Fans of Colatura might already know Meredith Lampe (guitar, synth, vocals). The Brooklyn-based musician has now launched a new project, Work Wife, which should please all the sad indie boys and girls out there. Exploring her own struggles with anxiety and failed relationships, Work Wife is not all about melancholy though. The project also boasts dreamy melodies and witty lyrics, peppered with dark humor.

On her new single, “December Summer,” lifted from the upcoming Quitting Season EP, which was produced by Brooklyn duo Toledo and mixed by Jay Som, Lampe sings about a pivotal, revelatory moment of her life. “December Summer describes a period of a few months after high school that totally changed the trajectory of my life,” she explained. “I was living in Newcastle, Australia and working for a religious organization associated with the church I grew up in. The longer I spent there the more I grew to disagree with what the organization was doing, and everything that I had up to that point believed in started to feel really backwards and confusing. I felt like all of the messy chaos in my head was being reflected physically by all of the seasons being opposite in the southern hemisphere, thus the name of the song. It was hot at all the wrong times, and everything that seemed right before wasn’t right anymore.”

After a mental health break, Texas songwriter-producer Rich Loren Balling (The Sound of Animals Fighting, RX Bandits, Pyramids) returns with a new genre bending collaborative project, Hospital Gown. Forthcoming album Diamond Life 2 is slated for release later this fall, and promises to be a record which explores nostalgia, regret, depression, fatherhood, human idiosyncrasy, and gender normality. Balling just unveiled the playful first single “Everyone Has A Plan Until They Get Punched In The Mouth” – assuredly in competition for the Longest Title Name Of The Year Award. In this track, which mixes electronic pop, indie pop, and hyperpop, Hospital Gown is also surrounded by the enfant terribles Donovan Melero and GFOTY. Listen below, and pre-order via Bandcamp.

Born and bred in the UK before relocating to Salt Lake City, singer, songwriter and producer Fonteyn has carved her space through sunny, eclectic and delightfully nostalgic indie pop tracks. With a background in musical theatre, she actually found her calling when drifting towards creating her own music, finding peace with her idiosyncrasies in the endearing process of composition.

Harbouring a self-confessed proclivity for “a love of the Major 7th Chord and a theatrical sensibility”, her previous offerings “Savannah” and “These Days” both sparkled with a comforting fuzziness, a warmth that’s often found in 70’s classics.

Fonteyn‘s “Girl on a Motorcycle” also embraces that same fizzling endearment. The track bounces playfully from the simple repeated distorted piano refrain, calling to mind some of Fonteyn’s musical idols; both Carole King and Paul McCartney’s influence can easily be detected in this textured yet simplistic offering.

The track also opens up with the addition of the horns section, the sound of a motorbike engine and gentle beeping. The overarching effect is one of an elated freedom; you can almost feel the wind in your hair as you ride behind Fonteyn, calling to mind visions of a coastal, summer drive in some sunny European countries.

Like teenagers and bad decisions, camp and horror go hand in hand. So does the experience of discovering your queer attraction, and worrying how you will be judged when others find out. With their latest single “Just Kids,” Philadelphia glam-punk quartet Sixteen Jackies explore these themes of insecurity in youth, all the while seducing with the luscious and impassioned vocals of Jody DeMarco.

Opening with jazzy chords and twinkling keys, Sixteen Jackies‘s “Just Kids” smooths into a bodacious groove that’s as sweet – and retro – as chantilly cream. The sound quality is superb, but what’s most commendable is how the song progresses, building up in momentum and weight while maintaining the breezy, blissful atmosphere. The instrumental on some level feels cinematic, providing a naturalistic score to the pictures being presented by DeMarco’s lyrics.

In contrast to the bubblegum instrumental, the desperation of the protagonist – a closeted boy who loses his virginity – is tangible. He lives in fear that he will be found out, that the judgement of others will affect how he is perceived. With lyrics like “You know damn well that shit stains and it might never get clean,” DeMarco doesn’t hold back from how intense the experience is, and how it can be formative in ways you least expect.

In the video directed by Max R Holland, the band showcase their aesthetic in a satisfying fashion. Drawing from B-movie horror, DeMarco is seen in the woods throughout, being chased by an unknown being from the point of view of the camera. Beyond sending up this slasher trope, the band is seen performing fluorescently in smoky lighting and satin shirts. DeMarco uses all of the provided space, filling the video with the spirit of a caged bird desiring to fly away.

Philadelphia’s duo Korine (Morgy Ramone + Trey Frye) craft upbeat, 80s-influenced tracks where the melodies of pop and the aesthetic of goth collide. Following their 2020 album The Night We Raise, in which they were also exploring darkwave and new wave, they’ve just returned with “Sunshine,” a track which depicts the strangeness and paradoxes of social interaction.

“‘Sunshine’ came together in 2020 through a drum loop we had forgotten about making,” they explained. “When we listened back— it struck us both in a way it didn’t upon the initial creation. I wanted to touch on the complexities and anxieties of the human experience and how they manifest—pushing past feelings of inadequacy and finding some kind of hope on the other side. I was thinking about the satisfaction of overcoming something negative and achieving more than what one was thought possible. People come and go from our collective lives, hopefully something is learned—whether it’s the strength or weakness of some conviction or something more mundane, every moment could be a reason to grow.”

Total Rubbish is the Philadelphia up and coming trio turning “disappointing relationships, new beginnings and odd-end jobs” into fuzzy and garage rock songs. Although Bre Steinfeldt (bass), Cass Nguyen (guitar) and Kiki Schiller (drums) claim that they draw influence from their “heroes” The Dandy Warhols – which is definitely true if you go through the whole EP-, the dissonant opening track of the project, “Someone Else’s Dream,” undeniably possesses a My Bloody Valentine touch. Considering the fact that the track “embodies the feeling of waking up in someone’s bed that you kind of wish you never woke up in,” this hazy, throbbing shoegaze track seems to be a perfect choice to capture this mix of regret and confusion.

We all know 80s music is never going away. People talk about the 80s revival of recent years, but the truth is that the sound of bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode or The Smiths have lingered on for the most part of the past 30 years or so. A duo formed by Morgy Ramone and Trey Frye, Korine faithfully subscribe to the more electronic-tinged sounds of the 80s, channelling the dance-y yet melancholy vibes of the British new romantics and the more post-punkish side of New Order. If you are disappointed by the lack of activity in Cold Cave’s camp, this duo might be just the new act for you.

Korine are putting out their debut album “New Arrangements” in late October, and the first track they’ve premiered is “Heaven’s Servant”, a lush and epic song that, like most 80s-feeling tunes, is powered by a prominent rhythm section played with a synthesizer. And in case people weren’t convinced of how genuinely 80s Korine are, the video for the song includes footage of themselves playing and dancing during the headbang-deserving chorus while a woman dances in a graveyard. At a point where pretty much anyone with an internet connection can make a new wave song in a couple hours, it’s getting harder and harder to find bands that can nail the whole 80s thing without being ironic or tongue-in-cheek about it. The most honest compliment that can be given to “Heaven’s Servant” is that you could just slip it through an 80s playlist and people would eat it up without complaining.

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