Browsing Tag

New Wave Indie

Canadian indie-pop artist ISHANA introspectively incantated a meditative new-wave dream with ‘The Odyssey’

Posted on 28 August 2026

The Canadian indie-pop breakthrough sensation ISHANA delivered a reverie-rich synth-pop dream with The Odyssey, a slow-burning single written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered entirely by the Montreal artist herself. Shaped from the raw emotional state of an almost-relationship reaching its finale through crossed wires, the track turns self-doubt, low self-worth and the search for clarity into something delicately immersive.

Carrying the title of the ancient epic poem, ISHANA swapped Greek mythology for the pain of feeling love turn cold, being spiked with temporary hope, racked with self-blame, and the bruising question of where you betrayed yourself for someone else. ISHANA’s scintillating approach to melodic arrangements gels with the distinct aura of her voice, which incants soulfully spiritual depth as introspective imagery comes to life.

There is almost a meditative grace to the single as you follow the mellifluous flow of her poetry through an original manifestation of new-wave indie dream-pop. The layered vocals, melancholic tone and pulsing synths create the purple-hued atmosphere of a pensive midnight drive, letting the vulnerability feel like a full-frontal exposure of intimacy.

Fans of Maggie Rogers, Imogen Heap and Paramore’s more soul-searching pop moments should find plenty to hold close within the Odyssey.

The Odyssey is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Crocheted MTV-era whimsy meets sticky-sweet indie pop-rock in Orange JeLy’s ‘Finding My Religion’

Posted on 22 August 2026

Orange JeLy found what R.E.M. lost with their latest single, Finding My Religion, a sticky-sweet indie pop-rock earworm from the loose musical collective led by father-daughter musicians Steve and Lois Jenkins. Written by Steve and performed by Orange JeLy with Lois on vocals, the single celebrates being lifted out of darkness by the right person, while the accompanying video revives the lost art of the MTV era through crocheted rock musicians and woollen oodles of handmade charm.

It is impossible not to get caught up in the whimsy of Finding My Religion, which refuses to water down the serotonin pouring freely from its scuzzy-angular guitar lines. Those guitars lock in with synths to create a garagey indie-new-wave aesthetic, teasing nostalgia around twee falsetto harmonies that embody youth while oozing sage lyrical wisdom.

Orange JeLy began during the 2020 lockdown as Steve’s attempt to give then-14-year-old Lois a creative outlet during isolation. Since then, the project has carried his late-life songwriting experiments, and now, with Lois returning after finishing her art degree, it feels newly recharged around her voice and wider musicianship.

Fans of the B-52s’ oddball brightness and the homespun indie eccentricity of early MTV-era alt-pop will find plenty to adore in the sugar-rushed, spiritually optimistic and gloriously crochet-clad instant playlist staple.

Finding My Religion is now available on all major streaming platforms. For the full experience, stream the official music video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alexander Setzko’s Fairy Tale Is a Dreamy Indie Rock Escape from Memory’s Sharpest Edges

Posted on 3 July 2026
Alexander Setzko

Rose-tinted glasses come with thorns -on the dreamy, new wave indie jangle-pop single, Fairy Tale, by Alexander Setzko. The Brooklyn-based multi-disciplinary artist instantly sweeps you up within an ethereal cinematic glow, conjured by spectres of 80s synth pop and the kind of guitar work which made Johnny Marr stake his claim as one of the most influential indie guitarists to ever live and breathe over a fretboard.

Fairy Tale carries the romance of immaterial mythology, but these fables only carry visions of your past as Alexander Setzko’s dramatically lush indie rock opera vocals paint a vignette of wistful passion for what you wish still remained. The track feels suspended between sentimental illusion and the dull dawning of realisation, letting nostalgia shimmer while still exposing the emotional cost of living too long inside it.

Setzko is the powerhouse behind the vocals, instrumentation, recording and final production, giving Fairy Tale the distinct signature of an artist steering every contour of the release. As the cherry on the cake, Alex Blade Silver’s saxophone solo adds a strident timbre to this narratively enrapturing triumph, which we have been blessed with an early preview. If there is any summer single worth waiting for, it is this stunningly evocative tour de force, granting better escapism than navel-gazing into your memories.

Fairy Tale will be available to stream on all major platforms from September 1st. Buy the single on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Misstify Blew Indie Landfill Apart with Livewire Alt-Rock Charisma in ‘Wonder What You Say’

Posted on 22 June 2026

If it has been a while since you last hyperfixated on a hook-rife, jangly new wave alt-indie anthem, reset the clock with the infectious swagger of Wonder What You Say by Misstify. The sweeping angular guitar notes hike up the hyper as much as the percussion that will instantly make you crave the feel of rhythm moving you across a sticky floor, as for the vocals, they are a livewire waiting to detonate each atom of monotony in the ever-growing, sprawling monolith which is indie landfill.

There is enough charisma in the vocals to make the sycophants catatonic; they’re mostly occupied with the refrain of uncertainty until the tenderly melodic middle eight leaves the vulnerability in the song wide open. What follows is a pure rock riff that refuses to lose its grip until you have acknowledged Misstify as proper indie rock pedigree.

The alternative rock band has become a feeding frenzy of authenticity, raw energy and unfiltered emotion through guitar tension and human melody, turning their latest work into something built for rooms where sweat, feedback and feeling all gather in the same charged air. Their sound carries the live-wire sincerity of a band that understands stage presence as a shared moment rather than a postured pose, and this single channels that directness through a hook that keeps circling back with bite.

Wonder What You Say is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Simon J Knight Raised the Folk Shanty from the Deep with ‘When the Boat Comes In’

Posted on 15 June 2026

Simon J Knight put the indie folk shanty on a whole new frequency with ‘When the Boat Comes In,’ a sophomore single with enough artfully emotive power to revive the archaic art form. The South Wales-based singer-songwriter brought grief, hope and self-discovery into a sea-swept frame, letting his English Literature background sharpen the lyricism while the performance keeps the feeling raw.

Knight lends the track a spectral presence, setting his imposingly rich vocal tone against a range that moves from deep baritone reverberations to soprano theatricality. That chameleonic vocal command lets him conjure an atmosphere through his vocal cords alone, yet the fret work deserves its own spotlight, giving When the Boat Comes In its jangly, New Wave-indie-esque pedigree.

It’s a mesmerising feat, carrying folk tradition into something stranger, brighter and more psychologically charged. Simon J Knight achieved it all with a sense of authenticity and sincerity as influences from John Martyn, Neil Young and John Lennon move around the edges, while the imagined meeting point between Morrissey and Stan Hugill gives the single its brilliantly uncanny coordinates.

Acoustic intimacy, folk-rock fire and theatrical vocal drama all gather at the shoreline. If this is the sound of Simon J Knight preparing his debut solo album, the horizon already looks loaded with promise.

When the Boat Comes In is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ehson Hashemian Dropped Hyper Disco Heat with Indie Anthem Comes and Goes

Posted on 25 June 2025
Ehson Hashemian

SoCal’s own Ehson Hashemian just flipped the indie-pop script on its head with his latest single, Comes and Goes. It’s got that kind of hyper-disco energy that hits you straight away; buzzing from the get-go, yet Hashemian keeps the melodies in check, riding them smooth even when those guitar lines and synth pulses could send you spinning.

His vocals land somewhere between suave and sweet; imagine if Alex Turner ditched his ice-cool act and just properly vibed out, no filter—pure charm, no postured swagger. You won’t sit still to this one; it’s an infectiously idiosyncratic anthem that’ll turbocharge your playlists quicker than you can say “repeat button.”

But here’s the beauty of Comes and Goes: it’s not just some fizzy, throwaway bop; beneath the sugar rush, it taps into something deeper, gently reminding us that life’s all about rolling with it, letting things flow in and out naturally rather than obsessing over control. There’s lyrical gold by the smorgasbord tucked inside one hell of a catchy tune.

Hashemian’s been around the block, too—ex-keys and co-writer for Young the Giant back when they were called The Jakes, co-writing the double platinum hit Cough Syrup, and now dropping his fourth solo album, Believe. Safe to say, this guy knows how to lay down a memorable hook or two.

Comes and Goes is now available on all major streaming platforms, including YouTube.
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Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shahev Sen Dips a Brush in Nostalgia and Paints a Soul-Soaked Indie Dream with ‘You Know Why’

Posted on 3 March 2025

Shahev Sen sings like he’s unburdening his soul, letting every note spill out with the weight of lived experience. His sophomore single, You Know Why, pulls from the golden days of new wave indie and the dreamy haze of ‘60s psych pop, creating a sound that feels like slipping into a world where the colours are richer, and reality softens at the edges.

Hailing from the streets of old Calcutta, Shahev’s journey has been anything but straightforward. His early days as a bassist and vocalist in the city’s club scene shaped his raw, blues-infused rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities, but after his band dissolved in 2015, the pull of music never fully loosened its grip. In 2023, he returned as a solo artist, bringing with him the weight of time, reflection, and a refusal to bow to trends.

You Know Why is steeped in personal reckoning, wrestling with the struggle of prioritising values over financial stability in a world that doesn’t always make room for sentiment. His vocals cascade through the track with an unfiltered honesty, carrying the ache of repressed anger and betrayal. Instead of leaning on a predictable guitar solo, he swaps it for a sweeping orchestral middle eight, giving the song a grand, cinematic depth, resulting in a soul-stirring indie gem that doesn’t play by the rulebook.

You Know Why is out now on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dandelions by ST4RR: A Sundrenched Bloom in Indie Pop

Posted on 18 February 2025

With all the dreamy reverie of coming-of-age infatuation wrapped up in the warm, hazy hues spilling from the jangle pop guitars and her organically hypnotic vocal lines, ST4RR will leave you as lovestruck as the lyrics with her single, Dandelions.

Allowing you to imagine The Smiths and Sabrina Carpenter intertwining their sounds, the track effortlessly appeals to both new wave indie faithful and contemporary pop fans. Her songwriting chops, effortlessly seraphic sonic signature, and ability to envelop listeners in an aura of emotion result in a sticky-sweet earworm born through an effortless amalgamation of style and substance

Behind the ST4RR moniker is Trinity Rutledge, who has nurtured her devotion to music since childhood. After finding her voice in choruses and mastering guitar and piano, she is well on her way to achieving her lifelong dream of appearing on major stages and reading audiences across the globe.

As the opening single on her debut EP, Circle of Love, Dandelions positions ST4RR in prime territory to reach the top of the indie pop charts. Every note lingers in your mind, retaining a mellifluous spark that sets her apart from the standard singer-songwriter formula.

Stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tomboy’s ‘Handle with Care’: A Sugar-Rush Shot of Indie Pop Euphoria

Posted on 2 February 2025

Tomboy’s latest single, Handle with Care, arrives as part of a dynamic two-track release alongside Moab, showcasing the San Francisco quintet’s knack for infusing indie rock with playful energy and unvarnished emotion. From the outset, sweeping guitars set a stage for crooned vocals reminiscent of Julian Casablancas, intertwined with a magnetic female lead whose energy electrifies the track to the nines.

As the song unfolds, polyphonic pop tones ripple through the mix, giving it a mischievous yet melodic edge. It’s the kind of sound that teases the boundary between bold experimentation and infectious accessibility, calling to mind what Arcade Fire might sound like stripped of pomp and pretension. Tomboy have crafted a track that thrives in its refusal to take itself too seriously, offering hooks that stick without losing their bite.

Formed by five best friends fuelled by their shared love for raw human connection, Tomboy have already set the stage for a promising future in the indie scene. Though still in the early days of their career, the buzz surrounding the group is steadily growing, and Handle with Care makes it clear why.

Catch the band live at the Independent on 7th February and experience their unapologetically vulnerable sound firsthand—if their studio recordings are this affecting, their live performances are bound to ecstasy snapping between your synapses.

Stream Handle with Care on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ava Valianti’s ‘Wishing Well’ is a Diaphanous Dive into Lost Innocence

Posted on 10 December 2024

At just 15, Ava Valianti has already mastered the art of weaving raw emotion into new-wave indie pop. With her latest single, ‘Wishing Well’, the Massachusetts singer-songwriter delivers a reverie-rich production that captures the ache of growing up and the bittersweet nostalgia for the innocence of youth.

Inspired by childhood memories, Ava channels her reflections on the fading simplicity of youth into soaring harmonies and sweeping melodies. Thematically, ‘Wishing Well’ resounds with longing and hope, its diaphanous textures sonically illustrating the vulnerability of clinging to the magic of belief. Ava’s lyrical candour doesn’t just invite listeners into her world; it offers them a mirror to their own experiences of inevitable change and loss. Her ability to find clarity in bittersweet moments transforms each note into a visceral connection.

Standing alongside her earlier singles—‘Bubble Wrap’, ‘Middle Ground’, and ‘January’—this track showcases her ability to fuse introspective lyrics with literally and figuratively haunting melodies. With comparisons to indie luminaries like Mitski and First Aid Kit easily and rightfully drawn, her trajectory has been meteoric, already earning her 10k monthly listeners, a nomination for the New England Music Awards’ “Pop Act of the Year,” and praise from over 60 radio stations across the US.

Ava’s music is a force propelling her into the heart of indie supremacy, and ‘Wishing Well’ solidifies her place as an artist who creates vessels of unfiltered soul, poised to resonate with listeners across generations.

Wishing Well was officially released on November 22nd; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast