Indie Basement is a weekly column on BrooklynVegan focusing on classic indie and alternative artists, “college rock,” and new and current acts who follow a similar path. There are reviews of new albums, reissues, box sets, books and sometimes movies and television shows. I’ve rounded up July’s best music, highlighting my favorite songs and albums, plus links to relevant features and news, a monthly playlist, and more.
We’re more than halfway through the summer and July proved to be a hot one, both in a meteorological sence but also as far new music, with lots of great new album out and even more singles/songs. I picked 11 songs from July to write about, including a few Indie Basement Hall of Famers, a few rookies, and a lot of dance music. I picked six July albums, though runner-ups include Dot Allison’s Consciousology, and Guided by Voices’ Welshpool Frillies.
Other items of note: I ranked all nine of Blur’s studio albums from “bollocks” to “brill,” and paid tribute to the late Sinéad O’connor by looking at 12 of her great duets and collaborations.
Head below for the Indie Basement Best Songs & Albums of July 2023, plus a playlist featuring even more of the month’s best stuff.
INDIE BASEMENT – BEST SONGS OF JULY 2023
Yard Act – “The Trench Coat Museum”
Yard Act continue reviving the mid-’00s post-punk revival with this bold new single — their first new music since releasing their debut album in early 2022 — that takes them fully into DFA Records territory. Working with Remi Kabaka Jr. (Gorillaz), the band have incorporated synthesizers and drum machines like never before for an eight-minute banger loaded with great production touches and loads of percussion instruments (you will not need more cowbell that what they bring to this), to go alongside frontman and outerwear enthusiast James Smith’s detailed personal history with the titular garment. “What I want to know is who would want a coat so close to the floor?”
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Bas Jan – “At the Counter”
Fans of the Jarvis Cocker Sonic Universe may already know that London group Bas Jan was started by harpist/songwriter Serafina Steer and keyboardist/violinist Emma Smith both of whom play in JARV IS (Smith is also a live member of Pulp on their current reunion tour). Like on Steer’s solo albums, there is a haunted quality to Bas Jan’s music that adds wonderful atmosphere to “At the Counter” which is essentially synthpop, albeit with earthy prog undertones.
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Cupid & Psyche – “Angels on the Phone”
Michael Vidal and Juan Velasquez spent the late-’00s and early-’10s in California band Abe Vigoda, and after a decade apart have re-teamed for new project Cupid & Psyche. Taking their name from Scritti Politti’s hit 1985 album (or the ancient story that was named for), Vidal and Velasquez’s new thing is decidedly more friendly than Abe Vigoda, while the electricity between them still pops. Cupid & Psyche’s debut single, “Angels on the Phone,” falls somewhere between ’80s sophistipop and ’90s shoegaze, making for a tantalizing first taste.
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DJ Koze – “Wespennest” ft Sophia Kennedy
Having released his last album five years ago, Berlin’s DJ Koze is back in force in 2023, collaborating with Róisín Murphy on her anticipated new album Hit Parade, and releasing a new double-a-side 12″ on his own Pampa label. “Wespennest” plays out like the theme to a noir thriller with ecological undertones; the thump of the bass drum rolling like a slow motion shot of a train through a city with wood block ricochets as the sound of mysterious footsteps on a cobblestone street. When the spotlight turns on femme fatale Sophia Kennedy, the sounds of insects build behind her (the song’s title translates to “Wasp Nest”), the menace builds, and trouble lurks around every dark corner.
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Emma Anderson – “Bend the Round”
Emma Anderson has been itching to make new music ever since the 2016 Lush reunion ended up being shorter than she had hoped. Always more of a band person, a team player, Anderson took some convincing by friends, though, to make a solo record. Glad they did, as “Bend the Round” is terrific. Working with Maps’ James Chapman, they’ve crafted cinematic dreampop that has distinct echoes of her past while still looking forward.
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Jessie Ware & Róisín Murphy – “Freak Me Now”
One of the most joyous, delectable disco bangers on Jessie Ware’s fantastic new album That Feels So Good, “Freak Me Now” is now even more of a high octane pleasure machine thanks to Róisín Murphy. It’s a real Reese’s Cup pairing with two great tastes that taste great together. One question: with both artists on the road this fall, why couldn’t this also be a tour? For one thing, the world might not have been able to handle that much awesome on one stage. This will have to do.
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Lol Tolhurst x Budgie x Jacknife Lee – “Los Angeles” ft James Murphy
Having logged time as drummers in two of the most iconic alternative bands of the ’80s (The Cure and Siouxsie & The Banshees), Lol Tolhurst and Budgie have now joined rhythmic forces alongside producer and U2 collaborator Jacknife Lee for this rhythm-focused trio. Their name may be an unimaginative mouthful, but first single “Los Angeles” is pretty great, bolstered by guest vocalist James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem who’s always had a goth streak. With marimbas banging alongside clattering toms, there’s more than a little of Banshees offshoot The Creatures here.
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Lost Girls – “Ruins”
“Håvard sent me this long, wonderful and kaleidoscopic bass line on top of a drum machine track that I had no clue what to do with,” Jenny Hval says of the origins to Lost Girls first new music since their great 2021 debut. The answer was to not try and tame it but to improvise with it and go where it took her, no matter how dark. When Hval cries, “We have to keep playing,” she makes it sound like her life depends on it.
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MUNYA – “Un Deux Trois”
Jessie Bolvin fully cops to the influences behind her great new single “Un Deux Trois,” though it’s pretty apparent what they are without naming names. The rolling disco bassline and synth arpeggiations make it clear that this one owes a lot to a couple different International Coffees: French Touch and Italo Disco. Specifically, Daft Punk’s “Giorgio by Moroder.” Bolvin brings her own Montreal touch to the proceedings with just a little ’60s mod style for an irresistible confection.
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Panda Bear & Sonic Boom x Adrian Sherwood – “Whirlpool Dub”
One of the producers and engineers who helped the original post-punk era incorporate dub, Adrian Sherwood has remained a remixer of choice for indie acts looking to add ultrasonic echo in their sound, and he seems to have only gotten more popular in the few years. He’s been tasked with creating a dub version of Panda Bear & Sonic Boom’s Reset which he’s rebuilt from the ground up using his On-U Sound System players. This new version of “Whirlpool” is even trippier than the original while keeping the song at the center. Can’t wait to hear this whole album.
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Vanishing Twin – “Afternoon X”
The title track to London band Vanishing Twin’s upcoming album Afternoon X features an absolutely killer groove — Valentina Magaletti in particular is an insanely talented, creative drummer, as anyone who has seen the band live knows — onto which the rest of the band build an eerie, cinematic sonic world. As usual, fans of Stereolab, Broadcast, Can and Ennio Morricone should listen to this immediately.
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INDIE BASEMENT – BEST ALBUMS OF JULY 2023
Blur – The Ballad of Darren (Parlophone)
Damon Albarn calls The Ballad of Darren “the first legit Blur album” since 1999’s 13. That’s 24 years. I get where Albarn is coming from but The Magic Whip definitely sounds like a Blur album, as slight and off the cuff as it may be. The Ballad of Darren feels purposeful, however, and is without question the best Blur album since 13. Albarn has resided on Melancholy Hill for a long time now, and more than anything, The Ballad of Darren has has a warm, wistful feel, with more swaying autumnal ballads than upbeat rockers. Opener “The Ballad” initially sounds like it could’ve been on an Albarn solo album but Coxon, James and Rowntree all bring their distinctive qualities to it, adding up to that unmistakable, if mellowed, Blur sound. With lines that are clearly about the band (“We travelled around the world together”), it sets a reflective tone somewhere between nostalgia and regret that carries through the rest of the album. The Ballad of Darren feels like a swan song and would make a perfect capper to a remarkably consistent discography, but it’s also too good for it to be the end. [Read the whole review]
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The Clientele: I Am Not There Anymore (Merge)
The Clientele have embraced electronic music here but, don’t worry, they haven’t gone dubstep or trap or EDM — they survived the ’90s without ever dipping a toe in jungle/drum-and-bass, so they’re not going to make a massive left turn now (not that they couldn’t have incorporated an Amen Break to their sound). But there are plenty of moments on I Am Not There Anymore, their seventh album and first in six years (to make up for lost time, it’s a double), that make you prick up your ears. First and foremost is “Blue Over Blue,” the album’s first single that has all the signatures of a great Clientele song — MacLean’s signature guitarwork and melodies, plus lots of atmosphere — but when that distorted riff kicks in unexpectedly, you’re caught off guard. “Garden Eye Mantra” lays in subtle chillout beats beneath gossamer strings to help evoke, in MacLean’s words, “the memory of childhood but at the same time the impossibility of truly remembering childhood… or even knowing who or what you are.” The half-remembered dream vibe has been central to The Clientele’s whole thing since day one, and this is just another way of getting there. Three decades into their career, The Clientele have managed to reinvent themselves just enough to make it all new again. [Full review here]
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Snõõper – Super Snõõper (Third Man)
Do you remember the episode of The Simpsons where Bart and Milhouse find a $20 bill, go to the Kwik-E-Mart, order a squishee that is entirely made out of syrup and proceed to “go crazy Broadway style?” That is what Snõõper’s debut album sounds like. A pure sugar high, where you ate your entire Halloween candy haul — mostly Pixie Stix — fly entirely off the rails, the best time of your life, and then crash in a pile on the carpet after 20 minutes. Following a handful of self-released Bandcamp singles, and gaining a reputation as an unmissable live band, Snõõper were snapped up by Third Man who put them in an actual studio which didn’t slow them down at all; instead it just made their short blasts of mutant punk more powerful. [Read the full review]
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Cut Worms – Cut Worms (Jagjaguwar)
Max Clarke’s last Cut Worms album, Nobody Lives Here Anymore, was an examination of the failure of the ’50s American Dream, as told by a musician who has always felt unmoored from time. For its follow-up, Clarke aimed to pare his songs down to only what he thought was essential, asking “How much can I say and give in a limited amount of time?” That means no heady themes, just wonderful pop songs influenced by Beach Boys and The Everly Brothers. Working with Brian & Michael DʼAddorio of The Lemon Twigs and Rick Spataro of Florist, alongside longtime bandmates John Andrews (keyboards), Keven Louis Lareau (bass), and Noah Bond (drums), Max has crafted a record that sounds like it could’ve existed in 1962, with songs about falling in love, breaking up, longing, perfect nights, and other evergreen pop subjects. Max, who looks like he’s straight out of a ’50s movie too, is an expert melodicist, echoing his heroes and striking a familiar chord while never falling into pastiche or imitation, but nailing the sonics and vibe, from the twangy guitars and harmonies to the sleigh bells, strings and Phil Spector-y bass harmonica. “Too Bad,” “Let’s Go Out On The Town,” “Living Inside,” and the album’s other six songs sound like lost classics. [Read the full review]
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Co-Pilot – Rotate (Dell’Orso)
Co-Pilot is the musical collaboration of Alan Roberts, better known as Jim Noir, and Leonore Wheatley of The Soundcarriers and International Teachers of Pop. It’s a very Indie Basement pairing. Wheatley was drafted to play keyboards in the Jim Noir band and they really hit it off musically and ended up doing a lot of tinkering around, musically, in Roberts’ Manchester studio. “Whatever is switched on or nearby gets used,” Roberts says. “There’s no ‘correct’ for us. If it sounds good, record it.” Wheatley adds, “We let the sound dictate the process whilst being drunk enough to follow it.”The result is Co-Pilot’s wonderful debut album which sports a disparate, eclectic sound but one that will be familiar to fans of their respective projects. Wheatley says there are at least six genres present on Rotate, and while she doesn’t list them, I hear baroque psych, prog, synthpop, krautrock, and just a little Manchester baggy (a genre that will come up again this week below). Roberts and Wheatley are on the same wavelength, and both are clever and creative songwriters and musicians, so it all feels of a whole. [Full review here]
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Freak Heat Waves – Mondo Tempo (Mood Hut)
Thomas Di Ninno and Steven Lind have been making dance music for more than a decade, melding a variety of disparate but compatible elements into distinct style. They’ve always been on the mellow side, usually keeping tempos set to “groovy” and the temperature set to chill. Not chillwave though: there is a prominent post-punk element in what they do that keeps things a little antsy. Likewise, while there are nods to various ’90s downtempo styles, FHW avoid making what I call ;Euro Hotel Lounge music. Mondo Tempo is their fifth album, first in three years, and most relaxed offering yet. It’s also got their best single to date: “In a Moment Divine” featuring Cindy Lee. [Full review]
Here’s the Indie Basement: Best of July playlist in both Spotify and TIDAL form:
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