Monday Music Spotlight: Indie Delights

Have you ever used any of the recommendation systems from Apple Music, Spotify or Soundcloud? If you've listened to any music within the past few years, I can only assume that the answer is an astounding "obviously". 

They're great in theory; instead of moping around on Facebook and asking friends for new tunes, you get barraged with hopeful tracks with no hidden agendas, no mates desperately trying to get you to listen to their favourite band, or worse, their own demos. But when these systems are put into practice, I'm afraid that they're far from perfect. I mean, if you go on Spotify and view the artist profile for say, Oasis, you can't venture off too far before you're led back to the same groups. In cases like this, it seems like there's no escape from the likes of Blur, Noel Gallagher, Beady Eye and The Stone Roses.

So, with this new series of posts, I'm aiming to tackle this nuisance which has plagued our chosen music software for far too long. I'm going to give you some no-nonsense recommendations which aren't based purely on genre, instruments or artist obscurity. Or at least I'm going to try to.

To start off, we're going to look at some fantastically inoffensive indie tunes which aren't worried about delving into the pop genre. Essentially, anything that sounds slightly like The Smiths will probably rock up on this list. Without further ado, have a gander at these tunes. 

Literature - New Jacket

To start with, I'm loving the name of this artist, it's straightforward, and as an English student, I ended up going straight to it. This kind of music sounds like the kind that any literature student would delight in, and not just myself.

This tune has everything you need for a catchy song, but the first thing that hits you is the generous helpings of reverb and echo from the constant guitars. 

More importantly, this song does something that I really appreciate, and it never removes guitars from the equation. Whereas a lot of modern indie tunes use the instrument to create a catchy intro, and then leave it alone until a chorus or solo, 'New Jacket' keeps them throughout, instead opting for different effects and strumming patterns. 

Admittedly, the outro does go on a bit, leaving you aching for another chorus which never arrives. But aside from that, it's a grand medium between indie and pop. 

The Horrors - Change Your Mind

This may be a spotlight chiefly for artists who've avoided mainstream attention, but that doesn't mean I'm staying away from established artists purely out of spite, no sir. 

I took a first look at The Horrors and was took straight back to a newly-founded band called Muse, mostly for their audacious hairstyles and their unique brand of excellent tunes which would perfectly fit teenagers going through a bit of an emo phase. 

Just like the other tracks here, it's a relatively chilled song. It also seems that the people at Literature also have the same guitar pedals, but that's far from a bad thing. Both tracks have similar sounds, but use them in their own distinct manners.

Of course, with an established band, you get a sense here that Faris Badwan, (cracking name, by the way) has a definitive knowledge of his vocal capabilities, something which isn't as present in 'New Jacket'. Although, any band that has a Vevo channel probably should be comfortable with what they're doing.

Bosco Rogers - The Middle

Apologies, I have no idea what I was thinking here. This is beginning to slip into alt. rock, but with a track which manages to sound like a cross between The Black Keys and Foster the People, (a combination which I didn't even know I wanted until now), I really couldn't pass it up. 

Bosco Rogers is one of those indie-rific names which is deceptively hard to say, (for me anyway), and the group seems like one which would go straight into inoffensive clean-guitar filled pop tunes, (see Fickle Friends), or into a monotonous brand of rock which sounds like the vocalist is encountering digestive issues, (potentially Don Broco. Apologies lads). 

Thankfully, as you can see by that fantastic thumbnail, this Bosco Rogers tune falls into neither of those categories. This is how you do a guitar section in a indie/alternative tune, and it adds to an equation which ultimately proves to be unusually memorable.

If I'm honest, it was down to this, or their latest single, 'True Romance', but thanks to the little bit of extra edge in 'The Middle', their older tune has come out on top. Not bad for just two guys. 

That's it for this week, but keep in mind that these three tunes haven't scratched the surface of potential recommendations. But luckily for you, I'll be wading through thousands of bits of Spotify, Soundcloud and YouTube, so just nip back in a week and see what else there is to tuck into.