Indie Pop

New album: Unity || Comes Back To You… / Was There Ever Unity?

Unity from Oakland, here to satisfy that itch for scrappy underground guitar pop

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

To avoid confusion among the hardcore kids: yes, this is a new Unity record. But it’s not the one you’re thinking of.

This is Unity from Oakland, a band featuring members of Meat Market and Unity Skateboards founder Jeffrey Cheung, who is also a visual artist and zine maker. Rather than blistering hardcore, this Unity plays scrappy noise, indie pop and rock. Their new record arrives a decade after the previous one, and listening to these sixteen songs, I can’t help feeling that Unity are several bands in one. They seem less interested in coherence than in following their intuitions. The result is a record with plenty to discover, and one reassuring constant: they don’t overcomplicate things, and they always find room for an insanely catchy part.

Window channels The Vaselines and Pains of Being Pure at Heart, while Walk Away and Comes To You are energetic, unpolished guitar-pop songs that will charm the hell out of listeners. The Bug Club also comes to mind: that same knack for making scrappy, slightly off-kilter songs feel ridiculously immediate.

Sixteen songs might sound like a lot, but Unity keep things loose and lively. Comes Back To You… / Was There Ever Unity? is less a neatly unified statement than a collection of good instincts, catchy turns and welcome surprises. And that’s a pretty good reason to spend some time with this Unity, even if you came here looking for hardcore.

Out now on LP at Smoking Room Records.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Tubs || Hard Life

Bruised hearts and hard truths, captured in witty brightness

By / / Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop / 1 Comment

After the year-end list-worthy albums Dead Meat (2023) and Cotton Crown (2025), you know what to expect from The Tubs: the music of this Cardiff-raised/London-based sonic circus is jangly and angular, melodic and melancholic, folk-inspired and frenetic. Or: misery sounding irresistible. It is indeed all applicable to their third full-length album, but Hard Life is richer and more expansive than before, with fiddle, keys, and harmonies weaving through the twelve new songs, reaching even higher.

On top of the chiming melodies and compelling hooks, the lyrics paint a self-portrait of being caught between wanting to be loved and learning to live without it, between wallowing in old wounds and finally having the courage to move on: “Some people say losing love is like a dagger to your heart // Well I wouldn’t know // ‘Cause when you cut me I go straight back to the start'” (from Stoop To Me). There are also clever references to challenges within the band (“Cause we can’t stay in England // And never get sober”) and outside of it (“Say you’re gonna join The TSG // Well, it’s your life”), so you will understand that it is a spellbinding listen in that regard as well.

Although these guys don’t seem capable of writing a bad tune themselves, this time they also opt for a remarkable cover: they dug up Do Yourself a Favor (written by Jesse Johnson and Pepé Willie) from Prince’s vault, an unexpected combination that strangely enough works out well. All in all, The Tubs have carved out a unique spot for themselves in today’s music landscape, and this is another triumph of crooked smiles and the kind of wit that makes the darkness glow. Can’t wait to see them live again soon, a feeling reinforced by the telling video below.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Merge

New album: Josephine Network || Little Spells

A surprise second act for the year

By / / Country & Folk, Glam Rock, Indie Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

Keeping in mind that Josephine Network already released a yearlist-worthy LP this year, Hooked, which came out last March on Lolipop Records, I did not anticipate a second album to be released, let alone to have it arrive with so little fanfare. It basically landed on our digital doorstep yesterday, a sole Bandcamp notification as its messenger.

The fact that it came with hardly any information adds to the mystery. It basically is Josephine together with Olive Faber, who also handled the recording and mixing. So right now, I don’t have any backstory on the release, but I can tell you that it is classic Josephine Network while simultaneously being a mirror image of the Hooked LP.

Hooked was loud, catchy and fun by design, a revved-up departure from the niche Josephine Network usually operates in, which is some combination of glam pop, soft rock, psych, country and soul that is much easier to listen to than to describe.

Little Spells fits more comfortably into that sound. It takes a gentler, less hard-rocking approach, but the common thread is that Josephine is writing some of the poppiest stuff of her career. These ten new songs are easily revved up, too. Openers Gotta Get Outta My Heart and Bumpin’ Into You would slide particularly well onto a stage alongside the Hooked material, while on songs like Put A Guitar In Her Hands and I Could Say No, The Lemon Twigs’ influence is palpable.

By the end, I’m amazed by how well Josephine Network pulls off both sides of the equation. Loud and revved-up or gentle and poppy, apparently she can do both just as well.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Hollow Hand || Wish Road South

Loud shirts and second chances

By / / Country & Folk, Indie Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

Wish Road South is the fourth full-length album by Hollow Hand aka Brighton-based singer-songwriter Max Kinghorn-Mills, but collaborating and touring with others inspired him to come up with a plan B and turn this record into a genuine band effort. It led to ten psychedelic folk-pop songs with a wonderful looseness, even as the lyrics wander through themes of lost connections and a belief in renewal, stirring up emotions or curiosity time and again. When you hear lines like “I’ve got a heavy metal t-shirt but I don’t know the band // I just like the way it looks, the way it feels in my hand // Turns out they rock pretty hard,” you can’t help but want to know how the story unfolds, right?

Although titles like Kiss The Boot and Black Metal Corpse Paint might raise expectations of something raucous, what we actually get are intimate reflections and jangling melancholy, though there are certainly rocking moments too, such as Drinking With Judy. Perhaps the subdued final chord summarizes the ambiguity best: “And I can’t tell if that’s pain in your eyes // Is that the time? Yeah I should go // Oh just give me a gentle place // To lay my head and get off the road.”



Wish Road South—written and produced by Max Kinghorn-Mills—is out digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Loose Music. Featuring Max Kinghorn-Mills (guitars, vocals), Leo Clarke (bass, backing vocals), and Oliver Newton (drums, backing vocals).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Loose || Soundly

New album: Soft Science || Sand

Hope

By / / Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

Soft Science has known their way around a shimmering guitar for fifteen years, but the Sand LP finds the Sacramento, California-based quintet turning up the heat without losing their dreamlike glow. Twin 12-string guitars cascade over driving rhythms and ethereal vocals, occasionally pushing the ten new songs—all with one-word titles, again—towards shoegaze noise while keeping the melodies firmly in the foreground.

The lyrics explore love, distance, memory and the struggle to break free from destructive patterns: “No use waiting when it’s all built on sand // Let’s give it one more chance” (from the title track). Yet even as everything threatens to slip away, hope keeps pulling the heart towards the light. And so the search for solid ground becomes something strangely beautiful, carried by an enchanting atmosphere that never stands still.



Sand—produced by Soft Science—is out digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Shelflife Records (USA) and Spinout Nuggets (UK). Featuring Katie Haley (lead vocals, percussion), brothers Matt Levine (lead guitar) and Ross Levine (guitar, synths, backing vocals), partners Tony Cale (drums) and Becky Cale (bass, backing vocals), along with frequent collaborator Hans Munz (electronics).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Spinout 

New album: Herr Nilsson || Good Morning Rock And Roll

RIYL good times too

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

Almost a quarter of a century old, but Herr Nilsson continues to grow. Good Morning Rock And Roll is not only a motto that appeals to us, it is also a buoyant take on indie pop and alternative rock, where jangling guitars and tempting melodies provide the foundation for arrangements and instrumentation that travel in all directions. The sextet from Bergen, Norway happily takes the scenic route, throwing in unexpected turns and orchestral flourishes along the way.

In 42 minutes you’ll hear twelve uplifting songs in which quite a lot happens. The choruses are big and the hooks are sharp, with cornet and violin adding color without weighing things down. Behind the bursts of guitar and playful colors lies a surprisingly poignant preoccupation with time and resilience. Rather than filling those voids with solemnity, Terje Bringsvor Nilsen and his crew choose the obvious but appreciated solution: more music, more fun. Including a banger of a hit: Sensational has everything to conquer the world.



Good Morning Rock And Roll—produced by Einar Olsson—is out digitally and on vinyl LP trough Apollon Records. Featuring Terje Bringsvor Nilsen (lead vocals, guitar), Lars Jakob Stava (guitar, keyboards), Ragnhild Hogstad Jordahl (vocals, keyboards, violin), Morten Mjørlaug (bass), Jan Otto Nerdal (drums), and Johannes Førde (cornet).

Add to wantlist: Apollon || Bandcamp

New album: Jacob T. Simons || Shadow Creek

Finding the bare essentials of songcraft

By / / Country & Folk, Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

We’ve championed Colorado-based singer-songwriter Jacob Tyler Simons in these pages before, back when he was steering the ship for the admired outfit Moon Orchids. His first solo LP, Shadow Creek, functions as a natural counterweight to his former collective’s grandiose finale (it made it into the top 10 of my 2025 year-end list), trading polished ambition for a humble, salt-of-the-earth approach. To capture a truly unvarnished sound, the musician challenged himself with a strict set of recording dogmas. He handled all vocals and guitars himself without the safety net of overdubbing, committing to full live takes where atmosphere completely trumped technical precision. If a mistake didn’t break the rhythm, it stayed on the record.

It resulted in a beautiful anti-artificial document, consisting of nine intimate indie folk songs (plus a short balcony recording of a rainstorm), anchored by guitars and a harmonica full of emotion, further enhanced by Olivia Shaw’s weeping fiddle and Paul Robert Fake’s sparse keys. Simons’ sincere voice wrestles with a nostalgic yearning for simpler days, constantly weighing the heavy dread of modern societal decay against the grounding sanctuary of enduring love: “I’ve got a compass that tells me where I need to be // I can kick the needle if you come and stay with me” (from Rosewater Beads). The blurry cover photo serves as the perfect visual thesis for the album, as an uncompromising reminder that perfect focus is not a prerequisite to reveal an artist’s deeply honest core



Shadow Creek—produced and engineered by Jacob T. Simons and Mark Anderson—is out digitally and on vinyl LP (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Archer || Ivan

An acoustic tomorrow

By / / Country & Folk, Indie Pop / Leave a Comment

Earlier this year, Trondheim-based Norway-based alt-rock quartet Archer released their debut full-length album, The View from the Reservoir, one that has unjustly remained under the radar. Two of its twelve songs—Tomorrow and Flooring—return on the Ivan EP for a second chance, but in folk-tinged, unplugged versions that are even more beautiful than the electrically amplified originals.

The music draws you in with its atmosphere, Kristoffer Jonassen’s lyrics are what keep you there: “And I don’t know what I’m supposed to do // When everything is over and all is through // And I’m not sure just where I belong // But I liked that place where you played that song that goes // Don’t let today waste, I won’t be sleeping // I’m stuck in the dream that was yours to begin with.”

The strong title track is new here, pointing towards what may come next; its heartfelt delivery and poetic lyrics making for a particularly enticing preview of the next album. Promising indeed, but there’s still plenty to discover in the debut before we get there.


The Ivan EP is out digitally via Flat Rat Rec. Featuring Kristoffer Jonassen (guitar, vocals), Kevin Solem (guitar, piano), Robin Synnøve Solem (guitar, banjo, bass), and Jim Patrik Antonsen (drums).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Alley Girl || Kerosene Gambler

More scruffy yet gorgeous melodies from Doris Stanić

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

Doris Stanić has a system. Kerosene Gambler is the new Alley Girl album, following last year’s Peregrine Rambler EP (which we discussed here) and Paradigm Scrambler. The formula seems simple enough: find two words that rhyme, make sure the syllables roughly line up, and call it a record. It sounds like a terrible gimmick, and she recently hinted she might ditch it, but I kinda like it. It feels like an inside joke between her and the audience.

Last year turned Alley Girl, essentially Stanić’s solo home-recording project using a Yamaha MT-50, into something of an underground hype. Kerosene Gambler meets those raised expectations.

Alley Girl’s music has an out-of-time-and-place quality that somehow makes perfect sense for a Dutch-Bosnian human being living in Hollywood Heights. There is a distinctly ’60s feel to timeless pop songs like You Don’t See Me When I Cry. They sound like they could be lost hits from another era, often built around gorgeous melodies, while the lo-fi treatment gives everything a scrappy underground garage-pop edge.

It’s a pretty great compromise, or excuse if you will, for those who like their music rough around the edges but still appreciate a really good pop song when they hear one. And Alley Girl is a pretty great name to captain this particular ship.

At almost a full hour, Kerosene Gambler can initially feel a little overwhelming. Songs start blending into one another while your attention inevitably wanders. Give it some time, though, and the rewards are there. Doris Stanić has a special talent for writing vocal melodies that sound pure, honest, and entirely her own. I’m particularly taken by the underground pop hits that kick off the record, but there’s something to fall in love with in pretty much every song here.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Sidesleepers || Like an almost scalding cup of tea

Witty pop songs for complicated feelings

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

Catherine Mactaggart and Mal Wales are Sidesleepers, a brand-new band from Wollongong, Australia, whose guitar pop sound is lovely. And I say that without a hint of cynicism, because Sidesleepers do a little of the small things that make a record stand out from the pack. There is plenty of jangle, hints of Belle and Sebastian, and relatable content, with plenty of emotional confusion and self-sabotage. “I’m becoming increasingly annoyed with myself / for being unable to articulate my possibly confused feelings about you” is the wordy yet catchy hook in Increasingly Annoyed, all delivered with a wonderfully dry sense of humor. And while this is definitely a pop record, it is played with a sense of purpose and movement.

Some of these songs have the makings of instant classics, like Up Around the Bend, which was part of a teaser single earlier this year. There are some surprises as well, like the violin on After All Time (a guest performance from Clare Mactaggart), but my overall takeaway is that this is one of the most enjoyable indie pop records to come out this summer.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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