OseesLevitation SessionsThe Reverberation Appreciation Society [2020] 2020 will be remembered for all kinds of depressing events including the halt of live music shows. Not only is touring the lifeblood for any artist, it is also the perfect escape for legions of fans that enables them to hear music in a totally different experience. As we … Read more
AlrightI’m Doing This To MyselfSelf Aware Records [2020] Alright is a fuzzed out indie band from Charlotte, North Carolina that is led by the energetic guitar and voice of Sarah Blumenthal. Their debut full length, I’m Doing This To Myself, is a blood pressure raising rocker that throws out all the gimmicks and delivers a … Read more
Bill CallahanGold RecordDrag City Records [2020] If there is one thing that shines some light during this pandemic year is that Bill Callahan has quickly returned with another batch of songs that documents his thoughts on the life that surrounds him. In fact, Gold Record has a little bit of a continuation sound vibe from … Read more
Another week – another three artists to check out! AOW brings to you the interesting experimental record from Victoria’s Freak Heat Waves, gritty and passionate rock n roll from Omaha’s David Nance and lastly an indie EP from Chuck Is A Band out of LA. Spend a few minutes and give these three a try … Read more
Sweeping PromisesHunger For A Way OutFeel It Records [2020] Sometimes simplicity is the key to great music and what you actually don’t hear can sometimes be the highlight. That is exactly what the Boston post-punk unit Sweeping Promises delivers on their debut album Hunger For A Way Out. The groups’ swagger, controlled intensity and focused … Read more
WhitneyCandidSecretly Canadian [2020] Whitney really does seem like a band made to release a covers record. Especially, when most of the music business has been on shut down, so a record like Candid even makes more sense. Whitney has already released two records full of that warm 70’s radio ready soft rock sound so when … Read more
CorikyCorikyDischord Records [2020] Just the thought of a new Fugazi record makes me want to run to the local record shop even during a pandemic! Ian MacKaye is just one of those personalities that if he is involved in a project you should check it out. With that said, Coriky is his new vehicle that … Read more
Damaged BugBug On YonkersCastle Face Records [2020] Bug On Yonkers is the new album from John Dwyer’s (Oh Sees) Damaged Bug moniker and it quite possibly may be the best listen in their catalog. The even more interesting thing about this album is that it is a set of covers from Michael Yonkers. Michael Yonkers? … Read more
NOFX / Frank TurnerWest Coast Vs. WessexFat Wreck Chords [2020] When Fat Mike of NOFX phoned up Frank Turner and asked him if he wanted to do a split covers album the answer was a quick YES! West Coast Vs. Wessex finds NOFX filtering five of Turner’s songs through their lens while Turner pays back … Read more
The Lees Of MemoryMoon ShotSelf-Released [2020] There is something really refreshing and energizing about the latest The Lees Of Memory record Moon Shot. For all of those unfamiliar, The Lees of Memory is an indie rock trio featuring Superdrag co-founders John Davis and Brandon Fisher along with drummer Nick Slack. Moon Shot now represents the … Read more
BeansAll Together NowFlightless Records [2020] All Together Now is the Geelong-based quintet Beans (formally Baked Beans) follow up to their 2018 debut record Babble. The group has taken their already organ driven psych rock and perfected the formula as All Together Now is bigger, more addictive and dives deeper into the nostalgia of classic rock. … Read more
Mong TongMysteryGuruguru Brain [2020] If you have been reading the pages of TFN over the past year, you have probably noticed more press on the psychedelic scene that mostly has come from the other side of the globe. One of the leading labels on the cutting edge of the movement is Guruguru Brain. Their newest … Read more
HumInletEarth Analog Records [2020] Anymore, it always takes something a little extra to surprise us and on June 23rd, Chicago’s Hum did just that as they dropped Inlet, their first album in 22 years. If you have been following Hum’s movements over the last couple years the existence of new music shouldn’t be that shocking … Read more
RVGFeralOur Golden Friend [2020] Melbourne’s RVG have returned with their sophomore album, Feral, and it completely rises the quartet to another level. There has been plenty of quality rock bands coming from Australia these days but where most of TFN highlights from that continent have been psychedelic garage rock, RVG will stun you with their … Read more
2nd GradeHit To HitDouble Double Whammy [2020] With such a heavy world right now the sophomore record from Philadelphia’s 2nd Grade is the perfect dose of indie power pop to brighten any mood. Hit To Hit offers 24 tracks over 42 minutes and if you do the quick math it equals a short song music … Read more
WoodsStrange To ExplainWoodsist Records [2020] Strange To Explain is Woods 11th full length album (not counting collaborations, split LPs, EPs, and singles), and the 99th release on their Woodsist label. That 15 year longevity is a great accomplishment for any indie band and over the years Woods has evolved their sound as they have moved … Read more
Diet CigDo You Wonder About Me?Frenchkiss Records [2020] I will tell you that I was all about Alex Luciano and Noah Bowman, of rock duo Diet Cig, back in 2015 with the release of their excellent EP, Over Easy, on Father/Daughter Records. I also will tell you that I was less enthusiastic about the New … Read more
DrakulasTerminal AmusementsDine Alone Records [2020] Drakulas, is an art-rock quartet from Austin, TX, that just recently released their sophomore full length Terminal Amusements. The group is made up of several experienced members with frontman Mike Wiebe (Riverboat Gamblers, High Tension Wires), guitarist Zach Blair (Rise Against, Hagfish) and a cast of Texas musicians including bassist … Read more
Andy HampelNightshiftSelf-Released [2020] There is nothing better right now than being able to complete some long overdue projects with the extra time we have staying at home. For Andy Hampel, that solitude has produced his first solo record, Nightshift. Who is Andy Hampel you ask? He is a current member of Columbus Ohio’s lo-fi indie … Read more
The Black WatchBrilliant FailuresA Turntable Friend Records [2020] Since the bands beginnings in 1988, founder and consistent member John Andrew Fredrick has now written and released eighteen The Black Watch albums with Brilliant Failures. That is a very long resume of indie rock for a band that still probably will be new to most of … Read more
Ty SegallSegall SmeagolSelf-Released [2020] I can’t name many good things so far that have come out of self-isolation but this new free EP from Ty Segall will be near the top of my list. Segall Smeagol offers 6 cover cuts from singer Harry Nilsson’s 1971 classic Nilsson Schmilsson. Ty states that he has wanted to … Read more
Black Market BrassUndying ThirstColemine Records [2020] Black Market Brass is a Minneapolis-based group performing their own brand of originally composed Afrobeat/Afrofunk music, and Undying Thirst is the group’s sophomore album and Colemine Records debut. The instrumental group is comprised of eleven musicians that form such a powerful force together that this record will blow you … Read more
Monophonics It’s Only Us Colemine Records [2020] We are currently in really strange times so the smooth soul of the Monophonics fifth record, It’s Only Us, brings on a very comforting vibe that just blankets you with its harmonizing background vocals. The West coast band has dubbed their sound “psychedelic soul” and I feel more … Read more
Porridge RadioEvery BadSecretly Canadian [2020] What started out as a bedroom project from singer Dana Margoiln has quickly evolved into a much bigger indie band sound of what Brighton’s Porridge Radio is today. On the band’s sophomore record, Every Bad, the group delivers everything they have to offer and then some, one intense song at … Read more
EyelidsThe Accidental FallsJealous Butcher Records [2020] When you can list Guided By Voices, The Decemberists, Stephen Malkmus and Elliott Smith as artists you have played with it should be an automatic for any indie music fan to be following Portland’s Eyelids. Now, when you find out that R.E.M.’s Peter Buck produced and plays on this … Read more