With a week that has had a slightly more unpredictable forecast than the previous, many people have been unsure about going outside or not. But thankfully, and as always, we have been blessed with tonnes of new music to enjoy listening to inside or out.
This week, we have seen many tracks that borrow inspirations from more popular bands, which always goes to show that you don’t necessarily need to turn to popular artists to get the same sense of enjoyment. Here are our nine top picks for the many tracks that prove this rule.
Track Of The Week »
Jacko Hooper » Why I’m Here At All
Brighton-based singer, songwriter, and good friend of Indie Top 39 Jacko Hooper has had one hell of 2020, and quite frankly, so have we thanks to all of the amazing tunes that he has been firing out one-by-one. And while all three of his previous 2020 releases had flawlessly exuded that deep and intimate sense of immersion, ‘Why I’m Here At All’ may just be our favourite track of his to date. The entirety of this gorgeous tune feels like a bittersweet dance between melancholy and more upbeat undertones, and the more engaging pacing of ‘Why I’m Here At All’ certainly makes this track feel like one of his most accessible tunes as well.
‘Why I’m Here At All’ is even more deeply rich in Jacko Hooper’s signature sense of intimacy than ever before, making it a tremendously special track, and one of our favourites to date.
INDIE TOP 39
Ali Morris » Courage
This week has seen Ali Morris burst onto Spotify with her debut EP 333. We were thoroughly impressed with just how stylistically versatile this project was, despite having the compact selection of three tracks. 333 saw Ali Morris experiment (and also succeed) with various subgenres of pop. However, If we had to pick a personal favourite, it would need to be this EP’s opener ‘Courage’. This beautifully sleek, serene, and theatrical opener goes toe-to-toe with some of the best chamber-pop masterpieces we’ve heard in recent memory. But let’s not forget that this only spells the beginning of Ali Morris’ discography, and we honestly cannot wait to hear more from this amazing artist.
‘Courage’ is our favourite track from Ali Morris’ debut EP, and goes toe-to-toe with some of the chamber-pop masterpieces in recent memory.
INDIE TOP 39
Anthony Mustaca » Cabin Fever
Arizona-based artist Anthony Mustaca has quickly built upon and developed his growing discography of electronic pop tunes since early 2020. And while we have enjoyed listening to all of the various mods and aesthetics that Anthony has explored, we genuinely hope that he continues to pursue the style found on his latest release ‘Cabin Fever’. The simultaneously upbeat, nocturnal, and dreamy vibe of this track makes us feel that Mustaca excels in creating a Tame Impala-like musical style. But on the flip-side, ‘Cabin fever’ definitely feels like a Mustaca track through and through, and arguably his most enjoyable track to date.
The simultaneously upbeat, nocturnal, and dreamy vibe of ‘Cabin Fever’ makes us feel that Anthony Mustaca excels in creating a Tame Impala-like musical style.
INDIE TOP 39
Ben Kidson » (when I) Run Away
Since late 2019, Ben Kidson has been developing his aesthetic, which has been described as “Punk-Pop”, with a unique blend of contemporary pop elements and distorted guitar loops. With his previous singles, we can easily notice that his unique style becomes refined just that little bit more, and we can safely say that the same applies to one of his latest tracks ‘(when I) Run Away’. Its melody allows it to become one of those incredibly catchy tracks, almost instantly. We also love Ben Kidson’s vocals on this track, which almost reminds us of Adam Levine and Maroon 5. But the way that every element of the track comes together so brilliantly, truly makes it the dynamic and enjoyable tune that it is.
The melody behind Ben Kidson’s ‘(when I) Run Away’ allows it to be one of those tracks that become incredibly catchy almost instantly.
INDIE TOP 39
Demsky » Cold Coffee
Instrumentalist Demsky, who now resides in Tokyo, has finally dropped his first track since 2017. Titled ‘Cold Coffee’, Demsky’s latest tune retains that awesome sense of ambience and immersion that he has brought to the table with earlier tracks, while also having more of a grounded atmosphere and steady rhythm. This really helps ‘Cold Coffee’ to flawlessly immerse the listener, and furthermore be the perfect piece of background music to listen to while studying or while you’re on your way to work.
‘Cold Coffee’, much like an actual coffee, brings listeners a great sense of energy, despite being so enjoyably minimal.
INDIE TOP 39
Fat Trout Trailer Park » Wendigo
The post-punk project from Sean Raab, known as Fat Trout Trailer Park had begun releasing music earlier this year, as a means to tease their forthcoming EP. ‘Wendigo’ is their third single release, and it feels like a brilliant continuation of how Fat Trout Trailer Park takes many different stylistic inspirations, and pits them against each other while keeping indie-rock and the main stylistic foundation of each track. ‘Wendigo’ begins with a slow and dreamy, but simultaneously unnerving series of echoing strings, before transitioning into a hard-hitting, psychedelic rock melody that feels reminiscent of bands like Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. We are very excited to hear what else will be explored in the EP to come.
‘Wendigo’ serves as a great continuation of how Fat Trout Trailer Park pits many different musical styles against one another.
INDIE TOP 39
Justin Llamas » Growing Up » Acoustic
After building a fanbase on YouTube with dozens of cover songs, Justin Llamas decided that he wanted to create music that was completely his own in 2016, with his debut EP Gold. Fast-forward to 2020, and Justin has developed an incredibly fleshed-out pop aesthetic. However, his newest release definitely stands out from the rest, as a much more stripped back piece of musical magic, with the acoustic song that is ‘Growing Up’. This track tells a heartfelt story of how experiencing a loss is a vital part of growing up, and this is only emphasised by the soft acoustic melody and Justin Llamas’ fantastic vocal range, and we truly felt every moment of this track with thanks to those elements.
Telling a heartfelt story of experiencing loss as part of growing up, ‘Growing Up’ includes a soft acoustic melody and fantastic vocals from Justin Llamas.
INDIE TOP 39
Leo Lore » Sorrow’s Golden
‘Sorrows Golden’ is the debut single from Leo Lore, who makes up part of the alternative soul trio that is Dlore, and it’s certainly fair to say that Leo Lore’s experience as part of a soul group pours into this debut solo track. We adore just how smooth and indulgent the atmosphere of this track is, which also has a bittersweet and dreamy feel which seems fairly similar to the likes of King Krule’s musical aesthetic. The flowing melodies on this thing are absolutely gorgeous and meld together extremely well with Leo Lore’s beautiful vocals. And while we know that making music isn’t a completely new experience for Leo, ‘Sorrows Golden’ is an absolutely phenomenal debut solo single, and we can easily tell that Leo Lore has put one-hundred per cent of himself into this gorgeous tune.
Leo Lore’s experience with soul music pours into his beautifully dreamy and bittersweet debut solo single.
INDIE TOP 39
Rozelle » Mystery
Bristol-based four-piece Rozelle had begun creating their stereotype-challenging and atmospheric music earlier this year, and have already released five tracks so far. While the band have shown to have a heavy influence from the likes of Wolf Alice in their music before, ‘Mystery’ arguably carried the aesthetic of that band the best, with a beautifully smooth blend of indie rock and dreamy alternative pop. It is safe to say that Rozelle really do have their aesthetic down, and making music like this was most likely pre-meditated for quite some time.
The whimsical nature of ‘Mystery’ does the title great justice and sends the listener into a spiralling and colourful soundscape.
INDIE TOP 39
We have picked only nine songs that stood out this week, however below you can find the playlist that features all the 39 songs. Do you agree with our pics? Let us know on our socials.
