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 first new solo music from Stevie Nicks in six years, the hotly-anticipated new album from Future Islands, and the gorgeous first preview of Wild Pink’s forthcoming album. Check out the rest of the best new indie music below.
Future Islands – As Long As You Are
For their new album, Future Islands put a large emphasis on group collaboration, they told Derrick Rossignol in an interview for Uproxx. During the process, the band made a point to give the project the time and space it needed to come into its own, without the input of producers or the pressure of a looming deadline. The result is one of the most inspired entries into the Future Islands catalogue, an exciting listen from start to finish.
Garcia Peoples – Nightcap At Wits’ End
While the new album from Garcia Peoples is a little more succinct in its runtime than some previous efforts (no 30-minute songs like there were on 2019’s One Step Behind), Nightcap At Wits’ End does not shy away from experimentation. Each of the album’s twelve tracks exist as an interconnected cyclical arrangement, wherein each song flows into the next. Needless to say, the latest from the prolific psychedelic group is a journey well worth your while.
Mary Lattimore – Silver Ladders
Sometimes, you just need the soothing sounds of a harp to decompress. On her new album Silver Ladders, Mary Lattimore is armed with little more than just a harp and a loop pedal, teaming up with Slowdive’s Neil Halstead in the producer’s seat to create ambient soundscapes for a sense of ultimate intentionality and retrospection.
Prateek Kuhad – Cold / Mess EP
Along with Frank Ocean and Bruce Springsteen, Barack Obama’s list of his favorite songs of 2019 featured an unfamiliar name: Indian singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad. While he’s not sure how the title track from his new EP caught the ear of the former president, Cold / Mess doubles down on the low-key heartthrob tendencies that caught the attention of his new label Elektra Records and delivers a quiet but impressive collection that will be sure to catch on with American audiences.
Slow Pulp – Moveys
Although Moveys is the debut album from Chicago’s Slow Pulp, it boasts the confidence of a veteran band. Perhaps this can be attributed to the massive upheavals the quartet each experienced individually during the album’s writing and production process, but the intensity and exploration that is demonstrated in the band’s fuzzy pop-rock tracks make Moveys one of the most impressive debut albums of 2020.
Touche Amore – Lament
On their fifth album, the post-hardcore band teamed up with famed metal producer Ross Robinson to craft their most direct and accessible music to date. Lament is an album about the simultaneous appreciation for one’s platform as a performer and discomfort with becoming a source for venting about grief and personal struggles. At just 35 minutes, the album is incredibly intense, poignant, and generally impressive.
Hundredth – Somewhere Nowhere
Hundredth is the latest punk band to make the transition to a more hazy, shoegazey sound (see: Title Fight, Turnover). The band’s impressive versatility is on full display throughout Somewhere Nowhere, wherein the band takes on a more indie-pop approach with a sound more evocative of Tame Impala than Converge.
Petey – Checkin’ Up On Buds EP
On his new EP, released with little fanfare, Petey is “combining elements of emo, electronic, and folk music into a sound that is unmistakably Petey,” according to Derrick Rossignol for Uproxx. Checkin’ Up On Buds only includes four songs, but it sets the bar incredibly high for whatever comes next from the relatively mysterious singer-songwriter.
Michelle – “Unbound”
Although Michelle haven’t announced a formal project yet, they have been releasing music consistently since signing to Atlantic Records earlier this year. “Unbound” is the latest, a unique and genuinely exciting indie-pop song that takes on a more danceable, R&B approach than their (also great) previous summery track “Sunshine.”
Stevie Nicks – “Show Them The Way”
Stevie Nicks is taking full advantage of Fleetwood Mac’s viral moment by releasing “Show Them The Way,” her first new solo single in nearly a decade. Featuring Dave Grohl on drums, the track is distinctly Stevie Nicks, but also takes on a more epic stance as it spans nearly seven minutes and was inspired by poem she wrote after waking up from a dream she had about the 2008 presidential election.
Jeff Tweedy – “Gwendolyn”
Ever prolific, Jeff Tweedy is gearing up to release Love Is The King, his latest solo album while his band Wilco takes a short break after 2019’s Ode To Joy. “Gwendolyn” is the third single from the forthcoming effort, a groovy folk-country number featuring Tweedy’s signature hazy vocal and light percussion. “Folk and country type forms being the shapes that come most easily to me in a comforting way,” he said in a statement.
Kississippi – “Around Your Room”
While Kississippi came up in the underground emo scene, Zoe Reynolds’ ambitions have always laid in spaces far greater than the basement or club. “Around Your Room” is a perfect indication of where Reynolds is planning to take Kississippi on her forthcoming LP, an impressive indie-pop track that at times sounds like like Taylor Swift’s Red. Although there is no official release date, this record is sure to be a game-changer.
Another Michael – “New Music”
Philadelphia-based trio Another Michael have signed to Run For Cover Records for the release of their debut album. The lead single “New Music” is a dreamy, lushly-produced indie number that is centered around the spiritual experience of musical discovery, featuring Michael Doherty falsetto vocals morphing into an inescapable earworm hook (which is great to sing while cooking).
Wild Pink – “The Shining But Tropical”
Wild Pink’s catalogue is one of the most impressive and underrated in indie rock. “The Shining But Tropical” previews the New York band’s new album A Billion Little Lights, which is due out in February, and is already one of our favorite albums of 2021. It’s what Steven Hyden calls for Uproxx the band’s “most ambitious and overall best work, infused with deep lyrical craft and impeccable melodies that set Wild Pink apart from the indie-dude pack.”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.