Indie Pop

New EP: The Demonstration Tapes || The Amerikan States of Amerika States 1-4

A promising start of a long love letter to (a romanticized version of) the U.S.

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So you’ve been working on a musical homage to the United States of America for a long time, and then it turns out that the country you adore so much has changed faces. It happens to The Demonstration Tapes, a Norwegian indie pop trio Lars Heinz (guitar, drums, percussion, vocals), Pedro Carmona-Alvarez (guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, drums) and Fredrik Færden (piano, keyboards, programming, bass, vocals)—a new band by former members of Sister Sonny. Their goal is to create one song for each U.S. state, and their debut EP covers the first four: New York City Cheesecake, Washington Loves Me, Stuck Here In Nebraska, and California Losin’. This is a promising project, with warm melodies and appealing vocals—folk-tinged and summery—dedicated to an idealized version of America. To be continued.

The Amerikan States of Amerika States 1-4, First EP is out now digitally via Apollon Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Star 99 || Gaman

Star 99 refines their hard twee formula on Gaman

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

San Jose’s Hot Box house alumni—slash survivors—Star 99 have consistently charmed their way onto the wantlist with everything they’ve released so far. Their second album, Gaman, is no exception, particularly given how well the band has fine-tuned their sonic palette on this latest batch of songs. You want something sweet? Something sour? Something bittersweet, perhaps? You’ll find all of that here. And then there’s the irresistible umami of IWLYG, a punchy jangle-pop hit and just one of many standouts on the record.

This is the kind of alt-pop that indie punks will appreciate, and vice versa. Or as the band calls it: hard twee. Or, as I’d put it: mighty fine music, well worth your ears and money.

Out now on Lauren Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Escape-ism || Charge of the Love Brigade

Breaking the rules, rewriting the sound alphabet, still delivering hits

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

Musical vandal Ian Svenonius (electric guitar, drum machine, keyboards, vocals)—you know him from The Make-Up and Chain And The Gang, but he’s done a lot more—is back with his “found-sound-dream-drama” project Escape-ism. Teaming up with Sandi Denton (electric bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals), he recorded ten idiosyncratic tunes for the Charge of the Love Brigade LP (his fifth album under this moniker, if you count The Silent Record, which literally was an entirely silent protest against sound), in his own words nothing less than revolutionary.

Although the premise concerns a reformation of the traditional notes and scales—”an entirely new sound alphabet”—and there is a chance that casual listeners will miss such deeper layers, the result comes across as highly enjoyable, like a mash-up of Suicide and The Velvet Underground, but more catchy. Vintage electronics provide hypnotic rhythms that go surprisingly well with the poetic lyrics that are declaimed in a talk-singing manner, with time and time again memorable hooks and choruses. Intriguing and addictive, cool stuff.



Charge of the Love Brigade is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Radical Elite Records. Also featuring Shelley Salant, Izzy Glaudini, Greg Kurstin and Ignacio Gonzales on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: The Tubs || Cotton Crown

Guitar-driven greatness full of grit and grief

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

Two years on from their year-end list-worthy debut album Dead Meat, London-based Welsh band The Tubs are back with their sophomore full-lenghter, titled Cotton Crown. We can not leave it unmentioned: the baby on the cover photo is frontman Owen ‘O’ Williams (Ex-Vöid, Joanna Gruesome, Sniffany & The Nits), being nursed in a graveyard by his mother, folk singer Charlotte Greig (it is a promotional picture for the release of her 1998 Night Visiting Songs LP), who committed suicide in 2014—it doesn’t get much more meta than this.

The nine new songs are a bold evolution from the rising indie force: the melodic hooks are even more prominent, captured in a heavier and richer sound, but at the same time the lyrics are darker and more personal (understandable, if you know that they are centered around the aftermath of the death of his mum), reflecting emotional rawness. Goosebumps on closing track Strange: “They ask me what it’s like // If I’m alright // I say it makes me more interesting // Then we laugh // And then it’s all fine.”

Despite the theme, this record does not bring a gloomy mood, on the contrary—after tragedy comes merrymaking, as anyone who has seen The Tubs perform live will attest. The witty wordplay and memorable choruses, bright jangly guitars, and Williams’ distinctive vocals are simply irresistible.




Cotton Crown—recorded by Matt Green—is out now digitally, on cassette, CD and vinyl LP, through Trouble In Mind Records. Featuring Owen ‘O’ Williams (vocals, guitar), George Nicholls (guitar), Max Warren (bass) and Taylor Stewart (drums), with Lan McCardle (amazing backing vocals) on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

Gimme 5! Jacob T. Simons Shares Five Records That Have Influenced His Work With Moon Orchids

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

With ‘Gimme 5!’ we take a peek into the collections of artists we admire. The premise is simple: artists WE like share five records THEY love.

Moon Orchids is a folk-rock collective from Kalamazoo, Michigan, who in my crystal ball are heading towards a bright future. Their 2023 debut EP Skin/Skein—4 tracks in 26 minutes—already showed a lot of promise, but last month’s eponymous full-length album is nothing short of a masterpiece. Lyrics, music and emotions amplify each other in a sound that is rich and warm.

There’s so much in there that it made me curious about the sources of inspiration, so I asked Jacob T. Simons, leader of Moon Orchids. The singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/recording artist, currently living in Boulder, Colorado, expresses his excellent picks as thoughtfully as you’d expect.

“It’s a pleasure to be asked to do a feature here. I’ve enjoyed the challenge of condensing my myriad musical interests to a manageable quantity. In an attempt to keep my list contemporary, I have limited myself to choosing only albums released in my lifetime (i.e., 1992 onward), but there are loads of vintage choices that directly influenced the process as well. Without further ado, here are five records that have influenced my work with Moon Orchids – the band and the album – in some way or another, which also happen to be among my all-time favorites.”

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Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of February 2025

By / / Alternative Rock, Funk & Soul, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, 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, eg 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 random order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it was jam-packed with worthy covers. Here are ten songs you should definitely listen to.

Jubilee Street || Cover: The Color Forty Nine || Original Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
San Diego, California-based indie rock band The Color Forty Nine have brought together a selection of nine more subdued songs on a beautiful new full-length album, appropriately titled A Whisper (self-released). A moody reworking or Nick Cave’s Jubilee Street—with a feel reminiscent of The National—fits in seamlessly.

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New single: Autogramm || Randy

Two new wave earworms from Vancouver's Autogramm

By / / Indie Pop, Power Pop / 1 Comment

Leave it to Vancouver’s Autogramm to plant an earworm in your brain. This time, it’s about someone called Randy, and before long, the “Don’t screw up!” hook turns into a self-talk mantra you’ll find yourself repeating whenever the stakes feel high at work or at home. And instead of crumbling under pressure, you’ll be grinning and responding: “Won’t screw up!”

Randy is the A-side of Autogramm’s latest single (out now on Dirt Cult Records) and was originally slated to be included on their 2023 full length. Sonically that would have been a perfect fit, but a mix up in the lyrics made them exclude it. This is a version with rerecorded vocals and with drummer The Silo’s cat as its main subject. Flip the 7″, and you’ll find another track with a circular chorus that’s just as infectious. It’s the bands succesful attempt at a 1979 song by The Diodes (Jenny’s In A Sleep World).

Honestly, I should probably warn you against listening—this thing will live rent-free in your head. But that would be a weak attempt at reverse psychology. Best dive in… just don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Oh, and don’t screw up!


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Dirt Cult

New album: Nick Frater || Oh Contraire!

Multi-talented sophisto-popsmith returns with twelfth (!) album

By / / Indie Pop, Power Pop, Psych / Leave a Comment

I’m tempted to call Nick Frater a musical prodigy, but with Oh Contraire!—out today on Think Like a Key Music—being his twelfth album, that ship has probably sailed. What always stands out, though, is his versatility and his knack for making songs sound like lost pop hits from the golden days of their influences—not unlike The Lemon Twigs, although they differ in their inspirations.

Impressively, Frater does most of the heavy lifting himself. Written, performed, recorded, mixed, and produced by Frater is one hell of a credit for a record this dense and accomplished. Sophisto-pop is a strong descriptor for the material, and while it’s a bit more polished than my usual fare, the musicianship and craftsmanship are undeniable. And that power pop sequence in the first half of the record (My Heart’s In Stereo, I Know You Know I Know, and Song For The One-Eyed City) is hard to resist.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Overly Polite Tornadoes || Leave a Space

Dream pop has rarely been so noisy

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

Endorsed by Moon Orchids—reason enough to pay attention—and Overly Polite Tornadoes lives up to those expectations. We’re talking about husband and wife duo Mark Andrew Morris & Holly Klutts-Morris—also members of Glowfriends and Tambourina—from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Their latest full-length album, Leave a Space, contains thirteen pieces of lo-fi bedroom noise pop that will appeal to shoegaze fans. Listening through the hubbub, we hear compelling melodies, intriguing sound effects, and even catchy harmonies. It’s dreamy at times, especially due to the hazy vocals and hypnotic rhythms, but wakefulness is necessary to fully grasp what’s going on here.



Leave a Space is out digitally, on CD and vinyl LP, through Jam Records and Memory as Music.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Jam

New EP: George Children || Kitchen Sink Drama

George Children’s new EP is a quiet revelation

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George Children (Southern California) is a band with multiple faces. Rewind to their 2023 self-titled album, and you’ll find kickass, punchy alt-pop in the vein of Teenage Fanclub—arguably the most cited band on this site. But their latest EP strips things down to the bare essentials, revealing a different side of Jordan Chipman’s songwriting. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and his soothing voice, he turns sparsity into a strength.

The press release name-drops Tony Molina, and the loud-quiet contrast definitely checks out. A Bill Fox reference? Sure. A Guided By Voices cover (Key Losers)? Of course—because why wouldn’t our other most-cited band show up here?

I hadn’t fully grasped the appeal of Chipman’s songwriting until now, but whether George Children go full-band or hushed and intimate next, I’m all in. Kitchen Sink Drama is out now on Tape at Dandy Boy Records, and streaming everywhere.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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