Welcome to the Indie Update, where we check out indie music across genres! To kick off this feature I’d like to look at a band that represents both of my favorite genres of music, rock and indie.
Rock
Peter Kirk left his mundane job in finance to start writing and performing his own music in Manhattan, NY. Eventually he founded Panama Wedding, adding band members Jared McCarthy, Brett Spigelman, and Kenny Bernard. Panama Wedding made their debut with their songs “All of the People” and “Uma” on air with Jimmy Kimmel in September 2014. One of my favorite songs is “A Brand New Life” which accurately captures the fear and excitement of leaving behind your old life to start something completely new.
Photo Credit: Jesse Kirk
Check out some of these tracks below!
Folk
Folk music has always been a little hard for me to get into, but The Lumineers make it easy to like. The band was originally founded in 2005 by Wesley Schultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (percussion), however it didn’t take off until Neyla Pekarek (cello, vocals) joined the group in 2010. Their self-titled album, released in 2012, skyrocketed the band into popularity with their singles “Submarines”, “Ho Hey”, and “Stubborn Love”. Their latest album, Cleopatra, features some of my favorite songs: “Ophelia”, “Cleopatra”, and “Angela”.
Photo Credit: Scarlet Page
Pop
Of Monsters and Men come to us from the beautiful country of Iceland. The band was created in 2010 by Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir (lead vocals, electric guitar), who then added Brynjar Leifsson (electric guitar), Ragnar Þórhallsson (backing vocals, melodica, glockenspiel), Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson (backing vocals, melodica, glockenspiel, tambourine), and Kristján Páll Kristjánsson (bass). The songs “Little Talks”, “My Head is an Animal”, and “Mountain Sound” propelled the group’s international popularity. By 2013 they were performing on Saturday Night Live and at the Coachella music festival.
R&B
Gabrielle Mirville AKA the ABRA the “Darkwave Duchess” was born in Queens, NY, raised for 8 years in London, England, and then settled down in Atlanta, GA. In 2012, Gabrielle became professionally known as ABRA. In addition to her album, Rose (2015), she has released 2 EPs (BLQ Velvet and Princess), and more than 10 singles. She has also been keeping herself busy working on collaborations with other artists, such as Father, Da$h, Ethereal, and Tommy Genesis. The popularity of her songs “Fruit”, “Roses”, “Pull Up”, and “Diamonds and Gold” have earned her quite the reputation in R&B. Furthermore, ABRA will be starring in a new film, Assassination Nation, which was released September 21, 2018.
Photo Credit: Billboard
Electronic
Hailing from New Jersey, A R I Z O N A has taken their basement band to the stage with their debut album Gallery.
Gallery was released in May 2017 and features some of their most well-known songs, such as “Cross My Mind”, “Brave Enough”, and “Oceans Away”. A R I Z O N A just realest their newest EP in July of this year, Cold Nights // Summer Days. This EP features 2 new songs, “Summer Days” and “Freaking Out”. As of Fall 2017, band members Nate Esquite (guitar), David Labuguen (keys), and Zach Hannah (vocals), have been touring, performing in music festivals, and in July 2018 they opened for Panic! At the Disco.
Photo Credit: Atlantic Records
Stay tuned next week for more of my favorites!