indie pop

It’s been nearly two years since Still Corners‘ Still Places, an album that should have propelled them into the indie pop landscape, a place currently dominated by Purity Ring and Grimes. But after the success of Still Places, Still Corners quietly disappeared. It wasn’t until I looked at an old mix I made two years ago that I remembered them and wondered if they had released anything recently. Color my surprise when I discovered that they did.

 ”Horses At Night” is Still Corners’ first single in two years, but their sound is just as recognizable as it was in 2013. Their glacial pop that glides with syrupy smoothness, thanks to the vocals, is my favorite thing about them. And with a current music landscape that’s over-saturated with twee pop, that’s no easy feat. Here’s hoping they don’t go on another two-year hiatus.

Empress Of, real name Lorely Rodriguez, is no stranger to (The) Absolute. We’ve been quietly following her career since she dropped her debut EP in 2013 and have been keeping a close watch on her ever since.

In 2015, she finally releases her debut album, Me, a sprawling album with as much off-kilter jams as they are legit bops. “Standard,” one of the singles from the album, is a track that definitely leans more toward the latter. Because the song challenges the perceptions of body image, director Zaiba Jabbar decided to do some role reversal by casting a body builder to play opposite Lorely. In the video, he dangles her upside down while she eerily sings directly to the camera. It’s simple but powerful, and gets the point of across.

Out of all the singles she released this year, this is by far the strongest and shows her growth from “Brooklyn laptop artist” to a legit musical force a la Grimes or FKA Twigs. Aww, they grow up so fast.

DC-native Young Summer (born Bobbie Allen) creates music that has soft beats, a smooth melody, and a bit of an ’80s vibe to it–in a good way, of course. “Taken” captivates that style almost perfectly. The music video for this song, directed by Allister Ann, is very basic, yet captivating. It’s basically just Young Summer singing in a blue, shiny dress (that reminds me of a mermaid with mirror scales) in the desert amongst various geometric shapes. The simplicity of the music video doesn’t distract you from the actual song itself, which I think is awesome. It allows us to enjoy Young Summer herself and her melodic song at the same time, giving us the best of  both worlds.

This song tugged on my emotions a bit; I mean the chorus itself made me want to lie in my bed and cry for no reason. At all. But that is the beauty of music, it can cause us to feel emotions and such that we may have or haven’t felt before. Although I haven’t listened to her full album, Siren, I am pretty sure all of her other songs carry the same brilliant lyrics and melodic, chill vibe. Forget about your troubles this morning, listen, and unwind.

The main appeal of London five-piece Night Flowers is nostalgia. Their shoegaze-y approach to melodies sounds like the soundtrack for an early ’90s teen, complete with jilted love triangles, shoe boxes full of mixtapes, and late night phone calls with their crush telling them to hang up (“No, you hang up”). Their debut self-titled EP, which you can stream here, proves that although Night Flowers’ sound is familiar, it’s the good kind of familiar, the kind that’s like revisiting an old book or a favorite film. Although all the tracks on their EP echo the same mood,  “Bound” is probably the least nostalgic of the four tracks, drooping along with its dreamy, melancholy chorus. Regardless if you’re a forlorn past-seeker or  just someone who loves dream pop, Night Flowers is worth a listen.

Singer-songwriter Lia Ices’s 2014 album Ices was a psychedelic pop voyage with a noticeable bohemian flair. But she gets in touch with her inner spirit animal in this music video for single “Creatures.” Directed by Tom Jean Webb, the animated video is aesthetically an extension of Ices‘ artwork, going far and wide to represent nature and mysticism with a raw animal spirit. “The song celebrates this wild woman archetype that is connected to the Earth and the senses,” she explained to Nowness. “ I think that’s something Tom I and both celebrate in our work.” But symbolism aside, the animation here is top-notch and recommended for those who like abstract imagery paired with drowsy melodies.

Too often when I recommend a song I like, I lazily use catchiness as the sole arbiter on whether it’s good or not. Yes, “Happy Tim” is pretty damn catchy, but right away, from the rapid, sing-talky lyrics to the obvious cynicism, the song has a lot to say about the lives of corporate commoners, the ones who value mediocrity and happiness by how little they step outside their own bubble. This debut single by London newcomers TEDDY shows a lot of potential. For one, it shows their penchant for commentary, and two, it proves they can construct a solid pop song. Here’s hoping other happy “Tims” can heed their message.

Manchester musician Julie Ann Campbell, aka Lonelady, might brand herself as “post-punk,” but her sophomore album Hinterland shows she’s got some rhinestones and glitter hidden in her musical arsenal. Combining ’80s pop with her usual euro-new wave sound, her music is different from the current roster of indie musicians hijacking the ’80s aesthetic. One major difference is how she avoids over-production pit falls by relying on catchy hooks and simple guitar riffs. Without much effort, she manages to create an album with all the head-bopping flair of a pop album while still maintaining its post-punk roots.

“Bunkerpop” is the lead single, but it’s far from my favorite track on the album. For a taste, you can stream the full thing.