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Floodlights' 'From a View' Is Classicist Antipodal Indie Guitar Pop

Aussie indie rockers, Floodlights' debut From a View is a very cleanly, crisply-produced and mixed collection of shambolic, do-it-yourself indie guitar music.
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Music

Future Islands Continue to Soar on 'As Long As You Are'

Future Islands' sixth album, As Long As You Are, is more of the same -- deeply confessional synthpop -- and that's a beautiful thing.

Music

Ed Harcourt Paints From 'Monochrome to Colour'

British musician Ed Harcourt's instrumental music is full of turbulent swells and swirls that somehow maintain a dignified beauty on Monochrome to Colour.

Music

PM Picks Playlist 4: Stellie, The Brooks, Maude La​tour

Today's playlist features the premiere of Stellie's "Colours", some top-class funk from the Brooks, Berne's eco-conscious electropop, clever indie-pop from Maude Latour, Jaguar Jonze rocking the mic, and Meresha's "alien pop".

Music

Fleet Foxes Take a Trip to the 'Shore'

On Shore, Fleet Foxes consist mostly of founding member Robin Pecknold. Recording with a band in the age of COVID-19 can be difficult. It was just time to make this record this way.

Music

PM Picks Playlist 3: WEIRDO, Psychobuildings, Lili Pistorius

PopMatters Picks Playlist features the electropop of WEIRDO, Brooklyn chillwavers Psychobuildings, the clever alt-pop of Lili Pistorius, visceral post-punk from Sapphire Blues, Team Solo's ska-pop confection, and dubby beats from Ink Project.

Music

Alright Alright's "Don't Worry" Is an Ode for Unity in Troubling Times (premiere)

Alright Alright's "Don't Worry" is a gentle, prayerful tune that depicts the heart of their upcoming album, Crucible.

Music

The Grahams Tell Their Daughter "Don't Give Your Heart Away" (premiere)

The Grahams' sweet-sounding "Don't Give Your Heart Away" is rooted in struggle, inspired by the couples' complicated journey leading up to their daughter's birth.

Music

Gloom Balloon Deliver an Uplifting Video for "All My Feelings For You" (premiere)

Gloom Balloon's Patrick Tape Fleming considers what making a music video during a pandemic might involve because, well, he made one. Could Fellini come up with this plot twist?

Music

PM Picks Playlist 1: Rett Madison, Folk Devils + More

The first PopMatters Picks Playlist column features searing Americana from Rett Madison, synthpop from Everything and Everybody, the stunning electropop of Jodie Nicholson, the return of post-punk's Folk Devils, and the glammy pop of Baby FuzZ.

Music

Hear the New, Classic Pop of the Parson Red Heads' "Turn Around" (premiere)

The Parson Red Heads' "Turn Around" is a pop tune, but pop as heard through ears more attuned to AM radio's glory days rather than streaming playlists and studio trickery.

Music

Blitzen Trapper on the Afterlife, Schizophrenia, Civil Unrest and Our Place in the Cosmos

Influenced by the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Blitzen Trapper's new album Holy Smokes, Future Jokes plumbs the comedic horror of the human condition.

Music

Lars and the Magic Mountain's "Invincible" Is a Shoegazey, Dreamy Delight (premiere)

Dutch space pop/psychedelic band Lars and the Magic Mountain share the dreamy and gorgeous "Invincible".

Music

Tobin Sprout Goes Americana on 'Empty Horses'

During the heyday of Guided By Voices, Tobin Sprout wasn't afraid to be absurd amongst all that fuzz. Sprout's new album, Empty Horses, is not the Tobin Sprout we know.

Music

'Transgender Street Legend Vol. 2' Finds Left at London "At My Peak and Still Rising"

"[Pandemic lockdown] has been a detriment to many people's mental health," notes Nat Puff (aka Left at London) around her incendiary, politically-charged new album, "but goddamn it if I haven't been making some bops here and there!"

Music

Alexander Wren's "The Earth Is Flat" Wryly Looks at Lost Love (premiere + interview)

Singer-songwriter Alexander Wren's "The Earth Is Flat" is a less a flat-earther's anthem and more a wry examination of heartache.

Music

Big Little Lions' "Distant Air" Is a Powerful Folk-Anthem (premiere)

Folk-pop's Big Little Lions create a powerful anthem with "Distant Air", a song full of sophisticated pop hooks, smart dynamics, and killer choruses.

Music

The Flat Five Invite You to "Look at the Birdy" (premiere)

Chicago's the Flat Five deliver an exciting new single that exemplifies what some have called "twisted sunshine vocal pop".

Music

Mobley Laments the Evil of "James Crow" in the US

Austin's Mobley makes upbeat-sounding, soulful pop-rock songs with a political conscience, as on his latest single, "James Crow".

Music

Alt-pop's merci, mercy Warns We May "Fall Apart"

Australian alt-pop singer-songwriter, merci, mercy shares a video for her catchy, sophisticated anthem, "Fall Apart".

Music

London Indie-Poppers the Motive Impress on "You" (premiere)

Southwest London's the Motive concoct catchy, indie-pop earworms with breezy melodies, jangly guitars, and hooky riffs, as on their latest single "You".

Music

Fave Five: Roosevelt

German synthpop wunderkid Roosevelt continues to tease out new singles from a potential third album, but this "Five Favorite Synth Sounds in a Song" is an electronic history lesson in and of itself.

Music

Alan McGee Goes It Alone With New Label Creation 23

From a multi-million dollar record label to an iPhone and an Instagram account, Alan McGee is reinventing the record industry once again, one single at a time.

Music

Lomelda's 'Hannah' Is an Internal Dialogue Leaking Out

Small town Texas indie-folk group Lomelda took over a year and three tries to record Hannah. They needed to get it right. They did.

Music

Vancouver's Yukon Blonde Drift Into Dreamy Neo-Psych on "You Were Mine" (premiere)

Vancouver's Yukon Blonde embrace psychedelia and blissed-out grooves on their latest single, "You Were Mine". The band continue to innovate their sound with upcoming LP, Vindicator.

Music

SHOCKEY Makes the Perfect Pandemic Stoner Song with '"HIGH" (premiere)

Los Angeles' SHOCKEY goes in for a bit of glam rock mixed with lo-fi, slacker pop on an ode to the joys of being "high".

Music

St. South Processes Romantic Trauma Through Electrosoul on 'Get Well Soon'

St. South has released a debut album full of raw emotions and intimate bedroom pop. Get Well Soon is a loose concept record about a breakup and the variety of responses it produces.

Music

Norway's the Ella Sisters Spin Sibling Harmonies on "Queens" (premiere)

Norwegian indie pop duo, the Ella Sisters create a new feminist anthem of female empowerment with "Queens".

Music

Jordan Lehning Creates a Film in Your Head with 'Little Idols'

Jordan Lehning intends Little Idols work as a sort of movie. The music frequently changes style and mood to accompany the film in your head.

Music

Chillwave's Psychobuildings Get Psychological With "Mlia" (premiere)

Inspired by the writings of Vaslav Nijinsky, Psychobuildings' "Mlia" takes us into a dream state that's both calming and disquieting.

Music

Creeptones Wrap Their "Soul Fire" in Deliciously Pure Pop

New Jersey's Creeptones play the type of catchy pop-rock that lodges earworms in your skull forever. "Soul Fire" is just the latest example.

Music

Video Age Show How Much They Love the 1980s on 'Pleasure Line'

Pleasure Line shows that Video Age clearly have the musical chops to pull off a precise pastiche, but it also shows a band that went too far down that rabbit hole.

Music

Andrew Cedermark Forges His Unique Path on 'Fort/Da' (premiere + interview)

New Jersey indie rocker Andrew Cedermark was never interested in a career in music. His forthcoming third record Fort/Da shows that "professionalism" is overrated.

Music

Anya Marina Delivers Powerful Rendition of "Can't Nobody Love You" (premiere)

Anya Marina's latest single "Can't Nobody Love You" is a powerful cover of a classic previously recorded by Solomon Burke and the Zombies.

Music

The Dawn Drapes Deliver Power Pop Perfection With "Oxygen" (premiere)

Philadelphia indie rockers the Dawn Drapes' latest video, "Oxygen" provides us with a quick glimpse into the soulful energy, jangling guitars and refined vocal harmonies that help define the group's sounds.

Music

'Can You Spell Urusei Yatsura' Is a Much Needed Burst of Hopefulness in a Desultory Summer

A new compilation online pulls together a generous helping of B-side action from a band deserving of remembrance, Scotland's Urusei Yatsura.

Music

Jess Cornelius Creates Tautly Constructed Snapshots of Life

Former Teeth & Tongue singer-songwriter Jess Cornelius' Distance is an enrapturing collection of punchy garage-rock, delicate folk, and arty synthpop anthems which examine liminal spaces between us.


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