Summer is here! And we’re doing something exciting.
For the next 3 months the Indie Pong bloggers are going to be highlighting the songs of the summer on our summer playlist:
And then at the end of the summer we’re going to vote on what truly was the song of the summer. This is something we’re doing every summer, so blast that follow button to keep track.
There have been some bangers so far this summer on the playlist (we’ve been doing this for a month, I was supposed to have wrote this blog already oops), but I’m definitely winning so far. These are the piping hot absolute heaters I’ve chosen so far for song of the summer:
Here’s how I think the competition is going so far of the Indie Pong bloggers who have submitted entries:
Me (by a mile)
Cassie
Luis
Daw
Brandon
Amber
Definitely winning. Don’t forget to blast that follow button to follow along all summer:
Hellllloooooo here we go again. Best new songs, from the last two playlist updates since I was lazy/busy and didn’t do last week’s. Here’s the playlist, follow for weekly updates and follow along as you read if you’d like!
I’m just gonna come smouldering hot out of the gates and talk about this new Mariah Carey/Ms. Lauryn Hill song. Like whaaaaaaat? Iconic artists release new music all the time but what business do these all timers have releasing a song in 2020 that goes THIS hard?
‘Save The Day’ – Mariah Carey, Ms. Lauryn Hill
Unbelievable. While we ride out the entirety of this song, I know this is off brand but did anyone watch the Rockets OKC game 7 tonight? What a trash game. Underwhelming. Should have just Indie Pong’d instead.
‘BRITNEY BITCH’ – BLACKSTARKIDS
Our faves BLACKSTARKIDS are at it again with a very on brand ‘BRITNEY BITCH’. You can check them out in our best songs of the first half of the year post I did or in this interview we did with them earlier this year. Another banger, not surprised. BSK is on a rocketship on their way to the moon.
‘Renegade Breakdown’ – Marie Davidson, LβΕil Nu
This song is insane. I absolutely love it. I’m a big Marie Davidson fan and was bummed when she decided to retire (but understood as it was pretty much the most relatable reasoning I’d ever heard) and then un-bummed when she unretired shortly thereafter with new projects such as an Essaie Pas release. If you dig this check out this banger from our Best of the Decade List and the rest of the Marie Davidson catalog as well.
‘Grasshopper’ – Tkay Maidza
Has anyone come into a song hotter than this? This Tkay Maidza EP is just something special. Zimbabwean-born Australian Tkay goes both unbelievably hard and unbelievably smooth on this album. As a matter of fact I have literally three of her songs (!) on the playlist this last week, which I think is a new record? Check out ‘My Flowers‘ and ‘24k‘ on the playlist as well (and Shook from a few weeks more than a few weeks back).
‘Mijo Pt. 1’ – Josh Dominguez
This album is going to fiiiiirrrreeee. What I’ve heard is that the first two singles off of the album are not even the showstoppers on the record, those are coming soon. Which is nuts because this track is DOPE. Josh has grown so much as an artist and you can really tell, production aside, from his newfound mastery of rhythm and cadence.
‘Live In Life – Alice Ivy Remix’ – The Rubens
This song is hot af.
Obviously we love Alice Ivy dating way back, seeing as it’s practically all I talk about. By the way did y’all catch this #content we put together courtesy of Mubi?
This is some straight up house heat, and not only that, it’s also by a fellow J man and features some Japanese so obviously I am IN.
‘Live 4ever’ – Magdalena Bay
You know how I know you’re special? Magdalena Bay? Because you’re basically the only pop act that #UnderCoverSadGirl listens to. Jen and I brought UnderCoverSadGirl to a Sigrid show and she absolutely hated it. Just kidding that’s an exaggeration but let’s just say she did not buy any merch. But she loves some Magdalena Bay as do I and they just keep continuing to impress.
‘Screwface’ – They Hate Change
Yeah, this is absolutely the next big thing. These dudes are dope af and their whole EP is awesome. This is the kind of sound we’re always looking for, an innovative take on a familiar genre that leaves you wanting more. Kind of reminds me of one of my favorite sleeper rap tracks of the past decade. Watch out for these guys, they’re on their way up.
Haha sorry as you can see by this point in the blog we’re cutting right to the point. Who likes to read, anyway?
‘Surfer Guy’ – Lullabies
Time to mellow out after all of these piping hot tracks.
And I’ll leave you with one final one. Check us out on Instagram, Twitter, and FB if you LOVED this blog, check out our video podcast on our Instagram where Jen, Cassie, and I discuss new songs and I get absolutely drenched in body paint, and tune in for new tracks next week by following our Spotify playlist!
Anyways, one more for the road:
‘You’re Not Real You’re Just a Ghost’ – Sophia Bel
Every week (ish) I update the Indie Pong playlist with the best tracks in the WORLD. I used to break it down every week but have been a bit lazy, and the requests and cyberbullying are getting to be too much for me, so here is your breakdown. You can follow along and get new updates every week (ish) by following our playlist on Spotify:
‘Everything Will Be Alright’ – Joseph E-Shine, Pontea, Mark Franco
Found this one from our good friend and blooger JPGChief on his Fresh Singles playlist which I highly recommend if you’re looking for piping hot tracks literally every day. JPG sort of puts me to shame with how consistently he updates his playlists, kind of makes me look like an asshole.
Joseph is an Israeli artist and this track is dope. It reminds me of strutting around in middle school in the early 2000’s with my oversized backpack and thermally insulated lunchbox thinking about my crush and how many home runs I was going to hit once I reached puberty. Great track.
‘Fefestyle’ – Ifeanyi Elswith
Ifeanyi is a Chicago native (hey-yo!) and is smooth af on this this track, she’s got talent through the roof. I didn’t know what Fefestyle was but now I feel like I do and I can’t wait to integrate it into my daily operations.
‘BRB’ – Mahalia (feat. Pink Sweat$)
UK’s Mahalia truly needs no introduction as she’s pretty much all I talk about. Her album Love and Compromise was pretty much my favorite album of last year and she just seems to be growing. So this song has been released in a few iterations and usually I am all about the original, but in this case I think the Pink Sweat$ addition is very welcome and gives it an extra layer of excellence. Mahalia, if you’re reading this, you’re the best don’t ever change ok thanks bye.
‘In My Mind’ – Alice Ivy, Ecca Vandal
We’ve been tracking Australia’s Alice Ivy since the inception of Indie Pong, and you should have listened to us then and been ahead of the curve, because she just released the AOTY. It’s not too late for you though, Alice just signed a deal with Concord, so she’s about to get HUGE. Big ups to Alice and all of the artists on this album, it’s truly spectacular.
‘Note To Self’ – Jim E-Stack, Empress Of
This song has half a million listens, and it honestly surprises me that it doesn’t have more. This to me feels like what SHOULD be popular and all over the radio but hey what do I know right, that’ why I run an indie music blog where I can write about whatever I want. This production is gorgeous and I love it.
‘sp@CeGirl * (δΊΊζ°γγγ)’ – LoneMoon
I am OBSESSED with this album from LoneMoon. To me this is what it looks like to challenge the parameters of existing music and genre and push the medium forward as an art form. Now the reason for the alert is that we have been ever so blessed with the opportunity to speak with LoneMoon on Wednesday (8/5) on our Instagram Live. I cannot wait to meet her and ask her all kinds of questions about how she made this fantastic album that I’ve been bumping all week, as well as getting to the root of what is going on on that album cover. Join us for the interview!
‘Now U Wit Em’ – Fritz Carlton, Ghostea
Fritz Carlton is one of the most exciting names coming out of the LA electronic music scene right now, and if I’m not mistaken has just signed a deal to make his first full length record. He’s long been a staple of the LA warehouse scene and his tracks just seem to be getting better and better. I have been fortunate enough to see this transformation firsthand, since Fritz is actually a friend of mine. Don’t tell our college but I used to let Fritz copy my Japanese homework before class since I speak Japanese and just took 101 for an easy credit. Fritz rode that freshman year Japanese 101 credit to a successful career as a DJ and electronic music producer, and it’s all thanks to me. You’re welcome, Fritz.
‘I Feel Like I Am Changin” – Cub Sport
Oh me oh my, the cadence of these opening lyrics.
“I used to hate these mismatched houses now they make me smile” – me screaming at the top of my lungs while my roommate is trying to sleep. A gorgeous song on a gorgeous album that deserves every accolade it will inevitably receive.
‘Never Die’ – Soft Set
This is another JPG special, the hardest working man on Spotify. Love this track, really speaks for itself, 90s style dreamy shoegaze song you can’t help but relax to. Soft Set is a Canadian band whose favorite band is Ride, which makes sense. I basically paraphrased this whole thing from their Spotify page but the song speaks for itself give it a listen.
‘reasons 2 live’ – illuminati hotties
LA based illuminati hotties just released a stunner of an album of which, in very typical fashion for me, this is the closing track that ties the whole thing together. I seem to do that a lot, fall in love with the palette cleanser track at the end of an album and it becomes my favorite song from that band. I originally heard of illuminati hotties from a soon-to-be blogger Rashad but you don’t know who he is yet so I’ll save that for another day.
‘Saint’ – Cub Sport
This is my favorite song off of the new Cub Sport album. I know I already said this but THE CADENCE… unbelievable. Australia’s Cub Sport has a way of absolutely owning the rhythm almost as if he is rapping, but in an original and unique way that I’ve never heard before. I LOVE it.
‘Dizzy’ – Phil Higgins
South African singer-songwriter Phil Higgins has outdone herself here with this jam. This is the kind of song you just want to hear over and over again and let its infectious melody permeate your life.
‘Money’ – Alice Ivy, DijahSB
We’re not done talking about how great Alice Ivy is yet. How dope is this track, so cool. This album is off the charts great. I’d say this has been the best year for pop music of the DECADE so far… jk but seriously it’s been an unbelievable year for pop music, with Alice coming through an already stacked year of pop releases with very probably the best one yet.
‘Marigold’ – Blondfire
Blondfire just does it for me. My favorite thing about these new Blondfire releases is they pick up exactly where they left off after their last release in 2014, the perfect blend of soothing vocals and brash pop rock sound. Love me some Blondfire.
‘Bummer Days’ – Liza Anne
More like SUMMER DAYS… because this song sounds so summery… amiright? Love this track and this sound in general.
‘Heartbeat’ – B & the Hive
This cathartic indie pop groove is exactly what I needed. Feels like the kind of song that you could party hard to or cry your eyes out to, I did the latter. But that’s also because there’s no parties going on right now. Can’t wait to see the trajectory of B & the Hive, the sky is the limit.
‘All Grown Up’ – Out Of Love
“Woke me up better than a cup of coffee” – Classsy Casssie when I sent this to her. Or something like that, my phone is dead. This has those punk vibes that have me bouncing off the walls of my place while my roommate is trying to sleep because he has “work” in the morning.
‘Corn Syrup’ – John War
San Diego’s John War’s favorite artists are Arca, Jai Paul and Deftones which he told me in our extensive interview (not really it was actually a three message Twitter exchange). Love this track, that first drop comes in so hard.
‘iLy’ – LoneMoon, Ivy Hollivana
A gorgeous track from LoneMoon that is almost a direct opposite of the track from the same album featured above. You know an artist is good when they have two tracks on the same album that sound completely different but are both great, mumbled my roommate as he paced around the house unable to fall back asleep.
‘Stranger’ – Gaidaa, Saba, Jarreau Vandal
Super smooth track here from the Sudanese Dutch singer from the Netherlands Gaidaa.
‘Learn To Fly’ – Surfaces, Elton John
Surfaces has been blowing up but who’s the feature? NeVeR hEaRd Of HiM… hahahahahahaha JUST KIDDING. This song is wonderful, the airy vibes we needed to bring some levity to a not so airy summer.
And thus concludes our recap of the week (ish). Don’t forget to follow us on social and to support indie artists by buying their music on Bandcamp!
This is our weekly best new tracks article. We cover mostly brand new songs but also some gems from the last few weeks. Follow our playlist if you want to follow on Spotify or if you hate my writing and just want the music:
‘Burning Accidents’ – Kate Davis
This snuck up behind me in public and put its dirty hands over my eyes and asked me to guess who it was, and I, a little pissed off, guessed it was an old work acquaintance or person I had one class with in high school who had no business touching my face. I was wrong, it ended up being an AWESOME and totally original album that I instantly fell in love with. It’s sad girl music (something UndercoverSadGirl would listen to) but with almost a bit of a pop punk flavor to it, like if you sprinkled some Wavves onto a sad girl music cake. Anyways this instantly became one of my favorite albums of the year and I highly recommend.
‘γΉγ€γΌγ Sweet’ – SebastiAn, Loota
Allow me to translate that Japanese for you since I happen to speak Japanese, it says… Sweet. Sui-to to be exact. You’re welcome. This whole album from the veteran French producer was awesome, some serious grooves and paint peeling synths.
SebastiAnLoota
‘Sunrise’ – Alice Ivy, Cadence Weapon
It’s the kind of song you could put on loop and you’d never realize you;d been listening for an hour straight, a dreamy jam from Australian Alive Ivy and Canadian Cadence Weapon.
But TLDR it’s one of the best albums of the decade and a true accomplishment in every way, so if you can’t tell I liked it a lot. It somehow meets in the middle of harsh and beautifully raw/emotional, and we are here for it.
My two other favorites on the album are Home With You and Cellophane, which are both also tracks that sound like they couldn’t have possibly come from this planet. I love.
‘I Used To’ – imbi the girl, SUPEREGO
Alrighty roo well this one actually came out a few months ago, but I heard it and fell in love with it immediately and had to include. Yeah, like I’m going to listen to a song on repeat all week and not include it because of a fEw MoNtHs. Get over yourself. Plus, the album is coming out very soon and the people of Indie Pong nEeD 2 kNoW!
I am beside myself excited for this album —–ALERT! LIVE EDIT——– This album actually literally just came out 5 hours ago in Australia, but I can’t listen yet because it’s not out until tomorrow in America. Here is the link, let’s check it out together! Teamwork!
‘DICTATOR’ – REI AMI
This is badass. Rei Ami is badass. Not here to mess around. And then all of the sudden it’s warm and comforting. Really like this one from the Korean-American new force on the scene.
‘Fox’ – Dogleg
Dude this song goes so hard. Michigan band, I’m guessing extremely underrated because I can’t find much on them online. Can’t wait for more.
Also, I had never heard this but I guess a dogleg is something bends like a dogleg, not necessarily the literal leg of a dog. Does it matter? Well the next time you’re at autozone and one of your friends asks you to ‘hand them the dogleg’ do you want to look like a dumbass? That’s what I thought.
‘Another Day’ – #1 Dads
How’d you like that Dogleg->#1 Dads transition, you like? Nice, thanks. This song is mad chill, like when you just had a crazy time camping with your friends (marshmallows, speakers, dance marathon, lots of coffee to stay awake for the dance marathon, pillow fight, etc.) and you need a chill song to put on repeat a few times on your drive back to reflect on the crazy night you just had. P.S. I don’t really go camping.
‘Back To Love’ – Vanessa Amorosi
Oh yeah, power ballad time. This is like the opposite of the above camping scenario, in this scenario you just quit your job and used credit cards to piece together the funds to buy a red Corvette convertible and you stand up while your best friend who also just did that (but it’s a little different, because she had been planning on leaving her job for a while and had been saving money for the occasion so didn’t have to get any credit cards) and you stand up and let your hair blow in the wind and scream as loud as you can because sometimes you have to just do something crazy.
Re-enactment of above scenario in blue car
Banger.
‘Honeybird’ – Andras
Banger from Australian producer Andras. P.S. All of the last three artists are Australian. I guess all I listen to is Australian music. So be it, the Australians are making the best music! Album comes out in January 2020.
