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Tag: Indie

  • In Case You Missed It Vol. 2

    In Case You Missed It Vol. 2

    October has been a pretty wild month for releases. There have been several great albums that we have covered here on the blog and even more no doubt that have slipped past my gaze. There have also been an incredible amount of singles that were released this month. In this volume of, In Case You Missed It, I am going to spot light some of those releases that I really enjoyed. 

    “Temperance” by Mega Infinity; released October 7, 2025: Mega Infinity is a four piece ska band from New York City. They lean to the harder side of the genre and this song puts that on display. It’s the first single released in the run up to their newest album, releasing sometime winter of next year. The song uses the moon as a metaphor for personal empowerment. Michi’s vocals are powerful and maybe even a little angry. Especially as they scream, ‘I am the tide’. Something wholly appropriate for this kind of hype song. The guitar solo that sits almost directly in the middle of the song goes hard, and brings the hype up to an insane degree. Temperance hasn’t been this hard since the 1920’s. 

    “Heart Attack” by Cold Wrecks; released October 10, 2025: Cold Wrecks is from Brooklyn, New York, delivers a surprising up beat song about the struggles of dealing with anxiety and crisis. It is refreshing when artists engage with these kinds of topics in a way that can be uplifting rather than in a gloomy manner. While gloomy is valid, upbeat is good as well.  I have been a fan of Cold Wrecks for quite a while. If you have been following me since back when this blog was a ‘radio’ show streamed on twitch, you know I played them frequently. This is the second single they released this year. I hope this is a sign of a new album hitting the internet at some point in the near future.

    “Daydream” by Underneath The Lookout; October 14, 2025: Underneath The Lookout consists of the duo Suzy and Craig and hailing from the UK. They produce a unique blend of reggae dub and ska. Their newest single came out mid-October and clearly demonstrates that reggae and ska do indeed belong together with dub. This song has a lot going on in a way that makes it a wonderful cornucopia of sound. It’s got horns, melodica, some (I assume) synthesized ‘ska’ organ, and bass. And let me tell you, that bass is so good. It’s got a low rumble about it and beat that underpins the whole song. While I definitely think the musical composition is the star of this song, I do think that Suzy’s vocal performance is great as well and the message of the song is very much relevant to today. I too frequently despair about the downfalls of modern life. 

    “Time Warp” by Bad Mary; released October 21, 2025: This song made this list for multiple reasons. First of all, is that I have been wanting to write about Bad Mary for a while now. They are a great glam-punk band from Long Island, New York. Then there is the fact that it is Halloween today, so not including this spooky classic from my favorite musical felt wrong to me. It is an incredible rendition of the song. I could barely keep myself from singing along and grooving while listening to it while taking my kid and his friend to school this week. It was hard, but I think i succeeded. 

    “Radio Player” by Josaleigh Pollet//Crowd Shy; released October 28, 2025:  SLC musician, Josaleigh Pollet, just released this song and the moment I heard it I knew I had to write about it. The song starts out with the sound of a single beating heart and slowly is accompanied by this creepy, swirling, wispy, ethereal ambient noise. It is the perfect set up for a feeling of seclusion and loneliness. Moments later the synthesizer hits and it is also amazing at crafting the chilling ambiance. Then Josaleigh’s vocals kick in and they are soul-stirring and beautiful. The lyrics are cryptic and make you feel even more isolated and perhaps lost in time. The second half of the song is a reference to the famous scene from the movie poltergeist. It is at this point that you realize what you are experiencing is a haunting and it hits you with a shudder. The question then becomes, is Josaleigh talking to you about the ghost? Are they  talking to the ghost? Are you the ghost? Oh, lord, It is so good. 

    These songs are not by any stretch of the imagination the only good singles that dropped this month but they are a selection that I think you all should check out. I hope that y’all enjoy them as much as I have. 

    If you liked the songs I reviewed here and want to support the artists as well as this blog please consider picking them up digitally via these Amazon affiliate links—>

    Temperance 

    Heart Attack

    Daydream 

    Time Wrap

    Radio Player

  • Nelson Comes to Visit Vol. 2: Negative thoughts about myself and people I love dearly by Superdestroyer//Leave Nelson B

    Nelson Comes to Visit Vol. 2: Negative thoughts about myself and people I love dearly by Superdestroyer//Leave Nelson B

    Artist: Superdestroyer //Leave Nelson B

    Album: NCTV Vol. 2: Negative thoughts about myself and people I love dearly

    Release: October 17, 2025; Lonely Ghost Records

    I am gong to be honest with y’all. Initially, I wasn’t going to review this album. You see this would be the 3rd Superdestroyer project reviewed on the blog as well as the third Leave Nelson B project. Then, the first single hit and I realized that what is the point of running a music blog if I am not going to write about the music that I truly enjoy. So, at the risk of becoming a Superdestroyer//Leave Nelson B stan blog, I present y’all my review of Nelson Comes To Visit Vol. 2: Negative thoughts about myself and people I love dearly. 

    Something that I initially missed in my review of the first NCTV album was its overarching narrative. There were definitely hints of it there but for me at least the whole of the narrative wasn’t really revealed to me until I was watching interviews and press stuff after my review was written. This time around, I think Superdestroyer and Leave Nelson B have utilized musical elements to really sell that overarching narrative and specifically the character arch of the narrative’s POV character. For example, the guitar in track 1 “Limerance” ties it directly to the 2nd track on the album “I will close my eyes and astral project where you are”. Limerance also contains lyrics from the 5th track on the album “You only like me when I’m numb”. To me, this is an indication that the songs are not only related to each other but are also narratively important.  Finally, that last track of the album, “I can’t relate” is something like a reprise of “I will astral project where you are” except it acts as a resolution to the narrative. 

    So what NCTV Vol: 2 offers narratively is the story of a person who is deeply infatuated with a loved one. Limerance being a kind romantic attraction that is often overwhelming and obsessive. 

    “I will astral project to where you are” illustrates that our POV uses this relationship and thought of his loved one as a way of zoning out, rather than dealing with people that don’t like or respect him or even engage with him as equals. Astral projection here being a metaphor for him imagining being with his loved one rather than dealing with whoever is currently talking to him. 

    Then, in “You only like me when I’m numb”,  we get somewhat of a turning point for our POV. The first half of the song is  where he begins to realize that he isn’t getting all he needs out of his relationships. Perhaps from the people he is trying to avoid in “I will astral projection were you are” or from his loved one. To me, everything from about 30 seconds into the song to about 1 minute 13 is pretty illustrative of a crash out and of spiraling intrusive thoughts.  Everything after seems more self reflective and a realization that he can only ever control half a relationship and an acceptance that the other half has to take responsibility for it as well. 

    Finally, in “I can’t relate” our POV finds himself back talking to another unpleasant person. Rather than falling back to bad habits, he chooses to instead take responsibility for himself. Solid growth is demonstrated here by our POV. It is a great resolution to the narrative, because you are not doing yourself or your relationships any favors by packing them full of preconceived notions and expectations that the others in involved may not even know about or fully understand. 

    The last song shout out I want to hit is “Doomed Planet”. I absolutely love the piano and synth found in this song. I have also mentioned before, in another review, that I am a fan of archive audio. I can’t say for sure that this song uses it cause surprising as it might seem I haven’t heard all the archival audio, but it is clear that this song means to invoke that feel. I like the vibe the overall song gives and its placement on the album. It sits in a key spot and acts like another sign post for the narrative as it wraps up. 

    All the tracks on this album are masterfully composed and while I have chosen to highlight the narrative in this review, I want to make it clear the music does in fact go hard. I love all the synthesizer work quite a lot. In general, it is also heavier than the last NCTV album which I think is a great move to illustrate the darker nature of this outing.

    NCTV Vol, 2 follows up to the album Nelson Comes To Visit, released in 2024. It was an exceptional album that could quite rightly be considered my album of the year if I did that kind of thing. Does this release live up to that pedigree? The short answer is yes. I honestly feel that if you are a fan of electronic music, punk or rock, you are willfully missing out on something extraordinary if you are still sleeping on Superdestroyer and Leave Nelson B. They are both very talented individuals and when they team up you know what you are getting is going to be good.