It’s been a big week in the indie rock world, from the return of Big Thief to updated Covid policies across the live music ecosystem. Steve and Ian cover both of these topics in the opening minutes of the latest episode of Indiecast.

The meat of this week’s episode comes in the form of a discussion of new albums from The Killers and Bleachers. The Killers are back with Pressure Machine, the band’s seventh LP that comes almost exactly a year after their last full-length effort, Imploding The Mirage, and finds the band exploring new sonic territory that is markedly more downbeat and introspective. Bleachers, on the other hand, found Jack Antonoff trying to go as Springsteen as possible on his third solo release, Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night. How do both of these albums stack up in their respective catalogues?

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is plugging the new LP from emo greats A Great Big Pile Of Leaves, while Steve wants to shout out the forthcoming LP from Baltimore experimental hardcore outfit Turnstile.

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During last week’s episode, Steve and Ian took some time to theorize that Billie Eilish’s new album Happier Than Ever might be heading in the direction of a sophomore slump. However, the latest effort from the young superstar is a good example of an LP featuring a handful of underwhelming singles that misrepresent and otherwise pretty good album. Happier Than Ever seems to share some inspiration DNA with the new Clairo album, in that they are both reactions to fame records, but instead of going abrasive they’ve gone even quieter and more hushed. Overall, the new album from the young superstar feels very much apiece with how people listen to music now, and a thoroughly enjoyable affair.

Next up on the docket is Draw Down The Moon, the latest opus from St. Louis band Foxing. It’s the follow-up to the band’s third studio album Nearer My God — which Ian is quick to name the best album of any genre of the last five years — and goes to places even grander and enveloping. Long story short, it can either take the band to completely new heights in their career… or destroy them entirely. Only time will tell!

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Steve is recommending No Medium, the new album from Rosali that was released a few months ago. Ian has been vibing with Lantlôs, the German “post-black metal” band that dropped their latest effort Wildhund last week.

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Time flies when you’re having fun: this week marks the one-year anniversary of Indiecast! Steve and Ian kick off the new episode with reflections of their highs and lows from a year of doing the show, and take a moment to thank all of the listeners who have engaged with the show and submitted questions.

The meat of this episode has Steve and Ian revisiting the Indiecast Hall Of Fame, which is dedicated to honoring albums that are under-appreciated in the modern lexicon of indie rock. The new albums receiving honors include The Soundtrack Of Our Lives’ 2002 effort Behind The Music, Screaming Trees’ Dust, and more.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is paying tribute to Joey Jordison, the late Slipknot drummer who passed away earlier this week, and reminding fans to revisit the first Slipknot album. Steve, on the other hand, is prepared to start revving the engine of the hype train around Let Me Do One More, the new album from Illuminati Hotties that isn’t due until October.

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With new music incoming from The War On Drugs, The Killers, and Coldplay, this episode of Indiecast asks the question we’ve all been thinking: is heartland rock stronger than ever or drawing its last breath? The staying power of the aforementioned acts is undeniable, but at the same time there aren’t many up and coming acts who are creating music that feels similar, sonically or thematically. It’s unclear whether there is even room in the heartland rock space for any acts that are still emerging, including some of our favorite underrated artists like like Wild Pink or Strand Of Oaks.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian has been vibing with Johnny Football Hero’s Complacency EP, while Steve is once again plugging HBO’s forthcoming Woodstock ’99 documentary for which he served as a consulting producer.

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This week’s episode opens with Steve and Ian discussing recent albums from the offspring of famous people. This leads naturally into a conversation of Sling, the new sophomore album from indie pop phenom Clairo. Claire Cotrill’s parents are well-connected in the music industry, which many haters use as a way to discount her success as an artist over the last few years and reiterate the “bootstraps” mentality (that is a driving force of the capitalist mindset, but we digress).

Musically, Sling is a very low-key affair that could be viewed as another “reaction to fame” record that exists as the opposite end of the harshness spectrum from Nirvana’s In Utero. Produce by Jack Antonoff, the LP stems from the pent-up anxiety of Cotrill’s sudden fame after her debut, and the intense touring schedule that followed. It’s not as immediately gripping as Immunity, but seems like a record that could get definitely grow on a listener after it settles in the brain and ages.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, both Steve and Ian are plugging brand new surprise EPs from two of their favorite artists. Steve is urging everyone to check out Total Serene, the latest short-form release from Gang Of Youths, and Ian can’t get enough of the new EP from Yves Tumor.

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As is tradition, this week’s episode of Indiecast has Steve and Ian taking questions from you: the loyal listeners. Questions were fielded from all around the globe, leading this Mailbag episode to revolve around a provocative conversation about topics like the state of music journalism and which medium is best for learning about an artist in 2021, as well as bands that could have been bigger had they come around at a different time, blog rock, and the songs that Steve and Ian have listened to the most over the years.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Steve is recommending Liam Kazar, whose latest effort, Due North, is set for release in August. Ian, on the other hand, is taking the opportunity to once again plug South Carolina outfit Adjy, who released The Idyll Opus (I-IV) last week.

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Late last year, Steve and Ian created the Indiecasties, a special, highly sought-after distinction honoring the best, worst, and downright strangest releases of the year. This week, they’re bringing back the segment for a mid-year review to award titles like Most Valuable Album Cycle (MVAC), Memory-Holed Album Of The Year So Far, and Most “Festival Band” Festival Band to the best and brightest of the first six months of 2021.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is plugging South Carolina outfit Adjy, whi released The Idyll Opus (I-IV) earlier this week. Steve, on the other hand, is shouting out Summer Of Soul, the new Questlove-directed documentary focused on the Harlem Cultural Festival during the summer of 1969.

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Lucy Dacus! Modest Mouse! Pom Pom Squad! Tyler, The Creator! Lightning Bug! Free Throw! Faye Webster! All of these albums drop today, and that’s just the beginning of the list. Steve and Ian got in front of this week’s onslaught of releases by discussing the new Modest Mouse LP in last week’s episode. Even with advance preparation, it was difficult to choose just two albums to dig into this week, so they decided to tack on a third. The latest efforts from Lucy Dacus, Lightning Bug, and Faye Webster stand above the rest of the laundry list of releases this week, marking creative high points for all three artists.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is digging Butterfly 3000, the latest in a string of 2021 releases from prolific Australian outfit King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Steve wants to spread the good word about The Veiled Sea, the new effort from indie jam band Six Organs Of Admittance.

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Next week, Modest Mose is releasing The Golden Casket, their first new music since 2015’s Strangers To Ourselves . We recently got Isaac Brock to review every Modest Mouse album, including their latest, and now it’s time for Steve and Ian to give their takes on the band’s first release for the better part of a decade.

In addition to new music, Steve and Ian are also reflecting on the catalogue and career of one of the brightest lights in the indie rock scene of the aughts: The Shins. The band recently celebrated twenty years of Oh, Inverted World with a newly remastered version of the album, considered to be one of the definitive touchstones of the indie rock canon. How does it hold up two decades after its initial release?

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Steve is excited about the return of Gang Of Youths with the new single “The Angel Of 8th Ave.” Ian is digging Megabear, the new album from UK outfit Me Rex.

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This month marks the tenth anniversary of Bon Iver’s self-titled sophomore album, which solidified Justin Vernon’s project as an indie rock powerhouse, and eventually earned him a handful of Grammys (see above). To celebrate ten years of this pivotal record, Steve and Ian are putting aside their opposing views on Bon Iver to spend an episode reflecting on the outfit’s catalogue and lasting impact.

In the decade since the release of Bon Iver, Justin Vernon has made a name for himself as one of the least predictable and most adventurous artists of recent memory, with a series of ultimate “grower” albums that end up shifting listeners’ tastes, that somehow exist in the same timeline as recent massive collaborations with Taylor Swift. This week, Steve and Ian discuss whether “Woods” is one of the most important indie rock songs of the 21st century, and how much Vernon’s association with Kanye actually accounts for his credibility in the indie world.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Steve is digging Australian indie-pop outfit The Goon Sax’s forthcoming LP Mirror II, while Ian is plugging Militarie Gun’s new EP All Roads Lead To The Gun.

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