboardist/bandleader Zach Phillips navigate their way through a heady concoction of labyrinthine woodwinds, virtuosic bass playing, and a dizzying guitar solo on their new tune. It’s a stirring glimpse of what is likely to be another confounding yet riveting record.
Horse Jumper Of Love – Disaster Trick
Did you know shoegaze is kinda a big thing right now? There are a lot of bands currently mining its fuzzy bliss to revivify their work. Whereas some groups may buy a bunch of luxe effects pedals to emulate the ‘90s crop of progenitors, it can occasionally feel like a shallow facsimile of MBV or Drop Nineteens. Horse Jumper Of Love, a slowcore trio from Boston, inject these stylizations organically into their core sound on Disaster Trick. It doesn’t feel like pastiche for even a second. It’s also their best album to date.
Drug Church – “Chow”
Drug Church rips. It’s a simple fact that we’re all aware of, but that doesn’t make anything they release any less thrilling. Rather, it’s a constant that we can all depend on; single after single and album after album, the post-hardcore group invariably delivers. That’s the case with “Chow,” the new track from their forthcoming fifth LP, Prude. Chunky guitars, gravelly vocals, and aggressive drums are Drug Church’s lingua franca, and “Chow” is yet another showcase of their fluency.
Japandroids – “D&T”
According to Brian King, the vocalist and guitarist of indie-punk duo Japandroids, the band’s latest song is about “drinkin’ johnnies and cokey joes,” as he recounts in press materials. “D&T,” another preview of the fourth and final Japandroids album, chronicles the typical down-and-out narrative that so often trails through their music. It’s got all the key signifiers, too: David Prowse’s pummeling drums, King’s fiery guitars, and an undeniable chemistry that will be sorely missed upon this group’s imminent departure.
Fidlar – “Sad Kids”
Fidlar have always been a rambunctious band, one predicated on loud songs meant to rev up a simmering mosh pit. But they’ve mellowed out a bit since their 2013 self-titled debut, so much so that they now reflect on their rowdiest days as a former scapegoat for working out the issues in their lives. “Sad kids like to party,” Zac Carper sings on their latest single. Like much of Fidlar’s music, the sentiment isn’t anything particularly profound, yet it’s one that resonates nonetheless. It’s cliche for a SoCal punk band to “mature” a few albums into their catalog, so Fidlar have gone about it their own way. They ruminate on the difficulties life throws at them while remaining as impudent as ever.
Midwife – “Vanessa”
Only Madeline Johnston could make a song about an old minivan sound this disarmingly beautiful. Taken from her forthcoming fourth album, No Depression In Heaven, “Vanessa” is a travelogue dedicated to life as a touring artist and the memories that arise from the constant change of scenery. As the song slowly unfolds over six-and-a-half minutes, you can sense Johnston’s longtime touring van screeching to a halt as it eventually but inevitably gives out. What may scan at first as a simple song about a van is actually a moving elegy about ephemerality.
Nilüfer Yanya – “Mutations”
In a press release about her latest single, “Mutations,” Nilüfer Yanya says that it’s a tune about “the subtle change that happens constantly as millions of tiny decisions and actions shape your being.” Everything is gradual, and that idea is expressed as much through the music itself. Syncopated drums push and pull; mesmerizing synth pads blossom like flowers in new spring; Yanya gracefully shifts into her higher register as the chorus hits. “Mutations” resembles the evolution that inspired its creation.
Wild Pink – “Sprinter Brain”
John Ross is a sprinter. As Wild Pink, the New York songwriter has an incredible run of records to his name in a relatively short amount of time. He’s keeping that streak with the forthcoming Dulling The Horns. “Sprinter Brain,” the latest song from it, is easily among Wild Pink’s best. With its piano melody and driving electric guitars, it sounds like Bruce Springsteen if he had a Big Muff Pi phase. Still, with Ross’ conversational delivery, it sounds fit for both an intimate club show and an epic stadium production.
Charly Bliss – Forever
Charly Bliss are leaning into the “pop” of power-pop. Across their oeuvre, the Brooklyn outfit has melded sticky-sweet vocal hooks with ferocious guitar riffs. On their third album, Forever, the quartet distills their penchant for bright, maximalist choruses into a more synth-driven record (or at least guitars that sound like synths). It tactfully elevates their pop-minded songwriting without completely sacrificing the crunchy guitars they built their name on. As this record shows, Charly Bliss aren’t complacent; they’re here to stick around forever.
