The Big Indie Playlist: Curated by Modern Woman
Wonky folk, pure pop, rock and beyond. There’s a bit of everything on The Big Indie Playlist.
As I write this, the sun is beating down on a bright and hot London. It feels, with a little trepidation and doubt, that summer is rearing its head. April has officially ticked into May, and it feels like maybe, just maybe, everything will be okay.
In the music world, a huge cast of players came out to celebrate. Major names like Sabrina Carpenter, Madonna and Zara Larsson are providing the pop bangers, while in the world of indie, it’s the up-and-comers taking the crown like Mleko, Opus Kink and Truthpaste.
Another winner of the week is Modern Woman. As they share their debut album, we checked in with the band to see what songs they’ve had on repeat lately.
Must-hear: Curated by Modern Woman
Prewn – ‘It’s Only You’: Reminds me of Cat Power or Scout Niblett, with dreamy guitar and an incredible voice that feels taut, ready to break
Anna Van Hausswolff – ‘The Whole Woman’: Epic, one of the best songs of 2025. We are big fans. With this song, you get Iggy Pop on vocals too.
Nina Winder-land – ‘This is Our Life’: The new single from the New Eves’ Nina Winder-land. Raw, fun, striking.
Caroline & Caroline Polacheck – ‘Tell Me I Never Knew That’: The song is a masterclass in slow builds and has amazing harmonies. Also, it’s in 9/4 if you’re into that.
Prostitute – ‘Judge’: How can you not want to see this live?
Ninush – ‘Stardoll’: From Nina Lim’s debut EP, a gentle, stripped-back ballad with beautiful lyrics
Ezra Furman – ‘Sudden Storm’: We toured with Liz in January, and her genius is immeasurable. Every song is a hit, this one is special.
The best new music of the week:
Opus Kink and The New Eves – ‘The Head Tree’: A folk horror in a song, two leaders of that exact niche have come together to combine their power. For fans of traditional folk, or wonky new folk, this one’s for you as Opus Kink’s rock undertones meld and pin down The New Eves’ old school vocal stylings. It’s cool, it’s a little creepy, it’s great. [4/5]
Swim Deep – ‘Mud’: Track by track, Swim Deep are unveiling their latest record. Returning to collaborate with Bill Ryder Jones again, this new album has the same warmth and tenderness as their last one as the band hone their songwriting skills and hold tight to their indie power. Out of all the teasers so far, ‘Mud’ is the anthem. [3.5/5]
Truthpaste – ‘Never Gonna Give Up’: Deserving of a start-to-finish listen, Truthpaste unveiled their debut EP, making good on all the hype they’ve been building for quite some time. This centre-piece track is the perfect display of the multi-instrumental, multi-genre power. [3/5]
Baxter Dury and Jarvis Cocker – ‘Allbarone’: Take a Baxter Dury banger and add in Jarvis Cocker on the decks, obviously, it’s going to be so massive it’s almost silly. Cocker, as always, is an audacious man on the remix as he reproduces this tune into a filthy club hit. [3/5]
Zara Larsson and Pinkpantheress – ‘Midnight Sun’: Zara Larsson has recently made the transition from side character to main pop girlie, and that came down to two tracks: her ‘Stateside’ collaboration with Pinkpantheress and ‘Midnight Sun’, arguably the best pop song in a good few years. Reuniting again for this new remix of the hit, Pinkpantheress makes it massive, adding a good dose of UK club classic to Larsson’s euro-banger. [4/5]
Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter – ‘Bring Your Love’: After their collaboration during Sabrina Carpenter’s Coachella set, the world’s answer for more was answered quickly. Obviously, Madonna is serving up pop perfection – no one would ever down the queen of that. [3/5]
Finn Wolfhard – ‘I’ll Let You Finish’: Finn Wolfhard is exactly where he should be: 23 years old in an indie band, writing grunge and blues-infused tunes. He casts off his Stranger Things fame for this perfectly spontaneous tune, referencing Kanye West’s infamous interruption of Taylor Swift at the VMAs. [3/5]
MLEKO – ‘As It Goes’: Mleko’s debut is the epitome of a hit play and float away release. It needs to be listened to in one sitting, in order, but right in the middle, ‘As It Goes’ is breathtaking as the spotlight shines on their saxophone player, Tom, for something so beautiful and soft. [4/5]
Violet Grohl – ‘Cool Buzz’: Oh, Violet Grohl can rip. Unleashing her loudest, rockiest tune yet, ‘Cool Buzz’ brings all her heavier influences to the forefront, proving that a great musical education can make a new rock hero. [3.5/5]
Modern Woman – ‘Killing A Dog’: From this week’s playlist curators, Modern Woman are another band making good on the buzz around their name by sharing an incredible introductory album this week. On ‘Killing A Dog’, singer Sophie Harris’ voice truly shines. [3/5]
The Army, The Navy – ‘2Collide’: The Army, The Navy could sing literally anything and it would be stunning. They both have the type of voices that could make the most basic line in the world feel cinematic. But luckily, they’re great writers too. [3/5]
Maya Hawke – ‘Lioness’: Unleashing a brand new project, perhaps Maya Hawke has finally found her sound with this spontaneous feeling, folk-infused new record. Her voice sounds simple and pretty, her writing isn’t overthought, and the instrumentals are beautifully layered. [3/5]
