TOP INDIE SONGS - WEEK 43

Hello, readers! How was your weekend?! Did you spend it reading all of the AWESOME, COOL, and RAD features that We Are: The Guard published over the last seven days?! If not, here's a quick recap:

BEST NEW ARTIST: DIJON
WTF: RAP COMMUNITY DECIDES TO OFFICIALLY RETIRE SKRRRRT
10 TWITTER MOMENTS: UH-OH, CARDI B WANTS ANOTHER BABY
THOM YORKE'S SUSPIRIA SCORE VS GOBLIN'S SUSPIRIA SCORE
8 INSTAGRAM MOMENTS: DRAKE HAS NO FRIENDS HIS AGE

Add to that a whole bunch of Best New Tracks – including one exclusive premiere – and it's safe to say that it's been busy, busy times here at WATG HQ! Don't think for a second, however, that we're planning on slowing down this Monday morning! Music never sleeps, and neither do we, so headphones at the ready, as it's time to check out this week's edition of We Are: The Guard's Top Indie Songs, featuring The 1975, AWOLNATION, Vic Mensa, and seven other favorites!

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THE 1975 – IT'S NOT LIVING (IF IT'S NOT WITH YOU)

Ahead of the release of their forthcoming album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, The 1975 have shared “It's Not Living (If It's Not With You).” The four-minute cut – described by frontman Matty Healy as “the 1975-iest 1975 song since the 1975 debut record” – once again hears the Manchester outfit employing their talent for turning dark shit into something truly sparkling, with Matty touching on his substance abuse issues over a blend of glistening funk guitars and choir-backed choruses.

AWOLNATION (FEAT. ELOHIM) – TABLE FOR ONE

AWOLNATION and Elohim?! IS THIS REAL LIFE?! When it comes to dream collaborations, this is pretty much at the top of my list! What can I say?! I'm a certified emo kid! Jokes aside, this version of “Table for One,” which originally featured on AWOLNATION's Here Come the Runts, is everything that I hoped it'd be and more, with Elohim lending an ethereal, otherworldly quality to the ode to loneliness while on the road.

KODA – IF I HAD A GUN

Okay, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way. Yes, you're right, he does very much sound like Thom Yorke, but trust me when I say that there's SO MUCH MORE to Koda than these vocal similarities. The long-time We Are: The Guard favorite is a real master of his craft, formulating spine-tingling parables that resonate with you long after listening. Case in point: “If I Had a Gun,” a haunting tale of trauma and revenge that features on his forthcoming EP Same as It Ever Was.

MILLIE TURNER – NIGHT RUNNING

There's something magical about the night, and Millie Turner bottles this up for us all to enjoy on her transcendent latest single “Night Running.” “'Night Running' was inspired by a moment when it's late and you suddenly feel consumed by this rush of energy,” says the 18-year-old of the luminescent ode to the small hours, which comes paired with a video that sees Millie and her friends dancing beneath the euphoria of the city lights.

KEVIN GEORGE – NOBODY KNOWS YOU ANYMORE

While we have a chill column dedicated entirely to these kind of tracks, every once in a while we like to crank up the vibes here too. Island Records signee Kevin George is bringing them big time on his latest single “Nobody Knows You Anymore,” a wavy-as-hell nocturnal transmission that hears Kevin reflecting on how his relationships have changed since finding fame over a smoky trap club production.

ALLAN RAYMAN – ROSE

“The most mysterious man in music,” Allan Rayman, touches on the dark side of fandom on his tantalizing latest single. “Hey Rose/It's nice to meet you/I've been a fan for a long damn time/I know, I don't mean to scare you/Just need a second of your time,” begins “Rose,” a sultry tale of obsession, paranoia, and stalking that hears the Toronto crooner's husky rasp presiding over a potent blend of alluring R&B and gritty rock 'n' roll.

VIC MENSA – EMPATHY

Vic Mensa addresses recent controversies on his hard-hitting latest single “Empathy.” The song follows on from his earlier performance at the BET Hip Hop Awards, where he called out XXXTENTACION on his history of domestic abuse, with Vic seemingly acknowledging that it wasn't the right time or place to diss the late rapper (XXXTENTACION's mother was in the audience), with Vic adding that he's constantly working on becoming a better person over an emotive beat produced by Johan and Stefan Ponce.

SHOFFY – COOL AGAIN

Let's face it, staying graceful after a breakup is hard to do, but Shoffy is making sure to keep it classy on his latest single. “We had sketched out our future/You were mine and I was yours/You'll always have a place in my heart/Just need some time to heal,” sings the Los Angeles crooner in the bridge of “Cool Again,” a plucky electronic bop that has to be one of the more elegant responses to a relationship split that I've ever heard.

BASKERY – COUP DE COEUR NOIR

We Are: The Guard has been a fan of Baskery ever since we caught them live at SXSW in 2014. Four years on and the Stockholm sisters are continuing to impress us with their breed of so-called “killbilly” on “Coup de Coeur Noir.” Featured on Baskery's recent album Coyote & Sirens, it's a wayward slab of Nordicana that could set any barn dance on fire, with Greta, Stella, and Sunniva Bondesson's harmonies sounding their best yet over the rollicking spread of beats, banjos, and acoustics.

DOMINIC FIKE – 3 NIGHTS

Every once in a while, an artist comes along who you just know has something special. Dominic Fike is one such artist. The Naples, Florida native was recently signed to Columbia Records for a reported $4 million after a label bidding war, and listening his debut EP Don't Forget About Me, Demos, it's not hard to hear why. Mixing indie and hip hop influences with ease, Dominic's music oozes with a kind of laid-back vibe that's nothing short of infectious, with “3 Nights” already standing out as the song that's going to send him into the big time. Watch. This. Space.

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Photo by Anderson W Rangel 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.