The list is in no particular order.

A Spotify playlist with songs from this list can be found below or via this link.

If you want ALL the good stuff from 2019, 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 LOVED THIS MONTH

The Royal Landscaping Society

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

The Royal Landscaping Society – “Goodbye”  A beautiful two track single from the Spanish indiepop duo, – their debut for Matinée Recordings. The dreamy single also includes a cover of one of my favourite songs, “A to fade in” by the very underrated Adorable. (Spotify)

Meursault – “Beaten”  This song by the Scottish band Meursault is so powerful. The ending part is amazing. (Spotify)

Kitty Kat Fan Club – “Happy now, loving you”  This is a jump-around and fun indiepop track with a melody that is sooo catchy!. (Spotify)

The Needs – “Summerbore”  Brilliant up-tempo power-pop that will be a success on any summer indie party. (Spotify)

Nation of Language – “On Division Street”  Great post-punky synth pop song with a lovely melody. This one is easy to get stuck in your head.  (Spotify)

(more singles after the photo)

Flower Face

Flower Face – “Bedhead”  An irresistible song from Flower face. So beautiful. If you like this, you should check out her albums. All of them are amazing. (Spotify)

Tennis Club – “Pink sweater! Pink shoes!”  Great jangly pop with inspiration from both 60s pop, 80s indiepop and garage. Summery! (Spotify)

Cold Mailman – “Somewhere else”  Some years ago, Cold Mailman announced the end of the band, but I am so happy that they are back now with new music. Their albums are among my favourites. This is a beautiful, dreamy song. What a comeback! (Spotify)

Anja Bigrell – “Vi var trouble”  I love this song, every bit of it. It is in Swedish, – meaning “we were trouble”, and is kind of a growing up story. Anja Bigrell’s vocal performance gives the song a lot of power. (Spotify)

Babe Rainbow – “Something new”  Babe Rainbow were featured in last month’s single section too with “Morning song”. This time, the song is a bit more “funky”, and usually I don’t like funky, but this is soft, warm, dreamy, so catchy and with an amazing melody and vocals. (Spotify)

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

ALBUMS I LOVED THIS MONTH

The Ballet

The Ballet – Matchy Matchy || Sorry to all the other artists on this list, – they are all great – but this album from The Ballet is my absolute favourite this month. Every song is amazing, and that is rare on an album these days. They don’t scream for attention, but when I listen to their songs, they get all my focus, and I am there in the music. Lovely synth-based indiepop (+ guitars), with calm vocals and great lyrics. I know I say this almost every month, but again, this may be my favourite album this year. (Spotify)

Mutual Benefit – Just another diamond day || You may recognize the album title. This is a cover of the entire debut album of Vashti Bunyan, – one of my favourite albums. Mutual Benefit have made a very personal version. They have made it their own, – added their sound and style -, but they have still done it with much respect to the original work. As a Vashti fan, I can approve this. (Spotify)

Put Your Hands Up for Neo-Tokyo – Karoshi || Unique electro-pop duo from Norway. They make catchy “radio friendly” pop, but their sound is also full of fun and creative experimentation. The way they build their melodies and partly the vocals remind me – a little tiny bit of, – surprisingly enough, Prefab Sprout. (Spotify)

Patience – Dizzy Spells || Roxanne Clifford has gone from making guitar based indiepop to making synthpop. The melodies are still great, and her first album as Patience is a good one. (Spotify)

(more releases after the photo)

KUNG-FU GIRL

KUNG-FU GIRL – KUNG-FU GIRL || I immediately fell in love with this album. KUNG-FU GIRL play a wonderful mix of cute indiepop and rough upbeat punky pop. Gorgeous melodies and vocals. They are from Osaka, Japan, and are two girls and two boys. Thank you again, Google Translate! (Spotify)

Sunbeam Sound Machine – Goodness Gracious || Sunbeam Sound Machine is the recording project of Melbourne based Nick Sowersby. On his new album, he plays warm, dreamy pop songs with chiming guitars, cinematic strings and his lovely, soft voice. Some of these songs are so so so good! (Spotify)

Vampire Weekend – Father of the bride || I just can’t understand why it is so popular among “indie-people” to hate Vampire Weekend. Maybe they have become too popular and big for the hipsters. I like this album a lot. Great melodies and lyrics and very interesting arrangements.   (Spotify)

Tacocat – This mess is a place || Super-catchy power-pop/punky pop. This is their 4th album, and the first on SubPop. It sounds a bit “cleaner” and less rough than the previous one, and I miss a bit of the roughness. Still, the songs are great. (Spotify)

(even more releases after the photo)

Vänna Inget

Vänna Inget – Utopi || You may probably disagree, but in my opinion, you rarely get the true soul of a band as much as you do in the rehearsal room or on the small club stage. This album feels like being there. It feels real, it feels raw and it feels close. I get a huge energy kick out of listening to this.  This is a very good energetic and rough post-punky album with a bit of sadness and melancholy and darkness and love. The vocalist is amazing, – she really sings her heart out. Love! (Spotify)

IRAH – Diamond grid || There is definitely a Kate Bush- and later Cocteau Twins vibe here. Copenhagen based musicians Stina Grøn and Adi Zukanovic have made a beautiful album, inspired by both traditional ceremonial music and modern songwriting. (Spotify)

The Glow – Am I || This is Mike Caridi from LVL Up’s  project. Those of us who love the sound of the Elephant 6 collective, may like the sound of The Glow. Catchy, slightly psychedelic, a bit rough and very melodic pop

. (Spotify)

(even even more releases after the photo)

Operators

Operators – Radiant Dawn || I really like this one, and have listened with lots of joy to it, especially when I am out walking. Operators play synth pop, but in a raw and “punky way”, kind of like the 00’s band To My Boy, if you remember them. The band members are (or have been) a part of  Wolf Parade, Divine Fits, Handsome Furs and New Bomb Turks, and at least two of those bands are way more guitar-oriented. (Spotify)

Death and Vanilla – Are you a dreamer? || Another very fine Swedish band. I guess the closest comparison I can come up with are Broadcast and Stereolab, with a dreampop touch, surfy guitars and vintage keyboards. I love the hushed vocals! (Spotify)

Swimming Tapes – Morning Side || Originally from Northern Ireland, now based in London, the 5-piece Swimming Tapes are inspired by the melodic pop from The Beach Boys via Wild Nothing to Real Estate and probably a lot inbetween. Their debut album is full of fine melodies, chiming guitars and lovely, soft vocals. (Spotify)

(OK, one more time, – … more releases after the photo)

whenyoung

whenyoung – Reasons to dream || Lovely, energetic, powerful, catchy indie pop from Ireland. This is music that makes me “take off” and dance around in my living room. (Spotify)

Kissing Party – Mom & Dad || The Denver band call their style slop pop. It’s definitely POP, with lovely melodies, rough guitars and two good vocalists (Deidre and Gregg). Very enjoyable. (Spotify)

Cate le Bon – Reward || First a warning: This album contains saxophones. To my relief, they sound good, and there are no real sax solos, so I am happy. Cate le Bon is a unique artist, with a unique style, and I have always loved her work. I guess this is pop, even catchy at times, but it has a nice kind of weirdness to it. (Spotify)

Maps – Colours, Reflect , Time Loss || I am a fan, and have been so since I first heard Maps’ music around 2007. He releases his music on Mute Records, and as the bio says “his music owes as much to Spiritualized and My Bloody Valentine as it does to Four Tet and Boards of Canada”. Dreamy, big sounding songs. His earlier albums have had a more electronic sound, but on this one he uses a lot more strings, brass and also choir. Still dreamy, big sounding, and with his fine vocals on top. (Spotify)

(ONE more time: more releases after the photo)

Lowland Hum

Lowland Hum – Glyphonic || This album is beautiful! It starts strong and continues strong. The husband/wife duo play “art-folk” according to their bio. I’d just call it lovely music. (Spotify)

Agent Blå – Morning thoughts || The Swedish band Agent Blå (means Agent Blue) blend dream pop and shoegaze, and this is their second album. Like their debut, it’s very good and you should definitely give it a listen. I especially like “Something Borrowed” and “Colors of the Dark”. (Spotify)

Rhye – Spirit || Rhye’s breathtaking, soulful falsetto vocals does something to me every time I hear him sing. This time he has collaborated with Ólafur Arnalds, and this release has a lot of the calmness you will find on Arnalds’ records. A good blend of both artists here. (Spotify)

Coral Collapse – Don’t wait to see me say goodbye || Upbeat and catchy dreampop with chiming guitars and lovely vocals. This is the band’s debut album, and it is a release they can be proud of.  (Spotify)

EPs I LOVED THIS MONTH

Someone (photo by Bibian Bingen)

Someone – ORBIT || Someone is musician and visual artist Tessa Rose Jackson. “Pull it together” was the first song that really got me hooked on her music, and this EP made me even more a fan. On the song “Two Satelites”, she works together with C Duncan, and this is a perfect collab. They have a lot in common,  Her music is very pleasant, with a BIG sound and sound-references to both the 60s, 70s and 80s. I can’t describe it better than “It makes me happy!”. (Spotify)

Holy Hive + Mary Lattimore – Harping || New York laid back soul/folk family band Holy Hive teams up with harpist Mary Lattimore and singer SASAMI, who I have written about here earlier, and the result is very beautiful. (Spotify)

The Umbrellas – Maritime EP || San Fransisco jangle pop band The Umbrellas have released a fabulous 5 track EP, which I believe is their debut. It was actually released in April, but it is so good that I couldn’t avoid mentioning it even if I missed it then. Lovely songs! The EP also features a cover of “Dance” by Strawberry Switchblade.  (Spotify)

The Perfect English Weather – Call me when the rain comes || This is the second release from Matinée Recordings that I write about this month. This is another very fine EP from the Popguns sideproject. Very nice popsongs. (Spotify)

ALBUMS/EPs RELEASED JUST BEFORE PUBLISHING, THAT ARE WORTH LISTENING TO

These albums and EPs were released on the last day of May, or I discovered them too late. I haven’t had the time to listen enough to them to give them a comment/review, but they sound very interesting, so have a listen
.

Tennis Club – Pink (album) || SACRED PAWS – Run around the sun  (album) || Kitty Kat Fan Club – Dreamy little you (album) || Toy Savoy – EP (EP…) || Tristan Barton – To Peter, from Catherine (EP) || The Slow Summits – The Languid Belles (EP) || Minor Poet – The Good News (EP) || Anja Bigrell – MÅSTE LÄGGA AV (album)

Listen to most of the songs from this list on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/user/eardrumspop/playlist/01uAuJE8ENvp4MPLrt2Jsw?si=B2P70NyVS5G3nkW0ijIDtA