Halifax literary grit, Glasgow five-piece energy, a 1991 seven-inch finally going digital, an Ireland-based duet, and a Chicago suburban bedroom recording: indie rock this week arrives from five very different corners.
Velour On Tap – Hourglass Lake Ahead
Velour On Tap’s “Hourglass Lake Ahead” is a brilliant debut single: literary, jangly, and a lovely piece of fully realised Canadian indie rock
It’s debut time for Velour On Tap, and we like what it establishes. The guitars is jangly, the vocals are plaintive, and compellingly arranged, with a smidge of Elvis Costello about them. The rhythm section kicks things along nicely, laying a foundation for an absolute zinger of an indie chorus. That imagery ranges across roadside gas stations, a mother glazing by a lake, hunters with tattooed sailor arms: vivid, weird and vague. It’s a heady combo which makes up quite a wonderful little indie banger.
Velour On Tap is the project of Halifax songwriter Ian D. Brimacombe, whose route to this debut EP spans three decades; playing the Montreal circuit in the 90s, co-founding The Stir in London alongside Becky Jacobs, later of folktronica group Tunng, and released three albums and an EP under the name Ian Pryde between London and Chicago. Throughout the 2010s he was a member of Mira Pardelha – who are definitely worth a listen. This is an exciting new project though, and we’re very keen to see where it goes.
Point Pleasant – I Recall
Point Pleasant’s “I Recall” is an excellent slab of Britpop-informed indie rock: big choruses, warm overdrive tones, and a live-band feel that most five-pieces would struggle to manufacture in a studio.
“I Recall” builds the way good Britpop singles always did: stripped-back verses that create genuine anticipation, then a banger of a melodic chorus that pays the whole thing off. The production got a touch of the warm overdrive rather too much digital sheen, which keeps things close to how the band sounds in a room. There’s also a slightly gritty edge to the vocal that suits the vibe, and I love the Stone Roses-esque melody line too.
Point Pleasant are a Glasgow-based five-piece led by Geordie vocals, drawing their reference points from 90s Britpop and modern indie in roughly equal measure. Their sound moves between moodier, atmospheric passages and big, danceable crescendos, and they cite Idlewild and Shed Seven as key touchstones. “I Recall” is a little indie stunner, and I hope there’s more up their sleeve this year.
Tabitha Zu – Heard It Before
Tabitha Zu’s “Heard It Before” is a superb slice of early-90s UK underground: raw, energising, and urgent in a way that three decades have done absolutely nothing to diminish.
We were first introduced to the fantastic Tabitha Zu last month when we featured their stunner ‘On Reality‘. This one’s even better if I’m honest, and was originally pressed as a limited split seven-inch in 1991 alongside TLF label mates Homage Freaks. It reached number 15 in the UK Indie Chart on first release and was championed by NME, Sounds, and Melody Maker. Well add our little blog BOPS to the list, as we love it too. It’s fast, got a great hook, and tumbles along in a lovely, dream rock kinda way.
If they’re new to you, Tabitha Zu are an early-90s UK alternative scene, a London band fronted by Melanie Garside that combined chaotic grit with ethereal pop. In 1992 they shared a Reading Festival bill with Nirvana, Public Enemy and Nick Cave, played with Suede in Camden, and toured nationwide on Radio 1’s Strollercoaster tour. Garside subsequently built a solo career as Melanie Garside and Maple Bee, and went on to front Vertigo Angels, Huski, and Moontwin. This is a fantastic single, and we can’t wait to hear what else they’ve got in their re-issue treasure trove.
tcr! – Yesterday Blurs
tcr!’s “Yesterday Blurs” is an excellent bedroom indie rock single: jagged, melodic, and more emotionally precise than most self-produced recordings have any right to be.
“Yesterday Blurs” runs on a contradiction that most rock songs try to smooth over: it is anxious and buoyant simultaneously, the guitars jagged but the melodic instinct underneath them pulling things forward. The title phrase, “Yesterday blurs but it’s not dismissed,” functions as an honest thesis about how memory actually works rather than how songs usually portray it. Time softens the detail but the emotional consequence stays intact. The production, handled entirely by tcr! himself, leans into spontaneity rather than polish, and the track is better for it.
tcr! is a Gen X musician from the Chicago suburbs who writes, plays, records, mixes and masters everything himself. He operates from a position of deliberate independence, viewing the rougher edges of his work as a feature rather than a limitation, and the results consistently bear that out. “Yesterday Blurs” is his current single.
Damien Cain – Caleb (JD Radio Edit)
Damien Cain’s “Caleb” is a gorgeous and emotional pop-rock ballad: a duet this direct and honest is one of our highlights of the year so far
“Caleb” rides in built on piano, a steady groove and a wonderfully direct vocal. It’s got this unique, conversational quality that elevates this from a conventional ballad. Performed as a male/male duet, the two voices move skillfully between perspectives on memory and loss, and the world built in the arrangement is a compelling one. ‘Still those memories stay with me, every day’ lands as a hook and a half, making its case without ceremony and with a direct, emotional gut punch.
Damien Cain is a German-born, Ireland-based artist who has been working in rock and alternative music since the late 1980s. His project CAIN produced the cult single “Age of Darkness,” which sold over 250,000 copies and earned an IMPALA Award, before he stepped back from the industry for a period. It’s a welcome return, and his track Standarte marked a shift towards more personal, stripped-back material. “Caleb” continues that direction, and we’re really, really excited for whatever comes next.