Jangle Pop

New single: Zenxith || All The Time In The World

A DIY jangle pop missive where every detail actually matters

By / / Jangle Pop / Leave a Comment

Hot on the heels of last November’s What’s Happening To Me? LP, prolific British singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Daniel McGee returns with a new 7″ from his Zenxith moniker—his 37th single, also a preview of upcoming album 6 Weeks Holiday, Nowhere To Play, which should be released next month.

The A-side, All The Time In The World, is five minutes of lo-fi jangle pop brilliance, with a tambourine and shaker replacing the drums and an earworm chorus that lets you dream of unimagined possibilities. The B-side, I Just Want You, is cut from the same cloth, though considerably shorter and a little sturdier.

In true DIY spirit, the artist is responsible for all the details, not only in terms of music, but also for the design of the cover art, the center labels, and an included postcard. A piece of handcraft to love.

All The Time In The World b/w I Just Want You—written, performed, and recorded By Zenxith—is out now digitally and on very limited 7″ vinyl through Zenxith’s own label, Salt Mine Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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 album: Crabber || Sweet Credibility

Everything clicks naturally on Crabber's fourth

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

Dropping a new record right in the middle of year-end list season might not be the most strategic move, but when a record is this good, it finds its way onto the wantlist sooner or later. Sweet Credibility, Crabber’s fourth, came out mid-december and feels like a band hitting a sweet spot without overthinking it.

These 13 songs breeze by and leave you wondering if Crabber have ever sounded this confident, this relaxed, or this locked in. It’s honest guitar pop and indie rock with a punch and a touch of jangle, full of charm and hooks, and—yes—cute as hell without tipping into precious. Out now on CD at Jigsaw Records.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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.

…

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

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

Music Year-End List || Niek’s Favorite Singles and EPs of 2025

By / / Alternative Rock, Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk / 2 Comments

EPs and singles are where bands tend to swing hardest — and 2025 was ridiculous in that department. I started with a longlist of well over 100 short-format releases, and cutting it down to 50 wasn’t easy, but it sure was fun. I was also happy to see some of my cuts pop up in Dennis’ list earlier this week.

Unlike my album list (as well as Dennis’ AOTY list), this one isn’t ranked but ordered alphabetically. To my ears, these releases prove that singles and EPs are no mere afterthoughts, throwaways, or warm-ups for full-lengths — they’re often the main event.

So here it is, our final year-end list: 50 EPs and singles that made 2025 louder, brighter, and better. Over the next two weeks we’ll be taking things a bit slower on the blog, before coming back fully recharged in 2026. Thanks for making this year worthwhile — happy holidays, take care!

…

Music Year-End List || Niek’s Favorite Singles and EPs of 2025Read More »

Music Year-End List || Dennis’ Favorite Singles and EPs of 2025

By / / Alternative Rock, Blues & Roots, Country & Folk, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Power Pop, Psych, Punk, Surf / 1 Comment

Last week we posted the overviews of our favorite LPs of 2025 (here is Niek’s, there is mine), but this year also saw countless short-format releases that deserve to be listed. Below you can listen to the 50 singles and EPs that I enjoyed most last year (note: individual songs are excluded), in alphabetical order. Links point to Bandcamp or another sales outlet (the titles), and to previously posted reviews (in the body text).

While I traditionally prefer albums, if only because you don’t have to get up as often to turn the record over, but also because it literally gives you more time to immerse yourself in the artist’s world, I’m increasingly enjoying the pleasures of singles and EPs. They’re often explosions of positive energy packed with hooks, which immediately make for a good time, and that was certainly the case over the past 12 months. If this were the soundtrack to a night out, I’d return home exhausted but utterly delighted.

…

Music Year-End List || Dennis’ Favorite Singles and EPs of 2025Read More »

New album: The Photocopies || Counterintuition

Heartfelt fuzz-pop melodies amid boredom, burnout, and backlash

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

Just when you think Sean Turner is finally slowing down, new work from The Photocopies pops up in our mailbox. With Counterintuition, he adds ten new songs to his already impressive discography (plus eight equally enjoyable bonus tracks, for those still unconvinced by his unbridled productivity). It all seems so easy, but what lies behind all those sugar-rush melodies?

The lyrics here suggest a world where personal lives and public forces collide: love persists amid boredom, fear, and precarity, while hope flickers stubbornly against systems that seem designed to grind people down. It fits the DIY approach, born from a lack of any budget, as nicely reflected in the title track: “Got a world full of nothing and I’m losing my way // Happens to me every time.”

All things considered, we listeners benefit: this combination of warm melodrama and charming energy with jangly riffs and earworm choruses is simply so enjoyable that we can’t, and won’t, ignore it.



Counterintuition—written, performed, and recorded by Sean Turner—is out digitally, on cassette, CD, and 10″ vinyl, through Plastidisc / Subjangle. The digital en CD version have eight bonus tracks from recent digital-only releases.

Add to wantlist @ Bandcamp: Photocopies || Plastidisc || Subjangle

New album: The Roves || Pope & The Computer

Warm melodies hiding big questions about care and belonging

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

As the year draws to a close, the flood of new releases has calmed down, but luckily we can count on British indie pop stalwarts The Roves for a nice surprise. In mid-December 2022, they released the Needle Factory LP, which they now follow up with the mini-album Pope & The Computer—seven songs in 23 minutes—around the same time. It paints a nervous portrait of modern emotional life: people desperate to connect but never quite managing to say the right thing, or be heard at all.

On a bed of shimmering guitars and a solid sound, the lyrics circle insecurity, loneliness and quiet mental-health struggles, mixing self-blame, social comparison, and romantic jealousy with the dull grind of work, financial worries and days slipping by without resolution. Yet a gloomy phrase like “I’ve got money in my hand // But it never lasts forever, oh no” can easily turn into an infectious “Woah yeah” (in I Don’t Know Yet). The warm melodies, rich orchestration, and vibrant harmonies ensure an uplifting remembrance no matter what.



Pope & The Computer—produced by Dom Monks—is out now digitally and on 12″ vinyl through Discotif / The State51 Conspiracy.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Scroll to Top