The Big Indie Playlist: the best new music of the week
Welcome back to The Big Indie Playlist, where all the best new music of the week is compiled into one convenient list.
I’d like to tell you that the competition was fierce for Album of the Week this week, but it wasn’t. Sufjan Stevens easily took the title with his gorgeous return to delicate folk music, Javelin. I was also a big supporter of Parquet Courts singer A. Savage’s Several Songs About Fire, but when Sufjan is in town, it’s hard to compete with him.
If you want to check out more of the best of the new albums, you can check out our Alternative Album Chart, which is stocked full of goodies just waiting to be discovered. Otherwise, if you’re looking for a quick fix, we’ve got you covered with the best new singles of the week.
From Joanna Sternberg to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard to Mac DeMarco and Ryan Paris, there is once more a smorgasbord of surprises from the music world and a few emerging talents to boot. Here are all the best singles from the week of September 29th. You can also check them out in a playlist at the foot of the piece.
The week’s best new music:
The best new folk songs
Joanna Sternberg – ‘Neighbors’: As is often the case, the best folk song of the week isn’t actually much of a folk song. Seeing as though the material from Sufjan Steven’s new album isn’t eligible, the title instead goes to Joanna Sternberg and their Randy Newman-infused ode to not wanting anything to do with the people you share an apartment complex with. Funny and memorable, ‘Neighbors’ is definitely the most relatable song I heard this week. (4.5/5)
Lily & Madeline – ‘Embers’: American folk-pop duo Lily & Madeline Jurkiewicz have a brand new album, Nite Swim, out this week. They’re one of those bands that occasionally let their great voices do the heavy lifting in their music, but that is definitely not the case on the album cut ‘Embers’. Sweeping and melancholy while still being anthemic, ‘Embers’ is more than worthy of your attention. (4/5)
The Rural Alberta Advantage – ‘FSHG’: Canada is such a weird place. Everything there is pretty much mirror equivalent to America, but with a strange funhouse bent. Take The Rural Alberta Advantage, for example. Sometimes, they sound like an awesomely stomping roots rock band, and sometimes they sound like a weird rip-off of The Shins. I quite like their recent album cut ‘FSHG’ from their new album, The Rise & The Fall, but it makes me wonder if I’m getting a bit soft. (3/5)
The best new indie songs:
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – ‘Set’: It’s hard to judge the three most recent songs by Australian psychedelic freaks King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard separately. A purposeful medley-mash-up, ‘Theia’, ‘The Silver Cord’, and ‘Set’ all play as one big mind-fuck. I’m a fan of the dancefloor energy and disco beats of ‘Set’, and it’s making me excited to hear what a full album of these songs is going to sound like. (4/5)
Mac DeMarco and Ryan Paris – ‘Simply Paradise’: It took seven years, but jizz jazz king Mac DeMarco has finally fulfilled his promise to collaborate with Italian disco singer Ryan Paris. And they didn’t even do a remix of ‘Dolce Vita’, Paris’ one and only hit. Instead, DeMarco crafted an entirely new composition that blends the two men’s unique styles together in harmony. It’s really sweet… and kind of creepy, but still funky. (4/5)
Alex Lahey – ‘When The Rain Comes Down’: God, I love kicking back at doing a whole lot of nothing. Waking up at 4 PM and playing mindless games are underrated activities in my book. Of course, Alex Lahey has a hilarious, biting, and twisted take on those activities with ‘When The Rain Comes Down’, playing into an R.E.M.-meets-Bruce Springsteen sound that looks great on her. (4/5)
Wild Nothing – ‘Dial Tone’: I can’t keep track of where I put Wild Nothing on this list. Sometimes it’s indie, sometimes it’s alternative/rock. It doesn’t actually matter because he’s on this list, which is good enough. With a new synthpop jam out in the world called ‘Dial Tone’, it’s yet another visit to the Big Indie Playlist for him. (3.5/5)
The best new alternative/rock songs:
Gruff Rhys – ‘Celestial Candyfloss’: Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys doesn’t need a stinking band! While the rest of the Animals are focused on their new project, Das Koolies, Rhys has carved out a solid little solo career since 2005. Next year will see the release of his eighth studio effort, Sadness Sets Me Free, and the album’s first single ‘Celestial Candyfloss’ is a funky psychedelic disco jam for the ages. (4.5/5)
Sleater-Kinney – ‘Hell’: We all want more Sleater-Kinney in our lives, but this time, it’s a real bummer about how we got it. I’ll let you look up the details yourself, but all you need to know is that the band’s new single ‘Hell’ is supremely death-focused in all the right ways. There’s nothing more cathartic than art, after all. (4/5)
Hungry – ‘On Sight’: Is the post-punk revival past its sell-by date? Don’t tell that to Manchester’s Hungry, who have this genre’s most angular and achingly cool new single ‘On Sight’. One day, we’ll all look back at this particular moment and time and wonder if Fontaines D.C. and The Murder Capital were secretly the same band the whole time, but Hungry are being uniquely themselves. (4/5)
Ida Mae – ‘American Cars’: Rumbly blues rock isn’t just for divorced dads. Modern indie bands can play into the gritty tones of the genre, too, and British duo Ida Mae is picking up the slack with their new single ‘American Cars’. Somewhere between The White Stripes and Royal Blood, Ida Mae cruises their way to slinky riff-rock glory. (3.5/5)
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.