The 30 Best Indie Rock Songs of 2016 (20 - 11)

No fucking about let’s get into it.

20. Get Inuit - Pro-Procrastinator 

Get Inuit are a dirty pop band from Kent, England. They sound like Peace and VANT. Pro-Procrastinator (Nov'15) veers between bouncy English guitar pop and muscular grunge. When it's on song it kicks harder than a horse.

19. Twin Atlantic - The Chaser 

Twin Atlantic are a rock band from Glascow, England. They sound like Biffy Clyro and Muse. The Chaser (Aug'16) has a massive glam-rock riff and is a bombastic, hedonistic, party anthem. 

18. Pop Cult - Feels Right  

Pop Cult are an indie rock revivalist group from Sunshine Coast, Australia. They sound like The Stone Roses and Primal Scream. Feels Right (April'16) is retro-Manchester indie so righteous you'll find religion, and has an intense vocals and hand claps only breakdown. 

17. Sheer Mag - Nobody's Baby 

Sheer Mag are a punk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They sound like MC5 and Thin Lizzy. Nobody's Baby (March'16) is packed to the gunnels with 70's classic rock riffs and the fiery lyrics are delivered with fury. Gritty. 

16. INHEAVEN - Baby's Alright 

INHEAVEN are an indie rock band from South London. They sound like The Pixies and My Bloody Valentine. Baby's Alright (Feb'16) is a catchy post-punk tune with a harsh word to say about war-mongering and a me-first generation. 

15. SPOOKYLAND - Big Head  

SPOOKYLAND are an indie rock band from Sydney, Australia. They sound like Oasis and Neil Young. Big Head (March'16) is a stadium rocker with ringing riffs and pissy vocals that take a savage swipe at gender issues.

14. Jamie T - Tescoland  

Jamie T is an indie rocker/alternative hip hop artist from London, England. He sounds like The Clash and Rat Boy. Tescoland (Sept'16) is an upbeat, ska-tinged, classic punk song.

13. Animal House - Domino 

Animal House are a garage rock band from Brisbane, Australia. They sound like The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys. Domino (Oct'16) is the perfect mix of sixties garage and new century indie with a chorus as catchy as chlamydia. 

12.Spring King - Detroit  

Spring King are a post-punk band from Manchester, England. They sound like Public Access TV and FIDLAR. Detroit (May'16) is a primal four-to-the-floor rocker that crackles with energy.

 11. OTHERKIN - I Was Born 

OTHERKIN are a grunge pop band from Dublin, Ireland. They sound like The Vaccines and VANT. I Was Born (Feb'16) is a snappy indie rocker with more bite than a crocodile at Disneyland. 

Pop Cult - Sunday Mourning

1.    Who are these rock heroes? 

Behold the majesty of Pop Cult an indie rock-revivalist band from the Sunshine Coast, Australia. The champs have had their shoulder to the musical wheel since 2015 and Sunday Mourning (Sept'16) is their third nugget of gold. Sunday Mourning is the lead single from Pop Cult's debut E.P. Cult Classics (Nov’16). 

2. What kind of magic are they weaving this time around?

Sunday Mourning is gentle pop-rock comedown music that slides quietly along infecting your soul. Harks back to English indie of the 90's and grunge in equal measure.

3. Who do Pop Cult sound like? 

The Smashing Pumpkins, The Las, Primal Scream, Oasis, The Who and The Rolling Stones.

4. What have the freedom fighters in the press said about Sunday Mourning?

“Pretty and melodic on the surface but dealing with darker themes underneath” – The Music.

“Quirky indie music that gets stuck in your head” – UK Mix Forums.

“A great pop song with the catchiest of hooks” – Third Outing.

5. Which bands are Pop Cult followers of?

Some of the main Pop Cult influences are E.L.O. , T. Rex, The Velvet Underground, Big Star and Teenage Fanclub.  


6. Why should I give Sunday Mourning a whirl?

Because you love 90's indie and grunge and need a comedown melody.


7. Do Pop Cult have any other good tunes?

Fuck yes. Feels Right is a Primal Scream-esque, gospel tinged, retro-classic. Gotta Keep Lovin' is a cruisy indie rocker with a healthy lash of Madchester. 

8. Any more words chief?

Not a dilly.

“It’s Sunday morning and I feel so low” 

The Picturebooks are a German garage blues-rock duo. Playing together since 2005 they have five long players on the books. The Picturebooks mind of The Kills, The Black Keys or The White Stripes; but with grit. Your Kisses Burn Like Fire is the lead single from the album Imaginary Horse. Punk News called the album “vicious, modern rock and roll” and New Noise Magazine said the song, “oozes sensuality, starting slow and smooth before rising into a roaring climax, that levels off again into a wave of dirty blues rock.”

“Drunk and sunken pride”

Pop Cult - Feels Right

1.    Who are these foot soldiers of rock’n’roll?

Pop Cult are an indie rock band from Queensland, Australia. Feels Right (March'16) is the second single to soar off their as yet unnamed debut EP.


2. What’s cooking?

Feels Right slides along all retro trippy English inde vibes, heavy bass and background guitar flourishes. The chorus steps it on up and it goes a little gospel in the breakdown with handclaps. Familar but new.


3. Who do Pop Cult sound like?

Primal Scream, Teenage Fan Club and a splash of The Happy Mondays. Rolling Stone Australia were feeling Oasis and The Who. Trippers.


4. What have the press said about Feels Right?

“On the fast track to become Aussie indie rock royalty” – AAA Backstage.

“Oozing early 90’s rock, easy guitars and gospel type harmonies” – Rabbit Radio.

“The chorus is an absolute belter” – Adam Not Eve.

5. Which bands put the belt into Pop Cult’s belters?

Pop Cult’s main influences are The Velvet Undergound, Big Star, Teenage Fanclub and Electric Light Orchestra.


6. Why should I give Feels Right a rumble?

Feels Right pushes all the right retro-nineties buttons with fresh excitement and a message about rising up for the good fight.


7. Do Pop Cult have any more good ones?

The first single Gotta Keep Lovin' is a lovely little number with more easy-going English indie stylings.


8. Any more words?

Elliot Heinrich has said Feels Right is a “gospel jam, with a subversive social commentary. We’re encouraged to be passive and accept the way things are, but our generation have more power than ever to question and change things.”
 

“Do what feels wrong until it feels right”

Primal Scream are an indie rock band from Glascow, Scotland. Formed in 1982 they have eleven long players in the vault and are still going strong. Screamadelica (1991) is their most popular album, selling 3 million copies, and Movin On Up is track one on the album. Pitchfork called Movin’ On Up an “immense dance-rock single” and Sreamadelica “half strutting with confidence, half yearning for transcendence.”

“I’m moving on up now, getting out of the darkness”