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. 

America's 3 Hottest Punk Bands At The Minute In 3 Songs

1.    Sheer Mag - Nobody's Baby.

Sheer Mag burn out of Philadelphia and have three short players to their name. Nobody's Baby (March'16) is off the third EP III (March'16). Pitchfork said Nobody's Baby has “hip shaking hooks and burly riffs” and Brooklyn Vegan hailed it as “a fiery, punchy mission statement with a sing-along chorus.”

 

Sheer Mag have been compared to MC5 and Thin Lizzy. Sheer Mag's main influences are Drive-In, Bear Vs Shark, Thin Lizzy, Meatloaf and Fleetwood Mac. Sheer Mag marry seventies classic rock riffs to a roaring punk engine and Nobody's Baby's fiery vocals are belted out with furious indignation. A treasure.

 

“Wanting you so bad it hurts”

 

 

 

 
2. Public Access TV - In Love And Alone.

 

 

Public Access TV are from New York City and have one short player and a few singles behind them. In Love And Alone (Nov'15) is a double A side single. NME declared their love for the band saying they have “already proved the goldmine of rock’n’roll classics has yet to run dry” and DIY hailed In Love And Alone as “their most unhinged, all-out rock’n’roll single yet.”

 

Public Access TV sound like The Ramones, The Strokes and Palma Violets. Their main influences are The Strokes, Johnny Thunders, Lou Reed, Interpol and The Ramones. Public Access TV bring the urgency of punk to more complex post-punk melodies. In Love And Alone  is raw and modern, has grit and polish, the sound of the soccer stadium emptying into the fine city streets.

 

“She is lost and she is scared now,

I should ask myself why and how”

 

 

 

3.    PARTYBABY - Your Old Man.

 

 

 

PARTYBABY are from Los Angeles and have three big singles on their roll of honor. Your Old Man (Oct'15) was the second of these massive missives. The Fat Angel Sings said Your Old Man is “an intoxicating blend of frazzled punk and impossibly infectious melodic refrains” and DIY reckoned it is “snarling punk rock with a tab of anthemia.”

 

PARTYBABY have been compared to FIDLAR and SWMRS. The band's influences are band like Everclear, Primal Scream and SWMRS. Noah Gersh was a member of Portugal. The Man and Jamie Shefman is most famous for engineering and producing for 30 Seconds To Mars. PARTYBABY elevate their garage punk attack with soaring glam rock and pop sensibilities. Your Old Man blows out the cobwebs.

 

“Does he understand what we do on the weekends?”

 

 

 

 



Sheer Mag - Nobody's Baby

1.    Who are these heroes?

Sheer Mag are a punk rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with three E.P.’s on their roll of honor. Nobody’s Baby (March’16) is the second single to come kicking off the third short player III (March’16).


2. What kind of slice of heaven is Nobody’s Baby?

Nobody’s Baby is packed to the gunnels with gritty rock riffs that drive this baby into the realms of divine. Fiery lyrics are delivered with punk passion and an undercurrent of fury. Nobody’s Baby is the guitar led punk perfection.

3. Who do Sheer Mag sound akin to?

Pitchfork are feeling MC5 and Thin Lizzy.

 4. What have the bone idle muppets in the press to say about Nobody’s Baby?

“Hip shaking hooks and burly riffs” – Pitchfork.

“A fiery, punchy mission statement with a sing-along chorus” – Brooklyn Vegan.

“Raw and hooky” – Stereogum.

5. Who puts the grind in Sheer Mag’s riffs?

Sheer Mag are influenced by Drive-In, Bear vs Shark, Thin Lizzy, Abba and Fleetwood Mac.
The singer Tina Halladay is a big fan of Meatloaf.

6. Why should I give Nobody’s Baby a whip past the ears?

Nobody’s Baby has a punk heart married to a seventies classic rock riff body and a thick wedge of indignation in the vocals. Pure genius packed full of rampant riffery.

7. Do Sheer Mag have any more of this magnificience?

Oh by golly they do. FanThe Flames is a searing indictment of the gentrification of inner city neighborhoods and chock full of riffs.


8. Any more words about these punk heroes?

Sheer Mag have found fame the old school way playing basements and making their own music in the bedroom while taking big swings at the establishment.

“Wanting you so bad it hurts”

Machineheart are an indie pop band from Tacome, Washington and Los Angleles, California, who have been together since 2013. With one short player and one single in their resume Circles (2015) was their debut single and a piece of instantly addictive pop gold.

“If you’re searching for a way out, you gotta take a new road”