decisions today, and listening to The Thermals’ “Returning To The Fold” feels as urgent and present as when the song was released. Hutch Harris’ lyrics twist in knots over blind faith and deception, with lines like “I regret leaving my soul/I forgot I needed it to feel” and “But I still have faith/If I ever […]
The faint hum of feedback bookends Default American’s “The Life Of Me,” an unanswered sound that’s there if you’re looking for it throughout the song. It’s an apt metaphor for a song about addiction: the hum is ever-present, and ready to either take over or fade into the background at a moment’s notice. The track […]
La Palma’s “Ohio” finds intimacy in earnest, contemplative lyrics over lo-fi acoustic picks and strums. The best bedroom pop feels like gazing into a jewel box the artist created, and Chris Walker’s lyrics walk the line between sentiment and sentimentality with ease. As the song considers the simple desire to see a loved one before […]
How do you love a ghost? Easy to imagine and hard to answer, it’s a question that sits at the center of Grace Joyner’s upbeat anthem to modern romance, “Fake Girlfriend.” After a quick introduction of shimmering synths and funky bass riffs, Joyner opines in her emotive indie pop voice about wanting the world and […]
Early on in Slow Poison’s rockabilly ballad “Wilder Things,” Drew Burgess croons, “And right now this very moment/Don’t you feel like you could fall apart?” It’s apt: the song’s waltzy tempo and raspy vocals feel ready to bubble over into full sonic breakdown, but the trembling guitars and cavernous drums never tip into chaos. Instead, […]
Belgium’s Fake Indians waste little time setting the tone of “Lidl Fucks,” a heavy, hypnotic headbanger off their debut album. The track’s urgent rhythm is shepherded in by the harsh squeals of speaker feedback and craggy guitar, with fat bass and megaphone vocals not far behind to fill out the jagged soundscape. This sonic barrage—part […]
Psych-pop pomp and echoing bass drum lead the way down memory lane in Dinner Time’s stompy single. The track feels like an old photograph; the springy guitars expand and distort like a water-damaged Polaroid. Even the raspy lead vocals and poppy backup singers fade around the edges as they relive late nights spent watching TV […]
New York duo Rich Girls deliver a dark, propulsive rocker with “Better.” From the twisty opening guitar riff, the sonic wall slowly builds, adding glimpses of thunderous drums until crashing over the third verse. The New York duo builds a moody atmosphere with minimalist lyrics like “Bend the light/You’re dead tonight” and singer Luisa Black’s […]
From the wall of feedback in the opening to the pointy stabs of lead guitar throughout, “Magic 8 Ball” embodies the sudden and uncomfortable breakout of the band’s namesake. The anxieties in the lyrics feel born of this same space– you can almost see a teenager in the depths of their drama asking a Magic […]