The brothers who make up Mother Culture flex their stylistic range with their new singe Princess Die. Dipped in post punk nostalgia and treated with an indie sonic sensibility, the new single is refreshing. At the heart of every Mother Culture release is an emphatic, passionate, believable vocal performance. It’s lifted by a youthful, energetic collective effort where every instrument is played like it’s the last song of the show. It’s equally dark and fun, with dirty tones and a pop flavor that recalls Radiohead’s sophomore breakout The Bends.
The Australian based band has a bit of the down under exotic appeal known to the country’s popular exports. There’s an edge and catchy appeal to Australian Pop, bands like Midnight Oil who bring an urban flavor and trademark mystery known to the outback. Mother Culture continues the tradition, with a touch of Brit Pop influence known to modern icons like Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines. The vibe is gritty, but polished. Their songwriting ability and vocal talents are undeniable. Most recently it connects with releases by rising stars Del Water Gap and Sam Fender. We think Mother Culture is a must watch band with breakout potential flying way too far under the radar.
Decide for youself, check out Princess Die now on our Best New Indie Playlist
The worlds of psych pop and classic soul collide on Object Permanence, the new single from Eyas. The execution is masterful, with jazz inspired musicianship that harkens back to the days of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Frank Zappa. The trippy organ solo sounds like it was performed by Ray Manzarek. The artists smooth vocal delivery is vintage mellow soul, with similarities to Sade and Disco’s soft sexy fire.
Eyas joins a small exclusive group of emerging artists like Ruru who are combining the ethos of Vulfpeck and Tame Impala elegantly. It’s a combination of funk, soul, and modern psych pop.
You just don’t acquire skills like this without eternities behind a music machine. Eyas shows incredible attention to detail while also feeling fluid. The music flows like its in the moment, and the group is always in sync.
The musical design would have been enough to grab us, but the vocal is equally entrancing. Eyas navigates the songs melodic range beautifully. Her voice is like another instrument to be improvised around the evolving scale.
The Baltimore based songwriter only has four singles on Spotify dating back to 2018. Quality control will hopefully give way to prolific offerings, as Eyas sounds primed to join Vulfpeck’s growing movement of fresh vintage grooves. She appears primed to evolve that scene into its next psych and soul transition.
Enjoy Object Permanence now on our Best New Indie Playlist
Desert Ships is classic cool with their new single Watching The World Stop. With black leather appeal and urban swagger, the songs 1st half brings an indie sensibility into the conceptual world’s of the Velvet Underground and The Ramones. In that way it draw some similarities to more recent works by cult hero Kurt Vile. As the song develops, it evolves with a modern indie appeal. Intricate guitar work in the spirit of My Morning Jacket and The Districts takes over.
The songs epic closing freakout might be it’s defining moment, as everything builds to fuel this timely release. It opens up the potential for Watching The World Stop to be an extended live performance. Desert Ships are meant to be big. They’re the perfect companion for a smoky club looking to reclaims rocks underground glory. They also brings mainstream appeal with solid songwriting and catchy vocal cues.
Desert Ships has a knack for harkening back to the classic garage bred pre-punk style without sounding derivative. Their collective catalog has a lot in common with the revival aesthetic of early Black Keys and White Stripes. The authenticity and integrity of their releases is an attribute of their ability to navigate a studio and utilize proper analog tones.
Watching The World Stop will be included on the bands forthcoming album Heavy Soup. Hear it now on our Best New Indie Playlist
Eastern psych pop vibes define Summer Sun, the new single from Houston based band The Shrubs. The group is lead by brother’s Josh and Miguel, with Laura contributing on vocals. Recently signed to Blossom Records, Summer Sun adds to a prolific offering of releases dating back to 2019. We were drawn equally to the psych ethos, impressive musicianship, and unique melodic beauty of Summer Sun. The group inadvertently embraces a post punk aesthetic known to REM with a trippy shoegaze twist known to Blonde Redhead. There’s a sense of classic 60s eastern seasoned psych pop in the spirit of how groups like Jefferson Airplane, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and The Doors.
These desert heavy vibes have an exotic appeal, as the soaring female lead on Summer Sun swirls with hypnotic affect. The band embraces the association, but softly rejects the application. Member Miguel offers this explanation when he writes, “As for influences…I would say there are obvious elements of Indian classical music, but I never really enjoyed those old ‘60s songs that made use of a sitar except for Paint it Black, it being the only one I can recall that has a fast tempo.”
There is a fiery energy known to Summer Sun. It’s a slightly frantic pumping that builds as the song progresses. The chaotic outro sees the collective arrangement slightly unraveling as the musicians erase inhibition and give fully to the psychedelic trip.
The Shrubs should appeal to fans of Lord Huron as well as more experimental psych projects like King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizzard.
Enjoy Summer Sun now on our Best New Indie Playlist
The Wild Is Calling 