This week’s indie rock marries craft to conscience. Funk-fired grooves, sun-bright harmonies and songs with something real to say, guitar music made by people who sweat the details and mean every word. Turn it up.
Moon Construction Kit – Right Across the USA
Sun-bright electro-pop with a wistful heart, ‘Right Across the USA’ is Moon Construction Kit’s excellent road-trip banger, all harmonies and driving guitars.
Moon Construction Kit’s new single is a summer drive with a lump in its throat. “Right Across the USA” pairs upbeat power-pop energy, layered vocal harmonies and driving guitars with a more introspective undercurrent. It’s got this lovely, subtle longing for a more carefree era running beneath all that brightness. That contrast is the whole charm: it sounds like pure sunshine but there’s a real wistfulness tucked inside. It’s got some delightfully unexpected turns, and fans of The Beach Boys, Weezer, Phoenix and Supergrass will feel right at home here. It’s a gem of a single.
Moon Construction Kit is the solo project of Lausanne-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Olivier Cornu, who blends melodic indie pop, psych-pop and late-60s influences into a warm, organic sound built on handcrafted studio arrangements and rich vocal harmonies. Since introducing the project with a debut EP in 2022, he’s steadily expanded his world through a regular stream of singles, and this one shows a real knack for marrying craft to feeling. An artist who’s clearly got a lovely melodic ear, and look no further for your latest road trip banger.
Richard Green – Holey Shoes
Funk-fired guitars meet a real social conscience on “Holey Shoes”, a discordant, groove-driven cut from Richard Green with a message that stick with you.
Here’s a wonky industrial groove with a heart and a point to make. “Holey Shoes” fuses funk, indie and rock with modern electronic production, drawing on the Blood Sugar Sex Magik era of the Red Hot Chili Peppers while pushing somewhere more contemporary. It really is quite the fusion, taking a few electronic twists and turns you wouldn’t expect. Built over eighteen months in his home studio, the title works as a metaphor for poverty and homelessness, something he witnessed first-hand during his London years. It’s great to hear stuff that’s both funky and dark – an unusual blend – and the result is definitely purposeful and moving.
Richard Green is an Italian musician, guitarist and composer based in Milan, whose eleven years in London, where he earned his music degree, shaped a real versatility. From his 2020 debut Dark Horses onward he’s roamed widely, from early electronic experiments to an ambitious neoclassical trilogy for piano and string quartet, working with the likes of pianist Irene Veneziano and the Archimia quartet. That range is his signature, and 2026 sees him swing again, toward elaborate melodic electro-tech on one hand and funk-rock-electro beats on the other. A genuine chameleon, and one to keep close.
Me Playing the Drums – Fantastic Fanfare
Energetic guitars meet a full orchestral arrangement on “Fantastic Fanfare”, a production masterclass and a cinematic slice of 90s-flavoured Britpop from Me Playing the Drums.
Here’s a track that turns everyday annoyances into full-blown spectacle. “Fantastic Fanfare” is an alternative rock cut soaked in 90s Britpop, energetic guitars and memorable melodies threaded through a genuine orchestral arrangement that runs the whole length of the song. Crisply, and brilliantly produced, the track fuses classic guitar-driven rock with cinematic textures and a playful lyrical concept about dramatising life’s little inconveniences. It’s that wit that gives it real personality, but it’s the melody at the heart of it that makes it standout. Grand, tuneful and a lot of fun. A proper charmer.
Me Playing the Drums is a Brazilian project built on the longtime friendship between Fabio Guren and Eduardo Kareca, born from past music projects and a shared passion for making something real. Their philosophy is refreshingly simple: write, record and release music whenever inspiration strikes, following the song wherever it leads rather than sticking to one lane. I love that idea, and it’s one I try to follow too. “Fantastic Fanfare” shows their more melodic, cinematic side, and with a growing run of singles building toward a full album expected in early 2027, there’s clearly plenty more to come. One to watch.
Daniel Troop – Wide Open Lies
Beautifully raw and honest, “Wide Open Lies” is a warm-hearted statement of intent from Daniel Troop, working-class songwriting with purpose.
This is the track that defined Daniel Troop’s sound, and you can hear why. “Wide Open Lies” was recorded and mixed entirely at his home garage studio, and that DIY intimacy suits it, all acoustic grit and raw emotion carrying a plainspoken lyric. It leans into protest, touching on his frustration with the state of the English economy, but its real heart lands in the second verse, a call for people to stick together whatever their circumstances. An important message, delivered in a scruffy, compelling package. Whatever your view on the politics, the sentiment is warm and inclusive. A cracking calling card.
Daniel Troop is an independent acoustic-indie singer-songwriter from Nottinghamshire whose slogan, “Songs For The People”, says it all. He writes songs rooted in his own life, his emotions, or stories he’s witnessed from the outside, blending raw feeling with catchy melodies and acoustic guitar. Coming from a working-class family, he’s set on connecting with anyone who might be struggling while insisting that people of every background deserve to be heard, aiming to bring listeners together rather than divide them. A songwriter with real heart and a clear mission. Keep an eye on this lad.
særa – Choosing Myself
One-take acoustic guitar meets cinematic ocean field recordings on “Choosing Myself”, a compelling self-activation anthem from særa, self-love without the toxic positivity.
Some songs refuse to stay in the box they were made for, and this is one. “Choosing Myself” began as music for a surf-trip after-movie before evolving into something far more personal. A kind of self-activation anthem that proved too moody for its original purpose but too authentic to abandon. Built on særa’s one-take acoustic guitar, it’s wrapped in cinematic production that folds in field recordings and ocean-inspired sounds like distant ships and whales. It’s got this lovely dark vibe that contrasts with the message, I guess it’s championing self-love without tipping into toxic positivity. And it really works. Intimate, atmospheric and just the most beautiful sound world.
særa is a Budapest-based artist whose whole path is an act of self-liberation, breaking away from societal and parental expectations around conventional success to follow music on her own terms. A skilled guitarist now expanding into bass, she’s found an ideal creative partner in Hungarian producer NYPE, whose bass-forward style complements her vision; what began as a student-teacher relationship has grown into a genuine collaboration. Together they work from a basement studio that doubles as a safe creative haven, and “Choosing Myself” marks the start of a bold new era. A distinctive voice, and we’re fully on board with this project.