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 new track from Tame Impala, another preview of the forthcoming Mitski album, and another four-track sampling of Beach House’s first album in four years. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.
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Aeon Station – Observatory
We’ve been waiting almost two decades to hear new music from The Wrens, but Kevin Whelan, Greg Whelan and Jerry MacDonald (3 of the band’s 4 members) have returned as Aeon Station to give us a taste of what we’ve been missing for 18 years. Observatory is an album comprised of songs that were penned over the last many years, managing to find a unique balance between nostalgia and a glimpse at the future.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Barn
More than fifty years into his career, Neil Young is still as prolific as ever, with new music — whether genuinely new or previously unheard — seemingly dropping every few months. On Barn, Young teamed up with his trusty backing band Crazy Horse to settle into a converted barn studio to jam and build upon Young’s legend as a master of vibe. Filled with harmonica, sludgy guitar solos, and Young’s never-changing vocals, Barn might just be “the best Neil Young album in more than a decade,” writes Steven Hyden for Uproxx.
Beach House – Once Twice Melody Chapter 2
With their first album in four years, Once Twice Melody, coming in early 2022, Beach House have been rolling out new songs in batches over the last several weeks. The latest four tracks to hit streaming show the full dimension of what can be expected from the band’s eighth album, chock full of affecting ambience and emotional resonance.
Ryan Pollie – Stars
Ryan Pollie has been an unstoppable force over the last several years, releasing music both under his own name and under the moniker Total Revenge. His new solo album Stars feels like a culminating moment of all of his recent work, a beautiful collection of songs that illustrate Pollie’s unique songwriting abilities across multiple different sonic elements.
Tame Impala – “No Choice”
It might be almost two years since Tame Impala released The Slow Rush, but it’s never too late for a deluxe edition. An expanded of the version is set to drop soon, featuring a collaboration with Lil Yachty and the new track “No Choice.” It’s a song that Carolyn Droke says “definitely calls back to the Tame Impala’s Lonerism days. A swirling electric guitar bends and melts over intricate percussion as Kevin Parker’s drowned-out vocals ask big questions about choice, freedom, and purpose.”
Mitski – “Heat Lightning”
Mitski’s Laurel Hell is one of the most anticipated albums of 2022, and each new single continues to build upon that anticipation. “Heat Lightning,” the third preview of the forthcoming LP, “starts intimately before blossoming into its first hook and then locking into a rhythmic groove for the rest of the song,” writes Derrick Rossignol for Uproxx.
Bon Iver – “Second Nature”
Adam McKay’s new film Don’t Look Up is about the harsh realities of climate change — and a condemnation of the people in power who refuse to acknowledge or do anything about it. McKay and composer Nicholas Britell enlisted Bon Iver to write a new song for the film’s closing credits, and the resulting “Second Nature” is what Derrick Rossignol calls for Uproxx “an evocative and cinematic tune.”
Khruangbin + Leon Bridges – “B Side”
After teaming up on the four-track Texas Sun EP last year, Khruangbin and Leon Bridges are back with even more collaborative music. The exceptionally groovy “B Side” is the first preview of the Texas collective’s new project, fittingly titled Texas Moon, and will surely have you bobbing your head at the very least.
Girlpool – “Faultline”
Girlpool has been laying low for a while now, and we haven’t really heard a peep from the band since they dropped “Like I’m Winning It,” a standalone single, in March of 2020. Produced by Overcoats and Yves Tumor producer Yves Rothman, the new track “Faultline” serves as an introduction to a new sound and feel for Girlpool, wherein “the gentle harmony and the song’s melody soars,” writes Adrian Spinelli for Uproxx.
Squirrel Flower – “Unravel” (Björk cover)
Squirrel Flower is currently prepping her third release in two years with the Planet EP, which is comprised of self-recorded demos of songs from the Planet (i) sessions that didn’t make the final cut. One of the offerings from the EP is a gorgeous cover of Björk’s “Unravel,” which has Ella Williams harmonizing with herself through the haze of reverb, all laid over lightly strummed, distorted acoustic guitars.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
