Welcome to the second of our new regular Friday feature where we present you with our pick of the best new indie pop releases that came out this week.
If you just want to listen to the list of songs on Spotify, they’re the first tracks listed on our cool as shit Spotify playlist IndieRepublik Best New Indie Pop
Hit us up here or via Insta to recommend your favourite artists for next week’s list!
But first – Boygenius live last night on Colbert and the Late Night Show
This isn’t actually a new release (although the new boygenius album is coming out next week!) but ther performance is from last night (as I write) and I thought you just need this:
And…on with the show 🙂
Masha Jana
The young singer songwriter from Sheffield in England brings us a sparkily upbeat indie number titled Let Go. Her Insta bio claims she “writes sad girl songs”.
Masha Jana on Instagram | Masha Jana on Bandcamp
Holly Humberstone – Kissing in Swimming Pools
Holly Humberstone has gone in just a few years from unknown singer-songwriter plinking on the piano in her parent’s living room to being nominated for two Ivor Novellos, winning the BRIT Rising Star in 2022 and coming runner up in BBC Sound Of 2021, Humberstone’s bear-all storytelling is the heart of her craft, Here she sings yearningly about Kissing in Swimming Pools.
Holly Humberstone on Instagram
Giant Rooks – For You
Giant Rooks are now one of Germany’s biggest festival bands, perfectly combining moody fragility with well-penned rock songs and massive singalong choruses. For a good few years something of a badly kept secret, they’ve since exploded beyond Germany’s borders. Oh yes, and we interviewed them way back at the beginning of January 2017 😉 Just saying….(here it is, but in German)
Boywithuke – Problematic
Boywithuke is a Korean-born US American singer who started posting short songs on Tiktok in 2020; initially without getting much recognition until a year later when his stuff suddenly started going viral. One of the clutch of artists who remain faceless, performing behind a mask, nonetheless he has several million followers on Tiktok and on Spotify he’s got nearly 8 million listeners.
Boywithuke on Bandcamp | Boywithuke on Insta
Lovejoy – Normal People Things
Lovejoy are a jumpy indie band from Brighton, England. With their first and second albums coming out in 2021 and their latest in spring of 2023, they’re going places in no uncertain terms.
Donkey Kid – Between the Lines
A born Berliner out of Steglitz in the south-west of the city, Donkey Kid remains something of a mystery. The self-professed bedroom producer has his inspiration as ranging from Jimi Hendrix to 80s indie. His music is timeless indie, and we love it to bits.
Donkey Kid on Instagram | Donkey Kid on Bandcamp
Blood Red Shoes – Long Lost Ghost
Blood Red Shoes are another Brighton band, this time a duo, and they’ve been a fixture in the indie music scene since back in 2005. Quickly becoming well known in the UK, they toured in support of Biffy Clyro and Maximo Park. Since then they’ve released eight studio albums, the last few on the label they’ve also been running for a number of years, Jazz Life.
Blood Red Shoes on Instagram | Blood Red Shoes on Bandcamp
Megan Thee Stallion – Out Alpha the Alpha
Okay, I get it, Megan Thee Stallion is not really indie. In fact she’s not even slightly indie, but you gotta love her, and I couldn’t help including her brand new song about her own hotshirt version of female empowerment 🙂
Hope you liked this little taste of our pick of the best indie pop and indie rock releases from this week. If you want to hear all the indie singles that came out this week that we liked, they’re in the top positions in our indieRepublik Best New Indiepop Playlist, go check it out.
