Kamp! and Heats arrive like a very welcome signal flare : crisp, bold, and impossible to ignore. If your summer playlists still need a pulse, this is the cut that makes the whole month feel a little more awake.
Indie Rock
The William Blakes land "Secretly" like a surprise single worth bragging about. this feels essential: sharp, modern, and just mysterious enough to make your headphones work a little harder.
Tunng’s "Hustle" lands like the first good surprise of the moment: sharp, strange, and instantly replayable. It sounds built for the late-summer week when your inbox is cruel and the air feels slightly sticky.
Hugo turns Bread & Butter into the kind of track that sneaks up fast and then owns the afternoon. this feels fresh, sharp, and impossible to file neatly, which is exactly why it matters right now.
GROUPLOVE sounds impossible to ignore today, and “Don’t Say Oh Well” lands like a fresh blast of summer static . It feels like the kind of song that sneaks onto every car stereo before anyone admits they know the chorus.
Tired Pony’s “Point Me At Lost Islands” lands like a surprise transmission : big, weary, and strangely uplifting. If your summer needs a song that sounds like it has already survived the bad weather, this is it.
Frightened Rabbit lands "Living In Colour" like a late-summer wake-up call, all nerve and no filler. this feels less like a deep cut and more like the kind of song that sneaks onto every smart mixtape by Friday.
Graffiti6 makes “Stare Into The Sun” feel like the record you should already know . It arrives with enough swagger to sound fresh on first spin, yet warm enough to stick like a summer single with actual replay value.
Florence + The Machine sounds like a band crashing into your with a song that refuses to sit still. “Swimming” lands with the kind of dramatic confidence that makes it feel instant, like it already belongs on every mixtape and late-night radio slot.
Tyler Lefebvre rolls out “Summer Eyes” like the track that sneaks onto every good playlist before anyone asks for the aux. It feels fresh, immediate, and a little too cool for the weather, which is exactly why it matters right now.
A B & The Sea and “Bone Dry” land like a bright, new favorite the kind of track that makes a humid afternoon feel suddenly edited down to something sharper. It sounds like a summer single that already knows how to win over a room.
La Roux and “Bulletproof” feel like the future showing up early. this sounds freshly minted, with the kind of steel-eyed confidence that turns a late-summer commute into a victory lap.
Graffiti6’s “Stone In My Heart” lands like a fresh July-single rumor that’s already getting louder . It feels too polished to ignore and too cool to sit on the sidelines, which is exactly why it belongs in rotation right now.
My favorite Indie Rock songs from the past year.
Paid-only
Opus Orange lands “Nothing But Time” like a brand-new secret worth sharing before everyone else catches on. this feels essential: it has the calm confidence of a track that can quietly own the month.
Gotye sounds like the left-field indie pop act everybody is suddenly pretending to have known first, and Learnalilgivinanlovin arrives with enough snap to justify the brag. It feels fresh, clever, and oddly catchy in the way the best new singles do right before year-end lists start fighting.
Noisettes land "Never Forget You" like a fresh takeover : fizzy, fearless, and impossible to ignore. If you want a chorus that hits like it already owns the season, this is the one.
Slow Club’s It Doesn’t Have to Be Beautiful, Unless It’s Beautiful lands like a perfect surprise: scrappy, sweet, and sharp enough to feel instantly current. It sounds like the kind of song you claim you found first, before everyone else starts pretending they did too.
The Twang land "Barney Rubble" like it just dropped into and immediately owns the room. It feels essential right now because it sounds like the sort of scrappy, swaggering single that turns a grey week into something worth bragging about.
Sharam and Kid Cudi land She Came Along like it already owns the airwaves. It feels fresh, glossy, and just off-center enough to sound bigger than the week’s usual club bait.
MSTRKRFT drops Heartbreaker like it just blasted out of a neon basement in downtown Toronto, and that feels current, not retro. It hits with enough swagger to sound like a club record and enough bite to feel like it might crack the ice outside.
Cut Copy and Lights & Music hit like a fresh obsession: bright, loose, and impossible to ignore. If the year needs one more anthem for dance floors, late-night drives, and cheap speakers in overheated apartments, this is it.
Florence + The Machine lands Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) like it is already everywhere . It feels huge, urgent, and just mysterious enough to make the whole month look better from the first chorus.
Ellie Goulding arrives with "Under The Sheets" sounding like the kind of track that sneaks onto every December playlist before anyone notices. In late 2009, it feels fresh, a little icy, and impossible to file away.
