News
December 7, 2020
Michael Bridges, a long time member of our Christian Music and Rock Scene has embarked on a journey to release a special docuseries all about his involvement in the scene, where its gone, and and what is has meant to him. Sure to be shocking, compelling, and altogether interesting. Check out the trailer below and view the special gofundme to help get this project off the ground, right here. This really reminds me of an Anthony Bourdain (RIP) style series in the most honest way and it definitely has my interest.… Continued →
Winona Avenue - December Night (Official Music Video)
Winona Avenue have jumped into the Christmas season with their own original pop-rock song, “December Night”. Check out the really cool music video for the song, below. “December Night” is available now on all digital networks and streaming sites.… Continued →
Song of the Day: The Violet Burning-Rock Is Dead
So this post is my response to one of my fave 90’s bands. TVB is imho a cross between The Smashing Pumpkins, The Prayer Chain & alternative worship music. Michael Pritzl’s voice & lyrics are a stark example of what made worship music exciting & caused at least listeners like me to think of our Savior & want to lift my hands & heart in worship. (Check out my fave song by them The Only One.) TVB is one of a few bands in my collection that I have collected most, if not all, their music.… Continued →
December 6, 2020
New Releases: December 4, 2020
Rock & Metal
- Andrew Stanton – Entrance Music
- Boiling Point – Come All You Weary
- Diamonds to Dust – Decisions (EP)
- Fallstar – King Lazer
- Fight The Fade – In Love. in Hope. in Peace. (Deluxe)
- Neal Morse – Jesus Christ the Exorcist (Live at Morsefest 2018)
- Phil Keaggy – Keaggy, Blazier & Lunn (An American Garage Band)
- They Came Running – Movement 1: Dawn – They Came Running (EP)
- Two Dimensional – Superman // Between You & Me
- Winona Avenue – December Night
- Drew Poole – I Love You I Love You
- Emily Brimlow – Nickel
- Freedom Heart – Lost and Broken
- Grace Graber – Heart For Me
- The Gray Havens – See You Again / / Autumn Sessions
- Heart + Soul, Vito Vasquez – Made In Heaven
- I AM THEY – I AM They Song Session
- joan – partly cloudy (EP)
- Joe Bae, Philip Shibata – Unravel
- Joseph – NYE (Violents Remix)
- Kios – Stay With Me (EP)
- More Than Rubies – Forgiveness
- Mountaintops – Wherever I Go (Ambient Version)
- Paul Cardall, Thompson Square – My Heart Beats for You
- Pyramid Park, Andy Lowe – Day and Night (Andy Lowe Remix)
- Timothy Li – Leaving
- Cory Breth – Tangerine Sunsets
- The Dailys – Fill This Cup
- Jon Foreman – Love (EP)
- The Pharaoh Sisters – In Distress
- Praytell – Come Whatever
- Ray Nugent – Take a Drink
- Whale Bones – Sow Your Heart in Me
- Aklesso – My Life is a Beautiful Mess
- Andy Mineo – Happy Thoughts (EP)
- Antoine Bradford – Seasons Change
- Cellus Hamilton, BlessThePen, Trubl3 – The Row Men
- Dillon Chase – Every Piece Matters
- Flame – Oh Yeah (Original Radio Edit)
- Guvna B, Madison Ryann Ward – Watching over Us
- I-Von – Hands to the Plow
- Jon Keith – Rose
- Jude.
No Lost Cause - Hope For The Hopeless (Official Lyric Video)
No Lost Cause just dropped a new version of “Hope For The Hopeless” featuring smooth, warm, and well placed horn parts throughout. This is the best that No Lost Cause has ever sounded. The song will appear on the upcoming album, “Take 2” which will release on Thumper Punk Records next year. You can download this song, just click the description on the YouTube video. For Fans of The O.C. Supertones, Five Iron Frenzy Suburban Legends, The Insyderz, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, etc.… Continued →
December 5, 2020
REVIEW : Make Sure / Ezekiel Songs - Split EP
Splits seem increasingly-rare; indeed, in a single-friendly, me-first musical culture, artists collaborating in mutual benefit is undeniably counter-cultural (as a side, it’s odd something even so simple seems adverse to some). But splits live on, if only solely as a remnant of DIY punk culture. There’s a raw, communal, anti-corporate element here. “We’re in this together,” the unspoken message goes.
And there’s certainly plenty of community at play on this latest collaboration between Make Sure and Ezekiel Songs – the split includes one new song per artist, as well as a cover of the other artist’s tracks.… Continued →
December 4, 2020
Song of the Day: The Swoon - Sweet Ally
Don’t you hate it when an amazing band releases one stellar album and then disappears off the map leaving virtually no trace whatsoever? That’s more or less what happened to Minnesota’s The Swoon. This intelligent, artsy, literate (one of the band’s song titles is a Dante reference) band made up one third of Christian jangle-pop’s ‘holy trinity’ (also including The Throes and The Walk).
Their debut album was released on Narrowpath Records, in conjunction with Refuge (the obscure indie label also released such classics as debuts by Breakfast with Amy and The Crucified), and was made up of two earlier cassette-only demos, ben son, ben son Beatrice and Neverland, the latter of which was produced by Charlie Peacock.… Continued →
December 3, 2020
REVIEW : Wade Walker - The Harrow
Put simply, The Harrow is an album of parables. No, you won’t need a dictionary, nor are any of the sentiments too obtuse. The central narrative instead rests in simplicity; an earthy barrenness meets dirty hands resulting in what can only be described as common man’s praise. Where others would opt for sprawling pedal boards and tireless crescendos, Wade Walker chooses a subtler option: vulnerable, poetic, alt-country worship without all of the glitz.
Walker’s sophomore release is undeniably folkier than its predecessor, but what it lacks in percussion, it makes up for in craftsmanship.… Continued →
December 2, 2020
November 30, 2020
Featured Album: Rottweiler Record's Fleas Naughty Dog Vol. 8
I know it’s not Christmas yet, but in the spirit of the season, Shawn Browning’s Rottweiler Records released their yearly Christmas compilation back on November 24, 2020. I remember seeing various Facebook posts about the upcoming project & is up on Rottweiler’s Bandcamp page. Consisting of 20 songs, this comp is sure to satisfy most hard subgenre lovers. The lead track For Unto Us is Malaysian band Shamash who actually released their first EP recently. Coming in on track 2 is progressive rockers Mawcore (formerly known as Blushing Well) with vocalist Joshua Redding who is pretty active on social media so it was nice seeing them here.… Continued →
November 29, 2020
New Releases: November 27, 2020
Rock & Metal
- Anberlin – We Are the Lost Ones
- Brotality – Prisoners of The Abyss
- Heliocentric – Never Again
- Killdevil Theory – Die Another Day
- The Midnight Wedding – Enforcers
- Talkie – anna
- Alyssa Jordan – I’m With You
- Beach Chapel – Jerusalem
- The Brilliance – Tell Me I’m Dreaming
- Chasing Daylight – Heartbreak
- Common Courier – Let Go
- I AM THEY – Scars (Acoustic)
- I AM THEY – Tremble Acoustic
- J.Prosper – Never Let Go
- JJ Heller – I Have Enough
- John Gabriel Arends – God Is Moving Like a River
- Josh Sellers – All in My Head
- Shana|Lana – Goodbye Babylon
- Tom Read – Stabal Session (Live)
- LoudWorship, Swedish Revolution, Retro Mars – You Say (Lauren Daigle Version)
- Trampolines – The Blessing
- hadassa morais – Love Letters
- Jon Foreman – Doubt (EP)
- Jonathan Gabriel Masters – Park
- Karissa Frampton – Memos
- TJ Harris – Walk Love
- Adriel Cruz – Punk (EP)
- Bryann T – Kingdom Muzic Family: The Remnant
- Courtney B – The Evolution of Courtney B
- davecreates – Ascension
- Hyper Fenton – Darkest Hour
- IMRSQD – Fox Glacier (EP)
- Jalen Williams – Thank God, Show Love
- Jekasole, Scootie Wop – N Luv
- JohnLion.,
Illect Recordings Announce Holiday Sale
Underground hip-hop leaders Illect Recordings (home of Sivion, Terem, James Gardin and many others) are running holiday sales currently on physical merch (12″ Vinyl, 7″ Vinyl, CDs, Cassette Tapes & more). A few new items are included in addition to a couple re-stocks.
There are also pre-orders, from tomorrow, for the Sivion x DertBeats Vinyl LP. Stock is expected to arrive in a few weeks from Europe. The official release date will be 6-8 weeks later but fans who pre-order the vinyl will be the first to have it.… Continued →
REVIEW : Daniel Markham - Burnout
From the opening riffs of opener “Armadillo”, you know this is going to be something interesting—dual harmonic guitar riffs in fuzzy tones. Vocals reflect Markham’s alt country background, but this is clearly a rock record. His bio claims he was trying to return to the hard rock and heavy metal that made him happy as a child, and while that is certainly a tangible presence, it’s filtered through his alternative consciousness. It’s like the rock era of Starflyer 59 where they essentially wrote doom metal riffs but set them into the context of shoegaze songs.… Continued →
November 27, 2020
The Best Songs of 2020 From A to Z
Earlier this year I shared a list of the best albums of 2020 so far from A to Z. Now I’m back to share my list of the best songs of 2020 from A to Z! Once again the letters Q, X, and Z gave me some trouble but I was still able to put together a great list of songs for you. Be sure and check out the playlist of all the songs and runners-up at the bottom!… Continued →
Song of the Day: The Pilgrims - Thank You Lord
There’s a recurring debate about who the first Christian rocker was. It’s very often touted that Larry Norman was the “godfather of Christian rock.” And if we mean by that that he was the first artist to really capture the essence of the genre with a wide influence, you’d have a pretty decent argument. However, if we’re talking about who was first, it wasn’t him. Not by a long shot.
Larry’s first Gospel album dropped in 1969, after an impactful encounter with the Holy Spirit led him away from a substantial career in famed rock group People!… Continued →
November 26, 2020
20 Of My Favorite Albums From 2000
This is a big year not only for music, anniversaries, but also Indie Vision Music in general. Yes, my friends, this year is the 20th Anniversary of the website/store/label and everything IVM means to me. I thought of a few different things I could do for the anniversary but due to time constraints and well, this pandemic which has completely changed EVERYTHING about our daily lives, I decided to keep it simple. I have put together this little write up on what I consider to be 20 of my favorite albums of that monumental year in music history.… Continued →
Paul Hyde of Grandpa Loves Rhinos Does Drum Cover of "Broken Youth" by Homeplate
Continuing with the (former) IVM band news is a sweet little drum cover of “Broken Youth” (Homeplate) by Paul Hyde of the band Grandpa Loves Rhinos. Check out the drum cover below this post. Grandpa Loves Rhinos “Searching in the Sarchasm” and Homeplate “Derby City” EP available now from your digital network of choice and on CD.… Continued →
Pop-Punk Duo Homeplate Will Record New EP For Release in 2021
The pop-punk duo known as “Homeplate” are returning after just a few months from the release of their incredible debut EP, “Derby City”, to record MORE NEW MUSIC. That’s right friends, the guys will reconvene in the studio soon to lay down some new tracks for another EP. If you enjoyed “Derby City” as much as I did, you’re in for a real treat. No word yet on whether a label will pick these guys up and release future tunes but stay tuned. For now, pick up Derby City EP on CD from IVM or your favorite digital network.… Continued →
Hangnail Makes Triumphant Return With "Christmas Hymns"
A classic Tooth & Nail pop-punk band, Hangnail, that everyone will claim is an underrated band who definitely should have been “bigger” (whatever that means) in their time is seeing a most triumphant return to the music realm. With hands held high in applause, we welcome these posi-pop-punk gentlemen back and we welcome their brand of uplifting, spiritual punk rock with our arms wide open (cheesy Creed pun, sorry). You can pick up or stream “Christmas Hymns” on your favorite Digital Network, December 4th, through long time label home, Tooth & Nail Records.… Continued →
November 24, 2020
November 22, 2020
New Releases: November 20, 2020
Rock & Metal
- Awaken – The Veil
- CHPTRS – When You Came Along
- CLOUDLAND – Lights
- Faintheart – Growing Pains (EP)
- Kevin Max – Revisiting This Planet
- The Lasting Hope – Lead Me
- Mike Mains & The Branches – Briggs (Cinematic Version)
- No Lost Cause – Hope For The Hopeless (2020 Version)
- The Reversalist – Falling Embers
- VERIDIA – Crushed Velvet
- Weathered – Everything All at Once
- 21:03 – Never Let Me Down
- Bien – Megaphone
- Cristabelle Braden – My Story Now (Lo-Fi Remix)
- Daulton Hopkins – I Melt With You
- DC Talk – Trying to Find A Life
- Feikje Douwina – This Time (EP)
- Gabriel Conte – Belong
- Jacob Hilton – A Voice Shouting (Féz Remix)
- Jessica Love – Stronger
- JJ Weeks Band – JJ Weeks Band
- John Michael Howell, Ashylnn Rose – You Will Love Again
- Jordan St.
November 20, 2020
Song of the Day: Ben Okafor - Jah Love
British Christian reggae artist Ben Okafor was born in Nigeria. Experiencing life as a victim of the Nigerian civil war, and even serving temporarily as a child soldier, Okafor was able to relocate to England in the late 70s where he began a career as a reggae artist. His early works were even produced by Bob Lamb (UB40).
Musically, Ben’s music has always had an interesting mix of influences from traditional roots reggae (Ben’s clean guitar playing is noted throughout his lengthy discography) to lovers rock (AKA pop-reggae), but also including folk and world elements–all of which are impacted by his diverse cultural and geographical background.… Continued →
November 19, 2020
November 18, 2020
November 17, 2020
November 16, 2020
Love and Death - Down (Official Lyric Video)
Love and Death are back after a more than 8 year break, with a brand new song titled “Down”. Check out the lyric video for this explosive new track, below. The new album “Perfectly Preserved” is out in February12th, 2021 via Earache Records. For the low down on track list, guests, pre-orders, and more, see the feature on Alt Press here.… Continued →
November 15, 2020
New Releases: November 13, 2020
Rock & Metal
- 12 Stones – Smoke and Mirrors Volume 1 (EP)
- Amongst Wolves – Golden (Remix)
- Cory Shane – Pyramid Scheme
- Crushing the Deceiver – At The End Of The Tunnel
- Fallstar – SSRI Feel Better Already
- Fight The Fade – What’s Left (Acoustic)
- The Fold – Young & Free
- Love and Death – Down
- Revelation Attic – Agony
- The Rocket Summer – Bee Sides: Select Rarities 2015-2020
- Talkie – to be alone
- Then It Ends – Despised (Acoustic)
- Andrea Hamilton – Time Under Tension (EP)
- Camryn Leigh Smith – Tightrope
- Freddie Fardon – Under Your Wings
- Grace Graber – Real
- Harolddd – Hoodie Weather
- Jessie Early – The Fire Never Dies (EP)
- Jon Webster – Rendezvous
- Judah & the Lion – Spirit
- MacKenzie Phillips – Deeper
- Marie Bashiru – Joyride
- Matthew West – Gobble Gobble
- Neoni – OUTLAW
- Punch Parade – Stay In
- Smalltown Poets – In Real Life (Live)
- Spencer Kane – Smoke
- Terrian – Light It Up
- Whosah – Heaven Here
- Alisa Turner – Row
- Allison Clarke – Live Oak (EP)
- Jamie Barnes – Ex-Voto
- Jessie Dipper – Sirens
- More Than Rubies – The Bravest Thing
- Ordinary Time – Hard Times
- Tracy Nitschke – Ghost Town
- Aluis – Faith Without Sight 2
- Angie Rose – Meet Me (Heaven On Earth)
- Anthone Ray – FACADE
- Arrow – All That (feat.
November 14, 2020
Song of The Day: Man Alive - Say What You Want
This band holds a special place in my heart. I’ve been a fan since 2001 or so when I first heard “Foreign Concepts” from Men of Israel Records. They were big time self promoters and got their music into my ears. I bought their early albums for sale in my store back in the day. The band was out from Israel touring the country and stopped in to play this store here in Orange County, CA. where I was putting on “I’m Your Biggest Fan Vol.… Continued →
The Myrrhderers Release Debut North Pole Punk Rock Project
A new group coming straight out of the North Pole called The Myrrhderers are here to spread some Christmas cheer and celebrate the holiday like only a punk rock band could. This super special group are releasing their debut Christmas only EP titled “The Myrrhderers Sleigh Christmas” on November 20th. You can download “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” right here via their bandcamp page. The band will follow this up with “The Myrrhderers Sleigh Some More” on December 11th. I have the EP and it absolutely rules.… Continued →
Fallstar Return With Intense and Personal New Song
Fallstar are back and with a new song in tow. Check out the track “SSRI Feel Better Already” below this post and give it a solid listen. The song will appear on the new album “Sunbreather”, out February 2021 through Facedown Records. I was an on/off Fallstar fan in the past probably due to my tastes at the time but this new song completely changes my entire outlook on the band and their job as musicians. This is solid and I mean that in the most sincere way.… Continued →