The Big Indie Playlist: Curated by Terra Twin
Each week, hundreds of thousands of new songs land on streaming services. It would be literally impossible to even attempt to catch up. But to make sure nothing great slips between the cracks, hear the best of the best on The Big Indie Playlist.
What a week…. In the past seven days, Geese got caught up in a spiral of online discourse about music marketing, then Cameron Winter topped it off by being spotted out and about on a maybe date with pop star Olivia Rodrigo. Talk about a busy one for indie’s favourite New Yorker.
But in the broader music world, this week saw the release of long-awaited records and surprise singles. Lana Del Rey made a return, while Piri relaunched as a solo artist. Across the worlds of pop, indie, rock, twang and beyond, there was something new for everyone.
Don’t just take our word for it, though. We checked in with London’s Terra Twin to see what the band have on repeat, getting their shouts for the best new songs that have landed lately.
Must-hear: Curated by Terra Twin
Maxim’s picks:
Aldous Harding – ‘Venus in the Zinnia’: “A love song exploring the banalities of life. ‘I cut my hair, nobody loved it,’ really makes me laugh. John Parish making things feel earthy again.”
Underscores – ‘Tell Me (U want it)’: “I feel like I’m in the future on a distant planet listening to this hyper-pop earworm. Cuts like a laser beam straight to the heart.”
Slayyter – ‘BEAT UP CHANEL$’: “Makes me want to go to a sweaty club and lose my head and make bad decisions.”
World News – ‘Sidestep’: “Big song with a lot of personality. Am I in the 1980s or 2000s? Gonna figure it out in the almost three-minute outro.”
Sophie’s picks:
Night Tapes – ‘Enter’: “The perfect sleepy end to a summer evening. It makes me want to dive into a lake and have a BBQ.”
Willow – ‘Symptom Of Life’: “A 7/4 silky mind bender which should 100% have more streams than ‘Whip My Hair’.”
Lewis’s picks:
Prewn – ‘Alive’: “Makes me feel like it’s my last day on earth. Beware a hungover listen.”
Sorry – ‘Alone in Cologne’: “This melody plays on loop in my brain wherever I go. I grind my teeth to the rhythm of it, which has scarred the inside of my cheeks, apparently. My dentist was very disappointed with me.”
Fcukers – ‘If you wanna party, come over to my house’: “Reminds me of all the songs I would have taken the piss out of growing up. Can’t stop listening now. Weirdly nostalgic.”
The best new music of the week:
Piri – ‘Cosuluvme’: Unveiling her first solo song since the breakup of Piri and Tommy, the artist proves she never needed any help with this self-made and self-produced track that addresses the split head-on. Gorgeously layered and aptly introspective, Piri masters mixing club beats with big feelings. [3/5]
Olivia Rodrigo – ‘Drop Dead’: At Glastonbury 2025, Olivia Rodrigo proved her position as a bona fide rock star, or at least a pop star with all the right references. On the first taste of her upcoming third album, all those influences come into play on this infectious cut about the dizzying joy of a perfect first day. [4/5]
Lana Del Rey – ‘First Light’: It’s always felt like an inevitability that one day, Lana Del Rey would do a Bond theme. While this one might not be for a film, but just a video game, it still gives exactly the same glamour and energy that the iconic character needs. [3.5/5]
MUNA – ‘Wannabeher’: In the build-up to their next album, MUNA are calling everyone to the dance floor. However, it feels like there has yet to be a hit like the ones we saw on their last records. This one is drawing closer as it’s effortlessly catchy, but we’re waiting for a bang. [2.5/5]
Hutch – ‘Hillside Wool’: Everything is always bright and blissful in the world of Brighton’s twang darlings, Hutch. This time, we meet them in the countryside while their harmonies and guitar tones sound lush as ever, like the perfect dose of LSD that just makes the world happier but keeps you safe and far away from a bad trip. [3/5]
Holybones and Baxter Dury – ‘Slugboy’: Hand Baxter Dury a mic and get him talking about annoying people he meets out in the world, or your basic city archetypes, and it’s bound to be golden. His voice holds so much storytelling power that it seems no matter what backing, even this glitchier, darker beat, will work. [3/5]
MLEKO – ‘Denoument’: When there are seven members in your band, you can get far. Making something textured and fascinating becomes a far more fun game with an extended lineup of multi-instrumentalists who have nailed falling together for neat moments, and then collapsing into a glorious mess during loud climaxes. [3/5]
Sofia Isella – ‘Evergreen Soldier’: As the closing track on her new EP that stares straight at the evil in this world, especially tackling the culture of sexual abuse and misogyny, ‘Evergreen Soldier’ is soft to the point of making you shiver. It bottles the emotions of the project into something tender, brushing away the shocks to instead just hold you close. [3/5]
Enjoyable Listens – ‘The Terror’: Anyone who has seen Enjoyable Listens live knows that you’re always getting a great gig and a stand-up comedy show for the price of one. The crooning, swaggering singer can’t seem to help it with too much wit to hold it or hold back from the tunes. A true one-of-one lyricist who can’t be compared and surely couldn’t be copied, ‘The Terror’ is the latest razor-sharp offering, but now with a new full band to boot. [3.5/5]
Charlie Vaughan – ‘Don’t Wanna Drive’: Taking all the old classic references and bottling them with a fresh, cinematic sheen, Charlie Vaughan’s latest still has that solid gold ‘60s songwriter energy that’s found across all this work, but there’s a modernism. With the racing drums and his turns of phrase, there’s something even The Strokes inspired at play here. We’re into it. [3.5/5]
This Is Lorelei and Waxahatchee – ‘Where’s Your Love Now?’: Imagine 2024’s golden album from This Is Lorelei, but with even more greatness? This week, we were granted exactly that, thanks to a bonus version with a bunch of reimagined versions. As Waxahatchee stepped up to bat, this fan-favourite tune got a luscious country makeover. [3/5]
Terra Twin – ‘Parking Lot’: If you take the time to watch one music video this week, make it Terra Twin’s visual accompaniment for this new song, made out of old footage of the singer’s mother back in her youth, dancing along to tunes with her friends. It’s so tender and so deeply human, and it makes this solid indie tune all the more energetic. It makes you want to dance too. [3.5/5]
Günier Küner – ‘Kes’: There’s a surging zap that just never lets up on Güner Künier’s latest single. Meaty basslines, muscular drum machines, twangy guitar licks, and an electrical club donk pounding throughout ‘Kes’ smirking double-jab. Her best yet. [4.5/5]
Off The Beaten Track – Written and curated by Ben Forrest
Marco Benevento – ‘Houdini’: From the ever-expanding musical universe of El Michels Affair, Woodstock-based pianist Marco Benevento announces Glera, a new album due out in July, and this first single certainly sets the stage for what promises to be an incredible, drum-rolling jazz-funk instrumental odyssey. [4/5]
Sons of Sevilla – ‘Forever Heaven’: West Yorkshire-born, Seville-based brothers Henry and Reuben Smith arrive hot off the release of their last LP Street Light Moon, for this seven-inch slice of lush, soul-tinged summertime psychedelia. [3.5/5]
Club d’Elf – ‘Bird Song’: Spanning from desert blues to Eastern psychedelia, jazz-funk, and even the distinctive rhythms of the Caribbean, you would be hard-pressed to guess that Club d’Elf are actually based in Boston, and their new LP, Loon & Thrush, contains some truly masterful explorations of the sonic spectrum, and ‘Bird Song’ is a particular highlight. [4/5]
