BEST INDIE SONGS – WEEK 45

For 364 days of the year, music is without a doubt the most important thing on the planet. On Tuesday, however, there'll be a more pressing matter at hand: Getting out and voting! This isn't the place to push a political agenda (although I've made it pretty clear who I'll be supporting over recent weeks), but just remember to take off your headphones at some point tomorrow and make your voice heard (and prevent a sociopathic asshat from running the country while you're at it) (you decide who I'm referring to). Okay, political rant over! Back to music being the important thing on the planet and to the Best Indie Songs of Week 45 from Jagwar Ma, George Maple, Nick Waterhouse, PIXIES, Cherry Glazerr and more.

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JAGWAR MA – SLIPPING

Jagwar Ma are back and bringing the rave, Dave, this November on “Slipping.” Featured on the Australian trio's sophomore album Every Now And Then, the song is a pyrotechnic blast of Madchester-indebted psychedelia complete with dance-inducing beats and oh-so-dreamy vocals.

LO MOON – LOVELESS

Seven minutes of slow-burning dream pop bliss, anyone?! “Loveless” is enigmatic Los Angeles outfit Lo Moon's debut single, but the sprawling, ambitious composition could fool anyone into believe that it's the work of a far more established act. I appreciate that it's a long one, but trust me when I say that it's worth consuming every second.

LOUIS BERRY – RESTLESS

Louis Berry is the epitome of rock 'n' roll. With his rasping, gin-soaked vocals, the British singer-songwriter makes music that invites comparisons to legends such as Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. Paired with a Finn Keenan-directed video that finds Berry looking dapper on the streets of Dublin, his latest single “Restless” is an acoustic-driven foot-stomper that has the appeal of an instant classic.

GEORGE MAPLE – LOVER

Call 911, as Australian singer-songwriter George Maple is turning up the heat on her latest single “Lover.” A sizzling slice of R&B that finds Maple serving it atop perhaps her most blistering production yet, everything about “Lover” is sure to leave you hot under the collar. “I wanted to capture the beauty in the primal obsession of love,” reveals Maple. “Messy love. Destructive love. The dopamine effect. The power of loss or struggle and what it drives humans to do.” *Insert fire emoji here.*

RITUAL – AMEN

Are you ready for a transcendent listening experience?! Okay, so maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but British three-piece RITUAL definitely take us to church on their latest single, “Amen.” Featured on their third EP, Every Night Another But Not You, “Amen” is a spiritual ballad that finds RITUAL rhapsodizing about finding someone – or something – to believe in (“You were always one for doubting/Said it's your form of believing/Amen/Amen”) over a chilltrap-meets-R&B beat. *Insert prayer hands emoji here.*

TEN FÉ – OVERFLOW

British indie rock duo TEN FÉ continue to build anticipation for their debut album Hit The Light – due out in February – with the anthemic “Overflow.” Centered around thunderous percussion and a driving bassline and packed full of life-affirming hooks, the Ewan Pearson-produced track once again finds TEN FÉ showcasing enough purpose and ambition to sell out a stadium. For fans of: Bruce Springsteen, The Cure.

NICK WATERHOUSE (FEAT. LEON BRIDGES) – KATCHI

Retro kings Nick Waterhouse and Leon Bridges team up to give us some much-needed soul this Monday morning with the old-school cool “Katchi.” Opening with 50s-inspired “shooby-doo-wops” before transforming into a skronking blues groove, Waterhouse explains to The FADER that “katchi” is an “old Louisiana Indian term for 'loving touch'.” He continues: “We rode it out and next thing we know we had a straight cruiser.”

PIXIES – CLASSIC MASHER

Nothing makes me more happy than to hear PIXIES releasing music in 2016 that doesn't cause me to cringe. If only the same could be said for other 90s legends. But I digress... “Classic Masher,” the fourth single to be shared from Head Carrier, is PIXIES at their pop-leaning finest. The video is also a must-watch, with bassist Paz Lenchantin the brainchild behind the stop-motion ode to Mephistopheles.

FENNE LILY – BUD

Having enchanted the blogosphere earlier this year with her gauzy debut single, “Top To Toe,” rising British chanteuse Fenne Lily returns this November with her second offering. “Bud” is a fragile ode to unrequited love that hears Lily pair her breathy vocals with thrummed acoustics, resulting in yet another contemporary folk masterpiece that makes for an essential addition to any winter playlist.

CHERRY GLAZERR – NURSE RATCHED – CURATOR ROBERT DUFFY

The parental advisory at the beginning of the video for the kick-ass “Nurse Ratched” by Cherry Glazerr?! Yeah, you should really pay attention to it... Directed by horror film-maker Roxanne Benjamin and starring Cherry Glazerr singer Clementine Creevy as a bloodthirsty hitch-hiker, the incredibly graphic clip is best avoided if you have a sensitive stomach. If you can handle the thought of a person getting stabbed for the entirety of a guitar solo, though, by all means check it out.

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Thanks for listening! Don't forget: Get out and vote! x

“Photo” by Vladimir Kudinov 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.