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 new music from Militarie Gun, Charly Bliss, Slowdive, Faye Webster, and more.
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Faye Webster — “But Not Kiss”
“I think it could be a really romantic song or a really anti-romantic song,” Faye Webster said of “But Not Kiss,” her first new material since 2021’s charming I Know I’m Funny Haha. This ballad captures her knack for unconventional love songs as she sings candidly of a complicated relationship: “I want to see you in my dreams but then forget / We’re meant to be but not yet.”
Palehound — “Independence Day”
Palehound opens their new single “Independence Day” with a memorable scene: “We broke up on Independence Day / Crying while the next door neighbors raged,” El Kemper sings, not sounding regretful or sad anymore, as if enough time has passed that now it can be looked at with lightheartedness. Kemper’s wisdom is speckled all over this song, especially in the inspiring hook: “Living life like writing a first draft / ‘Cause there is nothing to it if I can’t edit the past and / Even if I could it would kill me to look back.”
Slowdive — “Kisses”
Shoegaze legends Slowdive are back. They’re sharing their new album Everything Is Alive later this year, and it’s their first since their 2017 self-titled album, which famously contained the singular hit “Sugar For The Pill.” Their lead single “Kisses” has the same dreamy texture of that song, floating with a sense of peace and a catchy melody.
Charly Bliss — “You Don’t Even Know Me Anymore”
“You Don’t Even Know Me Anymore” is Charly Bliss’s first single in first years. The effervescent, sardonic track is unbothered, wanting only to move on from something that’s old news: “Here’s your leather jacket, thought it’d save me but now / I gave myself a makeover and I’m blissing out,” Eva Hendricks drawls.
Militarie Gun — Life Under The Gun
If you needed some invigorating, bombastic post-hardcore to spice up your life, thank Militarie Gun. Life Under The Gun rages with rippers like “Do It Faster” and “Seizure Of Assets” as well as more vulnerable, quiet moments like “See You Around” and “My Friends Are Having A Hard Time.”
Who Is She? — “MoviePass”
No one’s quite doing it like the Seattle supergroup Who Is She? “MoviePass” is the latest dose of their indie-rock humor, and it’s a nostalgic track: “I first got MoviePass in 2017 / It was a little red card that let you see unlimited movies for $9.95 a month,” they sing, later lamenting how it’s a “tragedy” that it didn’t last because of its “unsustainable business model.”
Koyo — “Anthem”
Long Island hardcore (abbreviated as LIHC) is alive and well thanks to Koyo. “We grow old and die off / But the best has yet to come,” Joey Chiaramonte shouts against tumultuous instrumentation and an addictive bassline. The band is an unstoppable force, and this mosh-worthy anthem is further proof.
Islands — “Life’s A Joke”
Islands have always had a specific kind of magic to their brand of indie rock, and it looks like that’ll continue on their forthcoming album And That’s Why Dolphins Lost Their Legs. Humor and sadness go hand in hand, not only in that title but also on the moving single “Life’s A Joke,” which finds levity in pain.
Snõõper — “Powerball”
Snõõper is like a musical sugar rush. Their songs are hard to keep up with, and they seem to only intensify as time passes. Their new album Super Snõõper comes in July, and “Powerball” is a predictably energetic cut that’s over before the listener can even catch their breath, but they’re still left amazed.
The Smile — “Bending Hectic”
Last year, The Smile — consisting of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, as well as the drummer Tom Skinner — shared the album A Light for Attracting Attention. They’re back with the transcendent, off-kilter song “Bending Hectic,” which encapsulates their moody texture, which sprawls out over the course of eight trance-like minutes.