Bellini-Before the Day Has Gone
Genre: Indie Rock, Noise Rock, Punk Rock, Post Punk
FFO: Bikini Kill, Drive Like Jehu, Pavement
Italian Indie Rock quartet, Bellini, return with their first release in almost a decade.
Before the Day Has Gone showcases the group’s ability to seamlessly blend 90’s-flavored Indie Rock with subtle yet mathy, intricate instrumentation.
Champagne Superchillin‘-Beach Deep
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Indie Pop
FFO: Tame Impala, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Temples
Champagne Superchillin’ is a new band to watch out for that uniquely blends Psychedelic Rock with ’60s era French Pop. French-born frontwoman, Juliette Buchs presents a marvelous, dreamy vocal performance accompanied by equally dreamy instrumentation.
Despite the trio being currently based in New York, Buchs’ lyricism remains in her native language and it compliments their desired sound to the greatest extent.
Beach Deep is a sexy, mysterious, lush LP guaranteed to captivate the listener from start to finish.
Clearance–At Your Leisure
Genre: Indie Rock
FFO: Pavement, Shellac, Beach Skulls
Clearance has always been the type of act to just tell it like it is in the most straightforward yet efficient way imaginable. At Your Leisure is LP#2 in the band’s discography and marks a more laid back, mature sound for the Chicago-based quartet presenting cleaner guitar tones, and more poppy songwriter.
Each track calls forth the sounds of ’90s Indie Rock with just the right amount of raw, garage-y feel as their previous efforts.
Deaf Wish–Lithium Ion
Genre: Indie Rock, Noise Rock, Post Hardcore
FFO: The Stooges, Sonic Youth, Wavves
Melbourne’s Deaf Wish unveils their Sub Pop sophomore effort (and fifth overall) titled Lithium Ion. The Australian quartet’s sound brings Sonic Youth to mind rather quickly, but succeeds in turning this sound into their own.
Each song feels like a slab of raw, unapologetic, fuzzy Punk Rock-concrete straight to the face.
Be sure to stream below!
Dentist–Night Swimming
Genre: Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Punk Rock
FFO: Alvvays, Makthaverskan, FRIGS
New Jersey-based trio, Dentist, manages to execute a striking yet cohesive juxtaposition of pleasant, fun surf rock and abrasive, anxiety-filled Punk.
Night Swimming will bring to mind the charming sounds of Alvvays, the abrasiveness of Makthaverskan, and the fuzzy chaos of FRIGS in one neat package.
Be sure to stream below!
Tony Molina–Kill the Lights
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Folk
FFO: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkle, Elliot Smith
Known primarily for his obsessive impulse to write songs as short as humanly possible, this Californian singer/songwriter keeps the trend going with a noticeably more mature sound this time around.
Kill The Lights strays a bit from the fuzzy, Power Pop sounds of Blue Album-era Weezer and various other bands of the era, and now channels a different decade altogether. Tony Molina seems to have a newfound interest the sixties calling forth the legendary songwriting influences of The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkle. The instrumentation is more acoustic-based at its core yet somehow feels more layered than ever.
Despite its brief stay with ten tracks barely gracing the 15 minute mark, Molina’s latest record is his strongest and most memorable.
Ovlov–Tru
Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
FFO: Guided By Voices, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh
Connecticut fuzz rockers, Ovlov, strike again with their first record in five years and boy, was it worth the wait! Despite approaching a more steady, mid tempo style of songwriting, it is everything an Ovlov record should be: grungy, catchy, and filled to the the brim with five years of pent up aggression.
There is an endless list of acts in 2018 that rely on ’90s era nostalgia for their sound to thrive, but whenever I give Tru a spin I am convinced each time I am listening to a band that probably opened for Nirvana during their prime.
Trash Boat–Crown Shyness
Genre: Punk Rock, Hardcore Pumk
FFO: Sum 41, Trophy Eyes, Basement
Trash Boat is an extremely underrated Punk Rock group from the UK that would have blown up to heights we could barely fathom had they come into existence a decade earlier.
Crown Shyness is an emotionally explosive sophomore LP that will please fans of the Tony Hawk video game series soundtrack and fans of the 2011-2014 Run For Cover emo revival alike.
Vinyl Williams–Opal
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Indie Pop, Dream Pop, Space Rock, Ambient
FFO: MGMT, Beach House, Toro Y Moi
With just a quick glance of that album art, you can probably take a guess that the latest record from Vinyl Williams has some Psychedelic vibes going on.
Opal implements varying soundscapes ranging from Space Rock to Trip Hop to deliver one of most laid back, alluring musical experiences available in 2018 thus far.
Stream select tracks below!
White Ring–Gate of Grief
Genre: Synth Pop, Witch House, Drone
FFO: Crystal Castles, Grimes, Salem
NYC’s White Ring unveil a spooky debut that is as alluring as it is unsettling.
Similar to other acts in the “Witch House” movement (such as Crystal Castles), the trio summons a dark atmosphere with harsh vocals and electronics.
The result is a beautiful mess.