Four exceptional artists for you to get your ears around today. All residing in a gorgeous indie soundscape, these tunes will leave you feeling euphoric for your weekend ahead.
MIMI PRETEND – GOD DAMN
A soundscape fuelled with dream-pop goodness, this shoegaze wonder reminds me of something straight out of the ’90s, but with a sparkling production. It’s shoegaze but not to the point where you can’t hear what the lyrics are. The production is still in your face and able to transcend you into the clouds with ease. Mimi Pretend’s new release ‘God Damn’ is focused and a breath of fresh air to listen to in a hectic music industry.
Speaking about the new single, Mimi Pretend shares: “The idea for God Damn came from a dream I had where I saw someone drowning and for some reason I thought it was my ex
but when I pulled the body out of the water it was me. So for me, it is about letting yourself be devoured and drowned by your own and other people’s bitterness and being held hostage by not ever feeling good enough. I was just driving one day and the line “god damn it took you a while to say you love me” which is funny because most of my exes said, “I love you.”
This track feels like an escape in the midst of chaos in our world. “God Damn” is experimental and armed with a euphoric blend of indie, rock and pop.
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HARRY STAFFORD & MARCO BUTCHER – RULES OF THE HOUSE
Residing in a post-punk atmosphere with some truly quirky moments, this track isn’t for the faint-hearted. It’s for the people who are interested in music that will leave them questioning everything in their lives. “Rules Of The House” was the second taste of their album “We Are The Perilous Men”, out now. Musically, the single isn’t perfect, but that’s what I love so much about it. The imperfections make the perfections completely. It sounds like something you’d hear on an episode of The Mighty Boosh or League of Gentlemen. It’s theatrical and the video is like something straight out of a comedy sketch. Instrumentally, it’s intense and armed with gritting guitar lines and a great drum rhythm.
Marco Butcher adds, “Rules of the House is a diabolical and swampy kind of song, mixing some sort of very solid groove with over-the-edge ‘No Wave’ type of guitars, cutting and dancing with the rhythm”.
The track gives off an energy that just doesn’t care. It’s free and independent, making it a stand-out listen this week in the Pretty Indie playlist. It’s captivating because you don’t know what Harry & Marco are going to do next. I’m excited to hear more releases from this dynamic duo, they had me on the edge of my seat!
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SARANTOS – LABOR DAY
Sarantos‘ new single ‘Labor Day’ is one of the most inspiring tracks you’ll hear not only this month but this year. Inspired by the end of summer and the beginning of fall, the track is all about celebrating the universal power of hard work. Whether that’s physical labor, mental or emotional, every day is work for the globe. “This song is a song everybody needs but doesn’t know they do. Hopefully, you won’t just listen to it once a year,” Sarantos says.
The track may sound like something you might listen to when the time is relevant, but as Sarantos says, it’s a song you won’t just listen to once a year. Relatable all year around and contemporary in the finest of forms, musically, it envisions an indie-pop persona with soft rock elements catering to people from all walks of life. It feels like a perfectly timed piece of music that comes straight from the heart. Inspired by a deeper meaning, it’s a pleasure to listen to and comes across as ‘easy-listening’
Proceeds from the single are being donated to Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), the #1 voluntary health organization in the United States for people living with muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related neuromuscular diseases.
A truly remarkable artist that I’m proud to support.
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SHOWALTER – GOOD DAYS, BAD NIGHTS
A track that pulls at the heartstrings ‘Good Days, Bad Nights‘ dives through themes of alcoholism, codependency, and the fading of memories. It’s armed with nostalgia but in places, not the type of nostalgia that makes you long for the past, but instead makes you want to run away from it. Sounding like a song that wrote itself after experiencing trauma, the alternative folk song is reassured with some stunning indie fragrances.
On the track, Showalter shares: “Good Days, Bad Nights is a very personal song to me. It’s cathartic in ways other songs I’ve written aren’t. It is comforting yet tragic and lets you melt in the vulnerability of its words. I watched my parents fight and makeup over a thousand times. The anger and frustration became second nature and seemed normal to me until it developed my anxiety. When I realized it wasn’t normal behavior, I became scared in my own home. This haunted me for years.”
“Good Days, Bad Nights” tells me that things do get easier. You can take a truly horrific time in your life and create something quite positive from it. For Showalter, it’s writing this absolute gem. It’s an honour to hear an artist become so intimate and personal with his fans. Showalter is easily one of my favorite recent discoveries.
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