Indie Kids: Ariana Fig, Bad Flamingo, Mike Like Mike, Astronomers of the Strange, Nick & June, GENIIE BOY, The eight five two, You Said Forever, Nadia Kamrath

You might have noticed our recent spate of blog playlists here at Purple Melon, from Five In Five to Dance Collective to Purple Pop. We’re trying our best to be as genre inclusive as possible as so for all your Indie Kids out there, our new one gathers together rock, alternative, bedroom-pop, lofi and more!

‘Guilty Pleasure’ from Ariana Fig is a dreamy indie-pop gem for accepting your flaws and desires, and ultimately surrendering yourself to the flow of life. The Canadian artist uses her romantic vocals to portray this confessional attitude over a cinematic array of synths, pounding drums and fully-bodied retro guitars.

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Mysterious duo Bad Flamingo have put forward their Americana-influence indie sound in new single ‘The Fifth of June’, and even with three minutes and twelve seconds at their disposal, they give nothing away. Instead we recommend listeners basque in the glow of the Western sun that’s given off by the winding guitars and steady pace of this track.

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In his debut single ‘Wake Up’, Mike Like Mike sounds like a mixture between Milky Chance and Jake Bugg and it’s a melange that we’re very much here for. Every element of this song was played, written, recorded and produced by the young artist and it shows great potential for breaking out into the acoustic-electro space.

Our next dive into the indie music space, takes us to the star-gazing sounds of Astronomers of the Strange with their loved-up single ‘Love and Something Else’. This Los Angeles band combine elements of indie-folk and lofi pop in this delightfully refreshing and romantic listen, that’s indicative of late 90s rom-com soundtracks. For us, that’s pure nostalgia.

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Intuitive duo Nick & June create a unique and alluring atmosphere with ‘Anything But Time’, which is set to feature on their upcoming EP. The slow-burning track evokes the hazy days of the 1960s with a purposefully lofi production style and layered analogue sounds that ebb and slow like the waves we’re inclined to imagine while listening to this one.

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With GENIIE BOY’s ‘Shaky Ground’ we get another trip into the musical past, although this one is decidedly early 2000s guitar pop and that’s giving us all sorts of good feelings. It’s a lament to the passage of youth and the bitter taste of heartbreak, which in itself is a natural right of passage. The Australian band flawlessly convey pop melodies, angsty guitars and fuzzy grooves that are so essentials to that ’00s sound.

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‘Shiver’ is the debut single from The eight five two and it immediately struck us as intense, authentic and hauntingly beautiful; that reminds us of the early works of artists like Isaac Gracie and Tamino. With the dramatic percussion and eerie reverb, although of our attention is drawn to the emotionality of those pained words. We won’t be able to shake this track easily.

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There’s no escaping the grasp of ‘Heavy Heart’, the new release from Swedish indie-rockers You Said Forever. They have all the elements of a mid-00s band but with plenty of brooding shoegaze, which they enthusiastically use to demonstrate the unknown turmoils on an internal emotional battle. As the track progresses, the potency of their grungey emo sound increases and with it out love for the exciting new band.

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Filling our quota for soft and vulnerable indie-pop songs today is Nadia Kamrath, the emerging songwriter and musician who has been sharing her captivating stories about her experiences and interpretations of love in its most fragile state. With a 90s era indie-pop sound, ‘Feel This Once’ captures that terrifying and blindingly beautiful moment of feeling love, possibly for the first time.

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