TOP INDIE SONGS – WEEK 27

Summer is in full force and the world got even brighter on Friday when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage! It only seems right, then, that BitCandy continue to spread the love this Monday with another dose of top indie songs for your listening pleasure! Featuring Bellingham icons Death Cab for Cutie, Toronto producer OBESØN, London crooner Tom Misch and more, there's something here for everyone! So put on your favorite heart-shaped sunglasses and grab an ice-cold beverage (a frozen margarita if you're offering) as you're about to be overwhelmed with seriously warm and fuzzy feels!

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MONOGRAM – ANNO

Working from an isolated cabin in the remote Scottish borders, you could say Monogram is Glasgow's answer to Bon Iver! The similarities pretty much end there, however, as Liam Rutherford opts for a far more cinematic sound than his Eau Claire counterpart. On “Anno,” his second song after “Romance,” Rutherford beings together reverb-laden drums, jangling guitars and sing-a-long vocals to create the kind of explosive pop anthem that could only come from the soul of a Scot!

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE – THE GHOSTS OF BEVERLY DRIVE

Coming in the wake of Ben Gibbard's high-profile divorce, it's not all that surprising Death Cab for Cutie's eighth album, Kintsugi, was imbued with a cold sense of detachment. The Bellingham icons bring that emotion to life in the video for “The Ghosts of Beverly Drive,” which sees Gibbard guide a bus full of tourists through one of Los Angeles' omnipresent celebrity tours. That's a man thinking about Zooey Deschanel right there!

HURRICANE LOVE – BLIND DEAF & DUMB (THE ACOUSTIC LIVE SESSION)

Malmö outfit Hurricane Love are one of those kind of bands who really come into their own in concert so I was beyond excited when they announced they was following up their recent debut EP with an acoustic live version! Here they perform a stripped-back albeit triumphant rendition of “Blind Deaf & Dumb,” a song which hears the Lovers question “Is it better to stick your head in the sand, instead of trying to change the way we are living on this planet?” It's guaranteed to get your heart beating, feet stomping and mind racing!

FUNKTIONSLUST – EVEN

If Funktionslust are yet to cross your radar, then “Even” from their debut EP A Different Street is sure to make you sit up and pay attention to the London duo! Propelled along by producer Joe Gillick's skittering beats and vocalist Sage Redman's wraithlike vocals, it's a menacing banger further enhanced by the official video. Shot in Seoul, it accompanies a businessman on a hedonistic night out on the town after getting fired by his boss. Taking in seedy karaoke bars, street markets, abandoned parks and more, it's an ominous watch that, if nothing else, teaches you how to say “fuck” in Korean!

TOM MISCH – SUNSHINE

Tom Misch soundtracked much of my winter and it's looking as though the London producer is going to be soundtracking much of my summer too! The vibes are turned up to 11 on his most recent effort “Sunshine,” which hears the 19-year-old blend various styles and genres into the ultimate sonic cocktail. As he croons carefree lyrics (“Because we'll be just fine, if we take our time, let the sun shine”) over big horns, a groovy Balaeric guitar riff and a thumping house beat, it's obvious Misch is feeling more confident than ever. And best of all? It's utterly infectious! Don't tell me you're not smiling by the end of this!

CLOVES – FRAIL LOVE

It can be a daunting thing letting the public listen to your music for the first time, but on her debut single Cloves goes one step further and bares her soul! The angelic-voiced Melbourne songstress channels both Lana Del Rey and Adele on “Frail Love,” which hears the 19-year-old pour the contents of her heart out over a bed of reverb-drenched piano chords. Heavenly doesn't begin to describe it, but it's definitely a start!

WILD ONES – DIM THE LIGHTS

Rev up your engines! A couple of years after releasing their scintillating debut album, Keep it Safe, Wild Ones, return this 2015 with “Dim the Lights” from their forthcoming EP, Heatwave. Pairing crystalline production with Danielle Sullivan's soprano, the song hears the Portland five-piece edge into a more polished pop territory ala CHVRCHES and Electric Youth and is perfect for a late-night drive through the city!

OBESØN (FEAT. CHENEY) – SAY MY NAME

Some old-school OBESØN, anyone?! The Toronto producer dropped “Say My Name” in November 2014, but the song recently resurfaced on my SoundCloud feed via Lavish and it still thumps as hard as ever! If your subwoofers need a good seeing to, then be sure to bump this really loud! The production is incredibly beefed-up and bass-heavy, and when combined with London-born, Los Angeles-based chanteuse Cheney's ethereal vocals, transforms into the ultimate club banger!

BLANK BODY – ELEPHANT

And just like that, Blank Body proves himself to be the most innovative, groundbreaking and thought-provoking hip hop producer on the planet! The enigmatic Californian beatmaker is miles ahead of anyone else (okay, except maybe Arca). Give it a couple of years and every rapper in the game is going to be spitting bars over his angular, fizzy and wonky compositions such as “Elephant.” Welcome to the future, kids!

KIIARA – GOLD

Kiiara is a hardware store clerk (no, really) hailing from Illinois and her debut single “Gold” is the most effortlessly cool thing you're going to listen to today! It hears the 20-year-old wrap glitchy and sensual vocal loops around a minimalistic trap beat as produced by frequent SZA collaborator Felix Snow. Before you know it, she has wrapped them around your neural pathways too, and if “Gold” is a sign of what's to come from her debut EP Meet Me in the Cornfield, then Kiiara might seriously want to think about quitting her day job!

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Thanks for listening! Don't forget to spread the love! x

“Bubble Pop Electric” by Super Awesome is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (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.