Indie Rock Archives

The Indiana Drones – “To Be Free”

The energy and rhythm driving “To Be Free”, the new single by Ontario’s very own The Indiana Drones, makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a high speed car chase scene. Inspired by the soundtrack to Tarrantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, songwriter Justin Zuccato wanted to create a song about about riding the line between having a good time and numbing yourself. He describes it as “1960s Batman TV show meets Quentin Tarantino meets Nirvana meets a computer.” We just think it’s rad. Justin Zuccato formed Indiana Drones as a solo project after having been a touring musician and producer for Canadian rocker Billy Raffoul for five years prior. Impeccably written and produced, this growing catalog of songs is sure to find it’s way onto the big screen. Or at the very least, a 50 inch one albums, West End Coast and AM Waves set the benchmark for 21st Century, 1970s-influenced rock music. Platts […]

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Lera Lynn – “I’m Your Kamikaze”

Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter and producer Lera Lynn pays tribute to her journey behind motherhood in her latest single, “I’m Your Kamikaze”. Welcoming her first son during the early months of the pandemic, this song marked a new era of shifting priorities, strange endings, and new beginnings. Inside Lera was battling postpartum depression. Outside, a bigger picture began taking shape: a feeling of interconnectedness, of cyclic renewal, of the knowledge that every beginning is an end and every end is a beginning. I got my musical start in the indie rock scene of Athens Ga. “Kamikaze” pays sonic homage to that beginning while illustrating the whiplash effect of early parenthood. It’s a continuation of the theme from “Something More Than Love;” that you are no longer your own; that you will now bow to the forces of nature and run yourself into the ground so that your child might thrive. – Lera Lynn Co-produced […]

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Maneka – “Dark Matters”

At the intersection of music and history, Devin Knight uses his current project Maneka to address questions about racism in America. His new LP ”Dark Matters”, out this week on Skeletal Lightning, was inspired by binge watching documentaries on dark matter in space. Knight draws a correlation between the history of race issues in America and the scientific concept. In his own words: With dark matter, it’s there but it’s not. Just like our history with race; a lot of people are aware of its existence, but you can’t touch it. You can’t smell it. But it’s among us. America has this really dark energy. How has it been this fucked up for this long and no one’s done anything about it? As a black man creating music in a genre where he isn’t widely represented, Knight continues to establish his brand and unique sound within the space. He continues: I wanted to introduce […]

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Navah Sea – “Roll Call”

This month UK record producer Phil Simmonds (aka Navah Sea) released “Roll Call”, the third single from his forthcoming eponymous debut album. Flexing his producer muscles and perhaps adding a bit of playfulness to the album, “Roll Call” features psychedelic elements like tape manipulation, whimsical percussion and Baroque Pop strings on the chorus. The song’s lyrical narrative speaks to the evolution of young love and how maturity influences relationships throughout adulthood. The theme of growing up and reassessing life runs throughout the album. Widely known for his production talents, Phil Simmonds created the Navah Sea moniker to highlight his exceptional songwriting skills and soulful vocals. The British-born producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter has been a hidden gem within the music scene since his teenage years as a touring musician. After coming off tour, he became musical director for Jessie J, Zak Abel, and Conrad Sewell while scoring credits and collaborations with established artists like Kareem Lomax, Masego, Snoh Allegra, Nao and Lucky […]

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The Kickdrums – “The Ghost Tapes”

The Kickdrums have been killin’ it for over a decade, and won’t stop any time soon. Back with a new full length album, The Ghost Tapes is an all-encompassing project with a wave of songs passing through a wide array of sonic textures. The album kicks off with a cool, laid-back instrumental called “She Killed Me With Her Eyes”, then begins pushing off into darker territory. “Love Buzz”, a meta-cover based on the Nirvana version of the 1969 original, features the fuzziest of fuzz guitars and filtered delay vocal treatments. Fitts manages to take this song into psychedelic depths, all while preserving Nirvana’s snarky tone and catchy hook. The album closes with “Hum”, a hard-hitting indie rock track with electronic and dub overtones. All in all, quite a trip! The Kickdrums is the recording alias of producer/songwriter Alex Fitts. Well known in the industry for his signature style, Fitts effortlessly blends together elements of trip-hop, dub and indie-rock into all […]

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Adrian + Meredith – “Bad For Business”

One of the advantages of making politically tinged folk music is that it never seems to age much. Folk music is by definition a tradition. Politicians come and go, but the same underlying issues have remained static for decades and are unlikely to change any time soon. The trick is to be non-specific in the details and universal in your message. Maybe throw in some horns for flavor. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Adrian + Meredith’s “Bad For Business” was written and recorded in their Nashville home back in 2019, but hasn’t aged a day since. “Somehow we got the feeling that the topics of Systematic Racism, Climate Change, and finding more common ground as Americans, was starting to reach a boiling point, and needed some empathy. It’s not our responsibility, per-say, to initiate the uncomfortable conversation any more than anyone else, but we can do it with a killer backbeat.” […]

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Ida Maria – “Dirty Money”

Hands down the most badass rock act on our roster is Ida Maria. Like, no contest. Imagine if Bjork never left the Sugarcubes and just steadily grew more ferocious over time, eventually bursting into flames and rising up like a Scandinavian punk rock Phoenix. And clutched in her flaming talons would be “Dirty Money”, the absolutely immaculate record which officially dropped today! “Dirty Money” was written and recorded in LA with guitarist/producer Ryan Spraker (The Glorious Sons, Eli “Paperboy Reed), who helped Ida achieve the loudest and most powerful sound she’s ever produced. Paired with top notch songwriting and Ida’s signature punk rock aesthetic, this album beats you over the head and sticks to your brain for days. The clear standout for sync is “Celebration”, with the perfect blend of swagger, guitar riffs, vocalese hooks and handclaps sufficient to make any music supervisor swoon. The song could work equally well […]

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Featured Release: “Landlady”

Having just authored the definitive guide on how to write your own bio and then five days later getting a piece he wrote published in the New York Times, it seemed only fitting that this week’s update is guest-written by the brilliant Adam Schatz. We just added in some hyperlinks and corrected the typos. Please enjoy! Landlady’s newest album is called “Landlady”, and it could not arrive at a better time! That’s because Landlady’s chief songwriter and executive director Adam Schatz has absolutely no other work at the moment, so he can put his full body-weight into promoting the new album, their self-determined most mature album to date that continues to tackle the evergreen topics of loss, joy, and the cosmic anchor that can be latched onto by a seemingly simple act of playing in a band. “Landlady” the album is a capture of the magic that can come from […]

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Claire Guerreso – “In Our Blood”

On the heels of her recent placement on “The Blacklist”, Claire Guerreso is at it again with a brand new single “In Our Blood” that’s being featured in a TV promo for the upcoming Southern Eastern Conference Softball season starting this week! Produced and co-written by Nashville sync veteran Jeff Bowman, this powerful anthem is drenched in confidence, attitude and southern swagger. A masterful topliner, Claire wastes no time getting straight to the point: Some people are born with itAnd others they work so hardTrying to get aheadThey never get very far Life is short the days are longWe break our backs butWe can’t quit becauseIt’s in our blood Adept at writing and performing in a wide range of genres, Claire’s true specialty lies in writing songs specifically tailored for sync. After her song “Save Yourself” was featured in the trailer for the critically acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road, she […]

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Päter – “Earth In Revolt”

Enter the Päterverse. An accomplished actor, writer, director and recording artist performing under the moniker Päter, Parmida Kakavand’s unique style of songwriting navigates themes like self-discovery and mental health with an irreverent, lighthearted touch. So it was no surprise that the brilliant lead single “Dam, Damn” from the self-produced EP “SOLE” received well over 300k streams on Spotify. Quite the achievement for a debut release. It’s also what caught our ears, it’s just a damn good song! Following on the heels of that initial success, this past week Päter released a powerful follow-up single “Earth In Revolt”, a frenetic climate action anthem that the world needs to hear. “I wrote this song when I was driving down the highway early in the pandemic and there was this massive, orange sunset filling up the whole horizon. It felt like nature flaunting its ability to reclaim itself. That’s where the “Earth in […]

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Tag: Indie Rock