One of the harder tracks we’ve reviewed, indie rockers Wolf Alice certainly delivered with their 2014 release “Moaning Lisa Smile”. This is definitely the kind of song you’d find in an intense part of an indie film, or what would be playing in certain parts of Seattle (yet it’s not enough to be considered ‘grunge’). Not quite ‘rock’ enough to be played on 93X, yet not quite ‘pop’ enough to be played on KDWB, Wolf Alice have found their niche at 89.3 The Current, this song being played what seems like every day, and it’s a pleasure to listen to whenever it happens to come on – there isn’t a certain situation in which it would be particularly ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – it’s just great. Whenever. Wherever.

Seasoned pop punk boys Joyce Manor carried on to yell through yet another album in their 2014 release “Never Hungover Again”. The ever present (as they are in all pop punk songs these days) love song of the album this time around is their track “Falling in Love Again”, featuring the generic feelings of a sad punk kid upon meeting his ex again and feeling as though he’s probably falling in love with her all over again, the carrying line throughout the song being “I think you’re funny, I like your friends, I like the way they treat you. I’ve got some money that we could spend. I bet you’d like that. I’m falling in love again.” Obviously the perfect song for if you happen to be falling for an old ex, or if you simply enjoy the sad love culture of pop punk music, “Falling in Love Again” is sure to deliver.

In their newest single “Soundcheck”, indie rock newcomers Catfish and the Bottlemen explore the feelings of a blossoming need for somebody and something new to begin. The same style they’ve always adhered to has persevered, kicking off the track with the usual chillaxed vocals of Van McCann and following through with nifty beats that could only be truly appreciated on the highway with the windows down, one hand on the wheel, the other wrapped around a cherry icee. Not quite ‘indie pop’ enough for a T-Mobile commercial, the band still retains the tasty rhythms of their roots enough to put seasoned bands such as The Kooks to shame. Running four and a half minutes, the song is on the longer side, but surely of the right length to pop in some headphones during passing time and refresh your stellar mood for the day.

Underrated indie band Blood Cultures’ song “Meavy Hetal” is a grand mix of both indie and laid back 80’s pop. The combination of rad synth and chillaxed guitar riffs with an underlay of birds transport the listener to a summer memory or licking bombpops by a cool poolside. The song sits at a seemingly average length at 2 minutes and 56 seconds, but at that length the song feels like it is just starting. Leaving listeners wanting more the song feels almost like a bedtime story that was cut short by the child falling asleep before the Happily Ever After. This feeling and the backyard feeling both cause the brain to remember memories hidden away for years by other more distant days, but even during the first listen the song feels almost nostalgic.