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 Slow Pulp, Jeff Rosenstock, Mitski, Field Medic, and more.
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Be Your Own Pet — “Big Trouble”
As the artwork of a shoulders-up leather-clad person against floral wallpaper may suggest, “Big Trouble” by Be Your Own Pet is a sick song. The track is taken from Mommy, their first album in over 15 years and it’s a punk anthem that confronts “the daily injustices are all connected to the overarching societal issues of living in a patriarchy,” bandleader Jemina Pearl said in a press release.
Hotline TNT — “Protocol”
Hotline TNT is known for reverb-drenched, free-flowing songs that focus on ambiance first and foremost. “Protocol” is a shoegaze earworm that keeps building and building, the guitars mesmeric and catchy. The lyrics are structureless and brief, but Will Anderson uses the words like instruments, “After the fall / I pretend that it’s all / My fault.”
Slow Pulp — “Doubt”
From the raucous “Cramps” to the more downtempo “Slugs,” Slow Pulp’s Yard singles have bewitched in different ways. The newest one, “Doubt,” has a more pop texture with a perky atmosphere and infectious melodies helped by Emily Massey’s singing: “I just wanted your do do do do do do do do do do doubt.”
Mitski — “Bug Like An Angel”
Mitski has announced her new album The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We coming in September. “Bug Like An Angel” has a holy feeling as a choir sporadically joins her intimate voice against careful guitar strumming. The words are vulnerable: “As I got older / I learned I’m a drinker / Sometimes a drink feels like family,” she sings.
Field Medic — “iwantthis2last!”
Field Medic’s insightful, delicate Grow Your Hair Long if You’re Wanting to See Something That You Can Change was a highlight of 2022. The California musician is back with the more jangly but still lyrically fragile “iwantthis2last!” The song captures the transient nature of feelings as he desperately repeats, “I want this to last.”
Cafuné — “Demise”
Cafuné have been keeping the attention on them since their viral TikTok hit “Tek It.” “Demise” proves that they’re worth more than just background music for a video; for almost three minutes, the track sprawls with a hypnotic aura as Sedona Schat mesmerizes with her stunning voice.
Sinai Vessel — “Tangled”
Sinai Vessel make thoughtful, moving ballads. “Tangled” is a beautiful examination of mental health struggles such as anxiety. “The mind is a tricky machine / Protecting the body by learning / But what when the lesson’s wrong?” Caleb Cordes sings earnestly. “We are at the mercy of a tangled web of wires / Snaring one another / Strung up by our words.”
Jeff Rosenstock — “Healmode”
Hellmode by Jeff Rosenstock comes at the beginning of September, and “Healmode” is casually apocalyptic: “The street outside is flashing / Underneath infrequent bursts of glaring headlights / Moving like a glacier,” he sings, weaving together the personal with the political often in this complex ballad that prioritizes love over existential dread.
Open City — “Return Your Stolen Property Is Theft”
Open City is a hardcore supergroup with members from Ceremony, Lifetime, and Titus Andronicus. Their 2017 self-titled debut was a ruthless celebration, and they’re finally following that up with Hands In The Honey Jar, arriving in October. “Return Your Stolen Property Is Theft” is a wonderfully clamorous return with piercing guitars and vicious vocals.
Dabda — “Flower Tail”
Seoul-based Dabda have announced their new EP Yonder and the lead single “Flower Tail” is an alluring taste. With mathy guitars and a shoegaze ambiance, the song is a whirlwind of effervescent sound. It’s a journey at nearly six minutes, but every second is immersive and enlightening.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.