Mackenzie Leighton is the friend you call up when you finally book that flight to Europe. She’ll take you down dark, cobblestoned alleyways to smoke-filled underground jazz clubs and give you that authentic Parisian experience not found in Lonely Planet guidebooks. You start to think that maybe after a week of observing the breezy elegance around you—and splurging on a bottle of expensive perfume—you’ll have acquired that coveted French elegance by osmosis. Leighton is here to tell you that’s not how it works. You can take her word for it, too. The California-born singer-songwriter moved to Paris after graduating from NYU and is still chasing that infamous je ne sais quois that Parisian women claim as their birthright. “Paris Girls” is a swinging jazz-pop number with a waltz feel in the verses. Leighton’s navigation of agile melodies makes her sound like a smoother Nellie McKay for a modern young audience. Unapologetic electric guitar remains prominent throughout the song, transporting you to the front row of that smokey Paris jazz club ‘round midnight. Until it’s safe to travel again, this track should hold you over.

Bringing a new life to reverb-washed indie music, Sister Kit, Nashville's mood rock outfit, has developed a guitar attitude that has a distinct amber warmth. On the song, "Someone to Blame," from their debut EP, Slow Recovery, band catalyst Abby Clark crafts a woozy psychedelia that mixes alternative and western-leaning singer/songwriter styles. Her honeyed vocal croon has a wonderful, light twang that brings with it the folk-nostalgia of young Stevie Nicks singing "Landslide." When paired with the no-fuss instrumentation of Robbie Jackson on guitar, Abraham Fongnaly on drums and Parker Van Der Hyde on bass, the four-piece welcomes you into a minimalistic groove that gently grows. Clark builds a narrative that speaks to whoever she’s talked with on the phone for hours that it’s ok for her to change her mind. She repeats the words, "I owe you nothing,” and the song is anchored in that reminder. Despite this fact, sometimes people just need to find someone to blame.  

Shy Beast's "Flowers Grow" is a saccharine electro-pop flash. The indie group from Austin, Texas has an EP coming on November 30th, and "Flowers Grow" is the last bit of hype they're giving us before they release the real deal. The bouncy, optimistic single could be the score to a montage from your favorite early 2000s movie. You know, the one that occurs at that moment when the protagonists start making healthy life choices and realize how much they have to be grateful for. The song tells the story of two people who resist the pressure to freak about their own insecurities and instead decide to enjoy life and watch the "flowers grow." Frontwoman Mariclaire Glaeser sings with a Jenny Lewis-like precision, "He never seemed to mind / Watching all his friends move away to start new lives." The idea is not to worry about what's going on "out there," and to just enjoy the here and now. If you still think indie-rock is a bunch of moaning sad boys, just look Shy Beast's way.

Originally from Oklahoma and Texas, indie-folk-rock band Wilderado carry their roots deep within them. After releasing three EPs in the last three years, the band has garnered well-deserved attention and has since played festivals like Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits. Within their newest EP Favors is an rock gem called "Sorrow" that possesses special musical and lyrical qualities. Nevertheless, this acoustic version shows the bare bones of the song, exposing new levels of vulnerability. Opening up with steady guitar picking and frontman Max Rainer's dynamic voice, the song tells of having a relationship with a deep sadness that then affects other vital relationships. "Let’s talk sweetly like all our love is false / Like we can stick around I’ll say too much/ I’ll let you down with sorrow’s touch," Rainer confesses. While melancholic in nature, the sweetness of this acoustic version uplifts the song as a whole. If this is your first introduction to Wilderado, "Sorrow" is bound to make a lasting first impression.

Calling themselves “the missing link between indie-rock and classic country,” Neighbor Lady released their debut album, Maybe Later this past May. It features the single “Oh Honey," an upbeat and sassy track about a fight between two friends over the same guy. The Atlanta-based band is comprised of Emily Braden, Jack Blauvelt, Meredith Hanscom and Andrew McFarland. Braden is the singer-songwriter of the group and “Oh Honey” is based on a real friendship breakup. “Oh honey, what’s all the fuss about,” asks Braden, slightly condescendingly but mostly playfully. Complete with a catchy opening drum fill and an infectious piano driven chorus, Braden unleashes her true feelings about the futility of friendship feuds. The rest of the record alternates between indie rock infused with moments of bedroom pop to twangy, country inspired numbers that showcase Braden’s powerful vocals and the band’s desire to breakdown genre barriers. Oh, and be sure check out their music video for “Oh Honey,” which was shot entirely by the band on an iPhone 8.

A Long Sleep, Jenny Hval’s most recent album, was released this past May off of Sacred Bones Records. Off of the record comes a song which questions what we know about the indie/ambient music coming from the Norwegian artist. "Spells," from beginning to end, manages to ebb in and out of itself, both clarifying and mystifying the sonic landscape that the work dwells in. The song manages to cast a spell over its listener, manipulating their emotions with the wide variety of instruments used throughout. Hval’s use of layering creates a piece that is at atmospheric and infused with a sweet pop twinge, allowing the piece to walk the line between the experimental and the mainstream. With an airy mixture of piano, trumpets, saxophones and percussion, the production of the work is a perfectly mixed potion in a deep and overflowing cauldron of sound. The chorus could come off as foreboding, but instead is delivered as a kind promise to the unknown ‘you’ in the song “We will not be a awake for long / We’ll meet in the smallest great unknown.” With "Spells," Hval is transfixing her listeners, while creating an experimental song which allows the listener to dig into the meaning of the work, while also being a spacious and exciting rhythmic bop.

California duo Bogan Via craft earwormy soundscapes that evoke the glitz and grit of LA, serving it up up with a healthy dose of irony and realism. Their newest single "Videos" is a thick slice of base driven dream pop, packed with nuanced melodies, bittersweet piano lines and slinky club beats. The breathy vocals of Madeleine Miller convey the innate emptiness hiding under the songs surface level imagery, supporting the pointedly dark production from male counterpoint Bret Bender. As their songwriting has evolved, Bogan Via have proven to have a real knack for playing with the Top 40 format, flipping it on it's head and authenticating it through their conscious approach to songwriting, creating something that is both highly accessible and truly unique to their experience.

Happy Single Release Day to Good Night Gold Dust! The indie electronic quartet hails from Mankato, Minnesota and consists of members Laura Schultz, Colin Scharf, Zach Arney and Michelle Roche. Across GNGD's repertoire, guitarists Schultz and Scharf switch off on lead vocals, providing dynamic emotional texture from track to track. Prior to the release of their six-song EP, It Could Have Been You, the group gifts us with the gorgeous single, “In Water.”  Schultz takes the reigns on “In Water,” opening the song with the simple yet confrontational line, “You’re someone new / You’re someone different.” “In Water” is about what Schultz describes as "identity formation... How we change and how we keep changing.” She’s both delicate and fierce as she delivers the song’s poetic verses, exuding influences from the queen Björk and indie rock goddess Karen O. The song explodes in the last chorus as syncopated 808s drive the crisp guitars and cosmic electronic sounds home. In a magnificent choir of carefully layered harmonies, Schultz’s sings over and over again “It's changed and still changing.” Lean into the changes and let Good Night Gold Dust take you away with this unique and dreamy soundscape.

When Ciaran Lavery is accompanied by a string section and gentle harmonies, as he is in the original version of “Wicked Teeth,” the horrors he depicts are hidden beneath a layer of gorgeous production. But here, in a solo session backed by only the sparsest piano chords, it’s impossible to miss lines like, “I see you sharpening your claws / I can feel them in my sleep.” There is no less beauty in such a simple arrangement, rather the beauty is in his ability to confront his deepest fears alone, utterly exposed. “I could never stray from you,” he nearly whispers, addressing the powerlessness one might feel in an unhealthy relationship or at the hands of personal demons. As the song progresses, he finds his footing and becomes bolder in his piano playing. The questions of the first chorus — “Would you sink your wicked teeth? Would you lock your jaws down tight?” — sound almost like a challenge in the second. Sink your teeth in, lock your jaws down, even that can’t stop him.

John Isaac Watters, the vocalist of Rainstorm Brother, used to work as an architect. When listening to the careful arrangement of “Fire You Light,” the second track on the folk-rock duo’s new EP, Part One, it’s easy to understand why. His vocals are a little bit The National, a little bit Modest Mouse and a lot of vibrato, acting as the foundation around which all the other instrumental sounds are built. Classic elements of crooning folk merge seamlessly with experimental synths and percussion that evolves into something almost orchestral, leaving the listener with a song entirely in its own genre. The opening synth, which can best be described as a violin being played backwards, sets the tone for the unconventional mash-up of sounds, but with a traditional structure and a time signature fans of indie pop will be familiar with, “Fire You Light” will appeal to a wide-variety of listeners.

Brooklyn indie-pop artist Sedona aka Rachel Stewart releases her new single "Same Sky" today. Its sultry and jazzy elements compliment Sedona's standout voice that recalls 90s pop star greats. The song is Sedona's second released track following up last single "Call Me Up" which too showcases an eclectic artist that's bringing back everything we loved about the 90s. As a rising star in Brooklyn, it only makes sense that Sedona has a style of her own that matches the uniqueness of her sound. In "Same Sky" hear a twist on a romantic and lovelorn pop song that's tied together with spacey synths and enveloping background vocals. Sedona's debut EP Home Before Dawn arrives next summer and we're looking forward to more of her well-crafted jams. (Photo by Leona Johnson)