For some years now, I have made these monthly summaries of what I really, really liked that month

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Here is my summary of the releases I loved the most in SEPTEMBER.

The list is in no particular order, but the ones I loved the most are marked with a red ||
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A Spotify playlist with songs from this list can be found below or via this link.

If you want ALL the good stuff from 2018, there is a huge list for that too.
Did you miss the other posts in this series? Click the link to view them.

SINGLES I LIKED THIS MONTH

Deep Sea Arcade

From the singles this month, I especially liked the new songs from:

Deep Sea Arcade “Some of us”  Catchy, powerful, big-sounding pop. If you do running/jogging, this is perfect for your running-mix. (Spotify)

Tom Rosenthal and Fenne Lily “Have we met before”  This warm, calm, acoustic song captured my heart at first listen. Tom Rosenthal and Fenne Lily’s voices are perfect match. I am completely in love with this amazing song. (Spotify)

Chain Wallet  -“Ride” One of Norway’s best indiepop bands has released one of their strongest singles so far with “Ride”. That chorus is outstanding!. (Spotify)

Guerilla Toss – “Come up with me”  Perfect art-pop weirdness with an amazing chorus. A fun, energetic song. (Spotify)

The Perfect English Weather  Another fine, shiny indiepop single from this side-project of Simon and Wendy Pickles from the Popguns. Out on Matinée Recordings. (Spotify)

Misty Coast- ” Eleven months” Misty Coast are frequently featured here, almost every time they release something. They are great songwriters and have found a sound that does magic in my ears. Great single, once again. (Spotify)

Juana Molina “Las culpas II”  Juana Molina always make interesting music
. This is a beautiful, dark, rhythmic synth-heavy track, with Molina’s beautiful voice and playfulness in front. (Spotify)

You will find even more of my other favourite singles in the Spotify list.

ALBUMS I ENJOYED THIS MONTH

Aleksander Kostopoulos (Photo by Knut Åserud)

Aleksander Kostopoulos – Faleo || Aleksander Kostopoulos from Northern Norway usually works as a drummer for other artists, and this is the first time he shares his own creations. “Faleo” is at times intensely beautiful. It reminds me a bit of Sigur Rós, Efterklang and The Album Leaf, and maybe Ólafur Arnalds on top of that.  (Spotify)

Sobrenadar – y || Buenos Aires-artist Paula Garcia a.k.a. Sobrenadar is a delight to listen to. Sobrenadar means “supernatant”, which basically is “floating on the surface of a liquid”, like oil on water.  That describes her music well. Floating, dreamy, reverbed. Her vocals are amazing. (Spotify)

Hockney – Vacation || Well, this album feels like a vacation from all real-world noise and stress. Lovely! The pop duo from Oslo make soft, sweet, melodic pop with interesting, often huge arrangements, and with help from Sean O’Hagan (The High Llamas) and Andy Ramsay (Stereolab) for string arrangement/recording. They have The Beach Boys and The Beatles in their DNA + a bit of Kings of Convenience. (Spotify)

Featherfin – Miles to go before I sleep || Who is the amazing artist behind this amazing debut album? It’s ME! 🙂 My album, – the best debut album I have ever made, is finally out on CD (double cd), digital and Spotify. Dreampop with elements from shoegaze, electronic pop, psychedelic pop and probably more. Blogs have compared the sound to Slowdive, New Order, Spacemen 3 and “old school psych”
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Buy the cd or digital downloads on Bandcamp (please do!) or listen on (Spotify).

(more releases after the photo)

Princess Chelsea (Live Photo by Vrbaak)

Princess Chelsea – The loneliest girl || I am a big fan of Princess Chelsea’s bittersweet chamber-pop, and my love for her music just seem to grow and grow. I personally think everything she does is great. This one too. (Spotify)

Fröst – Matters || Fröst is definitely one of my new favourite bands

. The duo consists of members of Fujiya & Myiagi and Stereolab offshoot Imitation Electric Piano, and their music has elements from both, but the sound is truly their own. Electronic pop with motorik beats, lovely hazy vocals, organs and lots of interesting elements. I really, really enjoy this album.   (Spotify)

Spirit Fest – Anohito || The collaboration-project between members from two of my favourite bands, Japanese Tenniscoats and The Notwist from Germany, has released two albums in under two years. It is obvious that they inspire each other, and it is also audible for the listener. It is playful, full of experiments  and unusual, but beautiful melodies. (Spotify)

Alpaca Sports – From Paris with love || Once again, Alpaca Sports deliver a strong album. Great melodies and perfect indiepop songs. For me, summer will last a couple of more months with the help of this album. (Spotify)

Honey Hahs – Dear someone, happy something || Three sisters, with an average age of 13 1/2 are Honey Hahs, and they are impressive both in songwriting and harmonies. Bass, guitar, drums and all 3 on vocals. Their mother joins in on trumpet on a couple of songs, Not easy to describe the sound, but somewhere indie, I guess. 🙂 Sometimes pretty dark lyrics for a so young band. Impressive songs. They were signed to Rough Trade last year.  (Spotify)

(more releases after the photo)

Rådjuret (photo by Anneli Esséus)

Rådjuret – Rådjuret || Swedish artist Rådjuret has made an incredibly beautiful debut album. She describes her music as “untuned, distorted zither music in a sinister fashion”. Her lovely reverbed vocals and layered harmonies fit the melancholic, dreamy sound perfectly. I can’t get enough of this. The artist behind the project is also the singer in another band I love, the indiepop/shoegaze band We. The Pigs. Definitely one of my favourites this month.  (Spotify)

Lachlan Denton – Two months in Ben Woolleys room  || Lachlan Denton’s new solo album is a strong one from start to finish. He is also a member of Melbourne-band The Ocean Party, and if you like them, you will probably like this too. On the album he has covered a song by The Go-Betweens, “Boundary Rider”, which fits perfectly in on the album.  (Spotify)

The Goon Sax – We’re not talking || The second album from The Goon Sax easily wins this year’s “Worst album cover”-prize. The music, however, is good indiepop. Oh, how I love contrasts. (Spotify)

Tunng – Songs you make at night || The original line-up of Tunng is back together on their 6th album, and the result is a very beautiful and interesting album, both in sound and words. (Spotify)

Mutual Benefit – Thunder follows the light || Fragile, warm, hopeful songs. Somewhere around the folk genre, but with lots of interesting arrangements and elements. His voice is lovely!  (Spotify)

(more releases after the photo)

Kassia Klein

Kassia Klein – Death to all things pop || There are lots of fine Scandinavian artists on the list this month, and this one is an album I have waited for. The duo features Maja Gödicke and Kåre Vernby (from my favourite Farväl till Ungdomen). Lovely sound, lovely words (in Swedish), lovely music. (Spotify)

Teleman – Family of aliens || Teleman’s music has always been based on a combination of fine melodies and driving rhythms. On their third album, they take this even further, and the danceable rhythms are even more present. They are still a fun band, with good songs and a desire to explore sound.   (Spotify)

Hello Lisa – Haunted strange parties || “Sunshine pop that also embraces the shade” has been said of Hello Lisa. This is a very enjoyable album in a rough, jangly melodic indiepop style, inspired by Teenage Fanclub, Sarah Records, Arcade Fire and The Brian Jonestown Massacre.  (Spotify)

Sea Pinks – Rockpool Blue || I think this is Sea Pinks 6th album, and many of you have probably listened to them before. Upbeat, catchy indiepop. (Spotify)

(more releases after the video)

Lala Lala – The Lamb || Intimate, personal and bedroomy, but also rough, jangly, catchy and upbeat. I feel that this album opens up the more I listen to it, and I discover new qualities every time
. (Spotify)

Spiritualized – And nothing hurt || After a six year hiatus, Jason Pierce wanted to make what he believed to be the last Spiritualized album, but thankfully, he is now open to make more music. He didn’t have the money to record it in a studio, so this time it was done at home, on his computer, with him playing everything. (Spotify)

Menace Beach – Black rainbow sound || A very varied album in styles, and it sometimes changes drastically, but I really enjoyed most of it. At times rough and dark fuzzy indie, The Fall-style (Brix Smith is on a couple of songs), other times almost Stereolab-ish or Broadcasty.  (Spotify)

Winter & Triptides – Estrela Mágica || Estrela Mágica is a collaboration between Winter (Samira Winter) and Triptides (Glenn Brigman). Their influences are from Brazil’s colorful Tropicalia movement as well as the phased out sunshine psychedelia of the American 1960’s. The result is a beautiful, sunshiny album. (Spotify)

(more releases after the photo)

Hater

Hater – Siesta || When I wrote about Hater’s debut album, I wrote that I enjoyed them best on singles and EPs and not on the album format. That has changed with this new album. There are some real gems on this one, especially on the last half of the album. It feels much more consistent than their debut. Very good! (Spotify)

French Press – Youthful trouble || French Press, aka Winnipeg-based artist Chantel Emond’s debut is full of catchy indiepop songs with lovely vocals and driving rhythms. If you like artists like Fazerdaze, Hatchie, Mitski, Anna Burch or Best Coast, this one may be for you.  (Spotify)

Epic 45 – Through Broken Summer || Calm, beautiful, atmospheric songs combined with subtle electronics, reverbed guitars and beautiful vocals. It’s the kind of album Cocteau Twins could have made if they were still making music. (Spotify)

Summer Salt – Happy Camper || They call their style “Coral reef rock”, a retro blend of bossa nova and 60s pop. I hear more 60s pop here than bossa nova, and they can definitely write good pop songs. Amazing harmonies and vocals! It is an album I would put on if I want a smile on my face.  (Spotify)

Amber Arcades – European Heartbreak || Dutch musician Annelotte DeGraaf’s music as Amber Arcades has been praised by many indie fans, and I have featured her several times on my playlists. If you liked her first album, you will not be disappointed about this one.  (Spotify)

EPs I ENJOYED THIS MONTH

Carbon Poppies

Carbon Poppies – Rain on my face || A lovely EP with 60s inspired pop mixed with a touch of garage and a more modern sound. Released on one of my favourite labels, Elefant Records.  (Spotify)

Galaxy Fingers – Let in Elijah || A duo who live far from each others and make their music together long-distance. They are inspired by as different genres as doowop, shoegaze, folk and slowcore, and both of them sings beautifully on their warm songs.  (Spotify)

Cults – Motels || You probably already know that Cults always deliver quality, and these 3 songs all get that description from me.  (Spotify)

Deerful – Tell me I can fix this on my own || Some of you may think that all electronic bands make programmed music, but on this beautiful EP Deerful takes it a bit further. The music is actually hand-coded in a computer language. She makes the songs warm and personal with her lovely melodies, words and vocals.  (Spotify)

girl in red – chapter 1 || Norwegian artist girl in red has released a series of very good singles this year, and this EP includes all of them. Brilliant, fuzzy indiepop songs, recorded in her bedroom.  (Spotify)

Honey Moon – Four more from…Honey Moon || Jangly, crooning pop with songs that has elements from music from the 50s and all the way up to today’s indiepop.  (Spotify)

Listen to most of the songs from this list on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/user/eardrumspop/playlist/4BiYgIQAmaoWIGzyKsZEtG?si=tGcFuvZSRRaDX3dNPVGszA