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 Ethel Cain, LCD Soundsystem, The Cure, and more.
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The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
College rock legends The Cure haven’t released a new album since 2008’s 4:13 Dream, but they’ve been a fairly active touring unit despite their scarce post-Wish output. At long last, Robert Smith and the gang have made their oft-speculated return with the lush, ruminative Songs Of A Lost World. Its eight songs take their time, with Smith’s unmistakable voice coming in around the halfway mark on most of them. The Cure know they don’t have to prove themselves. Instead, they’ve bestowed us with the gift of an incredible new record, simply because it felt like the right moment.
Ethel Cain – “Punish”
In October, Ethel Cain wrote a Tumblr post about the ongoing irony epidemic. “It’s everywhere and it’s inescapable,” the indie-pop artist wrote. “No one can be serious for even two seconds.” Earnestness is a mainstay of the songwriter’s work, exemplified in the disturbing yet compelling narrative surrounding her 2022 debut, Preacher’s Daughter. That sincerity, that deep conviction in herself and her art, continues on “Punish,” the slow and contemplative lead single of next year’s Perverts. It’s a song that recedes into the shadows, but it beckons you into that darkness, too, asking you to meet it on its own terms. “I am punished by love,” she sings over droning guitar ambience, her voice cloaked with the exhaustion of pain. Jokes, after all, can do only so much to distract us from agony. Ethel Cain is here to remind us of the necessity of genuine feeling.
Wishy – “Planet Popstar”
One of the best debut records of 2024 is Wishy’s Triple Seven, which dropped back in August. They’re following up with a new one-off single, “Planet Popstar,” which coincides with the kickoff of their UK/EU tour. As co-vocalist Kevin Krauter puts it in a press release, “Planet Popstar” is about “the feeling of longing for someone or something which, by all accounts, seems entirely out of reach.” Wishy miraculously make that impossible situation sound like a fuzzed-out party.
A Place For Owls – How We Dig In The Earth
From the sound of it, you’d think Denver’s now considered part of the Midwest. Of course, it’s not. But Denver emo band A Place for Owls makes a convincing case with their mix of twinkly guitars, pensive lyrics, and gentle yet dexterous drumming. These signifiers are all over How We Dig In The Earth, the quintet’s second full-length record. It’s an album as mountainous as the region they hail from, hitting emotional peaks and valleys that evoke American Football at their noodliest, Manchester Orchestra at their rowdiest, and, dare I say, Coldplay at their most tastefully tender. It’s a difficult balance to strike, but A Place For Owls pulls it off with finesse.
Fabiana Palladino – “Drunk”
Back in April, Fabiana Palladino released her self-titled debut album, a clear standout of the year. Ahead of her first headlining shows in New York and Los Angeles, the indie-pop songwriter has shared a new single, “Drunk.” In press materials, Palladino herself says the song “was written with the chaos of modern dating as [her] backdrop.” Like inebriation itself, “Drunk” sounds slightly unsteady, as if the gentle, hazy instrumental footing could all come collapsing beneath Palladino at any moment.
Fang Island – “Starquake”
Fang Island officially went on hiatus back in 2015, and it’s been even longer since they released new music, which was their 2012 sophomore album, Major. Although the Providence indie rockers aren’t getting back together, they are releasing a new box set, Doesn’t Exist II: The Complete Recordings, which consists of their entire catalog, including both studio albums, all their EPs, and even a 7″ featuring “Starquake.” As a track initially consigned to an obscure limited-edition flexi disc in 2014, it’s excellent news that the cult favorites’ final song is significantly more accessible, now available for the first time on DSPs.
LCD Soundsystem – “X-Ray Eyes”
No, do not ask James Murphy about the status of the next LCD Soundsystem album. The NYC dance-punk fixture has told us that the band is making progress on it, so it’s still unfinished. In the meantime, though, their latest single, “X-Ray Eyes,” can tide fans over. It includes all the signature traits of a great LCD tune: talk-singing, Nancy Whang vocals, glorious analog synths, and new-wave drum machines.
Pinkshift – “One Nation”
Since Oct. 7 of last year, the Biden-Harris Administration has given Israel more than $17 billion in military aid. The American government has not only been complicit but an active ally in Israel’s merciless genocide against Palestianian citizens. With Election Day now here, Baltimore punk trio Pinkshift air their grievances on the incendiary protest song “One Nation.” “And now they’re gunning for a war we don’t believe in,” seethes vocalist Ashrita Kumar. It’s a topical and necessary track that rightfully excoriates the U.S. and Israel’s disturbing war crimes.
Chastity Belt – “That Guy”
Earlier this year, Seattle indie outfit Chastity Belt released Live Laugh Love, and now they’ve returned with a new single, “That Guy.” Initially recorded for that album, it subsequently made it to the cutting-room floor. Fortunately, they’re now sharing it in the form of a split 7” with Austin’s Holy Wave. “I’d rather hold on for too long, until all the feeling’s gone,” sings Julia Shapiro toward the end of the second chorus, inspired by her habit of listening to a song she loves until she’s sick of it. If anything, “That Guy” is a paean to wearing out the music we obsess over. Let’s hope I don’t do it with this song!
Cloakroom – “Unbelonging”
Heavy shoegaze has reigned as one of the defining musical trends of the 2020s, from artists like Deafheaven to Holy Fawn taking part. Indiana trio Cloakroom have been making their own strain of it since the mid-2010s, and 2022’s Dissolution Wave deservedly placed them within its ever-more discernible scene. Freshly signed to Closed Casket and on the precipice of releasing their fourth album early next year, they’ve given us a glimpse of what’s to come. “Unbelonging,” taken from the forthcoming album, is among their most pop-minded material to date. Self-described as “Cloakroom meets Psychedelic Furs,” the group’s latest single leavens the chugging heft of their previous work with a newfound melodic clarity.