Indie Rock | Musicosity

Indie Rock

WEDNESDAY (USA)

The members of Wednesday are scattered across town when NME calls them for a Zoom chat. Drummer Alan Miller is at home in Durham, North Carolina, four hours from where the others live in Asheville, his basement still decorated from a recent party. Guitarist and lap steel player Xandy Chelmis is in a bustling café, where he takes breaks from the farm he’s been building, while his playful bandmate Jake Lenderman is hunched in his van in a library car park – “I’ve never been inside,” he quips. And vocalist Karly Hartzman, thoughtful and articulate, is crouched in the “Amish romance” section of a Barnes & Noble bookshop. “I tried to pick a part that isn’t very populated, and I think I found the perfect place,” she says in a hushed tone.

It turns out last-minute home WiFi issues had forced the band into some strange locales, but these background snapshots of North Carolina suburbia are suited to our conversation about Wednesday’s music. On their third album ‘Rat Saw God’, out April 7, Hartzman tells tales of her adolescence and childhood that are full of specific details of small town life, whether amusing or brutally morbid. It’s a coming-of-age story set in the American South, soundtracked by gritty, rip-roaring country-rock.

Daniel Serpa

Foremost a bass guitarist, producer, and songwriter, the hard-to-categorise 18-year-old Filipino-Colombian musician is from the western suburbs of Melbourne. He released his self-made debut EP from 2022, “Gem”, made entirely on his iPhone and gave listeners a glimpse into the world of his talent and passion for making music, with songs like his fan favourite “Wonchuuu”.

Since then, Serpa has been creating in the shadows, opting to obsess over every new sound that came out of his psyche. Now, his work has paid off and has blossomed into his currently untitled and soon-to-be-released first album, full of tracks that sparkle and get carried away in their inherent smoothness, tight rhythms, and catchy melodies.

“mmmmmm this is cool" - Frank Sativa (365k monthly Spotify listeners) on Serpa’s music.

The Velvet Club

Kicking off 2024 with a headline AUS tour and supporting international acts Louis Tomlinson and Sun Room. Naarm/Melbourne based indie outfit The Velvet Club have had a huge 12 months touring AUS three times in support of DICE, Ra Ra Viper & The Rions alongside debut festival appearances at Splendour in the Grass, Icebreaker and Now & Again.

Creating hazy Indie-rock, reminiscent of early 2000s Indie coupled with self reflective lyricism about navigating life through your 20's. The band, through regular nationwide touring, has been steadily growing a fan base around the country since their inception in 2018.

Returning in 2024 with the first single from their forthcoming EP. The 5-piece are set to release ‘Sleeping In' and announce an 11 date Australian Tour including a support slot with Louis Tomlinson in Melbourne and two dates at Tone City Festival in WA. Tickets for their headline shows are on sale now.

Maddy Jane

Maddy Jane is a singer-songwriter from the small island town of Bruny Island, Tasmania.

Telling it like it is since 2017; Maddy’s honest lyrics and captivating song writing have earned her a regular spot on triple j’s airways and a place on huge arena tours supporting the likes of Harry Styles and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

With millions of streams for breakout tracks ‘Thank You and Sorry’ and ‘No Other Way’, Maddy’s ironic and direct storytelling is resonating across the globe.

After two years of heavy touring and sold out shows, Maddy released her debut full-length album, ‘Not All Bad Or Good’ in 2020. The record scored triple j’s feature album and saw Maddy perform hit single ‘Perfection’s a Thing and You’re It’ and Natasha Bedingfield's 'Unwritten' for triple j’s Like a Version.

Junior Bones

Melbourne-based indie rock band Junior Bones writes beautiful, resonant and emotive songs with catchy melodies and dreamy atmospherics
Their first release is due early 2022 through Small Sanctuary Records

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No Cigar (NZ)

Since their formation in 2019, NO CIGAR has rapidly established themselves as one of New Zealand's most promising musical acts, captivating audiences with their infectious grooves and compelling storytelling. The release of their first single Tickets To Space at the end of that year was just the beginning.

In 2020, NO CIGAR released their critically acclaimed EP Radical Road which showcased their unique blend of psychedelic rock and groovy guitars. Their growing popularity has been fueled by their dynamic live performances, which have earned them a loyal and enthusiastic fanbase.

With the recent release of their debut album Bienvenido in September 2022, NO CIGAR has solidified their position as a major force in the New Zealand music scene, earning airplay on popular radio stations such as ZM, Radio Hauraki, and The Edge. They have also played to packed crowds at iconic venues and festivals across the country, including Rhythm and Vines and That Weekend.

The Lemon Twigs

The Twigs are legends – teen sensations, k pop stars, BrotherLovers, Twiggy Cola Lite. Their songs exist as cultural freebase. Cocaine, water, baking soda, and DNA. (o.k. )
While the White Smile Face People appoint Garage Girl, Digital Bass Face or Shitbag Boy as the new FreakoftheWeek, the Twigs have lived 26 cat lives from here to japan making real life bonafide Humans rejoice in the pagan art of Magick Pop Freebase. There are millions of fans, You see; the twigz are more Popular than You, they are Greater than Your Favorite Band, they are a phenomenon.
And now it’s been more than three years since they showed up with their masterpieces and the kids went berserk.
You loved “Meet the Twigs,” you loved the fucking monkey.
Well Music For the General Public is the ultimate ride cocksucker.
Because the Twigs heated up the bottom of their spoons and let their chemicals morph into oil-slick-rainbow clumps. 12 of them. Each song is Twigs from concentrate: seven times more concentrated than the initial juice.
A noseful for every junkie, sparkling as the cream smeared across the mythical holy Ghost-Teen’s high waisted vintage-ass JEANS.

THE TWIGS are celebs. They are in Rado’s dusty bat cave, one of several spots they’ve been chipping at their fuck puzzle. They have nothing to prove. They don’t care. Everybody who’s the face of a designer clothing campaign is because the twigs passed first.
//~ Michael lives in the studio and lays down his tracks at night. He has become a reluctant studio engineer in the Twigs’ home studio in Long Island and can run the machines himself. He is working on the album’s opener, ‘Hell on Wheels,” in which His searing cartoon visions of dirty screaming teenage deathkids ripping down the Strip parade us into into the throb of the album. He mopes around. The subject matter of his songs is dark. His songs are Masterful and bombastic, exploding and shining black, while his lyrics seem preoccupied with incest, broken homes, loneliness. Welcome.
Now It’s daytime. Brian’s in love. He and his girlfriend Anastasia have shown up after her shift at Squaresville vintage clothing store. Brian sprinkles sweetgrass around. Brian’s songs have become Too Good – they are DMT jesters of themselves, cartoon crack. You can wind a Brian Song up and watch it go BOING BOING BOING down the hallway with art deco birds towering above, snirting their snorters into snakey red inkwater.
And here you are, in your stupid fake clown costume, with your Twigs merch, hitting your vein again.
You clown, you fanboy. you love this shit.
Admit it sucker. you need this shit.

Gordon Holland

Alternative singer-songwriter, Gordon Holland is a fiery force in Melbourne's music scene, igniting audiences with his fusion of alternative country and Britpop.

Holland’s sound, reminiscent of early Elton John and Paul Kelly, fused with the modern-day edge of Oasis, make him a must-see act for any music lover, and his lyrics are equal parts confessional and nostalgic yet woven with a humour and wistfulness. Listening to Gordon Holland is an experience of big choruses and singalong verses that'll leave you singing for days.

Following his relocation from Perth, along with friend and collaborator Nathaniel Parbery, the pair formed The Naysayers in 2010 and soon took their garage rock to live stages around Australia. While still writing and working within The Naysayers, Holland found himself on a solo path which saw him merging his musical creativity into waters that had previously been uncharted. Soon after, he collaborated with fellow singer-songwriter Charlie Lane where the two constructed her successful The Darkest Time which featured on Spotify’s Badass Women playlist and heard around the world.

Producing his debut single, Melbourne Bitter in Los Angeles with Luke Tierney and mastered by Tom Beard in Australia, Holland led the cohort on a guitar owned by Foo Fighters guitarist, Chris Shiflett. Melbourne Bitter went on to become a semi-finalist in the 2019 International Song Writing Competition.

Gordon Holland's EP 'Skipping Stones On A Salt Lake' is a testament to his creative prowess and his ability to explore various themes through catchy hooks and narratives. The EP is set for release on June 9th, 2023

Jeff Rosenstock

Jeff Rosenstock was an anxious kid who grew into an anxious adult and has also made a bunch of music along the way with a bunch of bands, most notably Bomb the Music Industry! who apparently pioneered giving shit away for free on the internet - or at least got some of the credit for it.

Now he plays with his bi-coastal band of rad musicians, mixing punk heart with diverse instrumentation and occasional accuracy. Rosenstock has built his career on an uncompromising commitment to stay true to his beliefs. He’s toured the globe countless times and played to thousands of dedicated fans. In addition to the vast critical acclaim he’s received from places like Pitchfork, The NY Times, NPR and others, Jeff's work can be heard scoring the Cartoon Network series Craig of the Creek, which was nominated for multiple awards, including 2 Emmys. He’s performed on Late Night with Seth Meyers & The Chris Gethard Show as well as numerous music festivals across the world, including Pitchfork Music Festival, Noise Pop, Riot Fest, and more.

Yard Act

Yard Act are a British rock band from Leeds, West Yorkshire, composed of James Smith (vocals, lyrics), Ryan Needham (bass), Sam Shipstone (guitar) and Jay Russell (drums). Their debut album, The Overload, was released on 21 January 2022 and debuted at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart. They released their second album, Where's My Utopia?, on 1 March 2024.

History
Prior to forming the band, vocalist James Smith and bassist Ryan Needham had both been members of other Leeds-based bands. Smith was a member of Post War Glamour Girls and Needham played in Menace Beach, two bands that released a split EP together in 2016. After the release of the EP, the pair began discussing forming a band together, a plan that eventually came to fruition in September 2019, when the pair moved into a house together in Meanwood. They soon recruited guitarist Sammy Robinson and drummer George Townend who played together in Treeboy & Arc. During this period, Robinson departed from the group, leading to the recruitment of Sam Shipstone.[4] Prior to the announcement of their debut album, the band had only released a total of four singles independently. These singles were then compiled onto an EP, titled Dark Days, released in 2021.

Their debut album The Overload was released on 21 January 2022. The group was "one to watch" in the BBC's Sound of 2022 shortlist. The group was also named one of Paste's "Best New Artists of 2021". On 1 July 2022, a re-recorded version of "100% Endurance" was released featuring a collaboration with Elton John.

Their second album, Where's My Utopia?, was released on 1 March 2024.