The Big Indie Playlist: The best new music of the week
Win or lose, rain or shine, one constant you can hang your hat on week after week is that there will be a batch of incredible new music to sink your teeth into, and that the ultimate highlights will be housed here, in the Big Indie Playlist, for your listening pleasure.
Look, there’s no getting around it; it has been a tough old week, and the last thing that was likely on your mind when faced with the absolute devastation of that Argentina winner hitting the back of the net was new music. However, music, like any art form, has the ability to capture those complex emotions and make things seem a little better. Alternatively, for our Argentinian, Spanish, and/or Scottish readership, it also has the ability to soundtrack euphoric celebration – a sense of diversity that is well-represented within this week’s offerings.
As with last week’s offerings, and every single other instalment of the Big Indie Playlist, there is a plethora of different styles, moods, and genres on offer this week, from artists ranging from established heroes to up-and-coming unknowns from across the globe.
The likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Fiona Apple, and Beck boast some of the most hotly-anticipated releases of the week, but it has also been a stellar time for artists you may have never heard of – Marina Mole, Porcelain, and Humane being just some of the names you’re likely to hear more and more as the months pass by.
So, whether you’re still in the days of mourning, crying into your Jude Bellingham jersey, you’re gearing up for what promises to be a riveting World Cup final, or even if you have an understandable lack of interest in football and are simply yearning to refresh your listening habits, we’ve got your back.
Must-hear: The best new releases of the week
Yard Act – ‘Cherophobe Rock’: Leeds’ premier post-punk heroes Yard Act returned with their third LP, You’re Gonna Need A Little Music, this week, and the high-energy rock and roll stormer ‘Chernophobe Rock’ is a particular stand-out, epitomising the spirit of sonic spontaneity and lyrical assaults that permeate the entirety of the tracklisting. [4.5/5]
Fiona Apple – ‘Horns of a Bull’: A stripped-back, suspenseful offering from the infallible fingertips of Fiona Apple, written for the soundtrack of the Apple TV series Lucky, and doing a rather good job at capturing the spirit of Anya Taylor-Joy’s con-woman-on-the-run character profile. [3.5/5]
Queens of the Stone Age – ‘Easy Street’: Their first release in three long years, Josh Homme and Queens of the Stone Age have returned with a seemingly much more mellow sensibility, ‘Easy Street’ adopts a country and bluegrass sensibility, in stark contrast to the out-and-out rock and roll the group have made a name for – it won’t be to the tastes of all their fans, but it is a solid effort nonetheless. [3/5]
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – ‘Okarena’: The Aussie psych stalwarts reaffirm their knack for creating heavy, infectious guitar riffs on this new single, uniting the core of their long-lasting sound with a heavier rock sound, moving away from the far-out psychedelia of their previous efforts. [3.5/5]
Beck – ‘In The Night’: Giving a glimpse at his newly announced Ride Lonesome LP, veteran songwriter and alt-rock hero Beck follows the trend of the week by adopting a stripped-back, vulnerable, acoustic offering that sounds as if it could be on the soundtrack of a biopic about a particularly troubled young man. [4/5]
Marina Mole – ‘Slowdancing’: With the first single released from her upcoming LP Azucrim, Brazil’s Marina Mole let us into her realm of sunshine surf rock, but with this follow-up effort, she explores something much darker, harsher, and more experimental, embodying the spirit of uneasy no-wave-infused rock, which suggests the final album will be an enchanting blend of light and shade. [4.5/5]
Lava La Rue – ‘Prince of Bologna’: Speedy Wunderground reaffirms its essential support of promising up-and-coming artists with this moody yet energising new single from West London’s Lava La Rue, which places somewhere on a spectrum of stylish Elastica Britpop and Nuha Ruby Ra experimentation. [4/5]
Roxanne de Bastion – ‘Simple Pleasures’: Who said dystopian nightmares can’t be upbeat? On her new single, Roxanne de Bastion explores the electronic apocalypse we are currently marching towards under the guise of an earworm electro-pop track that lodges itself in the brain with worrying ease. [3.5/5]
Saint Clair – ‘Something To Be Said’: Ahead of a rather busy summer for London’s latest indie rockers, Saint Clair have made a mark with their debut EP, Something To Be Said, and its existential title track, contrasting an optimistic indie sound with a sense of harsh reality and yearning. [3/5]
Ceremony – ‘Dark Summer’: California punks Ceremony opt for a classic sense of post-punk angst on this aptly-named new single, offering a driving, albeit rather melancholic, atmosphere that adds yet another layer to the multi-faceted output the group have presided over since their first emergence over 20 years ago. [4/5]
Porcelain – ‘Apocalypse’: This summer has already produced a wealth of excellent post-hardcore releases, and ‘Apocalypse’ is inarguably among its finest, arriving via the tired and tested Austin outfit Porcelain, and featuring what is inarguably the greatest bassline of the week. [4/5]
Humane – ‘Kill Time’: An exploration of morality reportedly inspired by some roundabout roadworks, ‘Kill Time’ sees East London’s Humane dark off in an energetic yet far darker, more abrasive avenue of inspiration that is certainly not unwelcome. [3/5]
Long Distance Runner – ‘Zero’: A six-minute post-rock odyssey which singles London’s Long DIstance Runner out among the most expansive, compelling instrumental outfits in the capital at current, ‘Zero’ is the group’s debut single, but you would never guess that from its maturity and incredibly well-crafted nature. [4/5]
Off the Beaten Track: Left-field Sounds
Ghost Funk Orchestra – ‘Ocotillo’: Psychedelic soul from the Brooklyn collective, created via the deserts of New Mexico, and infused with the kind of blue-skied, blistering heat of far-out mirages and dream sequences. Yet another masterpiece to arise from the output of Loveland’s Colemine Records, consistently affirming themselves as a premier voice for 21st-century funk and soul expression. [5/5]
Parbleu – ‘Elegua’: On the A-side of their newly-announced seven-inch single, the Naples-based Parbleu embrace the timelessly euphoric sounds of old-school Afrobeat, with some added Italo-disco synths and funk sensibilities, culminating in an undeniably danceable anthem tailor-made for these summer months. [4.5/5]
