The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Passion Pit

Passion Pit are super popular. 2012’s Take A Walk has 21 million You Tube plays to date and Carried Away has 11 million. Well Until We Can’t (Let's Go) (Apr’15) is the third single off the new album Kindred (Apr’15) and has only has 350 000 plays so quite a reverse you might imagine. Except while this is another tune that built up slowly on me like dick cheese, this is the best Passion Pit tune by donkeys miles. Even better than February’s release Where The Sky Hangs and that’s saying something. Where The Sky Hangs has a sexy, slinky groove but Until We Can’t (Let's Go) is the peak of a rise, full of jubilant hands in the air excitement. Under The Gun called Until We Can't “a bombastic, synth-heavy dance party” and NPR said it's “a euphoric anthem.”
 

 

Passion Pit is Michael Angelakos, an electric indie-pop musician from Cambridge, Massachusetts who has been putting grooves in vinyl since 2007. He has a four piece touring band. R Kelly and Usher are Mr Angleakos' big influences and he listens to a lot of hip hop and rhythm and blues. His music has been compared to Madeon, Zedd and 1989 era Taylor Swift. Until We Can't (Let's Go) is a song about escaping physical confinement and the positive effect it has on mental well-being. Or, presumably, about how we project negative thoughts on our surroundings. The media like to make a lot out of the fact Michael Angelakos has a bi-polar disorder. Until We Can't is all big synths and drum but it's the singer's phrasing in the bridge that elevates this into the stratosphere. Until We Can't (Let's Go) is as sticky as a gypsy in the tax office and one of the best indie songs of 2015.
 

“Somebody else told me something about
Where you live can cause you suffering”

 

 

Shit you need to know:

Exclaim called Until You Can’t (Let’s Go) “a bombastic tune” and Consequence of Sound were sure it's the best track on the album.

Until We Can't (Let's Go) was compared to Sun City by Indie Shuffle.

Lotus Land called the new long player Kindred, "the quintessence of joy" and Spin said it's “joyfully, euphorically saccharine.”

Not everyone has a hard-on for the band. Rolling Stone thought it's, “so relentlessly up, it starts to feel suffocating,” and Slant Magazine condemned it as “insufferably smug.”

Phoenix is one of Michael Angelakos's favorite bands and the whole band love Michael Jackson.

Passion Pit covered the Smashing Pumpkin’s iconic Tonight, Tonight in 2010.

The band’s name, Passion Pit, refers to drive-in movie theatres.

 

 

The double dip is random as fuck. An indie pop gem from English indie-pop duo Summer Camp. Bad Love (May’15) is the title track from their third long album.
 

“My love was tainted, my love was flawed”


 

 

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - San Cisco

San Cisco released Run on Nov ’14 so there’s that but, as it was the shock troops of a triumvirate of triumphant singles from their shit-hot 2015 album Gracetown (April'15), let’s roll on. San Cisco are an indie pop band from Fremantle, West Australia, and like skate-boarding and gaming. They have been compared to The Drums, The Flaming Lips and Vampire Weekend. Their influences are MGMT, Vampire Weekend and The Flaming Lips. The AU Review said Run is "...a classic, upbeat indie bop-along track indicative of the infectious grooves that the band has become known for..." and the album Gracetown is "...a record that is fresh and exciting, while still paying homage to the unique sound..."

 

Run is another song that grew on me slowly like cock rot. It's got this funky, heavy breathing for percussion and a fat beat that minds more than a smidge of Gorillaz Feel Good Inc and somehow I conflated the Isabella of this tune with Arabella in the Arctic Monkey's song. Easy done. Anyway the song is about chasing a lady above your weight-class. The band have said Run is "...a darker, dancier number than usual..." and has a "bangin riff." It does, it bangs harder than sailor in Bangkok on two days leave. With a fat groove and some dirty guitars in support Run is one of the best indie songs of 2015.

“Gave my heart to Isabella,
She's bad news but I'm no better”


 

 

Shit you need to know:

Run is the lead single from San Cisco's second album Gracetown.

The three men in the band went to school together and played in school bands.

The band were originally known as King George but a survey of friends and family persuaded them to change it to San Cisco, because it has a “clean slate.”

When The Gramophone Rings said Run is "a fun and flirty tune" and "the perfect dash of summer warmth."

Gracetown was produced by Steve Schram who has bent his back for bands like Paul Kelly, Little Birdy, The Cat Empire and Shihad.



Songs that Run is similar to are Al Bairre Bungalow, The 1975 Chocolate, and The Jungle Giants She’s A Riot and Sweet Emotion by The Kooks according to Indie Shuffle.

I was minded of Chet Faker's Drop The Game, Flume's Holdin On and Passion Pit's Where The Sky Hangs.

Bass player Nick Gardner accidentally shot himself in the foot when rabbit shooting at a friend's farm.

In 2013 San Cisco toured the US on fluffer duty for The Vaccines.

The band have a popular cover of Daft Punk's Lucky recorded on iconic radio program Like A Version on Australia's Triple J (2013).

If you need more of San Cisco's sweet goodness try the sublime Magic, fantastic Too Much Time Together or the wonderful Bitter Winter.

 

Slippery seconds is from Brooklyn indie pop duo Matt and Kim. The couple have been making sweet music together since 2004 and quickly found mass popularity, touring in 2013 with Passion Pit and fronting Fall Out Boy shows in 2014. Matt and Kim have five albums on the shelf and Hey Now came bubbling off their fifth New Glow (2015) and will make you jump around like you've got a ferret in your pants and it's commando Monday.

“Oh you’re the troubles that I always find

But if you died I’d die right by your side”

 

 

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Foals

It took me a long time to release the merits of English indie rock band Foals but they are profound and, just like cock rash, it grows slowly on you without noticing and it's lots of fun getting it. Of course I quite liked Inhaler, My Number and Mountain At My Gates, but What Went Down (Jun’15) is a fucking cunt punt, a belter. What Went Down is the title track from Foals fourth album, and one that's set to surpass the rock hard brilliance of their third table-topping album Holy Fire (2013). 

But what would you expect from a band with three gold albums under their belt, who beat out The Arctic Monkeys for best live act 2013 and took the piss out of them at the awards show? Good bastards. A band that put on an 'unforgettable show' in Auckland, New Zealand where their singer told the security to go fornicate with themselves, to the crowds loud approval. A band with the NME 2013 track of the year for Inhaler (2012). A band Clash magazine call "...nothing less than sensational" and a band who fronted up to Kanye West and told him to pull his head out of his arse. A band whose new album went number one in the UK in September. These are the new pretenders to the throne of British Rock and Roll. They are Foals.

 

 

 

Foals are an indie pop-rock band from Oxford, England. What Went Down is the first single from the same titled album What Went Down (Aug’15). NME called the band "desert rock goliaths" and of the tune What Went Down, NME  made mention of the songs "...massive, fucking heavy cavern rock riffs, the size of cathedrals and the weight of God’s balls." Clash magazine called What Went Down both "unbelievably aggressive" and "feral." 

Similar to other Foal's songs What Went Down builds up hard and fast like plaque on a junkies teeth. It doesn't have the naked aggression of Pretty Vicious's National Plastics but it doesn't need to. If Foals are taking a rarely used musical muscle out for exercise in this tune then they need to get out for a stretch more often. If this is what the kids are listening to rock and roll is in a safe pair of hands, What Went Down is one of the best indie songs of 2015.
 

“I fell for a girl with a port-wine stain

I knew her initials but never her name”

 

 

Shit you need to know:

What When Down was recorded by James Ford, the ‘fifth Arctic Monkey,’ who has put nose to grind for the Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons, Mumford & Sons and is one half of Simian Mobile Disco.

Their music was called "an arena-funk hybrid" by Pitchfork.

Pop Matters said they have "infectious songs with arena-sized choruses."

NME called Foals, "...the most inspired and inspirational band of their generation."

Foals recent music has been compared to The Black Keys by NME, The Red Hot Chili Peppers by Pitchfork and they sound a lot like the Arctic Monkeys to me at the minute.

The singer said the bands early influences were Fugazi, Sonic Youth, The Pixies, Nirvana and dance music.

More recently the singer Yannis Philippakis said more pertinantly on the topic of the band's influences to the Independent "...we listen to African music, folk, hip-hop because that is what 21st-century multicultural UK society is like and it should be revelled in." 

Pitchfork called the new album What Went Down “...their most consistent, steady-handed work yet,” but not everyone is convinced. Pop Matters opined that it is just "...yet another anchoring point in Foals slow downward trajectory."

The singer Yannis Philippakis called the new album “lean” and “punchy”.

Clash Magazine said What Went Down is “... a hugely accomplished effort from one of Britains best bands.”

The singer chooses not to have a television in the house.

They did a cover of Mark Ronson's Daffodils (Aug’15) for legendary Aussie alternative radio program Triple J’s ‘Like A Version’.

The band were on fluffer duties for Janes Addiction this month.

 

If you're feeling it try more Foals crackers like the legendary Mountain At My Gates or for something funkier Inhaler or even My Number.

 

 

Todays slippery seconds is Spiderbait, the second best Australian alternative rock band to ever walk the earth, with an often huge glam-rock sound, playing together since 1989. They have a massive list of must have songs from Shazam to Buy Me A Pony to Outta My Head. Spiderbait hit the big time and international recognition with their soundtrack favorite, their hard rocking cover of Ram Jam’s Black Betty. But Spiderbait's best is the big nasty groove of Stevie (2011).

“Take me out for tea
There's a little place that I know you might like to be”


 



 

 

 

 

 



The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Regions

Regions are an unsigned indie rock four piece from London. They are way hard to google and not to be confused for The North Carolina heavy metal band of the same name, so you might need to re-think that one men. But pressing ahead, Divided (Oct’15) is awesome so lets soldier on. The song is the band’s second release since forming in 2014 and is featured by the priestess of great indie taste, Fancy Melodic, in another of her fantastic indie rock compilations, October 2015. It also got cherry-picked by YouTube channel Bandit Tunes. The song was recorded at Westpoint Studios in Shepherds Bush, West London, where legends like The Killers, The Kooks, Primal Scream and Kanye West have all put their nose to the grind. In fact Regions took a photo, as you do, with Kanye West while he was there.

 

 

The song Divided starts out with a big indie tribal drum beat and dark atmospheric lyrics about a failed relationship, “I’m still divided by the time we spent” and “cut me up again we’re in pieces”, but is juxtoposed with some slinky ska on the synths that sent me searching for the English ska band The Specials and their 1979 UK chart-topper A Message To You, Rudy. Good times that tune. Divided ends with a satisfyingly noisy all in with more scintillating noodling guitar that illuminates the whole song. The chorus is so contagious it should come with free condoms but it's the diverse musical textures that makes Divided stand out. Divided comes surging out of the traps to announce itself as one of the best indie songs of 2015.

“If this is love then I don’t know what it is”

 

Shit you need to know:

Divided is the title track off their single release. The B-side is called Do You Need Me?

The new tunes took ten months in the studio to record.

The band's debut release was a five track self-titled short player Regions (Aug'14).

The drummer Alejo Sonnenberg directed their debut music video Go Down (Mar’15), the first track on their debut E.P.

The band have played in support of great Newcastle indie-rock band Street Party In Soho.

Regions have also been on fluffer duties for London indie-rock band House of Lions.

 

The band has a really good acoustic version of their song Go Down (Nov’14).

If you want to hear more from Regions check out the B-side to the single, Do You Need Me?


 

 

 

Slippery seconds is from American indie folk-rocker Katie Herzig and her 2011 spectacular Free My Mind.

 “My mind is like a havy hand

Always making more of what really happened"

 

 

 

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - King No-One

King No-One Constellations (Sept’15) has been called "upbeat and intoxicating" by Bitter Sweet Symphonies and "swimming in encapsulating bluesy bass, the track dives the ears into sweet indie-pop contagion..." Personally I like it a lot. King No-One are teenagers from York, England, who started playing in 2012 and It's All Indie said they are "suited to a stadium" and have "a belter of a tune."

 

 

King No-One are already have two short-players under their belt and Constellations is the title track of their second EP. They have been compared to Suede and Radiohead by Listen With Monger who went on to say Constellations has a "...sexy, snaking, slinky guitar riff and some indie-disco swagger."  The band are influenced by the likes of Swim Deep, The Killers and Vampire Weekend. Constellations is indie rock at it's best, mixing the finest traditions of both indie-pop and driving guitar rock. It's the kind of song that saunters into the bar wearing snake-skin boots and a shit-eating grin, and smelling of last night’s girl. I'd bet dimes to dollars that Constellations is one of the best indie songs of 2015.

“The abstract observaton

I never want to let it go”

 

 

Shit you need to know:

In 2013 King No-One won a Leed’s battle of the bands and went on to play the Leeds and Reading Festivals.

They have been described as "...Catfish & The Bottlemen meets Earth, Wind & Fire... as energetic guitar vitality meets a dancing groove." They have been compared to Radio Head who they are fans of.

Other influences are The Arctic Monkeys, Ian Brown, Shed Seven, The Strokes and Franz Ferdianand.

The BBC reviewer Alan Raw said King No-One are "...incredibly tight, really professional and a brilliant band."
King No-One toured supporting popular English indie rock band Embrace.

The band are well known for busking around their hometown York.

The band are tipped for big things but they will play house parties! For real.

If you need more scintillating indie rock from King No-One check out the live version of "Constellations" or this barn burner, "Millenium" (Mar'14).

Todays follow up is from “epic purveyors of melodically charged alternative pop” London indie pop rockers Longfellow. Influenced by Jeff Lyne, Tom Petty and Toto, they are one of the greatest, unheralded, bands I have ever heard.  This beautiful and emotive song, Siamese Lover, was released in January 2014 and was one of their earliest singles.

 

 

The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Nathaniel Rateliff

Nathaniel Rateliff is a soul singer from Denver who has been making music for more than 20 years but his career switched to nitro when he pressed into service a seven piece band called the Night Sweats and released Son Of A Bitch (July’15).  The LA Times said it’s a “...flawless, once-in-a-blue-moon melding of supercharged summer rave-up (and) audience singalong” and What The Ruckus was sure it's “soul perfection.” The band's music is described by Gig Wise as “...a tour de force of electric energy that fuses the most accessible facets of modern American soul, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll.”

 

 

 

Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats are inspired by music like The Platters, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Nathaniel Rateliff is often compared to Van Morrison and the band’s sound to Booker T and The MG’s.  Son Of A Bitch or S.O.B. as it’s officially known as, is about a piss artist with a broken heart. But women come and women go but the piss is always there. It’s all handclaps and singalong phrasing and is as fun as fuck. Rousing gospel meets rhythm and blues with rock trimmings. Get yer jive on because S.O.B. is one of the best indie songs of 2015.

 

“Son of a bitch, give me a drink
One more night escaping me”

 

 Shit you need to know:
 

The song S.O.B is the first single off Nathaniel Rateliff’s fourth album Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (Aug’15), but the debut for his collaboration with the Night Sweats.

Son Of A Bitch has been called “anthemic” and “...the catchiest song he’s ever recorded” by Hey Reverb.

N.P.R said the new album was “an upbeat old-time dance record” and “vintage soul.”

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats was produced by indie pop rocker Richard Swift  who has done graft for The Shins and Foxygen.

Nathaniel Rateliff is influenced by The Platters, The Moonglows, The Soul Stirrers, Sam and Dave, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, The Allman Brothers, Booker T & The MG's.

Nathaniel Rateliff has mad love for The Band, Damien Jurado and Bob Dylan.

The band are signed to Stax Records and have been called a “modern take on the Motown sound.”

For more good tunes from Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats try I Need Never Get Old or Howling At Nothing.

 

 

Slippery seconds is random. Canadian indie rock band The Meligrove Band went park with this brilliant song Tortaruga that sweats glam swagger. God bless these young gents.

“And no one's making it out alive,
Still we're walking, and we're running,
And we're telling all our lovers "goodbye"