A husband & wife duo from New Zealand who blend indie with pop in a subtle, thoughtful and balanced way while still maintaining an emotive essence.
Taken from the upcoming EP ‘Mass’ which is due on 12th February 2021.
New Music: Terrible Sons
Sam Lynch – Keeping Time
Palace Winter – Richard (Says Yes) (feat. Penny Police)
Judging by the stream of singles so far, Palace Winter are shaping up to release one of the most exciting Danish albums later year. This track came about when the band were watching a Jimi Hendrix documentary and saw Little Richard come on.
“Little Richard came on and we were both just floored by how f***in’ alive and funny and inspiring he was. So, he kind of became this little team mascot for us. Like, just do it ALL! ‘Put some sugar on it, man! MORE!’ So this song is exactly that. Richard says yes to f***in’ EVERYTHING! It’s a ‘big colourful banger to fill the canvas.’ – Carl Coleman, Palace Winter
Taken from the upcoming album ‘…Keep Dreaming, Buddy’ which you can pre-save now ahead of it’s release on 23rd October.
Welshy – Haiti
One of Ireland’s biggest discoveries of late, Welshy has already garnered over 41 million streams and gained recognition from the likes of BTS, Kygo and The Chainsmokers.
The release of ‘Haiti’ becomes official with this edit, after a bootleg version went viral and exceeded a million streams.
“When I started the original demo version of ‘Haiti’, never in my wildest dreams would I have ever predicted the journey this track would take me on. My favourite thing about this record is it seems to have literally travelled around the globe. From Haiti to Ireland to Montreal to the UK and now the world.”
Benjamin Roustaing – Monday
The likelihood of this song taking over the airwaves across Europe in the coming months is close to certain, if you ask me. A madly infectious slice of indie pop from the Stockholm-based talent that is Benjamin Roustaing.
“[The song is] about a recent relationship that’s gone wrong, where one person simply wants more than the other person involved.”
New Music: Paper Tigers
If you’re a fan of the halcyon days of Britpop and UK indie from the 90’s, then Paper Tigers could well be your new flavour of the month. This is a bold Danish indie rock sound, unashamedly punchy, full of attitude and character.
VARPU – Pretty Girls
One of the most endearing Swedish talents of the year, VARPU is back today with a song that is the epitome of melancholy pop, Scandinavian style.
“I wanna share a song with you that I wrote after finding out that my boyfriend cheated on me. I instantly knew from the tone of his voice that my universe was about to get pulled out from under me and the days that followed were like quarantine without the virus, just Netflix and social distancing.”
Salt Ashes – Cut You With A Kiss
A haunting and sinister slice of electro-pop from a British talent who I have been championing for almost as long as I have been running this site!
“’Cut You With A Kiss’ is about questioning the integrity of someone’s new girlfriend and believing that she isn’t good for them. It’s a dark place where honesty gets confused for jealousy so maybe these things shouldn’t be said out loud.”
New Music: Glass Waves
Some of the most exciting alt-rock to emerge from the UK recently, this Liverpudlian and Welsh outfit are already in the process of recording their debut album and preparing for their first tour next year.
New Music: pølaroit
A German duo who create electronic music with a distinctly human touch. The beats carry a tone that is melancholic and relatively mellow, while the vocals feel fragile and emotive.
“We recognised that everything gets faster and faster in our society, and that there is a certain perfectionism floating in our generation. That is not the way we see our music, we want to be more and more in the moment when creating.”
New Music: Oskar Nordbø
An immediately arresting piece of indie-folk that is both dark and intense, while also feeling epic and atmospheric through it’s production. The song itself is centred around the concept of ego death; the becoming through shedding of one’s own skin, and the anxiety that comes along with it.
Anna Bergendahl – Vera
While on the surface ‘Vera’ comes across as a typical (and beautifully melodic) country-pop tune, the story behind the lyricism takes this song to a whole new level, and one which is poignant and extremely moving.
“My family has suffered from terrible disease, and the song is from the perspective of the future, when everyone is well again. Until then I put my faith in the whisper in the wind – may it be the whisper of God or love or just wishful thinking – nevertheless I hear it.”
Watch: Elohim – Good Day Bad Day
“To be honest, it seems like the good days have been too few and far between lately… but deep in my heart I know a good day is there running beside us in a parallel universe, and I wrote this song to help remind me that nothing is permanent and anything can happen.”
Daniela Andrade – Nothing Much Has Changed, I Don’t Feel The Same
A raw take on indie-soul that still dazzles with an emotive essence. The song is taken from the EP of the same name, which is out now and an essential listen; each song really is a dreamy delight.
KOPS – Little Lady
Watch: Dreamer Boy – Crybaby
“This song is about friendships, courage, and love. I wrote it after a psychedelic experience that led to an outpouring of emotions that were bottled up for a long time. This song is meant to be that release.”
New Music: Cara Rose
New Music: Miko
An ultra-catchy blend of indie and pop, with a sound that’s almost reminiscent of early No Doubt releases. The talent is Miko, a 21-year old singer-songwriter hailing from Canada.
“I wrote ‘I Wasn’t Made to Fall in Love’ last summer with my homie Mat (Mathieu Sénéchal). It was the first time we ever made music together and we came up with this song. Mat is the master of not overthinking shit and that’s what I like the most about him.”
Watch: Kaytranada – The Worst In Me (feat. Tinashe)
One of the stand-out tracks from Kaytranada’s ‘BUBBA’ album gets the visual treatment and it’s pretty spectacular to watch.
Also worth checking out is the release of ‘BUBBA (Instrumental Version)’, which includes vocal-free versions of all tracks featured on the original album, with exception to those that originally debuted as instrumentals and the track ‘Look Easy.’
Roosevelt – Feels Right
“’Feels Right’ is about a feeling of stoic empowerment. When I wrote the song, it began with an ESG-influenced funk loop, which even in its rawest form had something very euphoric and playful. It’s definitely one of the songs on the album that came together really easily – one of these where the song dictates which direction to go rather than you overthinking it for weeks.”
Taken from the new album ‘Polydans’ which is out 26th Feb 2021 via City Slang / Greco-Roman.