Guy Blue pushes creative boundaries on his recent single New Pallet Theme. The songwriter digs into his experimental tool bag and returns with a fairly futuristic arrangement, one that embraces all that’s sonically available to transform New Pallet Theme into more than a burst of inspiration. The song exists as its own musical entity, like one mechanical musical being.
The stop-and-go design teases the listener. It’s as if the robot song is advancing with every prompt. There’s sneaky retro nostalgia baked into the vibe. You can hear the legacy of Peter Gabriel and the way it directly or indirectly influenced new acts like JOJI or Francis & The Lights. New Pallet Theme is presented with an intriguing arrangement, but it’s also thoughtful songwriting, existing candid in a way that’s familiar. We can dig it.
New Pallet Theme is featured on our Best New Indie Playlist.
Haley Blais brings melodic bliss on her intoxicating new single Matchmaker. Like an indie pop lullaby she softly plots dreamy reflections on life and love. Lyrically there’s that looming sense of responsibly that comes with growing into adulthood. It’s a charming offloading of anxious premonitions.
She describes it as ’scream into your pillow’ indie pop, and we endorse that anthemic appeal. Matchmaker is the kind of trademark single that beckons an admiring crowd to sing along emphatically despite her tempered delivery. It’s a soft fury, poetically brilliant and melodically soothing. No matter how you need it, Matchmaker fills that void. Stylistically Haley Blais belongs at the top with indie buzz breakthroughs like Clairo and Samia.
Hear Matchmaker now on our Best New Indie Playlist.
From the college pool to the Prince of cool, songwriter Daniel Marella who releases music simply as Marella makes a big statement on his new 13 song album Posterboy. It’s an apt title for this former Division 1 USC Santa Barbara swimmer, one that honors his awareness as to how his aesthetic reflects a typecast of his generation. It’s unfair to cast speculations in general, we certainly don’t want to inflate an unfair criticism, what we offer in contrast is praise and admiration.
Posterboy both as a work and a a lifestyle is existential gold. It another example of bedroom pops new legit ascent, a recent byproduct of the stream machines influence on upcoming artists. Marella show’s he’s been injecting a history of underground indie resulting in an eclectic trademark sound that stays on brand but never gets bland. Posterboy stand outs include the emotional plea of Letters (To Be All Your Wanted), the anthemic dreamy shoegazey Marci, and the aggressive Rock and Roll Phase. The whole album slaps. He belongs in the crowd with new buzz eclectic breakthroughs like beabadoobee and Del Water Gap.
Say you heard it first. Marella is featured on our Best New Indie Playlist.
Loren Berí continues to sculpt his sound with the new release KYOTO 37. The art pop troubadour manages an enviable existence. It’s that reality that lended itself to this tour lifestyle poetry. He twists the narrative putting his voice in the body of the woman dating the lead singer of an iconic project. Loren’s music mirrors a flurry of icons, David Byrne and James Murphy are fair starting points and big shoes to fill for any artist winning comparisons. It helps that KYOTO 37 features Mauro Refosco on percussion (David Byrne and Atoms For Peace) and fellow Brooklyn artist Itamar on EWI.
Loren’s smart to include these barons of style. He even enlisted Kishi Bashi on a past collab. That kind of braintrust should be enough to get you to press play. Just know it’s a straight vibe and we dig every jam he throws in our direction. The debut album comes in 2024.
Loren Berí is featuring on our Best New Indie Playlist.
The Wild Is Calling 