With the consistent haze of winter slowly fading into the rearview, 2021 is finally starting to kick it into high gear on the new music front. This week, Steven and Ian are digging into new releases from Julien Baker and Cloud Nothings, but not before taking a moment to eulogize the end of Daft Punk after 28 years.

For Julien Baker, 'Little Oblivions' is her first album in nearly four years, and marks a turning point for the 25-year-old songwriter. Where her arrangements were previously sparse and centered around a looped guitar or a piano, the new album incorporates a full band aesthetic with drums and much more space to roam. What does a fleshed-out sound mean for one of indie’s most earnest songwriters?

While Baker was quiet for nearly four years, Cloud Nothings have been more active than ever during the pandemic, turning to a Bandcamp subscription plan as a way to keep fans engaged. They released the home-recorded 'The Black Hole Understands' in July of 2020, and have already followed it up with the proper next studio album, 'The Shadow I Remember.' Where does it stack up in their nearly decade-long discography?

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Steven is honoring the late Miles Seaton by revisiting the catalogue of his band Akron/Family, while Ian has been enjoying the new EP from Canadian outfit Arm’s Length.

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This week, Steven and Ian are discussing two of the most exciting indie releases of the week. First up is a passionate discussion of Open Door Policy, the new album from veteran rockers The Hold Steady. Steven appreciates the band’s long-running arc and recent comeback, while Ian has never connected with the Beat-style of what he calls “dude writing.”

Next up on the docket is A Billion Little Lights, the new effort from Wild Pink’s. Led by singer-songwriter John Ross, who moved to Brooklyn after college to be a film composer, Wild Pink’s latest is undeniably cinematic and meditative, a stubbornly un-flashy affair that was originally intended to be a double album about the American West, but was eventually condensed to a lean 10-track affair.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is vibing with New Music And Big Pop, the debut album from Another Michael, while Steven is enjoying Call In The Mess, the forthcoming sophomore album from New York outfit Nervous Dater.

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After a week of banter about Phoebe Bridgers smashing her guitar on 'SNL' and the discourse that inevitably surrounds the annual announcement of nominees for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Ian and Steven are spending this week’s episode of Indiecast reflecting on a simpler moment in indie history. The so-called indie R&B scene of the early 2010’s spawned some of the biggest artists of today, including The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, and James Blake.

At the same time, Beyonce and Jay-Z were going to see both Coldplay and Grizzly Bear live, and Kanye was collaborating with Bon Iver. With James Blake’s debut album turning ten and The Weeknd playing the Super Bowl halftime show, now is as fitting a time as ever to reminisce on an era ripe with musical collaboration and exciting releases that remain part of the conversation nearly a decade later.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Cohen has been enjoying For Your Health's debut album 'In Spite Of,' while Hyden can’t get enough of the Ryley Walker and Kikagaku Moyo collabroative album, 'Deep Fried Grandeur.'

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This week kicks off with an enlightening discussion of which indie bands should release greatest hits albums. Then, Steven and Ian are diving into one of the biggest releases of 2021 so far: Foo Fighters’ tenth studio album 'Medicine At Midnight.' The album doesn’t really sound like anything the Foos have released to date, continuing down the path that began with 2014’s 'Sonic Highways,' moving away from the thrashing rock that seems to have culminated in 2011’s 'Wasting Light.' 25 years into the band’s career, Hyden and Cohen try to figure out where the experimental 'Medicine At Midnight' stacks up in Foo Fighters’ massive catalogue.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is loving 'Earbudz,' the first charity compilation from artist development company No Earbuds, which is now available for Bandcamp Friday. All proceeds will be donated The Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis-related criminal justice reform. Steven, on the other hand, can’t get enough of Yasmin Williams’ captivating instrumental guitar album 'Urban Driftwood.'

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Despite a handful of optimistic festival announcements, the return of live music still doesn’t look to be closing in (unless you live in New Zealand). With the absence of in-person events, many artists have been turning to both free and paid livestream concerts to keep their fans engaged.

This week, Steven and Ian are discussing the pros and cons of a virtual future for the live music industry. Is livestreaming here to stay? Is it all even worth paying for? While it’s great to see your favorite artists perform, it’s hard to feel the same magic you get from being in a room with other music fans. Earlier this year, concert database Bandsintown announced a paid tier of their service, wherein fans can unlock live performances from artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Adrianne Lenker, and more. This, combined with long-running livestream organizations like Audiotree, could indicate big shifts for the music industry as we know it.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Cohen has been digging Portrayal Of Guilt, who released Garden Of Despair, a new EP, earlier this year. Hyden is taking a step away from new music this week, encouraging wants listeners to check out Miranda Reinert’s new music-centric newsletter, Something Old.

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This week, Steven and Ian are once again taking questions from listeners. The episode kicks off with a discussion ska, the oft-maligned sect of punk that people tend to joke about, but also have an encyclopedic understanding of its intricacies. After the recent critical reevaluation of nu metal, is ska next in line for a reinvention? Jeff Rosenstock has been proudly waving the flag of ska for years, and the world is finally starting to come around.

There were many thoughtful questions from listeners, guiding Hyden and Cohen’s conversation on the episode and finding the duo discussing their methods for digging into the discography of a newly-discovered artist, the big budget albums they'd like to hear, and the role of Manchester Orchestra in modern indie.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Cohen has been enjoying Downtiming, the debut EP from Camp Trash. Instead of new music, Hyden is taking the opportunity to plug his recent interview with The Wrens’ Charles Bissel, who revealed that the band’s long awaited follow up to 2003’s The Meadowlands might finally be released later this year!

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There are albums in the indie rock and alternative rock realm that were influential and beloved at the time of their release, but have since been lost to the test of time and sadly — some might say shamefully — left out of the widely accepted canon of the genre. On this episode, Steven and Ian are looking to right these wrongs with the creation the Indiecast Hall Of Fame. This week, Hyden and Cohen are using the episode as a way to give proper recognition to albums they love, and to make the case for why they remain important in the lore of indie rock history to this day. Included on the list are records from Counting Crows, The Promise Ring, Afghan Whigs, and more.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Cohen has been revisiting Tokyo Police Club’s Champ in honor of its upcoming tenth anniversary. Looking ahead, Hyden is excited about Drunk Tank Pink, the forthcoming effort from UK post-punk outfit Shame.

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After a long year, 2021 is finally here, bringing with it new episodes of Indiecast. To kick off the first episode of the new year, Steven and Ian are discussing musical trends that took hold in the 2010’s that might begin to fade out as we settle into the 2020’s. It’s impossible to predict what the next decade is going to look like, musically, but we can only hope that it will be something genuinely new and exciting.

Before Steven and Ian dig in for a typical episode of news, reviews, and more, the duo want to take some time to declare their New Year’s Resolutions. In this week’s episode, Steven and Ian are digging through the things they want to see more of (and less of) in 2021, upcoming new albums from The War On Drugs, Father John Misty, Foxing, The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, and more.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Steven has been enjoying 'At The Moonbase,' the surprise new album from Slaughter Beach, Dog. Ian, on the other hand, can’t get enough of the band Curve.

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In the second of a special two-part episode, Steven and Ian are wrapping up the show for the year by awarding the highly sought-after Indiecasties to the most surprising, overrated, and genuinely impressive releases of the year from artists like The Killers, Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, and more.

This week, the duo are ready to bestow some trophies upon the albums that best embodied the aesthetics of 2020, as well as the artists who made the best comeback this year. Also on the slate for this episode are artists who defied the odds set by their back catalogue to surprise critics with the strengths of their most recent release, and the most overhyped albums that actually managed to deserve the praise, among many more.

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Just like everyone, as the year winds down, Steven and Ian are getting reflective. But rather than just continue breaking down the best of 2020 in a standard list form, they are launching the official Indiecast awards show, The Indiecasties. Across two episodes, the duo will be awarding the highly sought-after Indiecasties to the best, worst, and downright strangest releases of the year.

This week brings the first of two installments of the award show, and Hyden and Cohen are waiting and ready to bestow some trophies. assigning the most “Indiecast-as-a-genre” album or artist of 2020, Hyden’s favorite “Ian Cohen-core” album and Cohen’s favorite “Steven Hyden-core” album, as well as the year’s most annoying album cycle, and most memory-holed album.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Hyden has been enjoying Open Door Policy, the forthcoming new album from The Hold Steady. Cohen has been listening to a lot of Ogbert The Nerd.

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