NEW INDIE MUSIC - WEEK 25

6/15/15

Hey guys! Welcome to Week 25 of BitCandy's New Indie Music – a playlist of super awesome, cool and rad songs curated by a real life human being and not a computer algorithm pretending to be Drake. Burn! The temperature may be rising (oh, who am I kidding, the weather in Los Angeles currently fucking sucks), but that ain't got nothing on the following fire from British trio Years and Years, Irish crooner Hozier, Icelandic icon Björk (holy shit Björk) and many more. So grab your headphones (Beats by Dre, obviously) and smear on some sunscreen – it's about to get hot in herre!

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PATRICK WATSON – HEARTS (LIVE ON KCRW)

Monday morning bringing you down?! Take five minutes to escape into a dreamworld courtesy of the ethereal, luscious and delightful indie folk soundscapes of Canadian musician Patrick Watson. Here the Polaris Music Prize-winner performs “Hearts” from his fifth studio album Love Songs for Robots for KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. Just try to refrain from dancing your ass off in your office chair (unless you also work from home, in which case, dance it off all you like).

 

BRAIDS – MINISKIRT

Following on from Ariana Grande's feminist essay on double standards and misogyny last week comes another defining moment in music's battle against sexism. I've waxed lyrical about how important “Miniskirt” by Canadian trio Braids is in the past, but now the song is accompanied by an equally important video from director Kevan Funk. The fight continues.

 

YEARS AND YEARS – SHINE

British trio Years and Years drop a pretty forgettable video for “Shine” but blink and it'll no doubt have clocked up 45 million views or whatever ridiculous amount “King” has. Hell I've already played it five times as this song is so goddamn banging (even if I do prefer PC Music's Danny L Harle's remix). Every other artist give up already – Communion is guaranteed to be the album of the summer. Game, set and match.

 

HOZIER – WORK SONG (LIVE ON JIMMY KIMMEL)

ovaries

 

BJÖRK – BLACK LAKE

Written in the wake of her split with her longtime partner Matthew Barney, “Black Lake” could well be the most harrowing Björk song to date – and now it has a video to match. Directed by Andrew Thomas Huang and originally exhibited in The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the 10 minute film sees the Icelandic icon writhe her way through craggy caves and ravines as she sings about her heartbreak (“Our love was my womb/But our bond has broken/My shield is gone”) before being reborn as a “glowing shiny rocket” atop a magical moss field in the closing moments. Queen.

 

CHAPPO – HANG ON

“I'm an alien/I'm a legal alien/I'm a spaceman in New York.” Brooklyn quartet Chappo's breed of psych pop has long had a cosmic air about it, so if any band was going to revive “the man who fell to earth” trope it was these guys. Starring a crashed astronaut (played by frontman Alex Chappo) spending his final hours exploring New York City, the video for the ultra-catchy “Hang On” is ultimately a comment on the loneliness epidemic pervading modern society – something I'm sure many of us city slickers can associate with regardless if we're extraterrestrials or not.

 

HOUNDMOUTH – SEDONA

That sun-drenched Americana sound has to be one of my favorite sounds in the world. Take “The Great Salt Lake” by Band of Horses – one of the greatest songs ever, in my not so humble opinion. “Sedona” by Houndmouth has a similar vibe to that (and is interestingly also named after a place). It feels so classic, so nostalgic, so familiar, it's almost as if I've heard it countless times before. Shockingly, I wasn't actually aware of this incredibly handsome New Albany quartet until today, so if you'll excuse me – I've got an entire discography to explore.

 

JAI WOLF – INDIAN SUMMER

Jai Wolf is doing everything right. Dude already counts Skrillex, Alesso and Dirty South among his fans, and now the New York City beatmaker is releasing his debut original production “Indian Summer” through Foreign Family Collective, the record label founded by the ODESZA boys. East meets West on this scintillating dance number, which is sure to go down at treat during Jai's set at HARD Summer in August.

 

MADE IN HEIGHTS – SLOW BURN

Once again, Los Angeles duo Made in Heights prove themselves to be a match made in heaven on “Slow Burn.” Far from what the title suggests, this song is instantly catchy. Featuring Kelsey Bulkin's too-cool-for-school vocals dancing over Sabzi's bouncy, marimba-infused production, it's the latest in a long line of bangers from the band's upcoming album, Without My Enemy What Would I Do.

 

SAINT RAYMOND – YOUNG BLOOD (RAC REMIX)

Portland producer RAC is the king of indie dance remixes. Here he imbues British troubadour Saint Raymond's “Young Blood” with a whole lot of groove, in turn elevating it from Ed Sheeran B-side to ultimate summer banger. God save the RAC.

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Thanks for listening guys! Have the best week ever, k?! x

Untitled” by Naim Naim is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized).

About Jess Grant

When Jess Grant isn't writing on music, she can be found playing it – on her guitar, on her ukulele, and on her recently acquired mandolin. Playing it hideously, she ought to add. Jess also studies. She studies the English language, to be precise. Jess is currently on her way to a degree in the subject, and enjoys starting and never finishing novels, screenplays, and poetry in her spare time. She also likes dogs. Lots of dogs.