Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels, but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
Every week, Uproxx is rounding up the best new indie music from the past seven days. This week we got the hotly anticipated new album from Ovlov, another new solo single from Eddie Vedder, and the official low-down on the massive forthcoming double album from Big Thief. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.
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Ovlov – Buds
Ovlov is a band’s band — one of those bands that you might not have heard of at first, but the members of your favorite band probably love. The Connecticut outfit’s latest effort Buds is their first full-length effort since 2018’s Tru, and is comprised of Ian Cohen described for Uproxx as “eight tastefully tattered songs breezing by in less than a half-hour.”
Dan Campbell – Other People’s Lives
The Wonder Years’ Dan Campbell is no stranger to embodying someone else’s life — just listen to his character study project, Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties. But, Other People’s Lives, Campbell’s first proper solo release, is different, telling the stories of real people who commissioned him to write songs for their weddings, or to have as a keepsake. It was an experiment that Campbell began during the height of the pandemic, and resulted in some of his most personal and touching work to date.
Eddie Vedder – “The Haves”
Earlier this year, Eddie Vedder announced Earthling, his sophomore solo album and his first since 2011’s Ukelele Songs. Originally announced without a release date, Vedder has now declared that the album is officially due in February, and dropped a brand new single called “The Haves.” The new track “features a foundation of piano and acoustic guitar and becomes increasingly grandiose as it progresses,” writes Derrick Rossignol for Uproxx.
Big Thief – “Time Escaping”
Big Thief spent five months working on their new album, always on the move between Upstate New York, California’s Topanga Canyon, the Colorado Rockies, and then Tucson, Arizona, to try and evoke different sounds and inspiration. We’ve already heard a handful of previews from the resulting 20-track double album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, and “Time Escaping” might be the most intriguing, as it “came out of the natural psychedelia of Topanga Canyon,” according to Adrian Spinelli for Uproxx.
Petey – “Perfect Teeth”
Just a few months after releasing his debut album Lean Into Life, Petey decided to tack a new song onto the end. “Perfect Teeth” is a minimal piano and guitar arrangement that seems to fit pretty seamlessly into the album’s overarching themes and sound. “It’s a song about accepting a dissociative state as a new normal and just going with it,” Petey said in a statement.
Talker – “Summerlin”
Talker’s new track “Summerlin” is a classic breakup song. It’s supposedly the fasted song that LA-based artist Celeste Tauchar has ever written, coming together in less than an hour as Tauchar reveled in the constant reminders of the lost relationship. Sonically, “Summerlin” is comprised of nothing more than a hi-fi acoustic guitar and Tauchar’s enveloping vocals, before more layers and soundscapes are added to keep building the world of the song.
Ryan Pollie – “Out Of It”
Ryan Pollie’s new song “Out Of It” is a tribute to a lost era. Described in a statement as “a 1977 E.L.O.-Inspired romp about new love and driving up the Angeles Crest,” the song is built around a piano and string melody as Pollie sings in a falsetto. The video also features Pollie signing next to a puppet, which was similarly “inspired by all the times in the ’70s and ’80s when rock stars would sing a lot with puppets? Like super frequently!”
Career Woman – “Not A Betty”
I’ve really been enjoying the new tracks from Career Woman, and “Not A Betty” might be the best of all of them. The song is about Melody Caudill’s complicated relationship with identity, specifically the term “Betty,” which has been used to describe certain people throughout history (girl next door, female skateboarder, housewife), but still doesn’t feel like it describes Caudill perfectly. Built upon driving percussion and distorted guitars, the song and its story are very hard not to love.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.