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 Hovvdy, Nation Of Language, Spencer Tweedy, and more.
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Girl Scout – Headache
While the music of Girl Scout is relatively tame indie rock, the sentiments within are far more caustic. Vocalist Emma Jansson describes the Swedes’ third EP as “AAAAAAAAH!!!!!!” in a press release. Like a migraine that intensifies over the course of a grueling workday, the appropriately titled Headache reckons with the feelings that bubble up until they can barely be contained.
Hovvdy – “Bubba (Julie’s Version)”
Hovvdy’s self-titled double album is a shoe-in for one of the best indie rock records of the year. Right now, they’re on a victory lap, on the cusp of a headlining tour and an EP that reimagines some of that record’s standout tracks called Live At Julie’s. Ahead of its release later this month, the Texas duo have shared “Bubba (Julie’s Version),” a disarming iteration that augments the original’s unvarnished tenderness.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw – Eazy Peazy
Man/Woman/Chainsaw sound like veterans of their scene, but they’re a fresh group of 19- and 20-year-olds that have just arrived with their debut EP, Eazy Peazy. Shifting between lead vocalists and stylistic milieus on the change of a dime, these five songs glow with the self-assuredness of a legacy band. “Ode to Clio” sounds like a Sonic Unleashed song, replete with jubilant violin, but rendered in post-punk. “Maegan” bursts with a tempest of atonal noise in its second half, bringing new meaning to the phrase “quiet before the storm.” Eazy Peazy, despite its brevity, hits with colossal impact.
Claire Rousay – The Bloody Lady
On this year’s Sentiment, electronic auteur Claire Rousay expanded her aural blueprint to lyrical, melodic dimensions. She follows up that record with the atmospheric, ambient The Bloody Lady, a score for Viktor Kubal’s 1980 film of the same name. It’s a record that dials back the more conventional song structures of Sentiment in lieu of meandering passages centered on exploration rather than endpoint. Catering to her strengths as a composer, The Bloody Lady is a gorgeous film soundtrack that also stands as a work of its own merits.
Spencer Tweedy – “Thinking Will Kill You”
Spencer Tweedy is known for being one of indie rock’s go-to drummers, playing with groups like Waxahatchee and Wilco, his dad Jeff’s band. However, “Thinking Will Kill You,” his latest solo single, is drumless. Composed of acoustic guitars, bass, light piano, and supplementary organ, “Thinking Will Kill You” proves Tweedy’s mettle away from the kit.
Georgia Maq – “Tropical Lush Ice”
Last year, the beloved Australian indie rock trio Camp Cope broke up. But vocalist-guitarist Georgia Maq has returned with a new one-off single under her own name. “Tropical Lush Ice,” in Maq’s words, is a paean to “vaping and being a stupid girl.” Mixed by Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ guitarist Nick Zinner and featuring a gorgeous violin performance from PJ Cartwright, “Tropical Lush Ice” hints at a softer, sparser side of Maq’s artistry. Let’s hope we get to hear more soon.
Nation Of Language – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
It’s November, so you know what that means. It’s socially acceptable to release Christmas music now. New-wave trio Nation Of Language seem to know that, too. Their take on Darlene Love’s classic “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” strips away the ‘80s pop panache of NoL’s typical fare for something more toned down. Distant sleigh bells and synth pads dot the sonic landscape like crystalline snowflakes, serving a fittingly wintry backdrop to Ian Richard Devaney’s soothing vocals.
The Body – The Crying Out Of Things
The Crying Out Of Things, the ninth studio album from experimental metal (or should I say experimetal) duo The Body, opens with roiling, rumbling toms and a distant spoken-word verse. “I don’t have love / I don’t know love / I don’t have hope / I can’t know love,” a muted voice intones, barely intelligible. When everything opens up, vocalist-guitarist Chip King’s howls echo that cryptic despair, and percussionist-gearhead Lee Buford’s drums are as cavernous as the void alluded to in the beginning. Throughout its remaining eight songs, The Body dive headfirst into that void, documenting their discoveries along the way. The Crying Out Of Things acknowledges that, while it may be tempting to push darkness away, it will still linger at the periphery. You may as well confront it.