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 Bandcamp exclusives from Pup, Cloud Nothings, and Boygenius, the return of Sufjan Stevens, and another new track from the forthcoming Fontaines DC album. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.
Cloud Nothings — The Black Hole Understands
Cloud Nothings’ new album was written and recorded entirely virtually. “About a month into quarantine, Dylan Baldi and Jayson Gerycz started sending files back and forth, with guitars, bass, and vocals for the new songs being tracked in Philly while drums and mixing happened in Cleveland,” the band wrote on Bandcamp, where The Black Hole Understands is available exclusively. Perhaps due to the recording constraints, the new album finds the band harkening back to the lo-fi sounds of their earlier efforts, leaving behind the heavier grunge influence that has been present on their recent projects.
Pup — Live At The Electric Ballroom
I have to say, when I heard the roar of a crowd as an orchestral instrumental version of a Pup song played over the PA, I got chills. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see Pup live yet, Live At The Electric Ballroom should do a pretty good job of showing you what you’ve missed out on. The album was recorded during a pair of shows at the historic London venue on November 20 and 21 last year. Spanning the band’s entire career, the new live album had the same lifespan as the show it captured: available for one day only, and it encapsulates the band’s raw magic with an attitude that pops off the speakers and makes you nostalgic for mass gatherings.
Boygenius — Boygenius Demos EP
Also available for one day only on Bandcamp, Boygenius’ new demos collection show the raw talent of its members. The three tracks are voice memos of “Bite The Hand,” “Me & My Dog,” and “Stay Down” that Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus recorded together the day before hitting the studio to track the eponymous debut EP. While the demos won’t satisfy fans’ need for new music, “given that the three artists are all involved in their own successful other endeavors,” writes Derrick Rossignol for Uproxx, “it’s not clear when or if the trio will reconvene for more music.”
Father John Misty — Anthem +3 EP
It’s been two years since Father John Misty released his latest solo album God’s Favorite Customer, but it doesn’t look like Josh Tillman is ready to be sharing more solo music just yet. Instead, the new EP Anthem +3 features covers of songs by Leonard Cohen, Link Wray, and Cat Stevens. The new EP marks the second charity effort released in recent months.
Sufjan Stevens — “America”
It’s been nearly five years since Sufjan Stevens released the lovely Carrie And Lowell. On the first preview of his new album, the twelve-minute epic “America,” Stevens is less reflective and a bit more aggressive with his tactics, finding him lamenting on his lost faith in his country. “Musically, the track hearkens back to Stevens’ The Age Of Adz-style experimentation, with ambient passages and larger moments twisting and turning into each other,” writes Derrick Rossignol for Uproxx.
Sad13 — “Ghost (Of A Good Time)”
Best known for her work in Speedy Ortiz, Sadie Dupuis has also spent the last several years working on her solo career under the name Sad13. “Ghost (Of A Good Time)” is the first taste of her sophomore solo effort Haunted Painting, which finds Dupuis lamenting the realities of getting older. Specifically, the song was “inspired by a recent Bushwick basement show with a 1 a.m. start-time she would have tolerated a decade ago,” according to press materials.
Fontaines DC — “Televised Mind”
With just a month before Fontaines DC release their sophomore album A Hero’s Death, the band has shared another preview to build anticipation for the effort. With driving heavy instrumentation “Televised Mind” is about the echo chamber that is created by mass and social media, withering away at the ability to learn. “Personality gets stripped away by surrounding approval,” vocalist Grian Chatten said in a statement. “People’s opinions get reinforced by constant agreement, and we’re robbed of our ability to feel wrong. We’re never really given the education of our own fallibility.”
Del Paxton — “September”
With a series of singles slated for release over the next few months, Buffalo’s Del Paxton are back with another track chock full of bold hooks and vocal harmonies. It’s reminiscent of ’90s emo, but with a modern flare. “September” is a song about camping in the Adirondacks, encouraging listeners to always live in the moment and take in the beauty of the world around them.
Gus Dapperton — “Post Humorous”
After taking time off from music to focus on his mental health, Gus Dapperton is back to serve up a sophomore LP, Orca. “Post Humorous” is the lead single from Orca “features Dapperton’s signature buoyant instrumentals juxtaposed against poignant lyrics which reflect on dealing with death in early childhood,” writes Carolyn Droke for Uproxx. The track is a promising look at what’s to come from Dapperton on his second album.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
