The Big Indie Playlist: Curated by Jules Avalon
It’s been a week of ups and downs. Glorious sunshine, thunderstorms, exciting album announcements, and truly tragic losses. The music world has had a lot to mourn this week, but at the same time, the wheels keep spinning with a selection of new tracks to fall in love with. That’s what we’re all about here on The Big Indie Playlist.
Across all genres, artists have been busy as ever. Kim Gordon reimagined last year’s standout punk anthem into a protest song, Picture Parlour brought back good old-fashioned rock and roll, Greta Isaac morphed into a hyperpop star, and Blondshell turned a pop song into a slacker rock tune.
Keeping an eye elsewhere, our guest curator this week is giving us the lowdown on the New York scene. Anyone who’s wandered through Central Park has likely heard Jules Avalon’s voice, often found soundtracking the Lennon memorial at Strawberry Fields, putting his beautiful Jeff Buckley-esque vocals to Beatles tunes. But beyond that, he’s an artist in his own right with his album Where The Water Goes, released earlier this year, being a gorgeous slice of indie that touches on 1960s folk too. Sharing some of his current favourite tracks, old and new, he’s got good taste.
Keeping you up to date with the best new tracks from artists of all shapes, sizes and sounds; all you have to do is hit play.
The best new music of the week:
Track of the week
Kim Gordon – ‘Bye Bye 25’: Perhaps the most important song released so far this year, Kim Gordon has taken her already tense track ‘Bye Bye’ and made it real. Throughout this year, the world has watched helplessly as Donald Trump dismantles rights in America, jeopardising the safety, health and democracy of so many. Part of that comes from a lengthy list of words he’s banned.
The banned words can no longer be used in research presented to the government, and they include choice phrases like, women, uterus, lesbian, climate change, victim. Even simply, peanut allergy. It makes it nearly impossible for any valid research to be done on many vital topics regarding gender or gendered healthcare, sexuality, the environment, vaccines and much more. In protest, Kim Gordon has taken all those words and put them in a song, laying them out against the stark instrumental of ‘Bye Bye’ to really draw attention to how dangerous the move is. It’s powerful stuff, feeling more like a historic document than any old rock song. [5/5]
Must-hear – Curated by Jules Avalon
For this week’s guest curator, we’re passing the mic to Jules Avalon, an artist based in New York City with an up-close eye on the local scene. His picks include some artists from the area, some beyond, some brand new tracks and some that he’s simply been loving lately.
Thesaurus Rex – ‘Ballad of a Horse Girl’: To me, Thesaurus Rex is *the* emerging NYC indie band. Spearheaded by Calvin Rezen’s Escher-like songwriting, the music comes alive through Varun JhunJhunWalla, Ethan Marsh, and Dan McDonald in their virtuosic, high-energy live shows. The final single before the release of their debut album, Greatest Hits, drops June 13th.
Kakush – ‘Selling your soul for papers’: In the same vein as my first pick, Kakush is the quintessential NYC songwriter, simply because he isn’t a New Yorker at all! By way of Argentina and then California, his songs encapsulate what occupies every young mind driven to this concrete palace of dreams. The strength of our convictions, the size of our sacrifices.
Cameron Winter – ‘Love Takes Miles’: Cameron Winter’s songs move me in a way that doesn’t want to be analysed. Is it his inspired voice? The strange production? The peculiar way he seems to speak right to the listener? The creativity and courage of the Heavy Metal project have had a large impact on my gratitude over the past few months. I throw the project on, and somehow the little things get smaller, and the big things get bigger. Love takes work. Gratitude takes work. The hype is real, Cameron is a colossal artist, and the dude is only 22.
Chammeli – ‘Dirty Laundry’: I’ve been revisiting the first two Chammeili projects and wanted to take the opportunity to highlight a totally underrepresented banger. ‘Dirty laundry’ sends the listener into an instant mood piece with some washed-out guitars reminiscent of Mac DeMarco and Her’s.
Tristan Rene – ‘As Things Go’: With the vocal sensibility of Jeff Buckley and the writing sensibilities of John Mayer and Leon Bridges, Tristan has been forging his own path while travelling and writing in unique places like Ireland and Spain. I love the way this track opens up, and the vocal performance is top-notch.
And some more: The best new music of the week
Greta Isaac / Dolly Zoom – ‘Soft Scoop Talking Dog’: Greta Isaac is dead, Dolly Zoom killed her. After recently releasing her most introspective and stripped-back work to date, Isaac has gone to the total other side of the spectrum with this hyperpop alter-ego. [4.5/5]
Picture Parlour – ‘Cielo Drive’: They never miss, do they? Picture Parlour can always be relied on to deliver deeply cinematic, nostalgia-fueled pure rock and roll goodness and ‘Cielo Drive’ is no different. [4/5]
DellaXOZ – ‘The Money Song’: There’s something so interesting and infectious about DellaXOZ’s guitar lines. Still so young, each new track from her screams of future promise. [3.5/5]
Ólafur Arnalds, Talos and Sandrayati – ‘Bedrock’: Ólafur Arnalds and Irish artist, Talos, were making an album when Talos fell ill and sadly passed. However, Arnalds was instructed to finish the album, continuing the collaboration, with the upcoming album, A Dawning, being the result. As the third single, ‘Bedrock’ beautifully honours the project and its story. [5/5]
I Set The Sea On Fire – ‘Beff Jezos’: Each week, we like to deliver one track to truly blow away the cobwebs of the days, so here you go. Sheffield’s I Set The Sea On Fire have long been known for their electrifying shows, and ‘Beff Jezos’ perfectly captures it on tape. Play it loud. [3.5/5]
David Byrne – ‘Everybody Laughs’: Announcing a new album and a new tour, everybody say, “welcome back, David Byrne”. Still as lyrically sharp as ever, and still with that recognisable drawl, it’s a Byrne creation through and through. [3/5]
Cardinals – ‘Big Empty Heart’: Having been given the stamp of approval from Fontaines DC, Cardinals are another Irish act you should be paying attention to. It’s like if Lou Reed started an indie band and also knew how to play Irish trad instruments; a combination set to thrill in the most fascinating way. [4/5]
Hank – ‘Dogstar’: One of London’s finest acts on the busy and bustling live scene, their new EP Spiralic is one to listen to from start to finish, with the closing track, ‘Dogstar’, standing out like a punch. [3.5/5]
Blondshell – ‘Diet Pepsi’: Just in case the release of Addison Rae’s debut album wasn’t enough last week, here is more. Taking 2024’s ultimate pop anthem and giving it her slacker indie treatment, Blondshell’s take is perfect for beers in the park before enjoying the original on the dancefloor. [3.5/5]
Been Stellar – ‘Breakaway’: New York’s ultimate ones-to-watch return. After the release of their debut album last year, the group return with their first track of 2025, reminding everyone of their grunge-fueled indie power. [4/5]
Off The Beaten Track: Left-field sounds, curated and written by Ben Forrest
Sven Wunder – ‘Daybreak’: Rejoice, for Sven Wunder has returned. The Stockholm master of jazz-ridden concept albums has unveiled plans for a new album, Daybreak, due in September, and the title track certainly succeeds in building hype for that release. A lush, cinematic jazz offering which harks back to the golden age of soundtrack albums, Wunder reaffirms the timeless nature of his work with this offering. [5/5]
Leroi Conroy – ‘Path of Man’: Cincinnati producer Leroi Conroy returns with his first 45″ on Colemine Records since all the way back in 2017. ‘Path of Man’, taken from his upcoming debut album A Tiger’s Tale Out, forms the perfect introduction to Conroy’s enigmatic sounds, blending old-school funk and R&B influences with a kind of moody tension that the producer has become known for. [4.5/5]
Body And Soul – ‘In The Beginning’: Continuing to demonstrate their dedication to funk and soul excellence, Barcelona’s Rocafort Records delivered an incredible and long-awaited reissue of ‘In The Beginning’. A masterpiece of early 1970s funk, the track was originally released on an impossibly rare LP back in 1971, but its Latin-influenced groove is now available on a seven-inch vinyl for the very first time—it’s a no-brainer. [4.5/5]
Thirty Two Soul Band – ‘Finance or Romance’: Tramp Records have really treated us this week. Not only has the German independent reissued Timmy Sims’ 1967 stormer ‘Countdown’, but they have also unearthed a previously unreleased deep soul triumph in the form of ‘Finance or Romance’, which was originally recorded in 1977 and left locked away until now. A slow mover awash with the marks of soul, disco, and early hip-hop beats, the track still sounds fresh all these decades later. [4/5]
Ben LaMar Gay – ‘there, inside the morning glory’: Chicago composer and improvisational jazz master Ben LaMar Gay unveiled his rousing, emotional, and empowering album earlier in the week, and the eponymous ‘there, inside the morning glory’ stands out as a key highlight. Blending jazz horns with atmospheric and occasionally sombre harmonies, the five-minute avant-jazz epic leaves the listener captivated and devastated in equal measure. [4/5]
Introverted Funk – ‘Tell You’: Southern California duo Introverted Funk make their vinyl debut this week, with the seven-inch release of their neo-funk earworm via Star Creature. Laid-back disco-funk goodness that provides a wealth of promise for the duo, in addition to soundtracking the warmer days with effortless grace. [4/5]
