Top Indie Album Picks of the Week [March 26, 2021]

GAWVI’s first full Spanish-language production, Noche Juvenil draws inspiration from some of the most groundbreaking Latino urban artists. Musically, it is “straight-up reggaeton with sprinkles of EDM and trap” that presents an array of exhilarating collaborations with fellow trailblazers like Blanca, Maria Juliah, Madiel Lara, Tommy Royale, and WXLF. GAWVI, who is no stranger to working with friends, dove deep into his Hispanic roots and reconnected with the culture and language that shaped his upbringing. To stream visit Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music.

Source: Reach Records

Fully self-actualized and more devoted than ever to personal fulfillment, DEACON highlights serpentwithfeet’s growth as a songwriter, embracing straightforward approaches to expression. The album came together after serpent relocated to Los Angeles, a city that provided a sense of tranquility, an aspect he pushed to capture in his new music. While crafting the album, serpent made the deliberate decision to exclude songs about heartbreak. This was a bold act for R&B, a genre quite literally shaped by the harsh realities the blues provide. Spending time with pop songwriters and observing how they traverse language encouraged serpent to take more risks lyrically, resulting in more purity. To stream visit Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

Source: Secretly Canadian

Irene is the debut album from Izy, the Melbourne-based trio originally hailing from Cairns in Australia's tropical North. A deeply mature album from a very young band, Irene is a 10 song collection of raw neo-soul grooves, rich vocal harmony, and subtle jazz guitar. A stripped-back, simple recording of a band killing it in a room. There's a deep understanding of the canon of soul music on display here, with echoes of D'Angelo and Curtis Mayfield, but also a uniquely individual sensibility, rarely so clearly articulated on a debut record. To stream visit Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

Source: Hopestreet Recordings

Citizen have always eluded definition. The Toledo, Ohio-based three-piece have been making dynamic, wide-ranging guitar music for over ten years, challenging expectations with each new album and refusing to fit neatly in a box. On their fourth full-length, Life In Your Glass World, Citizen have crafted their most singular work to date completely on their own terms—proving that only the band themselves can define their identity. To stream visit Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

Source: Run For Cover Records

Miir is an old soul-slinging singing born in Gary Indiana. Singing has always been an outlet for a way for her to express herself. She beautifully showcases that with her new project, Reminiscent Vibes Vol. 2 produced by Malccs & Dev Draper of The Fourmula Sound. To stream visit Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

Source: MiirMiir

Esther Rose was in perpetual motion when she wrote How Many Times. In the span of two years, she moved three times, navigated the end of a relationship, and began touring more than ever. The New Orleans-based singer-songwriter used that momentum while she penned her third studio album. That’s why, as the album title’s nod to the cyclical nature of life implies, there’s a rush that accompanies How Many Times as if you’re experiencing an awakening, too. Rose expands her alt-country sound into a blossoming world of folk-pop and tender harmonies. A collection of complete takes recorded live to tape with rich instrumentation, soul-tugging hooks, and resonating vocal melodies, How Many Times carries you into the room in which it was made. To stream visit Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

Source: Father Daughter Records

Half a Human is a collection of six songs created between two different worlds orchestrated by Real Estate. While the architecture of each was constructed during sessions for 2020's The Main Thing, the tracks came to life when the band began trading the material back and forth remotely throughout the pandemic. They found new ways of working together as they further explored the emotional landscapes they’ve been perfecting for more than a decade, and in taking stock of themselves and the uncertainty of their future, Half a Human helped them arrive at a new thesis statement for the band. To stream visit Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

Source: Domino Recordings

Inspired by futuristic sounds and sci-fi storylines, High Klassified has blazed one of the most original paths in electronic music, releasing stylish and conceptual EPs on Fool’s Gold while producing platinum hits for Future and The Weeknd. Law Of Automata: Valid is his most ambitious project yet, following HK’s android avatar (as designed by 3D illustrator Serwah Attafuah) as it experiences the full spectrum of human feelings over the course of the EP’s five tracks. These diverse collaborations with R&B singers Leven Kali and Illham, international MCs Zach Zoya and Izi, and EDM beat star TroyBoi each represent a different emotion, and when taken together launch the android - and the listener - to a higher plane of understanding. To stream visit Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

Source: Fool's Gold Records

Neil Cowley debut solo album Hall Of Mirrors is out now! A highly personal account of his relationship with his old friend the piano; the album merges sounds and influences from ambient, electronic, improvisational, and contemporary classical music on an emotive journey of artistic exploration, reinvention, and renewal.To stream visit Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

Source: Mote