a lovely and sharp mix of grit and colour runs through today’s picks, with a smidge of guitar-led urgency and offbeat storytelling. you’re going to love them all ❤️🔥
your friend – lauren eve
lauren eve delivers a warm, soulful and heartfelt indie stunner rooted in connection and honesty
your friend quickly settles into the smoothest groove we’ve heard in months, with soft percussion and rich, melodic layers, letting the vocal take centre stage. and what a vocal it is, with lauren’s wonderful tones opening out with a tasty blend of neo-soul textures and subtle pop hooks that makes this song really, really work.
lauren eve is an exciting, emerging artist building a sound that leans into soul influences with a modern edge, and this third single marks a confident step forward. centred on love that grows from friendship, it captures a sense of closeness and sincerity that feels both personal and widely relatable. we’re really excited about this one, and it deserves to be heard very, very widely.
thank u for making this lauren eve 🙏
orange juice – sparky’s magic piano
sparky’s magic piano craft a warm off-kilter indie banger with bags of playful emotional depth
orange juice opens on a raw guitar riff before unfolding into something more layered, with dual guitars and soft harmonies giving it a loose, live feel. the sound is unpolished in a way we love, with a tasty smidge of belle and sebastian, but also while very much ploughing their own furrow. also the snare sounds great.
sparky’s magic piano are a west london collective working from a home setup, and this release signals a shift towards a more guitar-driven direction. it plays with themes of time and loneliness while keeping a light, DIY charm throughout that we really enjoy. it’s a brilliant track and i basically just want to hear a whole album of this.
thank u for making this sparky’s magic piano 🙏
don’t feel wrong – passerine
passerine build a wonderful guitar-led expansive indie soundscape that strikes right at the heart
don’t feel wrong is all about the driving, crunchy and atmospheric guitars and dynamic rhythms, creating a textured and immersive listen. i love rock with a really healthy sense of groove, and this has it in spades; and the balance between softness and weight gives the track a fluid, evolving shape. production-wise it’s great, but really the standout is the emotional vocal. it’s great.
passerine are an arkansas-based group formed between friends, blending influences across alternative and indie spaces. this release captures their instinct for introspection and layered instrumentation, pointing towards a broad and exploratory sound. it’s really cool, and instant Spotify follow for me, and we can’t wait for more.
thank u for making this passerine 🙏
small green frog – twenny bucks
twenny bucks delivers a sharp and chaotic indie burst driven by the thiccest of riffs and frog-based h humour
small green frog hits with a fast tempo and jagged, spiky guitar work and art-pop vocal delivery, keeping things direct and unhinged in all the right ways. there’s many, many rough edges to this but every one really, really works. finished in a single day, it’s produced all crunchy, runs no longer than it needs to, and is basically a banger.
twenny bucks is a solo artist handling every part of said banger process, with this track acting as an opening statement for a wider project. produced in a shed, it leans into themes of modern pressure with a tongue-in-cheek twist, balancing noise with personality. it’s fantastic. more of this please.
thank u for making this twenny bucks 🙏
Follow Indie Bangers 26 for more of the most exciting, up and coming artists
Leave a comment