Preview: Jenny and Johnny – I’m Having Fun Now
August 3rd, 2010 | by Jess Alatorre | published in female vocalists, indie pop | 2 comments
Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley and her singer/song writer boyfriend, Johnathan Rice, have teamed up as the newest girl-boy duo on the music scene. Will Jenny and Johnny give She & Him a run for their money? (Let’s hope so!) Already the surf inspired, playful indie tunes are creating a buzz, and so far, just two songs have been released from the forthcoming LP.
Best Friends Forever – Romance Conflict Adventure
July 30th, 2010 | by Kathlee Cleveland | published in acoustic, female vocalists, garage, indie pop, punk | 2 comments
In addition to the charmingly accessible lyrics, BFF relishes in camaraderie with audience members and the feeling of sing-along rather than individualism. All of their songs are grungy, raw, and easy to sing to, often with a choir of background singers. I think it gives the entire album a warmth that is often missing from rock (and punk rock, if you can consider this punk).
July 27th, 2010 | by Kathlee Cleveland | published in alternative, rock, punk, etc., female vocalists, indie pop | 2 comments
Bethany Cosentino (AKA Pocohaunted and now Best Coast) began recording songs at 17, and after being frightened by attention from major record labels (a hipster’s worst fear!!), she decided to go from making typical boring pop music to pop music about smoking weed and wanting to make out with boys. I kinda dig her for that. I also like her for making one of the best albums this summer, for the summer.
July 19th, 2010 | by Taylor Fife | published in dreamwave/chillwave, electro pop, indie pop, trip hop | 4 comments
Baths’ first full-length, Cerulean, is creative electropop features the shuffling, ratcheting rhythms of other L.A. experimental electronica and dubstep artists like Flying Lotus and Shlomo. But instead of wobbling basslines and peculiar sounds, Baths layers poppy synth hooks, catchy vocals, and easy to digest samples over his broken beats.
June 23rd, 2010 | by Taylor Fife | published in 80s, indie pop, post-punk, psychedelic | 4 comments
Magic Bullets’ newest album is jangly pop masterpiece with a decent chance of getting you to sit up in your chair and ask ‘How have I not listened to this before?’ As a newer band on a smaller label, Magic Bullets hasn’t had much of a chance to develop a following, but with such an earnest and pleasant sound they’re sure to be more than a few people’s favorite band by the end of the year.
Preview: Stars – The Five Ghosts
June 18th, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in experimental, indie pop | 5 comments
[The Five Ghosts] isn’t stale like Minus the Bear’s latest album; it doesn’t attempt to pretentiously deny past successful formulas like oh, say, MGMT did; and finally, the songs keep me on my toes, which believe me, is hella important (woah, are we officially a Bay Area blog now, or what?).
June 16th, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in experimental, indie pop, indie rock | 2 comments
Back in March we covered a release from Mesita that I considered noteworthy for two reasons: 1) it was one of the first user-submissions I had reviewed and 2) it showed a hell of a lot of potential. Now, only three months later, James Cooley has given us a new song “Your Free Spirit” off of [...]
June 13th, 2010 | by Jason Grishkoff | published in indie pop, indie rock | no comments
The day I first listened to new album “Say It” by Born Ruffians was also the first day that I saw them live. Believe it or not, the two events were completely unrelated. It just so happened that Indie Shuffle contributor Taylor Fife had dragged me out to see the last-ever performance by Tempo no Tempo. We had no clue who they were playing with at the time, and found ourselves surprised to see the venue’s line looping around the corner.
June 4th, 2010 | by Music Fan's Mic | published in experimental, indie pop | 1 comment
There’s so much ground covered here that you can’t help but sit up and listen. In the closer ‘Take Your Time (Coming Home)’, we have a feedback-drenched epic. ‘Benson Hedges’, meanwhile, is a wildly unpredictable slice of baroque pop. Its joyous syncopated piano hook and colossal gospel-tinged chorus mark it out as a highlight.
May 6th, 2010 | by thismusicwins | published in indie pop | 6 comments
Darwin Deez is far more of a breath of fresh air in terms of mainstream entertainment than he is in musical innovation – its fair to say that the ten tracks and 32 minutes of his debut album will just about hold most people’s attention for long enough to reach second single “Radar Detector” at track nine.
