Bipolar Explorer are a two-person band out of New York. I came across this one online and was pleasantly surprised that there are still bands doing dream pop and mixing it with a feel that touches on genres like neofolk and lo-fi indie music.
Indie
‘Do You Remember’ 5-part podcast series to trace origins, legacy of Hüsker Dü
From the venerable Slicing Up Eyeballs: “Minnesota Public Radio’s The Current has just launched a five-part documentary podcast series called “Do You Remember?” that promises to trace the formative years and legacy of Hüsker Dü through interviews with those who were there as well as the three band members themselves — Continue Reading
And Also The Trees – Mother-of-Pearl Moon
The legendary goth-rock band And Also The Trees have been around since 1979, and are still recording elegant post-punk music that is richly produced with acoustic instruments, drones and electronics. Fine listening.
Floreana – Floreana One
I don’t do top tens, but if I did, this album might be EP of the year. It’s that good. Imagine early Brian Eno or Tuxedomoon with a sound updated for the 2020’s. Yes, these names are the ones I’m happy to drop for this release. From Floreana’s Bandcamp site: Continue Reading
Porch Kiss – Fort Stevens 2006
This is the first time I had the pleasure of reviewing something from Start-Track, a fine small label run by our friend Filip Zemčík. Porch Kiss’ music is sparse and lo-fi, reminding me of a lot of British indie band from the 1980s with lower production values and fine songwriting. Continue Reading
Future Orients – Dream Like A Buffalo
Maybe Mars Records out of my new home city of Beijing (I have to meet these guys one day) put out an indie rock album in 2019 that sounds as good as anything the early Cure ever put out. Brilliant work by Future Orients, indeed!
Death Of Heather – Death Of Heather
We haven’t featured a band from Thailand in quite a few months, so it’s time to rectify this. Death of Heather are from Bangkok and offer a really well-done take on dreampop.
Mimik Banka 表情銀行 – 狗日子 (Dog Days)
One of the benefits of being in Beijing at a high-grade academy is that I run into some rather brilliant young minds who are turning me on to great local music, case in point being Mimik Banka, who listeners would compare their music favorably to acts like dream pop and Continue Reading
Say Sue Me 세이수미 – George & Janice / Don’t Follow Our Van
This is some of the most fun, poppy, Beatlesque music I’ve heard in a while. Say Sue Me 세이수미 hail from Busan, South Korea, yet I would have believed it if someone told me they were out of London or Liverpool. Well done, folks.
Rural District – Mint Blind Violet
Rural Track are a band out of Japan who do heavy shoegaze rock, so those of you who miss My Bloody Valentine’s peak moments would do well to check this track out.