May proved to be an interesting few weeks in the world of indie music. A number of bands that had previously released singles this year are finally starting to release the remainder of their scheduled albums. What this means is that there was a lot more music to sort through and enjoy. Competition was fierce, but below you’ll find what we consider the cream of the crop in our Staff Picks. Be sure to have a listen, but don’t forget to check out the lists further down of all bands making news this month. You don’t want to miss out on some great new tunes.

Staff Picks

Single(s) of the Month:

“Come to Light” – The Arkells

Kendrick

The Arkells, of Ontario, have been around a little bit too long to be wearing their indie musician badges still, but all is forgiven because they teeter on the edge of worldwide fame without any pretense. With some stereotypical Canadian restraint and humility, the thoroughly modern single "Come to Light" hit irregular electronic music distribution in the middle of May as a preview of their third full album. Original alt-rock composition and Max Kerman's powerfully emotional vocals tower high over a firm and evident foundation of soul and Motown roots, but this is no singular auteur effort. This group is a unit, a team, a real band in an indie music scene cluttered with mavericks and lone wolves. Like their R&B heroes, the Arkells show lesser performers what happens when you take excellent talents and point them all in the same direction in pursuit of the same artistic goal. The new album High Noon will sneak up on us in August.

“Relied on Luck” – Magic Carpet Factory

Lux

"Relied on Luck" is one of two new songs released in the May by four piece indie group Magic Carpet Factory. With a distinct bass-driven, bluesy aesthetic, the track is very much reminiscent of Arctic Monkeys' "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?" in both style and theme. Have a listen to "Relied on Luck" and accompanying track "Midnight Kiss" on Soundcloud. Their debut EP, Feel the Magic, can also be streamed on Soundcloud or purchased through iTunes, Amazon, or the band's website.

“2AM Drunk” – Ben Everyman (NSFW)

Brandon

It was a tough call for the best single this month. Magic Carpet Factory's "Relied on Luck" was an early favorite along with Go Life's "19". In the end, though, I chose a song with a completely different style and tone. Ben Everyman's "2AM Drunk" is a rockabilly romp in the form of a drunken tale. The repeated retelling of a night full of misfortune was just too entertaining to pass on. The track is slated to be part of the artist's album Subourbon due out this September. WARNING: The track above is NSFW.

Album(s) of the Month:

Young Lungs - Instead of Sleeping

Lux

Multi-instrumental indie rockers Instead of Sleeping recently released Young Lungs, their fourth studio effort and follow up to The Reds, The Blacks, The Grays. Funded in part by a successful Kickstarter campaign, the Pittsburgh-based quartet teamed up with Marc McClusky (Weezer, Bad Religion, Ludo, William Beckett) to create this short but sweet eight song LP, which deviates slightly from the typical mellow, melodic indie rock fare, but just enough that it's still plenty accessible. With clear, unaggressive vocals and a touch of modern electronic distortion, the album resembles releases from the likes of The Postal Service or Ra Ra Riot. Young Lungs is available for purchase on iTunes and Bandcamp, and you can give it a listen for free on Bandcamp, Allmusic, or the band's Facebook page.

Dies Irae - Josephine and the Artizans

Kendrick

Kid Rock showed the world that he could freestyle over classic rock, and Us3 brought us sophisticated rap on top of the jazz of Blue Note. Now Josephine and the Artizans puts an emcee in front of a chamber music ensemble to see if you can rap over classical music. The result is supremely weird, and bizarrely satisfying, like winter truffles in Carolina barbecue sauce. This London combo's debut EP Dies Irae rhymes over compositions borrowed from Mozart's Requiem and Clementi's Four Seasons, but the three or four minute running length of each song is a strictly modern presentation. They call the result 'Hip-Hopera' but it's nothing like the concept albums of The Roots or R. Kelly. The talent on display here raises the music above the status of a novelty gimmick, especially if you have any music education with which to discern. Is cellist Laura Seddon doing some sort of cadenza-style improvisation around those familiar melodies? The EP gets an official release date of June 2. Hear some sample tracks and a whole pile of singles here.

Mapmaker - Repeat After Me 

Brandon

Although The Golden Sounds and 9yrs both had worthy entries this month, my pick is Mapmaker from San Francisco band Repeat After Me. The album is a nine-track, eclectic mix of sounds from different eras of pop and rock. The Chicago-like brass accompaniment in "The Volcano" is equally as entertaining as the laid back sound of "Carve Out a Name". Harmonies and interesting instrumental mixes are the strengths of the album, and the four-member band also receive a number of assists from a handful of outside performers. Mapmaker is the sophomore album from the group, and I'm already curious to hear what amount of variety their next offering will include.

Other Music

Singles:

Go Life releases new chillwave single “19”

Pretty Girls release their debut single “Waiting On You, We’re Baats”

Daniel Harmann creates latest single “Anna” as part of Fastback Sessions #4

Dark rock goddess Characula releases new single “Headstone”

Electronic rock band High Horses release “Hours” with b-side track “A Thousand Eyes”

Terracotta Blue releases second single in the Purple Summer series, “My Time” featuring Emmy of White Life

Electronic pop group Insignificant Others release single “Sentimental” along with various remixes

Albums/EPs:

Toronto noise/doom quartet Godstopper release 4-track EP Children Are Our Future

German trio KLANGLIEBE release EP containing “Lost In You” and various remixes

Brooklyn-based band  Dead Leaf Echo release EP true.deep.sleeper

Swiss post-punk musician Borderline Symphony releases debut album EP1

Mr. Beard releases funk/disco/hip hop album The Reasons

Mountaineer! returns with indie folk rock album Caribou Lou

Manx singer-songwriter Clara Barker releases sophomore album Fine Arts & The Breslins

Nashville-based folk/alt rock band The Golden Sounds release new album Waiting On The Birds along with illustrated short story

Pop duo Roses & Revolutions release self-titled sophomore album

Germany’s Ruins and Portland’s Usnea release split album Halo of Flies

9yrs releases first official album This is 9 Years, a mix of pop and other styles

French multi-instrumentalist MR KITO releases new indie rock EP Where Are the Lizards?

WHOOP-Szo releases seven-track experimental folk album Niizhwaaswo

Shintaro Haioka samples various everyday objects to create new EP Rei Row

The Coppertone releases rock/blues EP The Bakery, her first new album since leaving her old label

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Here in the states we recently celebrated Thanksgiving. What was I thankful for this year? A couple of quiet days off to catch up on music! We actually had so many musicians contact us in the last couple of weeks that we’ve had to delay their inclusion in our monthly roundup until December’s issue. Grab a set of headphones, pour your warm beverage of choice, and get comfortable. Here we go…

Marcus Singletary – Live on Sunset

November 5th marked the release of LA-based musician Marcus Singletary’s latest album, Live on Sunset. The 7-track set was recorded at LA’s Whisky a Go-Go, a club that’s hosted some classic rock legends going back decades. Singletary’s classic rock and blues stylings are in full force in the live version of Mercury Blues below.

The Foreign Films - Fall of the Summer Heart

By far the longest single we’ve featured on The Indie Mine, Fall of the Summer Heart by The Foreign Films is an eight-part cycle. Filled with strong 60s pop influences, this epic track  took a full year to record and will be part of TFF’s next album, The Record Collector, due out in April of 2014.

Skytown Riot – Soul or System

Earning comparisons to Muse and Coldplay, Knoxville, TN-based Skytown Riot continued to make news this past month. The alt-rock band released their anthemic album Soul or System in mid-November. The album was the culmination of a long process which included rounding out the final lineup of band members back in 2012. The track  “Runaway Princess” has been gaining some notoriety amongst the gaming community for use in fan-made videos, and you can have a listen below.

The Almighty Rhombus – Lucid Living

The Almighty Rhombus makes a return appearance in our music roundup feature having previously caught our attention twice before. This time around the band has released a new album, Lucid Living. Whereas their previous album held a pretty consistent pop sound, this setlist is all over the place with tracks ranging from garage band to psychedelic. When it comes to the band’s sound, I honestly can’t decide if I prefer the high-energy style of songs like “Down South” or the more mellow surf band-ish “Blank”. Check out the album and decide for yourself.

Echotape – “Pushing Your Faith/The Weak”

Formed in the south of the UK in 2010, Echotape is working hard to build on the success of their debut EP, Sky Above Quarley Hill. That brings us to “Pushing Your Faith/The Weak”, the latest AA single from their Hexolagy series.  Check out the alt-rock single below, and keep an eye out for their next release,  “Last King of England”, due out in mid-December.

Forgotten Fix - Disconnect

Forgotten Fix is a very new band, having just formed in Summer 2013. What they may lack in experience, they certainly make up for in drive and efficiency. The synth rock band from Montréal managed to put together a five-track album, Disconnect, in just five days. I’ve included the single “The Problem With Unity” because it has some of the most fun synth work out of the setlist.

Kettū – “Oxytocin”

Otso “Ozoh”  Haavisto is another returning member to our music roundup feature, but this time he’s working under the project name Kettū. His first release under this new project is the glo-fi/chillwave single “Oxytocin”. I really dug his previous work back in April, and that hasn’t changed with this new track. It has that same laid-back, ambient style that I think would fit perfectly on a puzzle game soundtrack.

Ummagma – “Rotation/Live and Let Die”

It’s the month of return guests! Ummagma has been featured on the site a handful of times, and the Ukrainian-Canadian duo is back with a new single containing two tracks, “Rotation” and “Live and Let Die”. Their addictively hypnotic “dreamgaze” sound combines elements of a few different genres including electronic, synth pop, and rock. The single isn’t actually released yet (due out Dec. 9th), but you can have a listen to “Rotation” early.

Clockwork Noise – Whethermachines

While Clockwork Noise released their debut album Whethermachines back in May, it was still a work-in-progress. November saw that project reach its culmination with the release of the final track “The Tourists”. The band likes to experiment with the juxtaposition of opposites, and that’s never more apparent than with the infusion of string instrumentation into the modern, alt-rock “A Wake Up Serenade”.

JproD – “A Million Feelings”

JproD is a rap/hip-hop artist from the New England area.  As with many indie artists, JproD bases his music off of his lifestyle and life experiences while also taking inspiration from different cultures and musical genres. His latest project is entitled “Regal” and he recently released two singles from that project: “Trill Shit, I Really Mean That” and “A Million Feelings”. We’ve included the latter of the two. WARNING: NSFW.

Fronz Arp - deepseabigcitysmallroom

Fronz made our music roundup early in 2013 with the release of his album Fronz Arp is a Tiny Crooked Orchestra. The Australian artist is back with a brand new album, deepseabigycitysmallroom. The 7-track EP captures the essence of his time living in New York aided by the fact that was it was written in, recorded in, and even performed using bits of furniture in an East Harlem apartment. While a little less poppy than his previous release, the new album is still Bowie-esque with a pleasant, folk singer-songwriter style.

Street Cleaner - Street Cleaner

Described as the soundtrack for an 1980s movie that never was, Street Cleaner’s self-titled album tells the story of detective/vigilante Jack Slade trying to clean up the seedy underbelly of San Diego. The 13 tracks exude the guitar riffs and synth sounds that the 80s were known for and fit in perfectly with the action movie and video game soundtracks of that era. While video game composer Jesse Bishop was responsible for writing each of the songs, a number of other musicians also contributed to the album.

Charles Bordeaux – Fables

Fables is the latest EP from NY-based singer/songwriter Charles Bordeaux. Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, this three-track narrative tells a story of gratitude through a farmer and the personification of Time. The album is a mix of electronic, dream pop, shoegaze and other similar genres, and it has a mild psychedelic edge to it. The first track, “Sandman”, has been included for your listening pleasure.

Womb – “Baby Don’t Love Me”

Garage jazz/blues is probably the most apt description for the musical stylings of Womb. While the band was busy touring this summer, they still found the time to put together a debut music video for the single “Baby Don’t Love Me”. The video is of the humorous variety and features the band getting the living hell beat out of them by a spiteful girlfriend.

James Keyes - The Middle

James Keyes is another musician from the New England area, specifically Connecticut. November 23rd marked the release of his third album, the first since mid-2011.  The Middle is a 12-track mélange of blues, rock, folk, and country, and the unifying element is the Waits-esque vocal talent of Keyes himself. At its core it’s a bit of Americana. My favorite track is “The Traveler” which I’ve included because it’s fun and I enjoyed the instrumentation, particularly the bass.

Illitry – “Kingdom Perverted”

As with a number of the other bands, Illitry has previously been featured in our monthly music roundups. The two-piece band from Hamilton, ON is back this month with a new single, “Kingdom Perverted”. The track – with its mix of electronica and organic sounds – is from their debut album which is set to come out early next year.

Invasions – “Rosy”

We actually brought you coverage of “Rosy” in last month’s music roundup. Invasions’ surf rock style is back in a brand new music video for the single. The video features a 60s pool party theme and 8mm recordings.

Unconditional Arms - Kinship

All music serves as a creative outlet, but not all of it tells a story. Kinship by Unconditional Arms was written by musician Jeffrey Wright as a celebration of the birth of his son. It’s a 6-track, fully instrumental album that explores the emotions Wright uncovered during this momentous period of his life. We’ve included the first track, “The Family Tree”, below.

Mindy Gledhill - Pocketful of Poetry

With a successful Pledge Music Campaign, trips from LA to Morocco to Japan, and appearing on a Grammy-nominated album, it’s safe to say that things are going well for musician Mindy Gledhill. September saw the release of her latest album, Pocketful of Poetry. While the songs vary in tone, for the most part the album is a plucky mix of pop and folk.

CalatrilloZ – “Lords of Misery”

While some musical acts are considered performances, the London-based quintet CalatrilloZ takes it up a few levels. They manage to blend metal and prog rock with a flair for opera including costumes, acting, and some serious stage design. The band recently made news by releasing their single “Lords of Misery” which you can listen to below.

Claudio Cataldi – Homing Season

Every month it seems like we’re being introduced to a new subgenre of music, and in November we have Claudio Cataldi to thank for bringing us acid-folk. Cataldi’s musical stylings also incorporate shoegaze, and both can be found within his new album Homing Season. Although the album came out in September, even in November it still manages to capture a bit of the feel of the autumnal season.

Fitness Club Fiasco – “Goldmine” (Jon Lawless remix)

I don’t love all of the music that hits our inbox, but every month there are usually a couple of albums or singles that I put on repeat while working on this website long after putting together this roundup feature. Back in June I included Fitness Club Fiasco’s “Goldmine”, a catchy single that won me over and I still listen to frequently. Jon Lawless of First Rate People took his own stab at the song this month, and you can hear the remix results below.

Ben McKenzie - Stand Down Son

While still performing live with His Broken Bones,  Stand Down Son marks the first solo EP release by Toronto singer-songwriter Ben McKenzie. The six-track setlist is a bit of Springsteen and Petty as it takes a longing, bittersweet look at the past, present, and future.

Shintaro Haioka - Harumi

Electronica musician Shintaro Haioka has followed up his earlier 2013 EP Blowin’ in the Wind with another EP, Harumi. Once again, Haioka draws upon his Japanese background with this six-track set. The artist combines traditional Japanese instrumentation like the koto zither and hyshigi percussion with modern effects and sound processing.

20 Days In - Propagation

Late October saw the release of the third EP from Philly-based 20 Days In. The five-piece band unveiled Propagation, a deviation from the group’s usual hardcore sound. The three tracks included in this EP steer more towards the alternative and progressive sides of rock, but they still retain the aggressive tone the band has become known for.

Mark Martyre - London

We started doing these monthly roundups back in February, and musician Mark Martyre was one of the 11 musical acts that we included in that inaugural edition. London is the latest album to be released by Martyre, following up on the success of last year’s Down, Record. As with Martyre’s previous efforts, London‘s ten tracks showcase his talents as a songwriter and Waits-like vocal style.

 
I would be shocked, absolutely shocked if there’s a reader that didn’t find something they enjoyed in the list above. We really ran the gamut of genres and subgenres this month. There was so much music, in fact, that we’re planning on shaking up the format for these monthly roundups starting with January’s edition (December’s will likely remain the same). Show your support for these wonderful bands by listening to, downloading, and purchasing their music. And don’t forget to leave a comment for us about who you liked.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.