Discoverer 166: new indie findings

Another too long hiatus in our latest discoverer series about to be broken with a trio of exciting bands in between pop and folk. Veterans and most promising newcomers with a tone of arresting guitar lines, heart-melting melodies and warm, inviting vocals for your ears only. Join us in our music trip!

Dropkick. We begin in one of the realms of indiepop, Scotland, to meet this seasoned band, originally formed in Arbroath, by brothers Andrew and Alastair Taylor alongside school friend Ian Grier. Their debut album surfaced in 2001 and, since then, Dropkick have released thirteen albums as three EPs, as well as extensively toured UK and overseas (great to know they are quite loved in Spain). The band's line-up has changed several times, but the current quartet, stable since 2017, comprising Andrew and Ian plus Mike Foy and Alan Shields, has "clicked all cylinders" with latest album 'Longwave', out since February-March 2018 through our dear friends at Pretty Olivia (wynil) and Sound Asleep Records (CD). Echoing Teenage Fanclub with a hint (or two, or three) of Californian sun-soaked legends' (aka The Byrds, get knocked with the vocal harmonies) sounds, as well as some alt-country reminiscences, there so much craftsmanship, so much pop sensibility and dexterity to not realize 'Longwave' is an enduring classic awaiting to be listened. It's all about pop and soul, foks...
  

Sun June. Quite a long jump to meet this quintet from Austin, Texas, which formed around 2014, when Laura Colwell (vocals, keys) and Stephen Salisbury (guitar) met while editing movie footage for prestigious director Terrence Mallick, with the pair beginning to write tunes together at Eastuy Studios when Malick was out of town under the moniker of Jeff. As demos kept coming it also did their line up, recruiting Michael Bain on guitar, Sarah Schultz on drums, and Justin Harris on bass. Recorded in 2017, and after firing up the blogosphere excitement with previous singles, debut album 'Years' was released this June through Keeled Scales, an intimate, moody and captivating record blending pop immediacy with folkier vibes and a melancholic, sepia tone that's so warm and familiar it makes you wonder if Sun June hasn't been already your soundtrack for those introspective (not depressing or somber) moments when you want to be 'just in your own'. A rare gem of a debut.


Haley Heynderickx. And we move north, to Portland, Oregon, to meet the great Ms. Heynderickxn, a young American singer songwriter who debuted in 2016 with EP 'Fish Eyes' and now has delivered the impressive album/minialbum? 'I Need to Start a Garden', out via Mama Bird Recording Co. since March 2018. Folk with an immediate catch to the listener yet a mystery that keeps unresolved, also revealing a hell of guitar player (that fingerpicking style, damn!). A record to delve in, Haley is not afraid to flirt with some doo wop (the lovely 'Oom Sha La La'), as well as offering poppier, rockier, even some "indie" eccentricity (those screams) while delivers a collection of quite meditative lyrics, showing this is an artist with an incredibly bright future and potential ahead.