Top Indie Album Picks of the Week [March 11, 2022]

The long awaited debut album from Anna Shoemaker, Everything is Fine (I’m Only on Fire) captures the complexities of young adulthood. It’s an exhilarating display of innovative sounds, killer pop hooks and razor-sharp lyricism. Throughout, Anna wades through the emotional territory of growing up, reflecting on love, loss, toxicity, heartbreak and mental health. Ultimately, the album is a portrait of Anna coming into her over the past few years, as both a musician and as a young woman. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal,or Apple Music.

The first collaborative album from Michigan multi-instrumentalist/producer The Lasso and New Mexico-based singer/rapper A. Billi Free, Holy Body Roll is a sonic quest for self-realization and self-preservation. With the aid of musical trio Tri Magi, The Lasso imbues thumping ’80s boogie, guitar-wailing funk descended from Midwest legends, heart-pumping house and techno direct from Detroit, celestial and spiritual jazz, and slices of krautrock with hip-hop sensibilities. A. Billi Free sings in warm, comforting melodies and raps with force and encouraging sincerity, pushing us to reconnect with our bodies in the present while accepting the unknown ahead. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, or purchase on Bandcamp.

London singer and songwriter Ego Ella May releases the second part to her fan revered EP series FIELDNOTES. FIELDNOTES PT II mixed and mastered by Tumai “Turkish” Salih features guest production by Blue Lab Beats, LVTHER, Dougie Stu, Beau Diako, and more. The five-track project starring breakout single “Introvert Hotline” is in May’s words an “observation on her cycles in love”. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, or purchase on Bandcamp.

For Dora Jar, comfortably in pain is an EP about accepting dark times but not being defined by them; turning pain into art, human connection, and a reminder of what it means to feel alive. One of the year’s most exciting breakthrough artists, it’s a further window into the unique mind of Dora Jar: an artist whose songwriting shifts from the magical (“Lagoon” is written from the perspective of a lonely mermaid) to the intimacies of the present day (“It’s Random” is about the absurdity and aimlessness of life in lockdown) whilst remaining entirely true to herself. Even whilst comfortably in pain, Dora Jar’s fantastical, explorative but rawly honest pop ultimately appears full of possibilities (as too, is the symbolism of her alias). To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, or purchase on Bandcamp.

Songwriter Ben Cook under the moniker Young Guv has released their long-awaited guitar pop project, GUV III. Fueled by Cook's seemingly endless supply of big hooks and chiming guitars, the new album is chock full of instantly gratifying songwriting that offers the perfect entry point for both new listeners and those already initiated into the wide world of Guv. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, or purchase on Bandcamp.

LA punks Ho99o9 have released their sophomore album Skin fully produced by Travis Barker and also featuring Bun B, Saul Williams, and Jasiah, Skin is the most refined project from Ho99o9 to date while still being noisier and more aggressive than their earlier work. It’s a searing document of a world on fire, distilling all of the turbulence and free-floating confusion and anxiety of our present moment into 12 tightly wound tracks that signal a new era for Ho99o9 and the sonic movement they’re spearheading. To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, or Apple Music.

Alex Cameron has always been a great storyteller, finding his way into the depths of the places where not many others are looking, and Oxy Music continues on that trajectory. It’s filled with stories of people who fall outside the system and exist in the grey areas of life. In its design - its music, lyrics, and tracklist - lies the journey a person can take if the circumstances present themselves - down the road of heavy drug and alcohol abuse. Initially inspired by Nico Walker’s Cherry, Cameron was spurred into yet another commentary on American Life, this time about the opioid crisis that has taken over the country. He says about Oxy Music: “The album is a story, a work of fiction, mostly from the perspective of a man. Starved of meaningful purpose, confused about the state of the world, and in dire need of a reason to live - a person can, and according to the latest statistics, increasingly will turn to opioids. This is one of those people.” To stream the album visit, Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, or purchase on Bandcamp.