TOP INDIE SONGS – WEEK 21

So the past weekend played host to probably the shittiest music awards of the season: Billboard Music Awards! I'm merely assuming that it was total crap, of course, seeing as I didn't actually watch the damn thing, but how is it that a music awards wholly determined by chart performance, sales figures and radio airplay as opposed to artistic merit is still relevant in 2016? I'm sorry, Billboard Music Awards. I'm sorry for the realness. Anyways, if it IS artistic merit that you're after, then you're in the right place. Benjamin Clementine, Glass Animals, Anna Of The North and the seven other artists featured in this week's playlist may not have been up for any awards last night, but they're all winners in our eyes.

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BENJAMIN CLEMENTINE – I WON'T COMPLAIN

Benjamin Clementine is art personified. The way that the London-via-Paris balladeer channels such pain and such beauty into his music is something that can't be taught. “I Won't Complain” – from the Mercury Prize winning album At Least For Now – is so soul-baringly raw, that it's almost hard for me to listen. That said, I'm unable to look away from this surrealist accompanying video, which sees Clementine (whose cheekbones are to die for) raiding a box of eyeballs, among other Buñuel-esque images.

GLASS ANIMALS – LIFE ITSELF

Glass Animals are back and bringing the groove this 2016! “Life Itself,” the first single to be unveiled from the Oxford quartet's upcoming second album How To Be Human Being, is danceable to the max. Combining high-energy, exotic percussion and infectious lyrics like “She said I look fat, but I look fantastic,” this is sure to go down a treat during the band's festival sets this summer!

MUSE – AFTERMATH

Yes, you read that right – I AM featuring a Muse track, but bare with me. Power ballad “Aftermath” is a moment of genuine tenderness in Drone's world of unashamedly overblown arena rock, and this video by Japanese director Tekken only serves to emphasize that fact. A devastating flip book-style animation about a solider who leaves his young family to go to war, it'll render even the biggest cynic an emotional wreck.

JAMES CHERRY – WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN (CURATOR ROBERT DUFFY)

“Aggressive soul.” That's how Leicester crooner James Cherry describes his music, and even though it's technically my job to, I couldn't have put it better myself. His songs are packed full of fire and passion and, most importantly, they're totally relatable (anyone who's ever quarrelled with their girlfriend or their boyfriend will definitely hear themselves in his latest single “Why Don't You Listen?”). Think a gravelly voiced Jamie T and you're almost there!

WHITE – FIGHT THE FEELING (CURATOR ROBERT DUFFY)

Glasgow art rock quintet WHITE have me up and dancing my way out of bed this Monday morning with their fourth single to date, “Fight The Feeling.” Featuring David Byrne-esque vocals, funky guitars and an infectious chorus seemingly written for obsession, this song ticks off pretty much everything that I love about music – and then some! Make good use of that replay button!

OM COLLECTIVE – PSILIES KITE (CURATOR ROBERT DUFFY)

Who needs Animal Collective when you can have OM Collective? The brainchild of Sydney artist Tim Ferson, their mind-altering, transcendent, kaleidoscopic psych-folk is far more of a trip than anything that AnCo are knocking out these days. At 5:25, “Psilies Kite” is a real magical mystery tour, so best buckle up. To quote Curator Robert Duffy: “Wait for it, such a ride, wish I could get away with LSD again, this would be fucking perfect.”

HONNE & IZZY BIZU – SOMEONE THAT LOVES YOU (CURATOR BECA ARREDONDO)

London electro-soul duo HONNE have long had a fascination with Japanese culture (their name is even Japanese for “true feelings”), but this video might be their most heartwarming love letter yet. Directed by Malia James for the Izzy Bizu collab “Someone That Loves You,” it tells the story of a geisha as she attempts to balance a relationship with her more traditional duties, and is just a really endearing watch that makes me want to book a one-way ticket to Tokyo.

DIE ANTWOORD (FEAT. GOD) – BUM BUM

Since being thrust (ahem) into the public consciousness earlier this year by a certain Twitter beef, ass play has become an oddly buzzworthy topic this 2016. Clearly this hasn't gone unnoticed by South African eccentrics Die Antwoord, who return today with a butt-loving banger in the form of “Bum Bum.” Described by frontman Ninja as a “romantic Spanish porno rap adventure,” you can check out the strangely addictive and, of course, the highly twerkable track above.

ANNA OF THE NORTH – BABY (CURATOR BECA ARREDONDO)

BitCandy favorite Anna Of The North turns lovesickness into some serious aesthetics in the video for her woozy electro-pop ballad, “Baby.” Watch as the Oslo chanteuse impatiently waits for her crush to call her (on her landline, obviously) in the pastel-hued clip, which is an incredibly accurate representation of how all of my summer romances seem to end. Forever alone!

THE ERISED – LIAR (CURATOR ROBERT DUFFY)

Ahead of the release of their debut album Room 414 in June, Ukrainian six-piece and Med School Music signees The Erised return this 2016 with “Liar.” To call this song “huge” would be an understatement. Bringing together the powerhouse vocals of frontwoman Sonya Sukhorukova and the most earth-shattering of electronic rock productions, “Liar” is without a doubt my pick of the week (month? Year?).

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Thanks for listening everybody! Until next Monday, why not check out our Indie Pop, Chill and EDM tabs to discover even more music? x

“Photo” by João Silas is licensed under CC0 1.0 (cropped and resized).

About Jess Grant

When Jess Grant isn't writing on music, she can be found playing it – on her guitar, on her ukulele, and on her recently acquired mandolin. Playing it hideously, she ought to add. Jess also studies. She studies the English language, to be precise. Jess is currently on her way to a degree in the subject, and enjoys starting and never finishing novels, screenplays, and poetry in her spare time. She also likes dogs. Lots of dogs.