Introduction | Rollercoaster

Australian indie dream pop mixed with an art punk aesthetic.

Adelaide, South Australia trio Introduction released their debut self-titled cassette last June:

Deploying a minimalist post-punk approach to echo drenched pop and resonating solidarity with the other girl-gangs, who with soft precision kick a hole in your chest.

Bandcamp bio

A wandering keyboard over straight ahead punk-rock drums and bass, yet layered over with lush vocals, Introduction create a unique dream-pop/indie-punk mix. Beat Happening meets Stereolab? You’ll want to be introduced to Introduction. If you liked previous 2021-a-Day tracks from Ribbon Stage and Genn and wonder what it might sound like if you threw them together in a blender with a Korg, satisfy your curiosity and check out Introduction.

Pardoner | Spike

San Francisco slacker-punk for the simultaneously laid-back and angsty.

From the opening guitar line – jumping back and forth between your speakers – Pardoner‘s Spike grabs your ears and shakes your attention. Coming in at 1:22, this intense song is catchy and disjointed all at once. My favourite kind of punk rock song: short, fast and leaving you wanting more. The first single from their upcoming album got a premier in Under the Radar and glowing review in Rolling Stone, so you probably don’t need me to tell you about them, but you know, in case you do: I’m glad to share.

Pardoner release their third album Came Down Different in May on Bar None Records. If you liked previous 2021-a-Day tracks from Lawn or the equally short-and-sweet punk Tomothy from fellow California punks Diode, you’ll find lots to like here. Check it out on the main playlist or the recently hived off punks only 2021-a-day playlist.

Book Buddies | Neon

Diving into the week with a new track from Halifax (Dartmouth) based indie rock act Book Buddies.

As the pandemic has dragged on, making live music rare and touring all-but impossible, one of the interesting side effects has been the collaborations that have come out of local scenes. Here in Nova Scotia where I am, I’ve been seeing lots of tracks pop-up from newly formed collaborations between people who have creative energy to spare but no access to traditional outlets. Maybe these bands would have found their way into existence outside the pandemic, but I can’t help but feel that the hours not spent on the road and planning tours and releases might be at least partially responsible.

Book Buddies feature members of Halifax Indie Bands Pale Ache and Designosaur – two bands who based on genre you might not expect to collaborate but who have joined forces to create a catchy indie rock that will have you hitting replay over-and-over. A feature in The East tells us that this track is a teaser for an album to be released this fall. If you liked previous 2021-a-Day tracks from Church Girls, or Safeword, then you will like the hard driving drums, I think you’ll find more to love here.

Exploding Flowers | My Poor Heart

New to the playlist today, a bouncy, poppy guitar track from LA’s Exploding Flowers, from their August 2020 released album stumbling blocks.

The four-piece features members who are staples in other southern California bands including current and former members of Alice Bag Band, Future Shoxxx, Cody ChesnuTT, Lassie Foundation, and Ray Barbee. Their previous release was a self-titled album from 2011. In an era when musicians are forced to feed the algorithm with frequent releases, its refreshing to see a band taking the time to do it on their own schedule. The sound of the band has shifted between the two releases, becoming a little more focused in on a clean (The Clean?) indie pop sound, from something that previously had a little more shoegaze/dreampop vibe.

California jangle-pop

Exploding Flowers’ unique brew of jangle pop is akin to ’70s-era Chilton/Bell, mid-’80s New Zealand guitar pop, L.A.’s Paisley Underground, and ’90s noise pop blended, mutated and swirled into their own modern-day hook-filled racket

Bandcamp bio

Get yourself to the dance floor forthwith. If liked previous 2021-a-Day playlist entries from Strawberry Generation or Kiwi Jr., I think you’ll find something more to enjoy here.

Bacchae | Turns Me

Punk rock from Washington, DC’s Bacchae added to the playlist for your weekend listening.

Bacchae released the full-length album Pleasure Vision this time last year on Philadelphia’s Get Better records. The album adds to their discography of the previous full-length Down the Drain (2017) and a self-titled EP (2018).

Formed in 2016 by four friends with minimal experience as musicians, Bacchae, pronounced BOCK-eye, make music with no assumptions about what a punk band should sound like. Underneath a careful balance of attitude and ambivalence, the quartet embraces heavy guitar riffs alongside bouncy pop melodies and rage-filled exclamations. 

Spotify Bio

Check out Bacchae on the 2021-a-Day playlist. For fans of previous 2021-a-Day tracks from Halifax’s Souvenir or Milwaukee’s Fox Face who both also mix elements of punk and heavy guitar rock to make a sound that is uniquely their own.