Welcome to “The Indie Inspection!”
In this monthly feature, I dive into new releases from a handful of artists that deserve attention. In fact, the Indie Inspection takes full advantage of the malleability of “indie” as a concept and aesthetic. That could mean lesser-known acts releasing their music either independently or on a smaller label. It could also refer to artistic vibes and approaches that fall outside of the mainstream. It might even mean nothing at all!
My advice? Leave your preconceived notions at the door and just listen to the music.
April showered us with excellent albums!
While I’m still trying to determine if 2023 will have an overarching musical mood, most of the records that found my email inbox this month were rather good. In fact, that’s my favorite part about writing the Indie Inspection column – combing through everything I get in hopes of locating the absolute best stuff for my dear readers. My parameters are simple, yet nuanced:
You first have to grab my attention and then you have to keep it.
This month includes some dreamy electro-rock, inventive ambient, sparkling indie-pop, fascinating folk, and quirky electro. As always, I want to show you why these releases captured my interest through a combination of critical reflection and personal recollection.
Let’s get into it!
Bodywash – I Held the Shape While I Could (Light Organ Records)
Of all the ‘90s sounds that have been reinvented and reinterpreted over the past few years, I think trip-hop has received the least overall attention. You could make the case that those ideas never went away and instead reveals itself in the current fascination with downtempo electronic music. I might buy that argument, but it still ignores the psychosocial depths that Portishead and similar bands explored. Vibes are cool, but so is wrestling with your existential trauma over syncopated beats and swirling guitars.
Lo and behold, Bodywash emerges to assuage my ears. The creative duo of Chris Steward and Rosie Long Decter fuses delicate synths, airy vocals, and shoegaze sensibilities throughout I Held the Shape While I Could. This 12-song release gives equal parts chill electro aesthetics and surly atmospherics with fascinating flair. Think Beach House and Bauhaus or My Bloody Valentine and School of Seven Bells.
I’m completely enamored with Decter’s lush alto, as it provides a welcome anchor amidst the surrounding instrumentation encircles my senses. Steward’s guitar work shows a keen appreciation for tone and texture, especially in how it knows when to step on the gas, when to throttle back, and when to totally relax. Overall, the album projects an innate mood of confusion and disorientation that’s still very appealing, especially on standout tracks like “Picture Of,” “Kind of Light,” and “Sterilizer.”
Issei Herr – Distant Intervals (NNA Tapes)
Ambient music has been the next frontier in classical composition for a few decades now, but those two genres have truly started joining forces in the past few years. Artists raised performing in orchestras, chamber groups, and more have made the conscious choice to push their training in curious directions. To be clear, that statement isn’t necessarily original to me, but I also don’t think enough people are making that connection much less learned about the people making these artistic strides.
That’s why I love advocating for musicians such as Issei Herr. This prodigious talent takes their years of experience as a cello performer to develop spaced-out ambient tunes with a driving heart. Across the nine songs of Distant Intervals, Herr showcases the depth of her skills by paying homage to a different form of classical music songcraft. It’s a fascinating fusion of Andrew Bird, Rachika Nayar, Sufjan Stevens, and Claire Rousay.
Each song possesses a strong, melodic core that encourages a large penchant for movement and flow. The album provides rich and expansive listening experience by creating loops and loops of full, lush sounds. Layers of strings – drones, melodic phrases, counterpoint passages, and more – embrace their classical roots while also pushing forward to pursue grand ideas. Check out “Aubade (The Farewell Is a Beginning),” “Toccata (Kisses of Earth),” and “Fugato (Night’s Transfiguration)” for my favorite examples of Herr’s work.
JOSEPH – The Sun (ATO Records)
At this juncture in the 21st century, the concept of indie rock approaches nearly infinite malleability. That’s the conceit of this entire column. However, most of us kinda have a pretty good understanding of the classic indie-pop sound, which means we also have a rather clear idea of what passes muster – and what’s super-generic soundalike nonsense.
I’m here to declare that JOSEPH far surpasses anything I might expect from an indie act in 2023. On The Sun, the Portland, OR trio’s third album, we’re graced with stunning music and sparkling arrangements perfect for top-down driving on a summer road trip. The gloriously hushed vocals offer up just the right amount of break and rasp, which gives the shiny music some necessary rough edges. It’s a delirious collage of boygenius, Waxahatchee, and HAIM, but with more ‘90s alternative folk than ‘70s country and pop.
It all starts with the group’s wonderful grasp of pacing and dynamics. The music initially appeals to the ears by sharing familiar sonic elements. It then enraptures you with off-kilter chord progressions and superb harmonies. This crisp, fun record rejects cheese, thanks to righteous amounts of echo and delay on the guitars, not to mention lyrics that express a winsome familiarity with a broken heart. Sure, the album explores well-trod musical territory, but as you can hear on terrific songs like “The Sun,” “Fireworks,” and “Kicking Up the Light,” it does so with creativity and heart.
Nico Paulo – Nico Paulo (Forward Music Group)
I think I’ve featured one kickass singer-songwriter in each Indie Inspection column. Which I personally find to be a pleasant surprise. It’s not the stuff I cut my teeth on as a young music critic, and I still don’t listen to much classic folk in my regular music listening rotation. Nevertheless, someone manages to sneak their way into every installment. It’s mostly because they find a way to subvert and re-imagine what folk music could and should be.
This month, I’m excited to introduce you to Nico Paulo, a Portuguese artist now living in Canada. On her self-titled debut album, she binds wispy, dream-like folk ideas to tropicalia and bossa nova influences to create genuine and heartfelt music. I’m bowled over by her impressive alto with its deep tones, wide range, and lovely lilt. Her relatable songs project authentic tenderness. They recognize that, while nothing is perfect, we should still seek out the good in the world.
This is technically immaculate folk music with big earthy appeal. The rough edges and grit in her voice offer up just enough edge to the otherwise groove-centric tunes. Sturdy acoustic guitar strumming and reedy woodwinds strike a balance with fuzzy electric guitar fills. The syncopated rhythm section and supple organ melodies round out the sound. If you’re in the mood for an awesome alloy of Karen Carpenter, Jaoa Gilberto, and Jorge Ben you never knew you needed in your life, you will love selections like “Time,” “Now or Never,” and “Lock Me Inside.”
Noah Wall – Speech Patterns (Chaikin Records)
Sometimes, you don’t need to understand how the sausage is made. You just need to enjoy the end result. I find this particularly true for how I engage electronic music. Part of my brain wants to geek out over the technology. However, I realize that doing so would distract from how I appreciate the art.
So, when I heard that Noah Wall’s new album somehow renders human speech into electronic sound and then cobbles the tracks together into various electro-ambient compositions, I was very much intrigued by the process. I wondered if it would really work. Would this be more of an academic experiment? Could it actually be music the average electronic music fan might recognize? Might it be something else in between?
As you might imagine from my inclusion of Speech Patterns in this month’s Indie Inspection column, I thoroughly enjoyed this project. The track listing boasts selections from various notable sources – including bell hooks, Michel Foucault, Bernie Sanders, and James Baldwin. What you hear is quirky electro more akin to free jazz and freak folk created by banks of synthesizers.
For starters, you can’t detect actual human speech in these songs. But you can bask in the glow of how the technology renders the various vocal pitches, tones, and timbres. Depending on the song, the result is alternately intoxicating and off-putting, abrasive but enthralling. My brain instantly started searching for any patterns that might approximate human speech.
Instead of getting frustrated by my lack of success in that exercise, I found it to be fun, trippy, and slightly addictive. The world needs more oddball and innovative experiments like we hear on “In Tongues,” “There In Spirit,” “ASMR,” and “Golden Record.” We don’t always need to understand the how’s and why’s of creation to experience visceral enjoyment.
Thanks for reading The Indie Inspection!
Check out all the other wonderful artists we’ve covered on our column’s archives page.