The Big Indie Playlist: Curated by Dutch Interior
The cold of winter keeps on coming, the Valentine’s Day candy is in the shops – February is crawling towards its midpoint. But as always, there is one companion: great new music in the Big Indie Playlist.
It’s the same story each and every week. As hundreds of thousands of new songs crash onto streaming services, we mill through and pick out the best of the best to make sure they’re not lost amongst the noise. While the title might be genre specific, the playlist definitely isn’t as this week alone includes indie, rock, folk, alt-pop and beyond.
Big leagues and new names alike were out this week. Mitski delivered another new teaser track of her upcoming album, Swim Deep returned with an announcement of their own, and meanwhile, brand new artists launched themselves into the world for the first time.
Don’t just take our word for it. To add to the recommendations, we also checked in with Dutch Interior to see what the band have been listening to as they release their own single, ‘Ground Scores’.
Must-hear: Curated by Dutch Interior
Conner picked – Oldstar – ‘California’: This track has an unmatched twang to it. I could drive miles to this one.
Davis picked – Mandy, Indiana – ‘Magazine’: One of my favourite songs I’ve heard in a while, ends up being one of those tracks you keep turning up & up as the song goes on. Good friends of ours and some of the sweetest people in the world.
Shane picked – SIM, Zaia – ‘SIMPLIFY!!’: The algorithm showed me this one – introduced by a puppeteered goblin no less. SIM and Zaia are wrapping elements of punk, metal, and rap in a dark fantasy package. Something to bob your head to while you create your next D&D character.
Jack picked – Robber Robber – ‘Talkback’: Insanely catchy song that had a chokehold on me at the end of 2025. The drums, the guitar tones, the vocals. It’s all great. It’s so catchy, and I want to see it live soon. The Burlington, Vermont music scene is on fire, idk what they’re putting in the water up there.
Hayden picked – Paramore – ‘Thick Skull’: I never get bored of trying to sing like Hayley Williams. I can’t, but it’s still fun to try. This song tends to make me beat up my steering wheel while drumming along. It’s got great piano and great motion.
Noah picked – Frog – ‘DOOMSCROLLING VAR. II’: Love the unique melodies and rhythms in this song. Keeps me comin’ back.
The best new music of the week:
Mitski – ‘I’ll Change For You’: After raging back to life with ‘Where’s My Phone?’, Mitski’s second single from this new era is much more recognisable with this tender, jazzy contemplation on separation. [4/5]
Sydney Ross Mitchell – ‘Dorothy’: If what you need at the end of this week is something soft and full of feeling, hit play on Sydney Ross Mitchell’s new EP, which is stunning, start to finish, but shines brightest on this track. [4/5]
Witch Post – ‘Worry Angel’: The combination of Scotland’s Dylan Fraser and American Alaska Reid keeps proving golden as everything this transatlantic duo share gets better and better. [3.5/5]
Art School Girlfriend – ‘Doing Laps’: For those in the know, Art School Girlfriend has long since been an artist to pay attention to, delivering deliciously layered ambient indie since she first launched. But her recent run of singles feel truly special, upping the emotional intensity and atmospheric sound of it all. [3.5/5]
PUNCHBAG – ‘I Am Obsessed’: You truly never know where this song is going to go, starting balladic, blasting to rock life and then staying high as a hyper-theatrical track that keeps twisting and turning. One thing is for sure though, it demands to be played loud. [3/5]
Swim Deep – ‘Pieces Of You’: After Swim Deep finished their last record, which was a return to simplicity and ‘campfire songwriting’, they found they weren’t done. Now announcing another new album made in the same vein with Bill Ryder Jones on production again, ‘Pieces Of You’ perfectly captures the band’s new timeless yet anthemic sound. [3/5]
Ulrika Spacek – ‘Weights & Measures’: If you’re after a release to both sink your teeth into and float out to, the new Ulrika Spacek album can offer you both, giving you enough to get hook on but also providing a great sonic backdrop to simply turn the mind off. [3/5]
Evelyn Gray – ‘Clothesline’: Evelyn Gray has already proved their power before as the frontperson of Tapir! But now, launching a solo project, this song takes the best of the band and makes it somehow even more interesting and infectious with a delicious, weird-folk edge. [4/5]
Vegas Water Taxi – ‘New Irish Boyfriend’: A downtrodden acoustic tune about the pain of watching your ex soft-launch a new partner on their Instagram story? Yes please. [3/5]
Off The Beaten Track – Left-field sounds, written and curated by Ben Forrest
Mamas Gun – ‘Dig!’: With the title track of their upcoming LP, Mamas Gun are quickly establishing themselves among the most prolific and promising soul outfits in the UK, and this track’s collaboration with none other than Brian Jackson only boosts that profile further, creating a generation-defying blend of infectious neo-soul mastery. [4.5/5]
Calibro 25 – ‘Vitamin C’: Fresh from the giallo reinterpretations of their Exploration album, Milan’s Morricone obsessives take on a krautrock classic in the form of Can’s ‘Vitamin C’. There aren’t many groups that can be trusted to cover Can, but with this Record Kicks-released single, Calibro 35 have certainly proved their credentials. [4/5]
Les Imprimés – ‘Again and Again’: Spring still seems so far away, but Big Crown Records have given us a taste of what April has in store for us with this latest single taken from the upcoming Les Imprimés, seeing the Norwegian outfit opt for a much more downbeat, lo-fi sound which nonetheless maintains their debt to the classic sounds of soul and R&B. [3.5/5]
Millie Jackson – ‘Now That You Got It’: A funk-fueled masterpiece from way back in the summer of 1973, resurrected by Rocafort Records and issued on glorious seven-inch vinyl for the very first time, exemplifying just how little Jackson’s outfit has aged in the past five or so decades. [4/5]
