Indie Pop

New album: Chris Canipe || Monuments

A quiet insistence on courage, patience, and personal integrity

By / / Alternative Rock, Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

Monuments is the third full-length album by Kansas City-based singer-songwriter Chris Canipe, one that wonderfully provides much-needed motivation to deal with current developments.

The ten songs wrestle with the ongoing moment of political unrest, social fragmentation, and environmental unease, capturing the feeling of living through systems that feel strained but not yet broken. The lyrics repeatedly return to the idea that resistance is often ordinary and relational, found in love, community, small daily rituals, and the slow work of showing up rather than grand gestures. We shouldn’t see hope as a denial of hardship, but as a deliberate act: choosing kindness, honesty, and human connection while time keeps moving and the ground keeps shifting.

The message is as beautiful as the melancholic melodies and profound vocals that amplify it, dark and light at the same time, worrisome yet comforting: “Hey hey, hey hey // It’s okay if you’re not okay.” Intimate reflections, moral clarity, emotional honesty, big advice—you feel it in every word, in every note.




Monuments is out now digitally and on CD (self-released). It’s unbelievable how the record turned out when you consider that the tracks were largely recorded at home, with a simple set-up, and a stolen laptop made the initial versions disappear. Also featuring Joe Schaefer (drums), Lou Nevins (bass ), John Galbraith (guitar ), Andrew Weir (organ), Jared Smith (trombone), Greg Aker (sax), Chris Farris (trumpet), and Benjamin Hook (drums) on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Tom Lawns || Peace Out, Robot Wingman

Lo-fi alt pop, straight from the couch into your heart

By / / Alternative Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Psych / Leave a Comment

Tom Lawns is the kind of artist who’s hard to find, but once he’s on your radar, you’ll follow him anywhere. I completely missed the three EPs he released over the past 15 months (available on one convenient CD), but his debut full-length arrived this Friday, and if you ever want to argue that some of the most interesting pop music is still being made in bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms on the most rudimentary gear, Peace Out, Robot Wingman is Exhibit A.

Billed as a “couch symphony,” the record tips its hat to Ace Frehley in title and artwork, but any sonic resemblance to KISS mostly stops there. There’s no bombast or theatrics, just gorgeous songs wrapped in a delightfully unpolished haze of hiss and noise. This isn’t about rock ’n’ roll every night and every day; it’s more a happily-stuck-on-the-couch-with-a-guitar kind of record. And somehow, the melodies shine through no matter what.

Take Heavy Ghost, a song that sounds like it wandered out of the Lemonheads’ better timeline, or Metal Girl, a standout infused with rock ’n’ roll romanticism that makes it feel like the universe is quietly rewarding you for reasons unknown. And those are just two highlights—this record is full of moments that sneak up on you and refuse to let go. Find this release (and many other worthwhile ones!) on Lawns’ own Terminal Releases label.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Fragiles || Sing the Heat of the Sun

David Settle finds beauty in uncertainty and strength in persistence

By / / Indie Pop, Indie Rock / Leave a Comment

David Settle is back with his indie pop/rock project The Fragiles, releasing their third full-length album, Sing the Heat of the Sun. It feels like a journey through the wide-ranging landscape of no man’s land, also a meditation on endurance, with lyrics circling uncertainty, stalled motion, and the ache of waiting (relationships caught on fault lines, choices deferred, faith and work requested, and love remembered more vividly in absence than presence): “Let the mess you made // Comfort you // Let the less you take // Guide you through” (from Unglued).

The ten original songs vary in tempo and intensity—from gentle guitar picking to weighty riffs and everything in between—but are always heartfelt and honest. From quiet confessionals to roaring reckonings, every note carries intent, every tune is captivating.



Sing the Heat of the Sun is out digitally and on cassette through Living Lost Records. Featuring Catherine Dwyer (bass) and Gavin Perez-Canto (drums), with Fran Lyons (synth) on select tracks. All proceeds will be donated to Anera, to Palestinian refugees.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Living Lost

New EP: Candy Kisses || Truth We Avoided

Twee pop from Indonesia with a sense of urgency

By / / Indie Pop, Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

If the name Candy Kisses sounds cute, just wait until you hear the debut EP from this quartet from Indonesia’s Depok region. The backstory is delightfully classic: band visits show, mentions they have a band, label owner listens, session booked—boom.

The EP packs six songs of classic twee pop: friendly, modest, and full of urgency, like a band bursting to show you what they can do. The first four tracks are short and snappy, recorded in an initial session, while the final two—written and recorded immediately after—stretch out a bit more and hint at broader ambitions. Closer I’m Done With You in particular shows a band already thinking beyond the basics.

Candy Kisses are coming at you fast. CDr expected mid-January via Indonesia’s always-fun cookies.fun label.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Ten Cent Club || Postcards From The Sun

A delightful debut that blurs the lines between balladry, groove, and experimentation

By / / Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

San Francisco-based singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Gene Chumakov makes his debut under the moniker of Ten Cent Club with the versatile Postcards From The Sun EP, whose six tracks resist easy categorization. A brief acoustic instrumental sets the stage, before standout track The Dinosaur King, a funky murder ballad reminiscent of Tom Waits, takes hold. After the synth-driven earworm (Hit Me) One More Time and another short instrumental, lighters can go up for indie pop ballads Charlie (Shape) and Mt. Everest, the latter of which derails slightly halfway through. Charm, hooks, and ambition, it’s all there.


Postcards From The Sun—written, performed, and produced by Gene Chumakov—is out now digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of December 2025

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Power Pop, Punk / Leave a Comment

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, e.g. as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are—in a kind of random order—a bunch of successful covers from last month—links to pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

Happy new year!

We start 2026 with a final look back at 2025. December saw quite a few Christmas-themed covers, but there’s little point in sharing them now (we’ll close below with just the nicest ones)—please remind me in 11 months to put together a Xmas edition of this feature. Nevertheless, there was much more to enjoy.

Ace of Spades (Motörhead) by West Texas Exiles — digital track (Floating Mesa Records)

Lean On Sheena (The Bouncing Souls) by The Kilograms — from Strike A Match EP (Rad Girlfriend Records)

Just Like Honey (The Jesus and Mary Chain) by Spare Snare — from American Psychocandy compilation (Almost Halloween Time Records)

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Dusted || The Best New Cover Songs Of December 2025Read More »

An Incomplete List of Releases I Overlooked in 2025

By / / Alternative Rock, Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk / Leave a Comment

Browsing through the many year-end lists, I stumbled upon plenty of share-worthy releases that, for one reason or another, I either overlooked or simply forgot to write about. I also had some bookmarked gems lying around that are absolutely wantlist material but somehow got lost in the shuffle. Here are some of them.

This wraps up my year, see you again soon. Happy 2026!

Beauty || I’d Do Almost Anything For You
On their debut album, this Red Bank, New Jersey trio leans into late-’70s pop rock à la Cheap Trick and ’90s power pop like Fountains of Wayne. Definitely more than a couple of hits on this one.

Natalie Bergman || My Home is Not in This World
It’s easy to see why I missed this one, as it’s not really the kind of music I usually gravitate toward. Still, this finely produced record sounds gorgeous coming out of the speakers, and Bergman (of Wild Belle) makes it awfully easy to fall for her voice. Probably the most pop-leaning release on this list, wrapped in warm ’60s sepia tones.

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An Incomplete List of Releases I Overlooked in 2025Read More »

New album: Rimbalo || Luminara

Moonlit guitars and slow waves of psychedelic calm, edged with the unknown

By / / Indie Pop, Surf / Leave a Comment

Rimbalo is a dream pop outfit hailing from Indonesia, featuring Lyra (vocals), Rooki (guitars), Marlow (bass), Solara (keys), and Zephyr (drums, percussion). Their debut album, Luminara, drifts in on a humid night breeze, reframing surf rock and garage-psych influences as something inward-looking and quietly hallucinatory, like distant lights on the water.

In twelve cinematic tracks, reverb-soaked guitars, soft-focus synths, and angelic vocals take us on a nocturnal trip along imagined coastlines (“Whispers coil upon the sable tide // Shadows conspire where the night resides // Windows bleed their argent, ghostly gleam // Threading silent hymns through a fevered dream”—from Spectral House on the Black Shore). The melodies shimmer with reflective melancholy, blurring memory and mirage, with a subtle but fascinating unease beneath the calm.




Luminara—written, composed, performed, and produced by Rimbalo—is out now digitally (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New compilation: Various Artists || So Fresh: Tote-ally Summer For Black Peoples Union

Big scene energy

By / / Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk, Surf / Leave a Comment

Look, not everyone cares about Christmas or holiday-themed music, but we all care about great underground music coming out of Australia, right?

So Fresh: Tote-ally Summer For Black Peoples Union is a massive 65-band compilation that brings together a whole lot of familiar names we’ve covered over the years: Billiam, Leatherman, The Gnomes, Game Set Match, The States, Loose Lips, and plenty more. Not everything here is previously unreleased, but there’s no shortage of surprises — including covers, live tracks, and plenty of material you probably haven’t heard before.

The release coincides with a mini-festival held last Sunday at The Tote, and in proper seasonal spirit, 100% of the Bandcamp proceeds go to Black Peoples Union. You can buy this digital compilation for just $5, or donate more to the cause directly, and mail the receipt to obtain a download code. Anyone looking for a politically neutral experience should look elsewhere: the liner notes are upfront about the fact that these recordings were made on stolen, unceded land. A huge compilation with a clear purpose — and a lot of great music to dig into.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New compilation: Various Artists || Indiepop, Whatever Happens!

Gentle underground pop for loud times

By / / Indie Pop, Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

Whatever happens, we’ll always have music—and that’s a comforting thought. Few genres lean into that feeling quite like indie pop, and that’s exactly the point Shiny Happy Records want to make. Based in Tangerang (Indonesia), the label should very much be on your radar if you care about underground pop done with heart.

Their latest compilation, Indiepop, Whatever Happens!, gathers lo-fi indie pop from a dozen bands you may not know yet, but who instantly sound like part of the same circle of friends. It’s warm, unassuming, and quietly reassuring—music that doesn’t demand attention so much as invite you in. I’ve highlighted a few personal favorites below, but this is very much a full-listen kind of comp.

While you’re at it, head over to the Bandcamp page and read the love letter the label wrote about the genre. It perfectly sums up the spirit behind the release. Here’s the closing part:
“Fanzines, small record labels, and everything else grow from good intentions rather than grand ambition. Indiepop is the courage to be gentle, to remain humble, and to be honest, to be yourself without being directed by anyone, in a world that has become far too noisy.”



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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