With the second week of September coming to a close, the atmosphere of Autumn is beginning to seep in. However, with a few more warm days upon us, many of us are eager to keep that summer spirit alive just one more time.
Thankfully, we have an awesome batch of amazing new music to help make the summer feeling all-the-more real. In this week’s New Music Sunday, we will be covering nine of our favourite picks.
Track Of The Week »
Ellyn Woods » Tangerine
The upbeat atmosphere of ‘Tangerine’ creates a vibe that is truly electric, and wondrous experience to behold.
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While the Canadian indie-pop singer/songwriter that is Ellyn Woods has featured on previous releases, ‘Tangerine’ is her very first stand-alone single. And what better way to bring her style and aesthetic to the forefront, than with this awesomely indulgent and colourful tune. ‘Tangerine’ is jam-packed with all of the minimal yet cosmic indie goodness that you would expect from an artist who has been releasing music for years, which makes this track all the more of an incredibly made debut. The upbeat atmosphere of ‘Tangerine’ creates a vibe that is truly electric, and wondrous experience to behold. The idea that Ellyn Woods herself had more of a “feeling” rather than an “idea” when creating this track, really shines through clearly with this textually expressive, and astronomically enjoyable track.
ELLiS.D » Clap Hands
While ELLis.D has carved out his unapologetically raw aesthetic previously, ‘Clap Hands’ takes this rawness to new heights.
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‘Clap Hands’ is the third single release from experimental post-punk artist ELLis.D, and follows his dual single release, under the umbrella title of ‘Puppeteering’, earlier this year. And while ELLis.D has carved out his aesthetic of being unapologetically raw with the previous tracks, it is fair to say that he takes said aesthetic to new heights with ‘Clap Hands’. The track begins with a minimal but infectiously moody bassline, that while having an unnerving and sinister sound, still manages to effortlessly draw the listener in. However, this track really excels in its progression, turning into a magically noisy cyclone of dynamic sound. All of this awesome progression results in an unforgettably effective track.
Eskobar » Living In The Sky
While retaining the retro brit-pop inspired sound that Eskobar champions, ‘Living in the Sky’ have a more serene, soaring, and euphoric nature.
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The Swedish indie/dream pop trio Eskobar have had a brilliantly productive 2020 thus far. All in preparation for their upcoming album Chapter 2, the band has released a barrage of brilliant teaser tracks over the course of the year. In particular, we at Indie Top 39, along with a vast majority of our community, loved their previous single ‘Hey Sister’ enough for it to stand high in our music chart for a number of weeks. But their greatly retro, the brit-pop-esque indie sound is carried through in their latest single ‘Living in the Sky’. While retaining an upbeat nature, the song has a more serene and soaring sound that really floods the listener with a euphoric kind of enjoyability.
Jump & Turner, Bryony Dunn » Citrus Feelings
The colourful and whimsical goodness of ‘Citrus Feelings’ embody a leftover essence of the summer vibes.
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The first original single to be released by Wales-based producers and songwriters Jump & Turner, following their remix for HANNIE’s ‘Light a Match’, ‘Citrus Feelings’ enlists the vocal talent of Bryony Dunn. And through this debut sound, Jump & Turner perfectly express their punchy and layered electronic sound, in an infectiously catchy track that is only made all the better through Bryony Dunn’s awesome harmonies. There’s definitely a very strong sense of colour and whimsical goodness to this sound, which we feel embodies the title of the track incredibly well. With a hint of Disclosures aesthetic, in the way that Jump & Turner manage to add such a contemporary pop structure to their electronic style so expertly, we definitely revere this track as one that captures a leftover essence of the summer vibes.
Luminar » Alter Ego
‘Alter Ego’ may just be the most immersive, gorgeous, and playlist-ready tracks from Lumiar to date.
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We have loved how the Dutch duo of dream-pop composers Luminar has created numerous soundscapes that listeners will have no trouble getting absolutely lost in, which was particularly clear in their previous single release ‘Circle’. However, with their newest release, we feel that we may have been blessed with their most immersive track yet. The deep and cosmic atmosphere behind ‘Alter Ego’ really cleanses the soul through its smooth depth and euphoric progression, which is made light of in the epic finale of this track. We highly recommend the likes of this gorgeous track to anybody looking to add something new to a playlist of highly dramatic or atmospheric tracks.
Michael Lane » Coming Home
‘Coming Home’ is full of enough raw emotion, and expressive melody, to be poured over the listener.
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‘Coming Home’ is the latest release from folk-pop artist Michael Lane, and possibly one of the most emotional tunes he has released thus far in terms of its sound. Contrary to the title as it stands, ‘Coming Home’ expresses so much more than the idea of returning to a place of belonging, but also the bittersweet mixture of feelings one holds when you find or return to a place that one would consider home. As an artist who has wandered across numerous parts of the globe, it substantially fuels both the deep meaning behind this track’s writing and the intimately uplifting folk sound that Michael Lane champions. We are utterly in love with this track, and the raw emotion that it pours over us.
Simon Alexander » Gloria
‘Gloria’ carries an incredible amount of warmth that continues to keep the spirit of a lost festival season alive.
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Simon Alexander has arguably had one of the most productive years that we at Indie Top 39 have seen from a music artist, with the Swedish singer/songwriter has released a whopping total of 10 singles this year alone. And through 2020, we have obviously enjoyed every moment of Simon’s generous and continuous offering of new music, with his latest indulgent tune being ‘Gloria’. This new single carries an incredible amount of warmth that continues to remind us of a festival season lost in the chaos of 2020 and is a beautiful telling of the artists search for something new and uncertain. With his upcoming debut album A Place To Call Home on the horizon, ‘Gloria’ only fuels our excitement further.
Suchy » Laylow
We really resonated with the energy and fiery attitude that ‘Laylow’ provides at every exciting turn.
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With her second release of 2020, Bristol-born artist Suchy brings us an expansion in our understanding of just how musically and stylistically diverse she can be. Following the punchy, catchy, and accessible electro-pop formulas found on previous tracks such as ‘Roundabouts’ and her previous release ‘NHS Heroes’, Suchy favours a much more Latin-pop inspired instrumentation in the case of ‘Laylow’ with fiery guitar licks and an equally fiery attitude in Suchy’s own vocals. We really resonated with the energy that this track offers, with the awesome melody exciting us at every turn. In equal measure, we are excited about what new style she will master next.
WORKWEAR » People Together
‘People Together’ is both strong and straight-forward in its premise. But most importantly, it carries an unmistakably clear sense of unity.
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Brighton born and London-based DJ/producer WORKWEAR pulls us into a dreamy and calming soundscape with her latest single ‘People Together’. The narrative behind the track is easy for any listener to relate to in times like these; that is to stay close to one another, and don’t concentrate on things that divide us. That being said, the indulgent and immersive style of house, takes us back to a time where we’d be in our favourite nightclub, getting lost in the same tune together. So ultimately, we adore just how strong and straight-forward ‘People Together’ is in terms of its premise. But most importantly, this track carries an unmistakably clear sense of unity in its sound.
We have picked only nine songs that stood out this week, however below you can find the playlist that features all the 39 songs. Do you agree with our pics? Let us know on our socials.
