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. This has been a great week for new music, but not all of it has been “indie”. In keeping with the name of this playlist, we’re choosing not to include the excellent gospel-infused Rolling Stones single ‘Sweet Sounds of Heaven’ or Bruce Springsteen’s new track ‘Addicted to Romance’. Those songs are really good, but those artists are about as far away from indie as you can get.
That being said, there have been plenty of great true-blue indie albums out this week. Our ‘Album of the Week’ came from Slow Pulp, the great American folk-rock acts who released their killer sophomore effort Yard this week. Other great LPs came from the likes of Animal Collective, Cherry Glazerr, and Blonde Redhead.
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 Daneshevskaya to The Murder Capital to The Lathums and The Streets, 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 check them all out in a playlist at the foot of the piece, too.
The week’s best new music:
The best new folk songs
Daneshevskaya – ‘Challenger Deep’: It’s been raining all week here on the East Coast of the United States, which makes it the perfect setting for Daneshevskaya’s blent of introspective folk and atmospheric and atmospheric singer-songwriter material. ‘Challenger Deep’ even has its own water sound effects, for goodness sake. Talk about a song for the moment. (4.5/5)
Helena Deland – ‘Strawberry Moon’: Not that long ago, we featured Canadian singer-songwriter Helena Deland with her relaxing track ‘Bright Green Vibrant Grey’. Deland’s music are just like the paintings that adorn her cover art: muted and mellow but fascinating and impressionistic at the same time. ‘Strawberry Moon’ adds a new dimension to her already identifiable style. (4/5)
Sun June – ‘Mixed Bag’: The women are cleaning up the folk section this week. Time to step it up, gentlemen. Austin folkies Sun June have been unfurling bittersweet melancholy for a few years now, and their latest track ‘Mixed Bag’ is just the right mix of languid and long-lasting. (3.5/5)
The best new indie songs:
The Murder Capital – ‘Heart In The Hole’: Irish post-punk is so hot these days. As Fontaines D.C. take a well-deserved breather, fellow Dubliners, The Murder Capital, are stepping up to fill their spot with some killer new tunes. ‘Heart In The Hole’ shows that the band aren’t taking any time off since the release of their sophomore album Gigi’s Recovery earlier this year, and I’m all the more thankful to them because of it. (4.5/5)
PACKS – ‘Honey’: For some reason, Canadian indie rockers PACKS haven’t garnered sterling critical acclaim across their relatively short career. To that, I say “Balderdash”. Mainly because their new track, ‘Honey’, is a wonderfully wonky addition to a wonderfully solid canon of music. Get off your high horses, music writers. This shit is cool. (4/5)
Matt Maltese – ‘The Earth Is a Very Small Dot’: We’ve already gotten some great Matt Maltese music this year with the album Driving Just to Drive. But what’s wrong with a little more? Absolutely nothing, and the delicate ballad ‘The Earth Is a Very Small Dot’ is a sweeping reminder of the young singer-songwriter’s talents as a songsmith. (3.5/5)
Will Joseph Cook – ‘Born to Lose’: Man, life kinda sucks, doesn’t it? Will Joseph Cook knows it, and his latest track ‘Born to Lose’ doesn’t pull any punches about it. I know that this song takes aim at people who comment on other people’s dreams and occasionally give them hate (i.e. people like me), but this is a solid one from Cook, so no finger-pointing necessary… at least not in this direction. (3/5)
The best new alternative/rock songs:
The Lathums – ‘Thoughts of a Child’: I’m not sure if I can name a band that’s been more consistently great over the last decade and change than The Lathums. Every time there’s a new Lathums song in the world, I have a great time with it. The band’s winning streak continues with ‘Thoughts of a Child’, a delicate and impassioned pop rock track. (4.5/5)
Holy Fawn – ‘Glóandi’: Shoegaze lovers rejoice: new Holy Fawn music is here. The Phoenix rockers play into a particular genre in-between that I favour, with elements of emo, goth, drone, doom metal, and psychedelia all coming out in their sound. ‘Glóandi’ is one of the more beautiful songs that the band have put out, even through the palpable darkness. (4/5)
The Streets – ‘Each Day Gives’: The first of our two electronica-rap hybrids this week comes from the forefather of the genre, Mike Skinner. Sure, you could spend the rest of your life pumping ‘Fit But You Know It’ or Original Pirate Material if you like, but this is the future, baby. Skinner is pulling The Streets into the modern day, sometimes kicking and screaming, but it’s always a fascinating ride. (4/5)
Antony Szmierek – ‘How Did You Get Here?’: And for our second electro-rap addition, we have upstart Antony Szmierek, an artist who seems as polarising as they come these days. Some people just aren’t into the whole talking poetry over minimalist beats sort of deal, including me most of the time. But I like ‘How Did You Get Here’. Keep these ones coming, Antony. (3.5/5)
Ty Segall – ‘Eggman’: I am the eggman. They are the eggmen. I am Ty Segall. Goo Goo G’joob. Segall’s latest single ‘Eggman’ is as nonsensical as The Beatles song that it inevitably brings to mind, with some rougher edges and more ragged corners. It also makes me kind of hungry, which is always the mark of a quality song. (3/5)
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