TOP INDIE SONGS – WEEK 42

As October 31st approaches, it got us thinking. Sometimes it can feel like Halloween every day when you're a music blogger. No, really – we have to listen to a lot of scary sh*t in order to bring you this playlist once a week. But that's what we pride ourselves on here at BitCandy – protecting your ears from the evil spirits haunting YouTube and SoundCloud so that you only ever have to hear the awesome stuff. So without further ado, over to this week's edition of awesome stuff aka Top Indie Songs from Grimes, The Dirty Nil, Bastille, Francis And The Lights, Júníus Meyvant and more.

-

GRIMES – BUTTERFLY

So apparently pop star-meets-visual artist Grimes had the best time on the European leg of her AC!D Reign tour, making a total of seven music videos with her brother Mac Boucher and her tourmate HANA. And while we were tempted to bring you all seven music videos in this column, we showed some restraint by choosing just one – the clip for Art Angels highlight “Butterfly.” Because, let's face it, who doesn't want to watch Claire Boucher pirouetting around Italy in floaty fabrics?

GHOST – SQUARE HAMMER

It's not often that we feature rock in this playlist, but “Square Hammer” by GRAMMY Award winning Swedish occult band Ghost is one of those irrefutable juggernauts that taps into something primal inside of you with its stadium-sized riffs and infectious chorus. The Zev Deans-directed music video is must-watch, too, starring frontman Papa Emeritus III and his Nameless Ghouls attending a red-carpet screening of an expressionist horror film that bares a striking resemblance to 1922's Nosferatu.

THE DIRTY NIL – FRIENDS IN THE SKY

Toronto punk luminaries The Dirty Nil teleport back to the swinging 60s in their latest music video. A tribute to The Who's infamous appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967 – yes, the one that cost Pete Townshend much of his hearing – the quite literally explosive clip sees The Dirty Nil performing Higher Power cut “Friends In The Sky” on a retro television set, complete with a Keith Moon-style detonating drum kit. Don't try this at home, kids.

BASTILLE – SEND THEM OFF!

Bastille have been on top of their music video game of late, dropping previously featured clips for Wild World cuts “Fake It” and Good Grief,” and this October, Dan Smith and co return with another must-see visual for the skronking “Send Them Off!” Starring a male protagonist making his way through a variety of nightmarish scenes, including a room full of couples making out and a cult-like church service, Bastille describe the music video as “a very modern twist on Dante's Divine Comedy.”

EDEN – ROCK + ROLL

As the dark nights start to draw in this October, Irish producer Jonathon Ng aka EDEN provides us with the perfect soundtrack to cozy up to in the form of “rock + roll.” Featured on his second EP i think you think too much of me, the song is an introspective, right-in-the-feels slice of acoustic electronica that comes paired with a music video that sees EDEN bring to life all of our autumn relationship goals.

FRANCIS AND THE LIGHTS – MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE – CURATOR ROBERT DUFFY

Francis And The Lights is sure to brighten up your Monday morning with his feel-good, thoughtful electronic pop. Bringing together profound lyrics and infectious production, the New York City crooner – who previously shared the Bon Iver and Kanye West-featuring “Friends” – reminds us of a modern-day Phil Collins on his latest single “May I Have This Dance.” That's right, a modern-day Phil Collins. If that isn't enough to make you press play on the Farewell, Starlight! cut, then what is?

JÚNÍUS MEYVANT – BEAT SILENT NEED – CURATOR BECA ARREDONDO

If you're yet to listen to Icelandic singer-songwriter Júníus Meyvant's debut album Floating Harmonies, then just a heads up that you're missing out on funky masterpieces like “Beat Silent Need.” A groovy blast of triumphant, horn-laced blue-eyed soul, it today comes accompanied by a beyond surreal music video that finds four pregnant women resorting to desperate measures to induce labour. No, really.

HOME-SICK (FEAT. KNOX FORTUNE) – YOUR BODY

There isn't any information out there on Chicago artist Home-Sick, but it doesn't matter. His debut single “Your Body,” featuring Chance The Rapper collaborator Knox Fortune, is a song that speaks for itself. Bringing together hip hop, electronic and indie influences, “Your Body” is a beautiful Frankenstein of a piece that hears Home-Sick lull listeners into a state of bliss with soporific rap-singing and cacophonous production. On repeat.

BITTER'S KISS – MY GOD – CURATOR BECA ARREDONDO

This is rising New Jersey folk chanteuse Bitter's Kiss first time appearing in this column, but if “My God” is anything to go by, it certainly won't be her last. Showcasing her effortless ear for melody and her thoughtful lyrical insight, Bitter's Kiss reveals “My God” was written in response to religious conflict: “Religious beliefs are most often promoted as ways to make us better people, but can also be used to justify violence against others, with both sides believing that God is on their side. The idea for the video was to show sameness and humanity in our different religious expressions.”

JAKE MCMULLEN – GIVING UP – CURATOR ROBERT DUFFY

What do you get if you combine 80s-indebted power balladry with a dude who sounds a whole lot like Bon Iver? “Giving Up” by Jake McMullen. By bringing together these two very different worlds, the Nashville singer-songwriter has succeeded in creating a sound that can only be described as epic. Jake: “This song served as a very liberating experience for me while working on it as I felt like I really didn't put any limits on what I could or couldn't try. It has acted almost as a catalyst for the mindset I now have when making music.”

-

Until next week, why not check out our Indie Pop and Chill tabs for more awesome stuff? x

“Photo” by Ben Waardenburg 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.