TOP INDIE SONGS – WEEK 49

Best Of 2016 lists are slowly but surely starting to overtake the music blogosphere (spoiler: Frank Ocean tops them ALL), but you won't find any of those here at BitCandy. Why would we want to waste your precious time telling you about the cool sh*t that you've already listened to, when we could be telling you about the cool sh*t that you haven't?! The choice is yours. Stay stuck in 2016 – the year of political turmoil, celebrity deaths and Donald J. Trump – or come with us into 2017 with yet another edition of Top Indie Songs from TOBACCO, Tove Lo, Theophilus London and even more!

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TOBACCO – LIVE ON KEXP

TOBACCO emerges from the shadows this December to perform live for KEXP. Watch the Black Moth Super Rainbow frontman – who recently unveiled his fourth solo album Sweatbox Dynasty – bring his experimental (read: f*cked up) breed of electronica to the Seattle radio station in the 15-minute clip, which also includes a chat with the infamously enigmatic Pittsburgh producer.

BILLIE EILISH – OCEAN EYES

Just when we thought that Los Angeles singer Billie Eilish couldn't get anymore talented, the 14-year-old reveals that she's also a gifted dancer in the video for “Ocean Eyes” – a truly beautiful ballad that Eilish says was always meant to be put to choreography: “Like music, dance has always been my passion; a way to express how I feel. We originally recorded 'Ocean Eyes' for a dance recital to be choreographed by my teacher, Fred. I ended up being injured and wasn't able to dance for a long time, so after all that has happened with our music this year, it is especially exciting to be able to do this video.”

TOVE LO – TRUE DISASTER

Tove Lo cranks up the temperature in the video for her latest single, the synth pop banger “True Disaster.” The Stockholm songstress – who currently is busy promoting her second album Lady Wood – tries and fails to escape from her demons in the Tim Erem-directed clip, which begins with her car being doused in gasoline by a mysterious figure, and only proceeds to get hotter from there on out. *Insert fire emoji here!*

THE GRISWOLDS – OUT OF MY HEAD

In August, The Griswolds unveiled “Out Of My Head,” a truly explosive break-up anthem, and this month, the Sydney indie pop quartet return with the video. Directed by Y2K, the clip sees Christopher Whitehall, Tim John, Daniel Duque-Perez and Lachlan West putting in an energetic live performance while animations form around them, the final result making like a modern-day ode to the video for “Need You Tonight” by INXS.

THEY. – WHAT YOU WANT

Having recently shared a cover-of-sorts of Nirvana's “Polly,” Los Angeles rebels THEY. continue to hone their guitar-driven breed of R&B this December with “What You Want.” Released ahead of their debut album Nü Religion: HYENA – due out in February via Mind Of A Genius and Warner Bros. Records – “What You Want” is a genre-bending banger that's sure to appeal to a wide range of listeners.

THEOPHILUS LONDON – REVENGE (FEAT. ARIEL PINK)

If Stranger Things has got you OBSESSED with everything 80s, then “Revenge” by Theophilus London is for you. The follow-up to the Kevin Parker-produced “Whiplash,” “Revenge” is an all-out synth pop anthem that hears London collaborating with yet another indie legend, Ariel Pink, over a driving beat and reverb-drenched, neon-laced synthesizers.

KODA – LEVIATHAN

Koda is back and sounding more spine-chilling than ever. Eight months after unveiling a cover of Kanye West's “All Day,” the Los Angeles singer-songwriter returns this December with “Leviathan.” Featuring his haunting, Thom Yorke-esque vocal incantations drifting atop a bed of goosebumps-inducing acoustics, “Leviathan” brings with it a deep sense of despair (“Every one of us is alone”) that many of us no doubt resonate with in the wake of the recent election.

OWEN RABBIT – OH MY GOD

Melbourne multi-instrumentalist Owen Rabbit concludes his 2016 with perhaps his most ambitious song yet. Built around earth-shattering bass and Rabbit's lamentations of “Oh my God/I can't forget about it,” “Oh My God” is nothing short of an electronic pop behemoth that's reminding us of a more bold M83.

FREEDOM FRY – LINGER (THE CRANBERRIES COVER)

Husband-and-wife duo Freedom Fry are sure to hit you right in the feels with their cover of “Linger” by The Cranberries. The acoustic rendition of the 90s classic is devastatingly beautiful, with the folk-leaning arrangement allowing the spotlight to fall on Dolores O'Riordan's lyrics, which, over 23 years later, are as heartbreaking as ever. “We tried to keep it bare so you could really feel the words,” write Freedom Fry on SoundCloud. “It's something to hold you over until next year when we start releasing a lot of the new music we've been creating.”

SO MUCH LIGHT – SIT WITH IT

“Hey guys. It's been a weird week. Here's my best effort to provide a little catharsis.” – Damien Verrett, aka So Much Light, helps us to come to terms with current political events with “Sit With It.” A brooding moodpiece that finds the Sacramento producer crooning atop lush electronic atmospherics, “Sit With It” carries with it a message about the importance of working together in the face of adversity (“Let's hurt as one/Take form/Go forward.”).

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Until next week, why not check out our Indie Pop and Chill tabs for even more cool sh*t?! x

“Photo” by Gabriel Barletta is licensed under CC0 1.0 (cropped and resized).

About Jess Grant

When Jess Grant isn't writing on music, she can be found playing it – on her guitar, on her ukulele, and on her recently acquired mandolin. Playing it hideously, she ought to add. Jess also studies. She studies the English language, to be precise. Jess is currently on her way to a degree in the subject, and enjoys starting and never finishing novels, screenplays, and poetry in her spare time. She also likes dogs. Lots of dogs.