Spaceship

A flying saucer. A soft glow. Dusk indiscernible from dawn. Midnight cloud gazing. Midday star gazing. A run through a twilight field. A drive through a glowing desert. The hum of something alive. This is the indie that fuels exploration - inward, outward, extraterrestrial. Landing somewhere between shoegaze, bedroom pop, and rock, Spaceship balances sleepy peace with an urge to discover. This is for chasing things. 

MADRA, NewDad (2024)

One of the best indie records I’ve found in a long time. While not the most visionary or original album ever, NewDad simply nailed the basics on this record. There really are countless Irish/British alternative groups making great music in this genre (you can’t blame them, they’re damn good at it), but NewDad is truly among the best of them. With succinct, punchy writing, production that verges on shoegaze without being muddled.

The content of the album is rather spiky and consumed by pain. And yet, somehow, the band drowns out this pain in their dreamy pop sound that makes for an utterly pleasant listening experience. Any lovers of Wolf Alice, wet leg, or Garbage (especially with the self-harm themes) will find comfort in the familiar disturb of MADRA.

When Are You Leaving?, NoSo (2025)

You might know NoSo from their well-recieved 2022 Stay Proud of Me album. Three years later, they have returned with When Are You Leaving?, a project that explores the self. Korean-American Baek Hwong is creates something intimate by being vulnerable and open, inviting us into their self-produced home that is this record. Sweet would be the truest word to describe Hwong’s candidness and musical softness.

In the comfort of glowing synths, Hwong tackles everything from growing up as a person of color in a white community, being queer, heartbreak, and the question of the self. Hwong’s voice feels as if another instrument in the arrangement, blurred softly into the ahcing strings. The songwriting is among the best we’ve seen from NoSo - not bold - but subtle: “I’d be man enough in a softer life”; “Learn with me, yearn to be someone undefined”; “Who is it now? Who gets your gift now?”.

portals//polarities, Night Tapes (2025)

Night Tapes has been having a moment. I first came across London trio (with an Estonian frontwoman) in 2024 through their every day is a game singles. Their recent growth, no doubt, can be attributed to their unparralleled ability to curate sonic moods. They do not merely create sound, they create headspaces. A way to view the world. portals//polarities, their first LP, is a complete journey through liminal emotions.

The record is coherent, though not overly homogenous. Of course, because of the shoegaze-y nature of Night Tapes’ music, things are intended to blur into one another. But the band does a good job of keeping production interesting as to avoid listeners actively falling asleep. The album is bursting with highlights, from the brilliant lyricism of television to the Marias-like sexyness of babygirl to the other-worldly-ness of lemon tree midnight (if you aren’t transported to another dimension, you have a money back guarantee). portals//polarities is a record you are intended to sink into. It is a journey through liminal sound. Soak it up.

Belong, Jay Som (2025)

I will not write extensively about Belong, as I have already written a (very affectionate) full-length review of the record in News & Reviews. I will only say that, here, Jay Som is cultivating freedom. A warmth, a comfort, and a freedom. Belong, in the glory of its production and freshness, feels like roaming - safe, but facing a future of a million possibilities. With excellent writing, sonic variety, and a high cool factor, Belong is an ode to the indie and a must-listen for lovers of the genre.

Drag, Yumi Zouma (2025)

Drag is the most recent EP from the beloved Kiwi alt-pop girl group Yumi Zouma. Drag has just enough dream and just enough despair to fit into the playlist perfectly. While the lyrics do not stand out on Drag, the production on the EP is undeniably clean and tight. Yumi Zouma captures female fustration and bottles it up into airy, cinematic indie rock anthems that feel truly appropriate for any place at any time.

Is It Now?, Automatic (2025)

Is It Now? is Los Angeles-based Automatic’s fourth studio LP. The record is a danceable surge of grunge and synth-pop energy that cuts right to the heart of our turbulent moment. With tight grooves, various random sonic elements, and pleasant vocal production, Is It Now? is like a reckoning of the “terror in the skies” with the need to remain optimistic. Automatic will not be victims to the turbulence of our times.

They are (running, literally) after something more. And with their mysterious, enchanting indie rock sounds, they are inviting us to follow.