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 tracks from The War On Drugs and My Morning Jacket, an excellent ’90s-inspired EP from Soul Blind, and the announcement of a new Snail Mail album. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.
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Mini Trees – Always In Motion
On her debut full-length album under the name Mini Trees, Lexi Vega delivers a collection of impressive indie-rock tracks that revels in the liminal space between knowing and not knowing, and finding beauty in that ignorance. Always In Motion sets the bar high for Mini Trees, a band to watch as they hit the road alongside Julien Baker this year.
Soul Blind – Third Chain EP
The opening notes of Soul Blind’s new EP Third Chain make me want to put on a backwards flat-brim hat and a t-shirt that’s three sizes too big, because the ’90s never died. Channeling the epic riffs of Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and the snarling vocals of Oasis, the Hudson Valley, the three songs that make up Third Chain are proof that the New York trio are ready to make their mark on the alternative rock scene.
Alexa Rose – Headwaters
Alexa Rose’s sophomore album Headwaters was written entirely during the pandemic, and the final product reflects the liminality of the lockdown period, when time was technically passing, but all the days were melding into one. That being said, Rose is able to distill the confusion of the period into beautiful folk songs that are easy to digest and appreciate — and maybe help you come to terms with what we’ve just gone through (and continue to go through).
The War On Drugs – “I Don’t Live Here Anymore”
With their new album I Don’t Live Here Anymore due in just a few weeks, The War On Drugs have shared the title track. The song features backing vocals from Lucius singers Holly Laessig and Jess Wolf, and is described by Rachel Brodsky for Uproxx as “a glittering, full-bodied track that drives forward with echoing drums and gorgeous synth-lines.” Count us among the excited for the full record.
My Morning Jacket – “Love Love Love”
My Morning Jacket’s self-titled album is coming soon, just almost exactly a year after they dropped The Waterfall II. The second preview of My Morning Jacket comes in the form of “Love Love Love,” which Rachel Brodsky calls for Uproxx “an upbeat, lushly harmonized song,” and Jim James describes as a song seeking for “positivity and pure love, finding truth within yourself and in the world around you.”
Snail Mail – “Valentine”
Three years after solidifying herself as an artist to watch with 2018’s Lush, Lindsey Jordan is back with new Snail Mail music. Her sophomore album Valentine is due later this fall, prefaced by its title track, which Derrick Rossignol described for Uproxx as “a song that starts out guided by mellow, atmospheric guitars before bursting into a kinetic chorus.”
Makthaverskan – “This Time”
Four years ago, Swedish outfit Makthaverskan grabbed our attention with their impressive LP III. Now the band is back with new music, starting with the atmospheric offering “This Time,” which previews their forthcoming fourth album För Allting. The band took a different writing approach for their new album, resulting in a wider scope of opportunity for different inspiration and sonic elements to make their way into the songs.
Hand Habits – “Graves”
Meg Duffy is one of the best songwriters out there right now, and “Graves,” the latest offering from Hand Habits’ forthcoming effort Fun House, is a perfect example why. With a gentle acoustic guitar and layered alto vocal, Duffy explains that the track is “a conversation with grief and remembrance… A questioning of my own memory and its proximity to understanding closure.”
Hatchie – “This Enchanted”
Hatchie’s debut album Keepsake was far and away one of the best albums of 2019, and the Australian songwriter has leveraged its success into a new label deal with Secretly Canadian. Now with a new label home, Harriette Pilbeam is starting to roll out some new music. In a statement, Pilbeam describes the new track “This Enchanted” as “”encapsulat[ing] everything I wanted to do moving forward from my first album… something dancey but shoegaze.”
Michelle – “Syncopate”
We’ve been hotly anticipating the proper debut album from New York outfit Michelle since the standalone singles “Sunrise” and “Unbound” last year. Now, the six-piece has officially announced After Dinner We Talk Dreams, accompanied by what Carolyn Droke calls for Uproxx a “dreamy, love-struck single” called “Syncopate.”
Dijon – “Many Times”
After dropping an impressive EP in 2020, Dijon is prepping his debut full-length album set for release later this year. Although the album doesn’t have a title or release date, Dijon has shared “Many Times,” a new track that illustrates what Aaron Williams describes for Uproxx as “a cycle of pain and confusion caused by a loved one who doesn’t understand the impact their chaotic actions are having.”
Snarls – “Fixed Gear”
Snarls’ stellar LP Burst was one of the best of 2020, and the band hasn’t let the pandemic slow them down. Now, the Ohio band is gearing up to release a brand new EP produced by Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie, Tegan & Sara) that takes their songwriting to new heights. “Fixed Gear” showcases the band’s knack for beautiful hooks and intricate layered vocal harmonies.
Bears In Trees – “Great Heights”
The first single from Bears In Trees’ new album was written “on a mattress on a hardwood floor at 4am after my friend’s birthday,” guitarist Nicholas Peters explains. The catchy folk-punk track “Great Heights” previews And Everybody Else Smiled Back, the forthcoming debut album from the South London group.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. .
