WL//WH Weekly Shoegaze / Dreampop / Psychedelic / Indie Tips

• Brisbane, Australia shoegaze /dream pop trio Devotions “Vanity Pools” from the upcoming album “Pusher” on Somewherecold Records
  

Already a weekly pick two years ago with the first intoxicating glimpse of Melbourne trio’s lush neon-lit dark pop, burning with simmering passion. Whilst it’s easy to fall into easy comparisons, taken in the grip of bulky dreampop sacred monsters such as Chromatics and Beach House, the pair move with enough personality and charm, while delving into the same nocturnal and mesmeric sonic boundaries, suffused, dreamlike, elegant and caressingly yet wistfully melodic. The suspended, immersive song is headily built on shimmering swanky guitar spangles and fascinating anxious vocals, brimming with emotional pent-up nervous tension, struggling to throw careless whispers to the wind, amid icy bright synth shimmers and lost distant skylines of sparkling allure.

• Swedish lo-fi /jangle /noise guitar pop duo Vihtori & Tyra Hasselrot Uksila (Fka The Ground Pounders) from Gothenburg, Friendly Boyfriend – “Julie’s Head” from the “Pick Up!” EP 7″ on Happiest Place Records
  

Noise and melody, dissonance and harmony blend inextricably in a rickety yet heady balance over the debut 4 tracker from the Gothenburg‘s duo, swaying hypnotically between distorted riffs, rippling penetrating reverberations, pulsating basslines, obsessive rhythmic grooves, wandering bright alienating keyboards over contagious choruses and dry, angsty male/female vocal interplays. Rambling on the off-kilter sonic fringe of the Dunedin lo-fi guitar sound, the raw indie of Guided By Voices, the rust-strewn chiming echoes of Big Star and the ramshackle jangle of The Vaseline, smothered in layers of Velvet Underground droning electricity and hazy psychedelic shades, Friendly Boyfriend‘s debut 7″ EP, crawling with inebriating sparkling hazy pop magic, stained in restrained scratchy and rugged blankets of feedback, is absolutely not to miss.

• Portland, OR bedroom /fuzzy shoegaze solo project Animal Ghosts “Blue” first single from the upcoming album “Wallow”
  

Portland one-man band delivers hazily enveloping noisy melodies and poignant, dreamlike euphoria, submerged by shifting and layered swirling 6-string textures, in the new single “Blue”. Propulsive and popping, Stone Roses-like syncopated rhythms trigger turbulent bursts of droning reverb-drenched fuzzy guitar distortion, amidst hypnotic, atmospheric hums and breathy angsty male vocals rife with blurry moods of devotion and rapture.

• London, UK chill/soundtrack/doo-wop/orchestral pop singer /songwriter /multi-instrumentalist VERONICA DAJANI “Tonya’s Theme” (Single)
  
• Melbourne based ambient /neo-classical /drone /ethereal /dream-pop artist Phoebe Dubar, aka IKSRE “As Good As It Gets” off the third album ‘III’ on Hush Hush Records
  
• Los Angeles, CA new wave /slowcore /dream pop duo RUBY HAUNT “Skip-Tracing” third single from the new album “Watching The Grass Grow” out September 2nd, 2021.
  
• San Francisco, Ca indie /slowcore /dream-pop 4-piece CINDY “Lost Dog” from the upcoming album “1:2” via Tough Love/Mt. St. Mtn
  
• Austin, TX shoegaze /dark pop band Pale Dīan “Emily” ltd. cassette single on Mr. Pink Records
  
• San Francisco lo-fi dream-pop duo Michael Ramos (Tony Jay) and Karina Gill (Cindy), FLOWERTOWN “Dim Nik” from the vinyl 12″ album “Time Trials” on Paisley Shirt Records.
  
• Pacific Northwest Gloom Pop duo Ezekiel Rudick (Young Elk) and Kendall Sallay-Milotz (Starover Blue), aka The Slow Sound “Elora” single on Autumnal Music
  
• California shoegaze /post-punk /noise/guitar rock band lead by singer-guitarist Jason Martin, STARFLYER 59 “Sunrise” third single from the forthcoming album “Vanity” on Velvet Blue Music
  
• Austin, TX-based shoegaze /jangle /indie pop /noise /dream pop band, Letting Up Despite Great Faults “Gemini” first single off the forthcoming album ‘IV’
  
• Los Angeles indie /shoegaze /sadcore /dream-pop band Cryogeyser “Bad” from the upcoming album “Timetetheredtogether” on Terrible.
  
• Adelaide, Australia lo-fi /indie /dream pop duo DEEP SEA DATA “Nude Spa” new single
  
• Tokyo based tribal-psych trio KUUNATIC “Tītián” single from Kuunatic’s first full album “Gate of Klüna” on Glitterbeat Records
  
• Ljubljana, Slovenia dark folk /synthpop project of singer /songwriter Vasje Oniča (aka Movern and Rush to Relax guitarist), aka UJMA “Dead around the Eyes” from the upcoming album “The Hereafter” on ZARŠ Records
• Brooklyn, NY groovy indie rock /dreampop 4-piece Lunarette “Tangerine Spritz” one-off single out now via Babe City and Topshelf Records
  
• Gothenburg, Sweden indie funpop trio (members of Amateur Hour, Makthaverskan, Westkust and Agent Blå), TYPICAL GIRLS “Miata” from the “Miata/Nice Boys” 7″ single on Kanine Records
  
• Kingston, NY indie rock band BATTLE AVE. “My year with the wizard” from s/t EP
  
• Hamburg, Germany indie rock /rock’n’roll 5-piece band Swutscher “Daheim” new single on La Pochette Surprise Records
  
• Myrtle Beach, SC Indiepop /Tweepop /Jangle /Dreampop project of Brian Hancheck, The Arctic Flow “_A_ is for” off the new album “Lost You Long Ago” on Sunday Records
  
• Alameda, Ca fuzzy/jangle/indie/bedroom pop side project of Jason Dezember (Nar, Ski Instructors, Plastic Shoelace, The Bagpipe Operations), The Ashenden Papers “Summer’s Coming On” from the 2-track single “Summer” on Secret Center Records
  
• Malmö, Sweden power-pop band MOM “There She Goes Again” (written by Marshall Crenshaw) from “Pulls A Fast One” cover EP
  
• Akron, OH jangle /indie rock /power-pop 4-piece LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS “I Can’t Stop Thinking About You” off double A-sided single “I Can’t Stop Thinking About You” b/w “Stumbling Down Memory Lane” on Big Stir Records
  
• St Paul, Minnesota indie rock/power pop band of Drew Forsberg, aka The Persian Leaps “When This Gets Out” from “Drone Etiquette” EP via Land Ski Records
  
• Philadelphia based indie /punk rock project of UK musician Lou Hanman (former member of Caves & Flamingo50), All Away Lou “Looks Right” new single on Specialist Subject Records
  
• Melbourne, Australia fuzzy garage pop /slacker rock project of former Viral Eyes, Odin Franklin, aka TV Dreams “I.D.K.” new single from the upcoming debut album.
  
• Philippines synth-driven alt-indie rock band The Line Divides “Destiny” single on Melt Records
  
• Ottawa, Ontario moody synthpop / dreamy darkwave duo VIOLENTENE “Delusions” new single
  
• Toronto, Ontario dream pop /indie /folk-rock duo Funeral Lakes “Place I Stay” from the new EP “Redeemer”.
  
• Kansas City-based noise pop /shoegaze project of Dylan Beck (Heidi Klum’s Bangs, Carlo dell’Aquila, SpellChek), aka A Real Echoey Approach “Paths, Unfolding” from “Until the Day I Am Lifted to the Sky, I Will Feel Your Voice Echo Within Me, and I Will Know I Am Not Alone” EP
  
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Britpop /shoegaze /indie rock band The Starlit Hues “Ocean Heart” from the”Snow Team” EP
  
• Villahermosa, Mexico dream pop / shoegaze 5-piece LASITUD “Nenúfares” new single
  
• Japanese alt/shoegaze solo project Kinoue64 – 破 – from the single – 0 –
  
• US shoegaze /synthwave /dream pop trio based in Atlanta, MIRROR MOVE “Air” off the debut self-titled EP
  
• San Francisco shoegaze /noise-rockers Deafheaven “Shellstar” from the 4th album “Infinite Granite” via Sargent House
  
• Jacksonville, FL lo-fi /noise rock /shoegaze 4-piece ROSEWILDER “Melancholy” new single on Couch Dive Records
  
• Heavy shoegaze /grunge influenced band from Brazil, SLOWHAZE “Walls” from the debut s/t EP
  
• Florence, Italy dream pop /shoegaze band WE MELT CHOCOLATE “59#1 (The Nightblooms Cover)” from the EP 59#1 on No Me Escucho Records
  
• Chicago, IL shoegaze /indie rock project of Nigel Evan Dennis aka LOWMID “Trust” from the debut “It’s Better This Way” EP
  
• Tokyo, Japan disbanded dream pop /shoegaze band ((the submariners)) “silentalk” from “memorabilia” EP (remastered collection of tracks from two previous EPs)
  
• Bozeman, Montana instrumental post-rock band RANGES “Abyss” (Single) on A Thousand Arms.
  
• Melbourne, Australia lo-fi garage noise pop solo project of Tam Richards-Matlakowski (Permits, Girlatones, Carpet Burn, Chook Race), aka Tam Vantage “Living On The Outside” from upcoming third LP “Laughing Gas & Apple Pie” on Still Traveller Records
  
• Taiwan indie rock power trio 拍謝少年╱Sorry Youth “踅夜市 Nightmarket” off third album “歹勢好勢 Bad Times, Good Times”
  
• Mexican indie rock /shoegaze /dream pop band SOMEWHERE “Old Country” (Single)
  
• Santiago, Chile bedroom pop /shoegaze /indie pop /dreampop solo project of Francisco Undurraga, aka No Invierno “Danza Nocturna” from the new album “Plantas Para Sanar”
  
• Sheffield, UK based veteran shoegaze /jangle /indie pop band The Suncharms – “Cast a Spell” from the album “Distant Lights” on Sunday Records
  
• Brazilian post-punk /new wave /dream pop singer-songwriter based in Fortaleza, Anum Preto “Cidade de Muros e Segredos” (Single)
  
• Portland, Or indie-rock 4-piece Blackwater Holylight “Around You” from the upcoming third LP “Silence/Motion” on RidingEasy Records
  
• Brooklyn, NY indie rock trio A Great Big Pile of Leaves “Waiting for Your Love” from the third full-length album “Pono”
  
• Seattle-based indie rock trio (formally known as Gestalt), Supernowhere “Hairspine” from the album “Gestalt” on Topshelf Records
  
• Australian four-piece psych-pop group from Melbourne, GO DOG GO “Yoda” (Single)
  
• New York bedroom pop project of cassette label Erased! Tapes founder, Jonathan Nankof (aka Sundog), SALT “Summer Swimming” from upcoming s/t album on Sleeper Records
  
• Ventnor City, NJ dream-pop /indie-pop solo project LOUD HOUND “Disappoint U” (Single)
  
• Antwerp/Hamburg-based dream-pop duo THE DAY “Empty” new single
  
• Copenhagen, Denmark indie-folk /indie-pop project of former Superheroes guitarist Asger Tarpgaard, aka LATE RUNNER “A Handful Of Dust” from the album “Nothing’s Real Anymore” on Crunchy Frog
  
• Japanese bedroom /indie /dream pop /surf rock solo project of Tokyo-based Azusa Suga (For Tracy Hyde/AprilBlue), Letters To Annika “Tether” (Single)
  
• Uppsala, Sweden C86 /indie guitar pop duo (former members of mid-’90s bands Able and Seashells), Fantasy Postcards “Caught In Our Shadow” new single
  
• Utah retro /synth pop /wave /indie rock project Blondeking “Higher Than the Rain” (Single)
  
• Central Luzon, Philippines indie-pop 4-piece Orange & Lemons “Yakapin Natin Ang Gabi” 3rd single from Orange & Lemons’ upcoming 4th studio album on Lilystars Records
  
• Canadian electropop project of former Austra musician and producer Maya Postepski, aka Princess Century “Still The Same” from upcoming third full-length “s u r r e n d e r” on Paper Bag Records
  
• Mumbai, India disco /indie pop /synthpop singer, producer and composer Punch.M ft. Joel Padikkal – “Back to You” single on Krunk Kulture
  
• Tokyo, Japan indie-pop band THE CARAWAY “Another Christmas Will Come Around This Year” the title track from the upcoming “Another Christmas Will Come Around This Year” The Caraway X’Mas Vinyl Single EP on blue-very label
  
• Dreamy indie-pop duo from LA, SEAFOAM “Big t-shirts” from debut “Songs for you (demo)” EP
  
• Japanese Dream Pop /Shoegazer /Post-Rock band from Tokyo, Once Grace Forever “Rootless We Are” new single
  
• Indie rock band from the UK, DON’T WORRY “All The Things” from the acoustic cassette EP “Sideways Rain” on Specialist Subject Records
  
• Queensland-based jazz pianist Robert Welsh spiritual jazz project, SINGING DUST “Let Me Take Your Name” from s/t album originally issued in 1986 on Melbourne independent label Cleopatra Records, reissue and remastered on vinyl 12″ by Fresh Hold/Efficient Space
  

 

Photo by Eliza Bourner