TOP INDIE SONGS - WEEK 3

by Jess Grant
1/13/20

If you thought 2019 was a glitch in the simulation, well, 2020 is turning out to be a full-on piece of malware. Donald Trump is leading us into World War III, Australia is burning, and the British royal family have all but called it quits. It can be no coincidence, then, our artificial overlords Grimes and Elon Musk recently announced they're having a baby – an entity that'll surely save us from all of this earthly destruction. My only question is: What will they name the kid? ❄︎♏︎⬧︎●︎♋︎? Rococo Basilisk? Maybe...just...Ben? I guess time will tell!

Check out this week's edition of We Are: The Guard's Top Indie Songs, featuring Tame Impala, Gordi, Moses Sumney, and more!

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TAME IMPALA – LOST IN YESTERDAY

If World War III really is upon us, I'm just glad I got to hear this song before getting drafted! “Lost in Yesterday” is probably the grooviest offering to date from the upcoming The Slow Rush, with a loping disco bassline caked in smatterings of electronic shimmer propelling the song forward as Kevin Parker sings about the importance of letting go of the past.

 

MURA MASA, ELLIE ROWSELL & WOLF ALICE – TEENAGE HEADACHE DREAMS

Following on from the release of the Clairo-featuring “I Don't Think I Can Do This Again” and the slowthai-featuring “Deal Wiv It,” Mura Masa is back today with another epic collaboration! “Teenage Headache Dreams” is an ode to suburban malaise that features Wolf Alice's Ellie Rowsell, with both artists trading feels over a scuzzy, ecstatic guitar swell.

 

GORDI – THE COST

Just over two years on from the release of her debut album Reservoir, Australia's Gordi returns today with “The Cost.” It's a swelling piano ballad about emotional barriers, with Gordi revealing all proceeds from the song will go toward the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, who are currently helping to battle the devastating bushfires ravaging her country.

 

MOSES SUMNEY – ME IN 20 YEARS

Moses Sumney just keeps on getting better and better! Following on from the release of “Virile” and “Polly,” the sensitive soul returns today with “Me in 20 Years” –  a startling ballad that finds Moses lyrically peering into the future, with the 28-year-old singing in near-reverent falsetto over a gurgling quagmire as produced by Oneohtrix Point Never.

 

FMLYBND – WESTSIDE

SURPRISE! It's been a long time coming, but FMLYBND have finally released their self-titled debut album this 2020! Fans will be pleased to hear the dudes don't disappoint on the 10-song collection, with a record highlight coming in the form of “Westside” – a tribute to vibrant, reckless summer nights that's officially got me counting down to festival season!

 

GROUPLOVE – DELETER

GROUPLOVE ARE BACK, BABY! Just over three years on from the release of their album Big Mess, the Los Angeles band return today with the exhilarating “Deleter.” “All this time I thought you were a leader/It turns out you're only a deleter,” yell Hannah Hooper and Chris Zucconi on the cut – a messily thrilling rallying cry for the lost and out of touch everywhere!

 

SUSANNE SUNDFØR – WHEN THE LORD

This is utterly heart-wrenching. Susanne Sundfør honors the late, great Lene Marie Fossen on “When the Lord.” Written for Selvportrett – an upcoming documentary on the Norwegian photographer for which Susanne did the soundtrack – it's an emotionally tugging ballad that truly augments the works of Lene, who succumbed to anorexia in 2019.

 

SASSY 009 – THRASHER

I'll be honest, SASSY 009's “Thrasher” totally passed me by when it came out in August, but better late than never, right? As the title suggests, “Thrasher” is a three-minute rager of the highest order, with Sunniva Lindgaard helming this pulverizing, punishing joyride with a jarring vocal softness that reminds me a whole lot of SASSY 009 collaborator Clairo.

 

ELLA VOS – CELLOPHANE (FKA TWIGS COVER)

Ella Vos finds strength in vulnerability on this cover of “Cellophane.” “The simplicity of the question 'Didn't I do it for you?' gets me every time,” writes Ella, whose percussive take is fortified with self-confidence. “I read in an interview that FKA twigs referred to that question as funny, but also powerful – 'I'm more than enough, and you can't even handle it.'” Listen?

 

070 SHAKE – GUILTY CONSCIENCE

There's no doubt about it, 2020 is going to be 070 Shake's year. Having made her breakthrough in 2018 when she featured on “Ghost Town” from Kanye West's ye, the 22-year-old continues to focus on her solo career with the release of “Guilty Conscience” – a glistening 80s-indebted power ballad that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

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Until next time, don't forget to follow We Are: The Guard's Weekly Chart on Spotify for more! x

Photo by Olena Sergienko on Unsplash

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Jess Grant is a frustrated writer hailing from London, England. When she isn't tasked with disentangling her thoughts from her brain and putting them on paper, Jess can generally be found listening to The Beatles, or cooking vegetarian food.