From Lana Del Rey haze to underground hip-hop and dark Naarm electronica, these are the new tracks on our radar today.
There’s a slight Lana Del Rey haze hanging over New Music Radar today, sometimes in spirit, sometimes quite literally, but things get considerably weirder from there.
Queer New York alt-pop, Naarm witchy electronica, underground hip-hop, Surf Coast guitars and some truly excellent drums: Friday is looking pretty healthy.
Aiko Dover – ‘SAELEM’
An underground gem from rapper and producer Aiko Dover, who handles the beats himself and sounds entirely comfortable operating outside the usual lanes. ‘SAELEM’ is our track of the day, put it on and get your Friday moving properly.
Outer Shapes – ‘No Bugs’
New York queer alt duo Outer Shapes drop a beautifully scrappy bit of lesbian alt-indie pop with ‘No Bugs’. Laura Shkouratoff and C Santos pair vulnerable songwriting with heavy guitars, hip-hop-shaped percussion and enough atmosphere to make the whole thing feel much bigger than two people.
Mackinley – ‘Memento Mori’
Naarm’s Mackinley brings some serious Lana Del Rey energy to ‘Memento Mori’ — hazy, cinematic and just a little doomed. If you like your indie pop glamorous around the edges and melancholy at the centre, get into it.
Patah – ‘Fav Singer’
There’s a lot happening on Patah’s ‘Fav Singer’: lo-fi production, art-pop, jazz and soul all make their way in. More importantly, it doesn’t sound like much else floating around right now, which is reason enough to pay attention.
Lira Lavix – ‘Control’
Lira Lavix makes dark electronic music out of Naarm, and ‘Control’ is a strong intro. It pulls from new wave and darker electronica, which in our book, makes for a total mood.
Salt and Pepper Squid – ‘Stasis’
Straight out of Victoria’s Surf Coast on Wadawurrung Land, Salt and Pepper Squid bring the guitars with ‘Stasis’. A strong little hit of alt-rock with enough movement underneath it to stop the title becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Levi Athans – ‘Born To Die’
And there she is again. Levi Athans takes on Lana Del Rey’s ‘Born To Die’ and sends it drifting somewhere considerably shoegazier, wrapping the original in indie fuzz and a thick layer of dreaminess.
Lina Cooper – ‘Mental Breakdown’
“What doesn’t kill you makes you fucking jaded” is already in contention for our favourite lyric of the day. LA-based Ukrainian songwriter and producer Lina Cooper turns the mental spiral into sharp-edged pop on ‘Mental Breakdown’, with precisely the right amount of bite.
Taneisha Vartiainen – ‘Jealousy Makes You Ugly’
Brisbane singer and actor Taneisha Vartiainen leans hard into the pop-rock/grunge side of things on ‘Jealousy Makes You Ugly’. Big attitude, crunchy guitars and a title that really doesn’t require further explanation.
Devin Gray – ‘Hz of Gold’
With Devin Gray, it’s all about the drums, baby. ‘Hz of Gold’ sits somewhere between experimental jazz, beat music and New York poetry, with Gray’s restless percussion giving the whole thing its pulse.
Carter Elliott – ‘Lexie’
Pure heart from Carter Elliott on ‘Lexie’. The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist pulls from the classic school of James Taylor, Paul Simon and Billy Joel, but there’s nothing dusty about it — just a warm, beautifully direct song that means what it says.
New Indie Music: Happy’s Mixtape, updated every week. Emerging indie, rock and alt artists picked by Happy Mag. Chuck it a follow if you wanna seem cool to your friends.
