Tag: Indie Pop

The Julies was a barely-known indie pop band from Pennsylvania who released one highly-regarded EP for Flying Tart Records in 1996 and then disappeared for roughly 27 years. I caught up with the band recently to discuss their origins, their revival, and their connection to the Christian indie scene. IVM: I’ve been a huge fan since Lovelife. It’s one of my favorite EPs. You guys had some clear influences, but at the same time didn’t sound like anyone in particular. You must have been pretty young when you recorded that.… Continued →

I recently had the chance to video chat with Rob Withem, of indie pop outfit Fine China. The band has been active since the late 90s, and recently released the beautiful, sophisticated, elaborate I Felt Called (available on Double LP and CD, as well as digital formats via www.velvetbluemusic.com. IVM: Let’s start on a light note. Cloud has informed me that you’re an aficionado of dad jokes . . . RW: You know, that’s funny. I think he’s making that up to be funny, because I don’t think I’ve ever told a dad joke in my like.… Continued →

Fat and Frantic was a delightfully quirky indie band from England, active from the mid-80s and into the early 90s. While the band was made up of Christians (at least one of whom later entered full-time ministry in the Church of England, and another who has a decorated career as a choir director), they managed to stay out of the ‘Christian ghetto’ and had lots of mainstream exposure, at least in their home country. When I lived in England, I would come across people who had no connection to the church but had fond memories of seeing Fat and Frantic live.… Continued →

Everyone’s favorite quirky pop musical genius returns with five songs. Having done stints with Fold Zandura, Lassie Foundation, and Cush, Lenz has ventured out solo since 2001’s Hot Stuff. So what’s it like? This is pop cynicism at its finest. Sugary sweet pop melodies with some of the most bizarre and quirky lyrics yet. Is Lenz Scottish? Because this is right up there with Belle and Sebastian or early Teenage Fanclub. Then again, this EP is hard to peg for so many reasons (yes, the release title is ironic).… Continued →

Rising young pop/rock/indie artist Allison Eide has just dropped her inspirational new anthem which serves as the perfect gateway into 2025, “Light Inside You”. Check out the song below this post. More to come this year.… Continued →

Fine China are back with another new wave classic in the making. Give the band’s new song “Gonna Need a Vacation” a listen below. You can also stream over on bandcamp here and pre-order the new album “I Felt Called” right here at the Velvet Blue Music website.… Continued →

Indie pop duo Bon Voyage was a collaboration of Jason Martin (Starflyer 59, and about a dozen others) and his wife Julie on vocals. The project was somewhat accurately described as “Starflyer with female vocals,” which is not inaccurate though not really complete either. Whereas SF59 added layers and layers of guitars and fuzz, Bon Voyage stripped things back to the pop essentials. Julie’s vocals are akin to Julee Cruise, most famous for her work on the Twin Peaks soundtracks. The band released three albums for BEC and/or Tooth and Nail, and we haven’t heard from them since 2008.… Continued →

Burnt Toast Vinyl will be pressing the classic Element 101 album, “Stereo Girl” on vinyl for the very first time. The album was originally recorded in May of 2000 at The Blasting Room in Colorado and produced by Bill Stevenson, Stephen Egerton, and Jason Livermore. This album has been remastered from the original analog tapes by Jason Livermore. Stereo Girl is being pressed on 180 gram vinyl and available in two limited variants – Jersey Shore Blue & Pink Noise. The album artwork was redesigned by Matt Traxler and includes rare photos from the studio.… Continued →

Dream pop darlings Slow Salvation have just released a brand new single. The duo wowed listeners last year with their dreamy shoegaze full-length, Here We Lie. The new single is over 6 minutes of layered musical bliss. Check it out on bandcamp: https://slowsalvation.bandcamp.com/album/call-a-friend… Continued →

Early 90s indie pop darlings The Swoon have just released a new version of a long-lost track from 1990, originally released on a demo cassette. The band have premiered “Army of Plenty” on YouTube, and have been hinting at the possibility of a new release in the near future.… Continued →

Benjamin Daniel who is a sort of, introspective, heart on the sleeve, indie solo artist who captures the imaginations and dreams of listeners across this great land through his music, is back yet again with more new music. This latest song is titled “Lights Out” and features the great Chase Tremaine in a supporting role. I highly encourage you all to give the song a listen then dig back through his older catalog of music to find an artist you’ll instantly connect with. A lot of his songs are deeply personal and highly encouraging.… Continued →

Blonde bombshell Windy Lyre appeared seemingly out of nowhere in 1991 with her self-titled debut on Blonde Vinyl Records. Truth be told her connections to alternative Christian music ran deep, but on a personal level, which is not appropriate to go into here. The album was a refreshing display of acoustic alternative, which hinted at folk rock, jangle pop, and in a way preceded the dream pop/alt country craze that swept the middle part of the 1990s and beyond. Lyrics and music were all written by label owner Michael Knott (LSU, Lifesavers, Aunt Bettys, etc.)… Continued →

The synthwave/indie pop project – Vivid Era, just dropped a brand new song this week called “Wildfire”. Check out the song below this message and comment with your thoughts.… Continued →

Young Oceans are back with a brand new song for 2024 titled “Somehow”. Check out the song below this post and let us know what you think. Visit youngoceans.com… Continued →

Teddy of Teddy At Night Fame wants you to give him a call so he can solve all your problems. Don’t believe me? Check out his video below and get your answers now, some of which I’m sure will involve new music.… Continued →

for KING & COUNTRY return with a special cover of “Place In This World” and it actually features Michael W Smith whose song this is a cover of. Very cool. The band is gearing up for the film “Unsung Hero” based off their song of the same title. Here is a synopsis.. “Based on a remarkable true story, Unsung Hero follows David Smallbone as he moves his family from Down Under to the States, searching for a brighter future after his successful music company collapses. With nothing more than their seven children, suitcases, and their love of music, David (for KING + COUNTRY’s Joel Smallbone) and his pregnant wife Helen (Daisy Betts) set out to rebuild their lives.… Continued →

While it hasn’t gotten the worldwide promotion just yet, those of you following Leigh’s instagram account have become witness to the rebirth of Sixpence None The Richer. Yes friends, the band is returning with new music and touring in 2024 as a collective unit. The band known for some pretty big hits like “Kiss Me” and a cover of The La’s “There She Goes” alongside all their 90’s critically acclaimed indie releases like “This Beautiful Mess” and debut, “The Fatherless and The Widow”, are back in action and ready to reemerge as the heavy hitters they once were (are).… Continued →

I just recently found this pretty cool Synthwave project under the name of OM53. All the songs sound really good and extremely catchy. You can check out the most recent track “Waiting For The Day” in lyric video form, below. Search “OM53” on YouTube to see/hear more. OM53.com is the website. You can find a recent album and more singles over on digital networks like Spotify and Apple Music. Let us know what you think about OM53 in the comments below.… Continued →

We are excited to bring you the premiere of Sierrah Garcia’s new song “Six Feet Over”. She is a new artist over on Fair Vaux/Arc Jet new label and we think this is a song you all need to hear. Check out the lyric video for the song over on our YouTube channel, below (click it or search ‘Indie Vision Music’ on YouTube for you instagram followers). Please like and subscribe to our channel because something very special is coming soon…… Continued →

The accounts for both Stephen Christian and Anchor & Braille have both teased new album for 2024. This is a great project (is it still a side project?) and has always sounded really good. Are you looking forward to more new music from Anchor & Braille. Follow AnchorBraille on instagram for the latest.… Continued →

Fine China are back with a brand new album titled “Eyes In The Water” that will release on October 19th through Velvet Blue Music. From the fabulous new single “Breathtaker”, you can tell right off the bat that this will be a mesmerizing, and well, breathtaking new album. Pre-order the album right here on Vinyl, Tape, and CD.… Continued →

Teddy At Night unleashes his new music video for the track “Blackhole Trigger” and boy oh boy is it trippy. Go check it out below here on our website or on his YouTube channel. This is the perfect combination between Darkwave, Synthwave, and Indie-Pop music.… Continued →

Slow Coming Day have announced 2 California reunion shows later this month and both with the much loved Watashi Wa. August 25th in Templeton, CA. and August 27th in Los Angeles. The band is releasing a special new music video for “Captivated” very soon. This is all leading up to the release date of “The Lost Tapes” which drops August 25th through Fair Vaux Recordings and Steadfast Records. Check out the band’s song “Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace”, below. We are premiering their music video for “Truth Behind The Lies” on August 25th.… Continued →

Warning: this is a perfect pop song. If you haven’t ever heard one, brace yourself. The simplicity of pop, yet the nuance of alternative music. Lyrics that long for something deeper, more meaningful in life, reflected in the writer’s interaction with art . . . Words that form a sentence Words that form a phrase In a poem, or a letter Could not convey the meaning Of what this man has done In a painting, on a canvas Bear in mind these guys wrote most of their debut album when they were still in high school.… Continued →

The Julies are back in a big way this year. They’ve had a couple prior (old) albums repackaged and released on Vinyl for the first time by Lost In Ohio and now they come back with a brand new song titled “Symmetry” which is quite frankly the best I’ve ever heard from them or any likeminded band for that matter. I hate using all the genre specific classifications when describing songs such as this because honestly, this band goes above and beyond to bring you music which rides a wave of uniquely, “Julies” music but terms like “shoegaze”, “indie pop rock”, “Dream pop”, etc could easily be applied to this then twisted around and around with the beautiful color hues projecting outwards.… Continued →

Jettee which is the project of Jett Foreman who happens to be the son of Tim Foreman of Switchfoot, just dropped a brand new song titled “Dancing Alone” and it’s quite good. Check out the song below and make sure to stream at your favorite digital network. Oh, and buy a tshirt here.… Continued →

Gosh, this song . . . this band . . . has a way of evoking memories of a certain period of my life. Lo-fi indie rock with only 2 members. One on guitar and vocals, and the other on drums. They released a very short–only 3 songs–but brilliant self-titled EP on Tooth & Nail in 1997. T&N had a fantastic run of EPs around that time (Pedro the Lion, Warlord, Inner Means, Training for Utopia, etc.) and this was certainly one of them. The songs were lo-fi, but not noisy.… Continued →

Honestly I think this is a song that only Half-Handed Cloud could write. Aside from the ever-present pop bliss is a song about a baby trying to reach shiny Christmas ornaments that are out of reach, and yet so desirable. But Ringhofer makes a point that only he could make, about humanity’s incessant need to grasp for shining things that are always slightly out of reach and that we really don’t need after all. Merry Christmas IVM friends–may you find the true joy of Christmas this year–the baby in the manger!… Continued →

[Lyric Video below] This really great young new group called THE YOUNG ESCAPE, has been drawing more attention online lately and through strong word of mouth which has led to their recent signing with BEC Recordings and a brand new song called “Turning My Heart”. Upon first listen to this wonderfully made new indie-pop-rock song, you are transported out of your musically lackluster and boring, bland same old song existence. There is a certain familiarity here and they wouldn’t be without praise from radio/media but something about this song strikes me as fresh.… Continued →

I think we missed posting about this new full length from Allen Odell, a month ago. Allen creates some really mellow, chill, spiritually relevant post-emo and indie music that inspires. It’s one of those albums that draws you in with subtlety and puts you on a journey of discovery and heaven gazing self-reflection. This isn’t some sort of fists in the air, aggressive rock anthem worthy music to cause a ruckus. It is simply just good, deep music that will leave you haunted by soft spoken melodies.… Continued →