NEW INDIE MUSIC - WEEK 46

There are only a few weeks left of 2019, but it doesn't appear as though the music industry is planning on slowing down anytime soon. While Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year are all lingering on the horizon, artists from every corner of the globe are still putting out bangers day after day, week after week, and, honestly? If it means that I get to avoid listening to John Legend and Kelly Clarkson's “woke version” of “Baby, It's Cold Outside” for that little bit longer, then I'm here for it. Check out today's edition of We Are: The Guard's New Indie Music, featuring Beck, ROSALÍA, FKA twigs, and lots more!

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BECK – DARK PLACES

Last month, Beck released one of my favorite singles of 2019, and this November, the musical innovator is back with the equally lovely follow-up. It's a nocturnal dream of a song that – as the lyric video suggests – pairs well with watching sunsets and stargazing from a car hood, with Beck's vocals swirling weightlessly over the hazy, Pharrell Williams-produced synthscape.

BEST COAST – FOR THE FIRST TIME

Best Coast are back, baby! Four years on from the release of California Nights, Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno return today with “For the First Time.” It's the kind of gloriously chipper chugger that genuinely leaves you smiling from the inside out, with a Tom Petty-esque sprawl of guitars supporting Bethany as she sings about embracing self-love after a lifetime of toxic relationships.

MURA MASA (FEAT. SLOWTHAI) – DEAL WIV IT

Mura Masa and slowthai join forces for another unapologetically British banger this Monday in the form of “Deal Wiv It.” It's a punchy, punky cut that hears slowthai rapping about returning to his old estate after achieving international success, with Mura Masa's raucous production putting up a formidable fight against slowthai as he unleashes one of his most unhinged, energetic vocal performances to date.

DAUGHTERS OF NOISE! – 2023

The future is funky and the future is female – at least if Daughters of Noise! are about to get their way! Comprising of Coco Morier and Arama, the duo are drawing influence from everything from old-school hip-hop to electroclash on their spectacularly sparkling debut single “2023” – a dance floor ode to better times ahead (we hope!) that makes you want to drop everything and just MOVE!

ROSALÍA – A PALÉ

That moment when you realize that WEIRD ROSALÍA IS BACK:

FKA TWIGS – SAD DAY

This is goosebumps-inducing. FKA twigs watches her relationship breathe its final breath on the brittle “sad day.” The highlight from her recent album MAGDALENE finds Tahliah Barnett coming to terms with the fact that a lover is about to leave her – and that she's in part to blame – with her shivering voice acting as unifying force between the lush, orchestral verses and the more pulverizing, percussion-driven breakdowns.

ÁSGEIR – YOUTH

How I missed that voice <3. Two years on from the release of Afterglow, Ásgeir returns today with the heartwarmingly tender “Youth.” The first single to be unveiled from the We Are: The Guard favorite's forthcoming album Bury the Moon is a horn-laced hymn to the winters that Ásgeir spent in Iceland as a child, with the song swelling with emotion and nostalgia as he sings: “This world that we created/I'll never forget.”

JEHNNY BETH – I'M THE MAN

Savages frontwoman Jehnny Beth is unleashing a monster on her latest solo single and certified face-melter “I'm the Man.” It's a dirty, distorted brawl of blistering industrialized noise that originally appeared on the beloved BBC series Peaky Blinders earlier this year, with Jehnny describing the two-and-a-half-minute rager as “an attempted study of humankind, what we define as evil and the inner conflict of morality.” Listen with caution.

MAXIME. – EMPTY

As the leaves start to turn a golden, fiery hue around us, maxime. is delivering the ultimate fall anthem in the form of the charming “empty.” With sweet, whistle-like melodies and adorable percussive elements backing a narrative about the pain of unrequited love (that, or quitting smoking – I'm not entirely sure!), “empty” is an autumnal indie delight that'll hopefully help you to feel a little less alone this cuffing season.

DES ROCS – LIVING PROOF

Back in September, Des Rocs dropped “Living Proof,” a song that I described as “a stadium-sized slice of garage skronk, with gospel choirs supporting Reverend Rocs as he leads his audience to a kind of sleazy salvation.” This Monday, the New York City artist returns with a lyric video that further taps into this theme of religion, with a group of people dressed in white gowns seen getting baptized into this filthiest of cults. A-freaking-men.

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Photo by Japheth Mast on Unsplash

Jess Grant is a frustrated writer hailing from London, England. When she isn't tasked with disentangling her thoughts from her brain and putting them on paper, Jess can generally be found listening to The Beatles, or cooking vegetarian food.