Indie Release Radar

Our weekly recap of the best new releases: all from our favourite indie artists, featuring Fran Vasilić, Fazerdaze and Jamie T. 

 

BEDBUGZ – BEDBUGZ

 

After an explosive debut at Tonetic and Wantsum Music’s SYNERGY event, bedbugz's debut single offers an enchanting window into what's to come from this new collaboration. bedbugz is the brainchild of Robyn and Isaac from Canterbury, and their new single by the same name sweeps shoegaze up into a fluffy summer cloud. But don’t be fooled – bedbugz explores those ever-tumultuous feelings of young love, that feeling where you’re never quite sure if it's reciprocated or not. “I love this feeling, fuck this I can't breathe..” confess the twosome. Released June 14^th, it arrived at the perfect time for warm, hazy evenings at the beach, and it’ll be the soundtrack to your summer if you allow it. 

 

Fran Vasilić – Subject

 
Croatian bedroom pop artist Fran Vasilić released his recent EP The Very Last Thoughts on Earth on Friday and taken from that is Subject – the emotional outpouring simply written for the broken-hearted. “I remember feeling so confused about so many things and thinking that any mistake I make will be ‘the end of the world’. The EP opens with ‘Subject,’ a song about a situation that I’ve probably overthought the most in my whole life,” Fran said on the release. Vulnerable by nature, Subject is the melancholic big brother to tracks from the likes of Rex Orange Country and Eden. With soft guitar melodies and Fran’s raspy yet on occasion tender baritone vocals, Subject is a track to play in those moments where you wish nothing more than to press pause on the world. Comforting, reassuring, but ultimately all-encompassing. 
 

Lauren Preuss – Wrong Time

 
Lauren Preuss is the kind of artist you’d find at an all-indie summer festival – think Barn On The Farm or 110 Above. And her latest single Wrong Time is the track you’d yearn to hear her play. Boasting an anthemic chorus laced with Lauren’s stunningly unique vocals, it’s a seamless blend of indie, rock, synth, and pop. What starts out as a soft and somewhat wholesome admission of love transcends into grungy angst with fuzzy guitars bearing the body of the chorus. “This feels like a crime, right place, wrong time,” Lauren confesses between each verse; and we’ve all been there before. 

 
Fazerdaze – Come Apart

 
Come Apart is the long-awaited offering from New Zealand’s Amelia Murray, better known as Fazerdaze. Her last album Morningside was released back in 2017 but following a retreat from the spotlight over the last five years, all was quiet in the world of Fazerdaze. That was until Come Apart emerged on streaming services. 
 
"I wrote this at a time when I wasn't accepting that some of my closest relationships were just not working. I was contorting myself to fit others, doing everything I could to keep the relationships going instead of allowing them to be what they were. Ending, done. I believe this song was a way for my subconscious to shout at me to surrender and to allow things in my life to come to an end.”
 
Jamie T – Between The Rocks
 
No indie list would be complete without a feature from Jamie T. His latest single Between The Rocks is everything fans love about the London-based singer-songwriter. Taken from his newest album The Theory of Whatever released on 22^nd July, Between The Rocks possesses that Jamie T quality that cements him as one of indie music’s strongest lynchpins. High-octane from the word go, he’s like a racehorse out of the gate at the Grand National. And he should be. The Theory of Whatever is Jamie’s first album in over six years, and fans have eagerly awaited new music from him ever since. 
 
"I was struggling to find my direction with the record for a few years, really," Jamie said on his break between albums. "I went home one day, and I found this track that I had recorded, pretty much fully finished. And I was really upset because I realised that I'd spent the last six months asking other people to tell me if something was good. Then I heard this track, and I just immediately knew I'd kind of found my path."
 
Indie lovers rejoice. 

*This article was first published in July 2022 for Loop Zine*