6 Tracks for the End of the Month

The days are getting shorter and the weather chillier and this blog continues to be a little hard to keep up with. The 2021-a-Day Spotify playlist is still getting regular updates, however: here’s a quick update of what’s been added recently. Links below to bandcamp pages, or use the playlist link to check them out together.

• 音楽の天才 (Ongaku no tensai – The Genius of Music) by Sacoyans (Bandcamp): Hailing from Fukuoka, Japan, synth infused American Indie rock sounds. This track is from the very recently released album Yomosue.
• Palm Trees by Often (Bandcamp): Melancholic pop from LA’s Often, from the October released album Dirty Saint. As the days get shorter and the weather starts to cool, this feels like a perfect warm sweater to wrap up in.
• Bloodhounds (Bad News Babe) by Star Moles (Bandcamp): Hailing from Philadelphia, self-described “lo-fi sci-fi DIY wi-fi band”, this one is listed as a 2021 released on Spotify but from 2018 on Bandcamp. Charming plinky piano matched with a heartfelt vocal delivery.
• Big Natural by Izzy True (Bandcamp): Ithica born, Chicago based band Izzy True is Izzy Reidy and a shifting lineup of fellow musicians since the band formed in 2015. Guitar, drums and a mix of wind instruments – this is alt rock peppered with jazz and a cool, unexpected sound that you should check out.
• More is More by Unschooling (Bandcamp): Post-punk sung in English but hailing from France (and with connections to Montreal, Canada), Unschooling released their EP Random Acts of Total Control in April and are currently touring the UK.
• The Evidence by Snapped Ankles (Bandcamp): Mysterious art-rockers from London, this track hails from the July released album Forest of Your Problems. The band performs in costume and their identities are unknown.

Recent Adds: May 20-30

The blog has been quiet but the playlist is still rocking. As I move into a weekly format, here are all the bands that have been added to the playlist since the last music post. Check them out on bandcamp via links here or head over to the 2021-a-Day Spotify Playlist and check them all out together.

Saskatoon post-punk from Slow Down Molasses

I love Slow Down Molasses‘ name almost as much as I love this track. Co-released via Noyes Records & Divine Schism, one must assume this single is a preview to something more soon.

Classic Garage Rock Sounds from Adele and the Chandeliers

Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, with links to the beloved band the Go-Betweens, Adele and the Chandeliers bill themselves as “A cheeky fling in post punk power pop.”

Brandy are New York punks you need to hear

Gritty, New York, noise. This takes me back to the before times of seeing loud bands in basement bars. From Brandy‘s September 2020 released sophomore album. Also added to the 2021-a-Day Punk and Post-punk playlist.

Indiepop from France with Pastel Coast

For fans of Phoenix, Air and more: Pastel Coast are just about to release their album Sun which is just about to drop on June 4, 2021.

Alt Rock from Leeds, UK’s English Teacher

One of a string of singles from this gritty, indie rock band. The band is on bandcamp for some reason this track isn’t – but you can find it on Soundcloud.

Two for a Midweek Bump

Two quick adds to the playlist today to help you through the mid-week slump. Both of these have been on my to consider list for a bit, but neither is on Bandcamp which is my usual go-to link. They are added to the 2021-a-Day playlist today, so give them a listen there.

Boat Show | Cheap Red

Aussie Rockers Boat Show hail from Perth (also home to previous 2021-a-Day band Cold Meat). This song is a raucous ode to poorly considered drinking.

Adriana García Galán |Nos Gusta Más

Adriana García Galán is a contemporary visual artist from Bogota, Columbia who also happens to write a pretty mean pop song. This track is simple but so catchy, you’ll be hitting repeat to go back and listen again.

3 For a Mid-Week Return

Wow! May snuck right up on me. 5 months in to my song-a-day project and I’m realizing just how much of a commitment trying to write a post about a song each day is. So, I took a little unplanned break but I’m ready to dive back in and share some tracks. In my days of just listening and not writing, I’ve come across a bunch of new tracks I’m really excited about .. we’ll chip away at the back log over the next little while. I’m sure you’ll find something new for your personal playlist, or you can just listen in to the 2021-a-Day playlist, which now has a more than 6 hours of indie hits.

Your new song-of-the summer from New Zealand’s Guardian Singles

Auckland, New Zealand’s Guardian Singles are ready to grab your attention with this jangly indie rocker Tea Lights Exploding. Formed in 2015, the band recorded the tracks that make up their soon-to-be released self-titled album in 2018. Well, sort of soon-to-be released, the album had a limited micro-run release on local label Moral Support back last spring. I’m thinking there’s a pretty good chance you haven’t already encountered this one, which is about to be released internationally on limited edition red vinyl from Trouble In Mind records.

The debut album packs a wallop; driving guitar lines dance across the rhythm sections propulsive throb hearkening back to greats like Mission of Burma, The Wipers & The Sound. Opener “Tea Lights Exploding” does just that, with an instantly memorable hook & sticky guitar line…

Bandcamp bio

Alt Psych Rock from Montreal’s Venus Furs

Venus Furs is Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist Paul Kasner’s solo project, described on bandcamp as an alternative Rock band with Psych, Shoegaze and Post-Punk influences. Venus Furs’ self-titled debut was released last year.

This track, Page Before, runs 7+ minutes on the album and in the bandcamp link above: the more playlist friendly radio edit has been added to the playlist.

Unapologetic Pop-Punk from Illinois’ Attic Salt

Formed in 2015 by and with longstanding connections to the Springfield, Illinois punk scene, four-piece Attic Salt released a debut record in 2017 and their second Get Wise (which this track comes from), in the decidedly indie-unfriendly fall of 2020.

Get Wise is a collection of unabashedly honest pop-punk songs . . . every track is a deadly earworm and a reminder that much can be said with four chords and a melody.

Spotify Bio

4 for the End of the Month

Ok, we’re going out with a bang at the end of April with four new tracks on the 2021-a-Day playlist for your weekend listening pleasure.

FRITZ: Lo-fi Noise Pop from Australia

I’ve said it before and I say it again, Australia has a killer indie music scene these days. Hailing from the coastal city of Newcastle, New South Wales, FRITZ‘s dreamy pop feels like a sunny walk on the beach. The album Pastel was released in February, with this track, Sweetie as the lead.

Island of Love: Fuzzy guitar pop from London

Super lo-fi fuzzy indie rock for fans of Guided by Voices or Dinosaur Jr., this track has been sitting on my to consider pile for awhile. I’ve listened to it a tonne of times: short and catchy – not sure why I haven’t added it here sooner. From a limited run cassette (sorry, sold out) titled Promo Tape, Island of Love are a two-piece from London.

Pale Beach: Dreamy, dreamy, dreamy Japanese Indie Pop

Back in February, I shared an inspired dreampop track from Nagoya’s Morningwhim, Pale Beach is an additional project of Morningwhim’s Hidetoshi Murai. More fuzzy dreampop, this track was released in 2020 as part of a compilation cassette from Osaka’s Miles Apart Records.

Modern Cynics: Halifax punk rock for quarantine times

Modern Cynics is another Halifax, NS act from prolific punk rocker Matty Grace. Quarantine-core according to Bandcamp (I hope that genre label takes off). Recorded in May 2020 and released in January 2021 on Dirt Cult records.