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 a collection of raw demos from Phoebe Bridgers, a new ambient project from Strand Of Oaks, and another stunning single from Gordi.
Phoebe Bridgers — Inner Demos EP
On the first Friday of every month since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bandcamp has been waiving its fee for purchases through their platform. Last week, Phoebe Bridgers took advantage of the day’s added earnings by releasing an EP of demos for one day only and donating all of the proceeds to bail funds across the country. While the three-track Inner Demos collection is no longer available to stream or purchase, according to Carolyn Droke for Uproxx, the EP featured “‘voice memo’ versions of ‘Garden Song’ and ‘Kyoto,’ and a ‘spire demo’ of ‘I See You.'”
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever — Sideways To A New Italy
With their new album, this Australian quintet hope to inspire hope. Their rollicking new alt rock album Sideways To A New Italy was written to be “some sort of bedrock of hopefulness to stand on, something to be proud of,” vocalist Fran Keaney said in a statement. “A lot of the songs on the new record are reaching forward and trying to imagine an idyll of home and love.”
Strand Of Oaks — Ambient For Change
Another Bandcamp fundraising effort this week comes from Strand Of Oaks, whose Ambient For Change project was released on Friday to benefit the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Along with his first ambient release, Timothy Showalter shared a statement, saying that the songs were written in the wake of the tragic violence across the country. “The one outlet that I have is music and the ability to create with the intention of helping,” he wrote. “I improvised these songs to try and give language to the overwhelming emotion I was feeling and to try in a small way to lend my voice of support.”
Westerman — Your Hero Is Not Dead
After rolling out a series of singles over the last few years, Will Westerman has unleashed his debut full-length album, an atmospheric and almost hallucinogenic collection of tracks that strikes a balance of optimism and existentialism. The album’s twelve tracks show Westerman’s mastery of soudscapes and synth melodies, making for a striking entry into the scene.
Covet — Technicolor
Sometimes, sounds can evoke colors. Fittingly, Covet’s sophomore full-length album is titled Technicolor, perfectly describing what the music makes you see when you close your eyes. With guitar pedal wizardry and emo-tinged instrumental trappings, this San Francisco, CA trio evokes visuals to create and invite you to join them in a new world.
Hinds — The Prettiest Curse
Hinds present a more polished version of themselves on their third LP. After spending two albums trying to defy pop music tropes and stick firmly in the world of garage rock and mind-boggling harmonies, The Prettiest Curse finds the Spanish band showing off their knack for hooks and pop melodies. It employs more “experimental” instrumentation than we’re used to hearing from the band, opening up a door to a world of possibilities for the quartet.
Gordi — “Unready”
With her sophomore album Our Two Skins just around the corner, Australian singer-songwriter Gordi has been delivering the goods with excellent singles to preview the forthcoming effort. “Unready” is a departure from the introspection and longing that makes up most of Our Two Skins, and instead “sheds light on the upcoming album’s more lively side” with a vocal track anchored by a modulated vocal, according to Carolyn Droke for Uproxx.
Amnesia Scanner — “AS Flat (feat. Code Orange)”
Talk about a match made in heaven: glitchy German-based Finnish electronic producers Amnesiac Scanner have teamed up with Pittsburgh heavy metal outfit Code Orange to deliver “AS Flat,” a track that is equal parts intoxicating and horrifying. Glitchy and intense, “AS Flat” is the latest taste of Amnesia Scanner’s forthcoming effort Tearless.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
