The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Belle and Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian’s Born To Act (Jan’15) bustles with energy. From the drop it cranks up a classic jangly indie tune but then it throws in organs, violins and jeez just for kicks there’s saxophones in the bridge. Driven along with rapid handclaps, snappy lyrics and a chippy rhythm it doesn’t take long before you’ve got a bad case of turkey neck.

 

 

 

A song about the mystique of romantic opportunities, real or false, you can be sure Belle and Sebastian have lost none of their magic creating this pearler. Even better this is a Belle and Sebastian song you can dance to. Some have said Born To Act is richly produced. It is. Where they put the kitchen sink? Nonetheless Born To Act just adds to Belle and Sebastian's legend as one of the greatest indie bands ever. No need to fucking say it really, but I will, Born To Act is one of the best indie songs of 2015.

“I was there for the ride and the old soul

But we couldn’t go further, no we couldn’t go”

 

 

Born To Act is the third single from the Scottish indie pop band's ninth album Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance (Jan’15). Belle and Sebastian have been doing it their way in Glascow since 1996.

Shit you need to know:

Some of the songs on Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance were influenced by New Order, The Happy Mondays and Led Zeppelin.

The new album was produced by Ben H Allen who has done grind for a diverse number of critters but Cee Lo Green, Gym Class Heroes, MIA, Animal Collective and Bombay Bicycle Club stand out on his resume.

About Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance Amoeba said that it, “manages to help them evolve without losing what made them special”.

Belle and Sebastian have been compared to The Smiths. Other bands mentioned in the same breath are fellow Glaswegians Al Stewart, Teenage Fanclub and the Orange Juice.

Entertainment Weekly described Belle and Sebastian as a “cult phenomenon” and as having had a pivotal role in the Twee Movement.

The crackerjack Belle and Sebastian tunes without which life would be meaningless are Party Line, Stars of Track and Field,I’m A Cuckoo and If She Wants Me.

 

 

 

 

The dodgy double dip comes courtesy of the Scottish indie rock band The Fratellis just because they are from Glasgow too. This is the pub rocker A Heady Tale (2008).

“Pour yourself a drink or three
And maybe we'll think clearer for a while”

 

 

 

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Al Bairre

There is a bit of a ska rag to Al Bairre’s Bungalow (March’15). It’s in the keyboards and it’s in the singer’s phrasing. And it works big time. Bums are bopping and necks nodding. There’s a can’t-take-this-shit-seriously big summery feel good vibe to it.

A song about feeling a little flat after banging a bird in a bungalow, it's all a good laugh. A piece of whimsy. Shits and giggles. But some really nice vocals drive this tune into a mindless bliss that makes it one of the best indie songs of 2015.
                                                                                                    

“I’ve had a little bit too much of her
Feeling like a lover
Never gonna be another”

 

Al Bairre are an indie pop band from Cape Town, South Africa who got started in 2012. Bungalow is off their self-recorded short player When I Was Tall (March’15).

Shit you need to know:

The band are influenced by Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. The Maccabees, The Cure, Bombay Bicycle Club and Fleetwood Mac have also been tossed on the influences salad.

Indie Shuffle said Al Bairre sound like Jungle Giants, San Cisco and Short Straw.

Al Bairre have been described as a symphonic indie rock band because of their slightly offbeat instrumentation of cello, violins and ukulele.

Al Bairre feel having an African influence is popular these days in indie with bands, for instance Vampire Weekend being influenced by African music and their work with bands like The Very Best.

The singer has described Bungalow as, “…very sassy”. Fucking spanker. Ibet he tells his mates he's off to “have a poo” too.

The Al Bairre songs to crank up on the sound system are We Move On and Right Here In July.

 
The double dip is from American indie pop duo and producers extraordinaire Royal Tongues. Higher (Feb’15) is on the playlist because it’s a sex on the beach song and I fucking love it.

“When you feel like you got it right.”

 

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - The Rotaries

The Rotaries On The Outs EP has a big indie guitar rock buzz. It’s produced by a chap who was influential in manufacturing the sound of Is This It? by The Strokes.The whole short player is a winner but the title track On The Outs (April’15) is the standout.

On The Outs has a pure rock riff to marry to the indie. Not a monster riff perhaps but one solid as a brick shithouse wall and a lead break in the same vein. So a god honest indie rock song. A song about miscommunication ruining relationships On The Outs is one of the best indie songs of 2015.

 

“Always on the outs”

 

 

The Rotaries are an indie pop rock band from New York. They have one long player in the bank. On The Outs is off their same titled short player. The band have been ripping and rocking since 2010.

Shit you need to know:

On The Outs has been described as, “...a nostalgic rock tune” and their music as, “…captivating, hook-heavy and lively Caribbean-meets-indie-pop-rock sound.”

Of their music the band has said,“Musically we just wanted it to be punchy and fun!”

The new EP was produced by J.P. Bowersock who did nine to five for The Strokes, RZA and Ryan Adams.

The band's favorites are Sam Cooke, The Walkmen, The Strokes, Michael Jackson, Nirvana and Weezer. Their left-field influence is Bruno Mars.

The Rotaries have been compared to The Strokes and The Postelles. It's been suggested fans of The Kooks and Vampire Weekend might like them.

Their most random on stage cover was an Elvis Costello song.

More outstanding Rotaries tunes are Town Lights and Bicycle Girl which can be found on the EP On The Outs.

 

Talk of god honest rock'n'roll reminded me of the Chicago punk rock band The Orwells and their four to the floor banger Let It Burn (2014).
 

“She was wet in my bedroom,

My stone it was turned,

Is it love, is it lust?”

 

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - The Academic

Irish music is on a bit of a tear at the minute, what with Hozier going global, Kodaline finding fame and fortune, The Strypes kicking arse and taking names, old favorites Ash releasing a new album and now these newcomers The Academic and their meteoric rise. Different (March’15) is an indie rock love song. What elevates it above the norm is the passion in it. There’s no tongue in cheek or sly winks to the audience. No overwrought love for all in the world manifest in cheesy generalizations, bubbly pop, handclaps and choral choruses.

 

 

No. Different has a singleness of purpose both in music and lyric. “I want you, I know that you’re different”. It’s passionate. It’s personal. By the second verse the girl’s clothes are off and that’s as good a metaphor as any to this tunes direct approach. Barely pausing to toss off “Ah hah hahs” this is a tune where the band goes straight for the heart just like the protagonist. Similarities to northern English bands exist but in truth the best thing about The Academic is they are rousingly unique. No messing about, Different is one of the best indie songs of 2015.

“There’s a hurricane of roses on my back”

 

The Academic are an Irish band from Mullingar, a small town in Ireland. They started making music to love in 2013. Different is the debut single off their first EP of the same name (April’15).

Shit you need to know:

Of the song Different this chap said it’s “…a short and snappy hook-laden pop rock song with a chorus that has “future festival anthem” written all over it.”

I'll be buggered if I know what their influences are but they might not hate Bruce Springsteen.

The band have been compared to Kings of Leon. Other comparisons include Catfish and the Bottlemen, The 1975 and Kodaline.

The band have opened for The Pixies and Twenty One Pilots.

Their home town Mullingar is famous for the local music venue The Stables and as the home of One Direction band member Niall Horan.

The Academic do a ‘fuck yeah it’s better’ cover of Taylor Swift Style.

The music press and the music industry are very excited about the bands future, flying lots of labels reps to their gigs and signing them to an international publishing company.

More great The Academic songs are Bear Claws, Girlfriend and Forrest.

 

Sloppy seconds is reserved for Welsh alternative rockers The Alarm and this piece of passionate gold, the live recording of Rescue Me (1987).

About 6.10 for the singalong and all in, it's of religious quality.

“The people tonight are the future of rock n roll”

 

 
 

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - I'm From Barcelona

I’m From Barcelona's Violins (Feb’15) is quite similar to Great Lake Swimmer’s Zero In The City; an indie pop tune with folk and orchestral flourishes. The singer has a pleading/sick-puppy sound and the song deals with heartache and existential thoughts.

Violins is more of a straight up indie pop tune despite it's quirks though. Hand-claps, acoustic guitar and a multitude of vocals keep the tune zipping along providing a tasty juxtaposition with the maudlin tone and lyrics. Everyone needs a pause between the hard pumping happy-as-fuck indie tunes, and this little number has enough strange on the side to be both that and one of the best indie songs of 2015.

“Old heartaches come crashing down

I need the violins, oh violins”

Violins is the first song off the Swedish bands fifth album Growing Up Is For Trees (March’15). I'm From Barcelona are an indie pop collective whose numbers have fluctuated from sixteen up to twenty nine members and are led by singer and songwriter Emanuel Lundgren. They started the grand experiment in 2005.

Shit you need to know:

I'm From Barcelona describe Violins as “a pure melodic pop song”.Violins and Growing Up Is For Trees were recorded 'live' instead of separately recording peoples parts.

This reviewer felt I'm From Barcelona's later albums "combine the euphoria with melancholy in a way."

Emanuel Lundgren was inspired by American rock of the late 50's and early 60's like Fats Domino and Little Richard.

I'm From Barcelona have been compared to The Polyphonic Spree and Hidden Camera and their music described as "glorious indie-pop symphonies".

Emanuel Lindgren was into Heavy Metal as a youngster and feels that influences his strong choruses.

Jacob Sollenberg, the clarinet player in the band, is a fireman.

If you want some more kooky, bubbly pop, try the brilliant Sirens or Always Spring.

I'm From Barcelona have mentioned being influenced by the indie pop band The Chills who are from Dunedin, New Zealand (as am I). Here is The Chills eponymous track I Love My Leather Jacket (1986).

The jacket was given to the singer Martin Phillips by his drummer who died of cancer. Martin unfortunately died in 2024 and he once taught me guitar at my school (Otago Boys High School). We played his song Doldrums. Thank you Martin.

“I wear my leather jacket like a great big hug
Radiating charm - a living cloak of luck
It's the only concrete link with an absent friend”

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Record/Start

Remember the first time you heard Weezer? If it was an outrageously joyful moment read no further. Just press play on Record/Start’s Rock From Afar (Feb’15). This is the same hard edge of indie rock, pop-punk, infused with 60’s surf pop melodies.

Rock From Afar opens with a glockenspiel playing the melody and flows into a hard rocking groove. The rest of the song is there, pack full of sweet as saccharine Beach Boys vocal harmonies and Weezer flourishes. A tune with some sensitive sentiments about wanting to be popular by manipulating appearances, nonetheless it rocks so hard you could bounce a dime off its ass, and sure as shit is one of the best indie songs of 2015.

“Then late at night we jumped the fence and got wasted in the pool

I had so much time for you, girl I wished you felt it too

But damn, one heart flutters, not two"

Rock From Afar is a double A side single from the Brighton one man band Record/Start that is Simon Callow. He is a multi-instrumentalist who has been recording his own music and releasing it since early 2014.

Shit you need to know:

Rock From Afar was touted by this reviewer as the “perfect feel-good anthem with driving guitars and beautiful layered vocals.”

This person thought “The softer touches are what makes the song stand out so much.”

Record/Start's newer influences include M83, The Joy Formidible and Metz.

Record/Start's older influences are 18 Wheeler, Silver Sun, ELO, Led Zeppelin, The Pixies and the Beach Boys.

Record/Start have been compared with Weezer, Waters and PAWS. Other comparisons are Los Compesinos! and early Blur.

Music industry types have a hard-on for this music. Simon was approached by Post/Pop Records, who release The Subways and Ash, to record for them. A Japanese label, This Time Records, also took an interest and released his tune.

Simon played in a Manchester alternative rock band Carlis Star before striking out on his tod.

So you’re looking for more cock-punching hard-rocking tunes by Record/Start?Try Followay or Electric Minds. Make yourself happy you did. The man is a genius.

Whilst reminiscing about Weezer’s Blue Album I was reminded of this cut from the English (albeit formed in New York) alternative rock band Spacehog and their exceptional hit emblematic of the times In The Meantime (1995).

“And in the end we shall achieve in time, the thing we call divine,
When all the stars will smile for me”

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Selaphonic

Listening to Selahphonic’s Heartbreak Heartbreak(March’15) sent me on a trawl through British 80’s pop trying to find something. From The Pet Shop Boys to The Communards to Boy George and a lot in between. I never did find what I was looking for. Unless you can count a healthy appreciation for how much better today’s music is.

So about Heartbreak Heartbreak, I’ll say this. The chorus is a ripper. A shoutalong chorus, “New York, New York you seem alright”. Great campy fun. The rest is lightweight and I could live without it. Lots of synths and girly man vocals. I could live without but I’d rather not because this song is big sunshiny fun and that’s enough to make this one of the best indie songs of 2015.

“She stares at me while watching another
In a not so subtle way
Her eyes commit but my fear says another”

 

 

Selahphonic are an indie electro pop band originally from Melbourne but now playing out of the Sunshine Coast, Australia. The band started in 2011 according to their Facebook page. Heartbreak Heartbreak is a stand-alone single and they have a long player Elephantt in the vault.

Shit you need to know:

This reviewer said Heartbreak Heartbreak has a “…sophisticated and contemporary vibe”.

The bands website describes the song as “when 80’s synthesizers and chimey guitars birth indie­ pop love children in the peak of summertime.”

The bands influences are Two Door Cinema Club, The Killers, Bleachers, Walk the Moon, Phoenix, The Wombats, Calvin Harris, Temper Trap, Story of the Year, Art vs Science, Radiohead, Muse and Pink Floyd.

Selahphonic describe their music as “...four-on-the-floor beats celebrate analog synths and chimey guitar hooks.”

Selahphonic have played in many high schools with the aim of “…sparking conversation around issues like identity, loneliness, bullying, sexuality and hope.” They are happy clappys.

Talking about their gigs this band member said it's great to give people the freedom to dance and cut loose and “when the ribbons come out, that’s when it just starts getting plain weird, but whatever.”

For more Selahphonic sunshine happy goodness try “Kids of Hollywood.”

The double team is a bit of a manly palate cleanser. Here is the Sydney rock band Sick Puppies and their monster hit, the rebel rouser Riptide (2011).

“ I ... I won't justify...
The way I live my life
'Cause I'm the one livin' it...
Feelin' it... tastin' it…