Indie Tag

Fans of British jangle pop rejoice! The 1975 will return later this afternoon with their new single “Love Me,” which drops at approximately 4PM/PST. How can we be so sure, you ask? Two weeks ago, the notoriously cryptic band posted a countdown on the splash page of their website teasing only that something big was on the horizon. Well, the short wait and speculation are both over. // L O V E M E – H O T T E S T R E C O R D – TRead More

The Nashville music scene seems to favor a certain type of up and coming artist. But if you don’t wear a cowboy hat and boots and sing about tractors, is it still possible for you to find an audience? In the case of Tennessee natives COIN, that answer is a resounding “yes!” Though they may bear little resemblance to Alan Jackson or Lady Antebellum, they still owe their rise to the same renowned music scene, which nowadays churns out bands in nearly every genre imaginable. Chase Lawrence (lead vocals), JoeRead More

-Alexis Krauss- Instagram: kraussingaround Known for: Being the lead singer of New York indie-pop band Sleigh Bells. -Maybe I just have a weak spot for girls with musical talent, but Alexis Krauss is this week’s featured lady, due to her great looks and great music alike. An indie songstress, Krauss is one half of the indie-electropop duo Sleigh Bells, who have earned great critical acclaim with their first two albums. It certainly doesn’t hurt the band’s reputation to have a girl like Alexis Krauss as the face of the project.    Read More

Independent films don’t get the attention they deserve. Sound familiar? It should. Indie directors, producers, writers, and aficionados have been shouting this since the Sundance Film Festival hit the scene back in the late ’70s, with the intention of showcasing and promoting independently made films. Sadly, aside from the few cinematic darlings that are fortunate enough to earn a theatrical release, many great independent work goes unnoticed, while Transformers 11 makes 9 billion dollars and furthers the great reign of vacuous thrills and bad 3D. Luckily for us, there areRead More

Just prior to the third act in Lenny Abrahamson’s aggressively idiosyncratic ‘Frank’, the film’s mentally handicapped title character (Frank) announces to his band mates and devoted members of SORONPRFBS, an avant-grade rock ensemble begrudgingly prepped to take the stage at SXSW, that he has composed his “most likable song ever.” He’s done this, we learn, out of fear that the band’s experimental arrangements will alienate a virgin audience. Altogether hesitant, the mates listen as Frank, bent over a keyboard in a congested, Austin TX hotel room, plays a little dittyRead More

In modern music, true musicianship, true composition, has largely gone by the wayside. Relatable lyrics, power chords, and computer-automated sheen has become the norm. However, there exist several groups, generally categorized as “post-rock,” that continue to focus on the music – the real nuances and complexities of melody, progression, and instrumentation – to create sonic soundscapes that allow a listener to truly lose themselves in the sound and the environment it creates. Perhaps the best known band in the genre is Austin’s Explosions in the Sky, who have found breakthroughRead More

Believe it or not, nine years have passed since a little known five-piece from San Diego burst onto the scene and into the ears of every American with a melancholy, beautiful power-ballad by the name of “Boston.” Seemingly overnight, Augustana – the creation of crooning frontman Dan Layus – found themselves thrust into the mainstream. “Boston” appeared on everything from MTV’s TRL (THAT WAS STILL A THING!) to episodes of Scrubs and One Tree Hill, and was played repeatedly on every major radio station. The song went on to becomeRead More

Although I wear high-waisted shorts, crop tops, and big-rimmed glasses every day, I am not a hipster! (See: hip-hop, see: I don’t shop at American Apparel, see: don’t like trash ‘staches, see: my intense love for guys who look like thug rappers). At the same time, the one thing I’m really hipster-y about is that I refuse to believe the hype. So much so, in fact, that when something has hype surrounding it, I’m automatically turned off to it. This has caused me to miss out on a lot of awesomeRead More

Oh god, I done did it again… One too many crantinis and this girl became an absolute trainwreck – complete with tear-smeared mascara and thirteen “prof pic!” updates in the space of 45 minutes, all iced with a nice Technicolor yawn and a porcelain pillow at the end of the night. What was I thinking??? I kid, I kid. So it wasn’t quite that kind of night, sorry to disappoint, but I did manage to find another perfectly neat, and much less “I’m-going-to-feel-like-a-complete-dumbass-in-the-morning-once-I-have-slept-off-this-jackhammer-being-taken-to-my-temple,” way to destroy myself on a SaturdayRead More

In the world of professional sports, a dislocated knee could mean the end of a career.  For a certain Los Angeles-based electropop quartet, however, it was only the beginning.  “It’s been a trip,” muses frontman Ryan Daly.  “We never thought a year ago that things would have blown up so quickly.” The Slidebar in downtown Fullerton is packed, but somehow I’m able to hear him over the roar.  The KROQ Locals Only Show is already in full-swing, but we still have a few solid hours before Parade of Lights takesRead More