A song that goes way beyond mere Bon Iver comparisons because after those early stages it proves to be more important than that. And for me it feels like the kind of construct that has us understanding that life is much shorter than we once thought so it is probably time that we ditched self-consciousness and concentrated on letting the special ones how much they mean to us. The Berlin based elkvilla have in a few minutes produced a feeling that transcends music, offering us a rare occasion where stopping what we are doing is rewarded beyond expectation. KH elkvilla · Flatline into Your Arms ..read more

What a compote of sounds this is, country/psych/jangle/rock and all put together in a sumptuous arrangement that is deserving of a headphone berth so all the finer details can be examined. The Soods appear to have that endless capacity to curry favour with us and though ‘Astrid (Drive Away Slowly)’ is quite short it has all the machinations of something we’ll be returning to time and again. If escapism is high on the agenda then this sub two-minuter is the essential soundtrack. KH Astrid (Drive Away Slowly) by the soods mp3hugger’s best new music in our Fresh Indie playlist! More Info: Offica ..read more

I am not sure if it is a banjo but it gave me banjo vibes and that’s a good indication for what comes along the folk path and in the shape of vocals that marry introspection with an inner fire that means they’ll never be walked all over. Wooll give us something different as a result, folk qualities but with the heart of a lion and a chorus that sounds like it has been with us for ages. It works because ‘Unwind’ is life in the fast lane but with the capacity to slow things down at our own volition. A lovely early step from Rhode Island’s Wooll. KH Wooll · Unwind mp3hugger’s best new music in ..read more

There is just no denying its 90’s credentials, a dirty squall of feedback, percussion from the depths of a cavern and a lost figure of a vocal in the middle do their best to hold court in the ferocity happening all around. And it is wonderful, a rage that never loses its way in giving us something tangible that is faithful to the gospel of shoegaze. We are willingly pounded into submission and in the process find a new hero band from Leeds we can call our own. KH Radio Song by Lozenge mp3hugger’s best new music in our Fresh Indie playlist! More Info: Offical Hear More Songs: Lozenge Year: 202 ..read more

Not sure about the moniker but the list of influences certainly got me on board (Grandaddy, Islands and the Beach Boys et al), but then none of that would have mattered were the music not up to scratch and in that regard ‘Searching’ is quite an ear opener. The way it offers up twee spills, post-rock swills and indie pop thrills of the kind that reminds of the Apples in Stereo. ‘Searching’ it might be but Woozlemania have happened upon the sweet spot here and it had me in a state of near exhilaration as a result. KH Woozlemania · searching mp3hugger’s best new music in our Fresh Indie playlis ..read more

Unless you are pressed up beside the speaker you could miss out on ‘Xavier’ because it is a most quiet work. The close contact is rewarded though for there are subtleties in the mix, a pop one but with a dreamy and ethereal base so the perfect antidote for a world that just seems to get faster and faster. Boston’s Olivia Monarch guides us through a slacker pace and to a place where once again thoughts of butterflies on a summer day come to the fore. KH mp3hugger’s best new music in our Fresh Indie playlist! More Info: Offical Hear More Songs: Olivia Monarch Year: 2024 ..read more

I am not sure everyone will be at it but I would suggest that a large quotient of people who take in ‘Everything, Everything’ will be in floods of tears given how beautifully it has been turned out. A dream pop with orchestration and headed up by a Dutch singer called Lieke Heusinkveld who rouses themselves from the deepest introspection to an elevation that suggests singing from the rooftops wouldn’t be beyond them. This is proper restorative stuff, all the balm you need to heal the unseen scars we suffer deep in our psyche. KH la loye · everything, everything mp3hugger’s best new music in ..read more

The first thought that formed in my head was that Liverpool’s Pet Snake could be what Aimee Mann might have been if there was a little more love in her creative soul. And by that I mean a more bouncy rhythm section for ‘Crashing’ is positively overflowing with the stuff, Evelyn Halls being a singer who is high on life so it becomes a trip to happyville for anyone who wants to jump aboard. The arrangement is squeezed tight with giddy effects and in the process ‘Crashing’ becomes an airbag filled with hope and enterprise. KH Crashing by Pet Snake mp3hugger’s best new music in our Fresh Indie pl ..read more

Memorial (Ollie Spalding and Jack Watts) are the kind of act you’d expect good things from, they just ooze with class and new song ‘Silver’ is no different. It may have retro leanings but a lot of great songs do have that aura about them and ‘Silver’ is the gold standard. Nothing is rushed, the tumbling percussion an able foil from the sparse but ever so lovely piano but it is in the expression of the lyrics that we find the kind of romance that is rare these days. He is broken-hearted but on the plus side he has the rest of us in a state of swoon. KH > mp3hugger’s best new music in our Fr ..read more

There is a grandeur to ‘the War’, profanity notwithstanding you feel you are in the company of individuals who have a keener view of how the world works and are well worth listening to as a result. Beyond the message the Magnificent Dying have a way with a wicked arrangement, slow and deliberate but with nous that feels like it has been put together by creatives who have a destiny. ‘The War’ could have come from any one of several of the last decades but it will have a home in plenty of the upcoming ones too such is its charm and vitality. KH The Magnificent Dying · The War mp3hugger’s best ..read more