Indie Pop

New EP: The Klittens || Butter

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Amsterdam quintet The Klittens straddle a thin yet exciting line between being pop enough to reel in huge crowds, and edgy enough to remain underground stars. The band’s second EP is out now, and is comprised of post-punk infused indie pop songs that can be appreciated for their instrumentation and execution but they also beckon you to move.

Reading Material is a festival anthem in the making with its contagious talksingy call-and-response lyrics. It’s an extremely fun song, but I think Universal Experience is the prize track for me as it showcases all of the best parts of The Klittens.

The Klittens have an undeniable cool factor, and you kinda know they are going to blow up sooner or later. The Butter EP may very well prove to be the spark to light the fuse.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: Teini-Pää || Mietin Minne Meet

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I’m defenseless against the irresistible tunes of Teini-Pää. Both of the Finnish band’s full-lengths landed on my AOTY lists, and today brings a surprise release of a new four-song EP, Mietin Minne Meet – In English: I wonder where you’re going.

The four new songs are pure ear candy. Teini-Pää essentially create pop songs with a relatively clean sound and lovely vocals. What sets them apart from bands like Alvvays is their pop-punk energy, giving their songs a satisfying punch and an invigorating effect. Most tracks are upbeat, and rather than slowing down to a more mainstream or trendy sound I admire the band’s dedication to a formula that clearly works for them.

I have no idea how big this band is in their homeland, and singing in Finnish might pose a challenge for their international appeal, but honestly, given their tunes, this band should be huge.

The Mietin Minne Meet EP is out now on 7-inch vinyl through US label Vague Absolutes, and digitally through Soit Se Silti.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Mint Mile || Roughrider

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Mint Mile is the Chicago, Illinois-based indie rock band featuring singer-songwriter Tim Midyett (Silkworm, Bottomless Pit) on guitars, Justin Brown (Palliard) on pedal steel and electric guitar, Matthew Barnhart (Tre Orsi) on bass and Jeff Panall (Songs: Ohia) on drums. Their sophomore full-length album Roughrider, the successor to 2020’s Ambertron, is one that gets under your skin. A feeling somewhat similar to how they put it so beautifully in standout opening track Sunbreaking: “When our heads finally split in two // When our hearts can’t blow out our veins // Or we just don’t move anymore // We barely move anymore // You still move me.” In 40 minutes we get eight atmospheric gbv-fi songs, brilliantly executed with magnetic vocals and rich textures, captivating until the last seconds.


Roughrider is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Comedy Minus One. Also featuring Howard Draper (piano, organ, lap steel), Susan Voelz (violin), Alison Chesley (cello), Greg Norman (trumpet, trombone), Joel RL Phelps (alto sax), Heather Larimer (vocals), Nina Nastasia (vocals) on selected tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Hanemoon || Rain Or Shine

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Hans Forster (Seaside Stars) says he is based in Berlin, but evidence suggests he’s actually residing in Glasgow. Under the alias Hanemoon, he crafts warm, strummy, and jangly power pop reminiscent of Glasgow icons Teenage Fanclub, and Scottish peer Andrew Taylor (The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness, Dropkick).

Rain Or Shine is Hanemoon’s third album and maintains the delightful charm of its predecessors. Forster’s songwriting is unhurried yet engaging, his songs relaxed and spacious, but never lackadasical. They are robust in the sense that they work well on this gentle and warmly produced record, but should be equally enjoyable amplified on stage. Honestly, I am having trouble identifying the designated hit on the record, a testament to the album’s overall quality. Recommended listening!

Rain Or Shine is out now on CD at Jigsaw Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Marc With a C || Flowers For Analog

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After his diagnosis in 1995 of probable Alzheimer’s disease, American artist William Utermohlen made a series of impressive self-portraits. Marc with a C is currently doing something similar, but sonically. The productive, genderfluid and idiosyncratic singer-songwriter from Orlando, Florida, born Marc Sirdoreus, has countless releases and lengthy live shows to his name since 2002, but is now struggling with dementia-like symptoms. His latest full-length DIY album Flowers For Analog is the last entry in a trilogy that began with Thanatophobia (2022) and Please Believe In Yourself, Alright? (2023). The eleven new indie pop tunes are as lo-fi and wobbly as they are personal. Dark emotions and light-hearted sarcasm fight for priority, within an effective musical environment that appropriately alternates between melancholic and uplifting. Song titles such as The World’s Gonna Kick The Shit Out Of You and Luckily, I’ll Probably Forget! already say a lot in that regard. A successful and appealing project, in several respects.




Marc With a C will celebrate its 25th anniversary in December this year. You can watch the more than 2-hour 20th Anniversary Show – better times – on YouTube.

Flowers For Analog is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Neighborhood Nuclear Superiority. Art work by Catherine Blackard, everything else by Marc Sirdoreus.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New EP: Research Vessel || Going Tomorrow

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Give Danny Rowland a minute or two and he will deliver concise indie pop sweetness at your doorstep. Rowland used to play in Seapony and Transmittens, but this time he’s flying solo under the Research Vessel moniker – Space Daze is another solo project of his that is worth checking out.

The four songs on the Going Tomorrow EP have a warm and hazy sound, adding to the melancholic feel of the record. From the get-go it’s clear Rowland doesn’t need much to create memorable pop songs. A guitar and a drum computer go a long way, and the addition of a Casio organ is a delight.

Research Vessel is off to a great start, more where this came from please! Going Tomorrow is out now on Tape at Small Craft Advisory.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of February 2024

By / / Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Power Pop, Punk, Surf Music / 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.

In February, you probably heard covers of Talking Heads’ Burning Down the House by Paramore, Edith Piaf’s La Vie En Rose by Nick Cave, Lou Reed’s Perfect Day (Piano Komorebi Version) by Patrick Watson, Van Halen’s Jump (If It Was Written For Millennials) by Alex Melton, Haruomi Hosono’s Boku Wa Chotto with Mac DeMarco and William Bell’s I Forgot To Be Your Lover by The Black Keys, and ourselves we wrote about new releases from The Drowns, Autogramm, The Weirdolls, The Devils, The Sleeveens, Gentleman Jesse and The Thing, respectively featuring cover versions of Mud’s Dyna-Mite, Nichts’ Licht Aus, Eddie And The Hot Rods’ Do Anything You Wanna Do, Cleo Randle’s Big City Lights, The Undertones’ Get Over You, The Saints’ Private Affair, Mark Morrison’s Return of the Mack and Sonic Boom’s You’re The One (listen below)…








…but there was plenty more to choose from, and I think it’s more fun to share cover songs here that haven’t got the attention they deserve.

…

Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of February 2024Read More »

New compilation: Various Artists || Two Two Seven

By / / Indie Pop, Jangle Pop / 1 Comment

Must-have compilation alert for fans of quality indie and jangle pop! Prefect Records have just released the sequel to their wonderful 14 compilation that was released almost exactly one year ago. If Prefect Records wants to make this an annual thing, I’m all for it. I mean 14, Two Two Seven, there still are plenty of numbers available, right?

But more imporantly, like 14, the Two Two Seven comp offers the purest of ear candy from some of the bestest and freshest indie pop bands around. If you frequent our site, you’ll find a lot of familiar face among the contributors. The Laughing Chimes, Autocamper, The Smashing Times, Wandering Summer, Whitney’s Playland, Sweet Nobody, Tony Jay, and Mt. Misery all previously made the wantlist, and it’s rad seeing them all on the same piece of vinyl. To be sure, even though there are some nice surprises like a new Real Numbers track and the delightfully scrappy Ridicule by The Wendy Darlings, not everything on the comp is brand new and unreleased, but they are all getting the vinyl treatment for the very first time.

Big shoutout to Alfie Dobson for putting this mix together. From the moment they were released, I’ve been eager to add songs like Show Me the Way (Wandering Summer), The Fall Of Sweet Pea (Tossing Seed), and Million Yard Stare (Sweet Nobody) to my non-digital collection. But it’s not just the individual picks, it’s the sequencing and flow of the comp, and how well these acts complement each other that might be Dobson’s most impressive accomplishment. Like I said, this one is a must-have!

Two Two Seven is out now, limited to 227 copies of course.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Porcine || Porcine

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Porcine (Barsnley, UK) may like their indie pop and shoegaze from decades past – most notably the ’80s and ’90s, but they give those influences a contemporary twist on their self-titled debut LP. With dreamy vocals and pleasantly strummed guitars, Porcine knows how to shimmer, chime and shine. Stop The World (see video below) and Time Never Moves will offer a smooth entrance point to the sonic universe of Porcine. It’s a sound that’s as cozy as your favorite sweater yet as fresh as a breeze on a summer’s day.

You need not be a surfer to ride Porcine’s waves of melancholy and melody. A warm and welcoming debut released by the fine people of Safe Suburban Home Records!

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: my favorite boxer || Scrimpage

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my favorite boxer is the solo project by Eugene, Oregon-based singer-songwriter Samuel Raymond Smith, I guess named after that song from of Montreal. His new album Scrimpage, the successor to last September’s vera, consists of nine original DIY tracks that are as lo-fi and wobbly – recorded on a vintage Toa MR8T cassette recorder – as they are authentic and intriguing. You can call it slacker rock or twee pop or indie folk – all kind of true – but without knowing exactly why, these jangly tunes and off-centre lyrics will keep running through your head.


Scrimpage, written/performed/recorded by Sam R. Smith, is out now digitally and on CD (self-released).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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