Indie Tag

Diet Cig released their new record Swear I’m Good At This in April this year. It’s a record full of catchy melodies and strong messages that propels the duo to the forefront of US indie. We had the chance to ask singer Alex Luciano a few questions before the band is starting their tour in Germany this month. Whatweraretalkingabout: The album title „Swear I’m Good At This“ sounds like a clear statement of intent. Do you feel you have to prove yourself even harder as a woman in a band?Read More

It’s been too long since Rudi Maier aka Burkini Beach last released a song and could it come any more fitting to this time of year than World At Our Fingertips? The song is probably the most Bright Eyes influenced song so far and it suits Maier really well. We’re biting our fingernails while we’d have the world at our fingertips he sings in the chorus before subtly changing the words to we’re biting our fingernails down and then we’re biting our fingertips. It’s the little things that make thisRead More

There is something beautiful about imperfection. The little wrinkle when she’s smiling. The hint of green in your blue eyes. The scar on your shoulder. The few grey hair even though you’re too young to have grey hair. Imperfection makes people unique. It makes us remember. Cymbals Eat Guitars always had a nag for writing imperfect pop songs. And I blame myself for not paying more attention to them earlier. To me the bands new record Pretty Years is the celebration of everything imperfect. Finally kicks the record off withRead More

A woman inked in black and white holding her hand in front of her open mouth in surprise. Below, in thick red letters, it says ABAY and really tiny some more letters that form the album title. Everything is amazing and nobody is happy – it’s the zeitgeist talking and a fitting title to what is the debut album by one of German indie rocks busiest people. Blackmail were an institution in the German indie rock scene. The tight production by guitarist Kurt Ebelhäuser met lead singer Aydo Abay’s distinctRead More

Germany’s music landscape has been marked by a rising number of young and mostly male indie-pop bands lately. They all met in school and started off in their parents garages. Von Wegen Lisbeth is one of those bands and their story is not really different to any others. Not that I am saying their background is boring by any means, but if there is nothing new to tell, then there is simply nothing new to tell. Most famous example at the moment: Annenmykantereit. AMK are touring in sold-out venues andRead More

The press shot of Modern Baseball that is being distributed as part of the promo and that is headlining this review is a little misleading. It shows the band all happy and smiling. At first sight this might seem appropriate. The band has outgrown its d.i.y. roots. Basements in and around Philadelphia aren’t home to this band any longer. When you look at the expansive touring schedule the band has been through and is again, it is the bigger venues that play host now. After a self recorded debut albumRead More

When I was a teenager Robert Stadlober, Matthias Schweighöfer or Daniel Brühl used to play in movies commissioned by German TV station Pro7. In those films they spent time in woods, gardens, at boarding schools or in some parents basements at parties asking themselves how the whole adulthood might work. Back then these were exactly the questions I kept asking myself. All this was made that little bit sweeter as I fondly connect those times and movies to their soundtracks. Badly Drawn Boy, Elliott Smith, Slut, The Notwist or PavementRead More

Leoniden are back. Do you remember these guys? Their last EP was released by the now defunct indie label Delikatess Tonträger in 2014. It was an infectious blend of groovy audio-sexyness. And to be honest, I was asking myself a few times now, what the band has been up to recently. And now we know. 1990 is the first song from a new upcoming EP titled Two Peace Signs. We can only go as far as saying, that even with a new lead singer, the band is totally killing it!Read More

Finally it’s here. Låpsley has finished her first full length record. As regular readers of this blog, you should be familiar with the name and the music you can expect. If not, you have either been fast asleep for the past one and a half years, or you have no interest in music. Holly Lapsley Fletcher is not yet 20 years old, but she’s managed to play pretty much every important showcase festival in the past year (Eurosonic, The Great Escape, Reeperbahn) and as much a fan of her asRead More

It must have been in early 2015 when I find myself sitting in the office of a record company. I’m here to talk about the labels‘ forthcoming releases and have a bit of a general catch up to do. We smoke a few cigarettes, drink a coffee or two and listen to some interesting artists. Towards the end of the meeting I get shown a video of an artist the label just recently signed. They were out with him in California and used the time to shoot a video theyRead More