Indie Tag

It’s the small things that count. The details. The split seconds and moments you remember days, weeks, months later. I was sitting at my office desk browsing the web when I stumbled upon a highlight reel of a small festival in Germany. The pictures and impressions were beautiful but what impressed me even more was the song that kept the whole video together. It added that extra layer and gave me goosebumps. It was the first time I stumbled upon Yesterday Shop and their formidable song „Fat Man & LittleRead More

Someone left you looking for a reason. Found it in the Reverie Lagoon The first time I heard „Sowing Season“ by Brand New, it blew me away. The part when the song finally erupts after building too much pressure to bear – it still gets me every time. To this day it evokes a feeling I don’t really comprehend, but I’m sure everyone has felt at least once in his life – unless you’re one of those lucky ones that haven’t had anything go in the wrong direction for themselves.Read More

Back in the early 2000s, a time when the Strokes started reintroducing hip kids and students to rock again, London and the UK had a lot to offer musically. Incited by their New York counterparts, British bands took to their guitars and remembered the great heritage in British music. Gang of Four, Joy Division and the Smiths were back on everybodies lips again. Bands like Maximo Park, Arctic Monkeys, the Futureheads or the Libertines were filling bigger and bigger venues even outside of their home country. Then it seemed asRead More

All that I know, it’s no way to fix it! It was during the summer of 2009 when I made an impulse buy at HMV in Liverpool. I had read this review about a band I had never heard of. It sounded good to me and I trusted the magazine that had published the review. „Mean Everything to Nothing Manchester Orchestra“ was printed in Western style letters on the front of a thin digipack. Inside was a CD and between the cover was a thin booklet with the lyrics andRead More

”If you want to find your lover I suggest you slide into the river like the rat that you are” When Spring Offensive announced their first LP, I was excited. I spent a great amount of time annoying my environment how brilliant this band is. Songs like The Well or A Shutter And A Start took me by storm. Their musical approach state as Indie, but more clever, as danceable, but sometimes depressing, as emotional, in the most positive meaning. A Shutter and a Start: only available on EPRead More

It is never easy to come back after a long absence. It’s even harder, when the heritage your last albums left you with are now valued as classics of a whole genre. In certain parts of music nerdismn, Neon Golden is treasured visionary. For the German label City Slang, it was nothing more than the opus magnum of the label’s discography. I vividly remember seeing the video to „Pilot“ on VIVA 2 and I remember how much Visions magazine (my then tastebible for music) valued it. I think I neverRead More

When I grew up, I played in bands. My first musical outing was a 2-piece punk band. We practiced in my neighbours bedroom every friday after school. I carried my amp, my guitar and a little PA over, we set up and played. I remember how easy it was to write songs for that band. I felt like our songs would someday change the world. So I tried to put effort in the lyrics. A few weeks ago, I stumbled over a folder from that time. And to be honest,Read More

Evan Weiss is a modern day hero for me. I am not sure how many bands and labels he introduced me to over the last two odd years. He gave me comfort when I felt bad, he was there to share some great days with me and he has the ability to almost make me cry. We share a similar soft spot for checkered shirts and shell-rimmed glasses. Every time I hear his music, I feel like I’m listening to a good friend of mine. Mind you, I’ve never metRead More

When I first heard this band, I was irritated. The strange noise, the non existent harmonies or melodies. It was all too blurry, too edgy, too brittle and too volitional. Then there was the cover artwork, the painting of a Freddy Kruger like weirdo with a big black hat. And, to top it all off, there were these videos. All of that was by no chance bad and they got a fair share of love from the critics. It just wasn’t for me. Sometimes it needs time to understand aRead More

Or we can fire up the program / let the drones do all the dirt It’s simply one of those undisputed truths: Kevin Devine was always at his best when he was angry. Angry at the government, at some ex-girlfriend, at himself or at the society as a whole. Bearing this in mind, it is pretty good news that one out of his two new albums, „Bubblegum“, totally lives up to KD’s anger standards.Read More