indie underrated

In anticipation of his upcoming album Greetings from Echo Park, Ryan Cassata has released a folk/pop/rock anthem in “i feel like throwing up.” 

If you couldn’t tell from our slashed list of genres above, this song has a little bit of everything. Cassata’s vocals definitely have a folky twang to them, and the folkness of the song is accentuated by the acoustic guitar. The quick tempo, clean production, and catchy melodies bring the pop elements. And the resounding chorus brings the rock. 

Lyrically, the song explores themes of loneliness. It’s depicted as a youthful loneliness too; one isolated from parties and other events happening around the speaker. Of course, the metaphor extends beyond the literal. In the words of the artist, “this song echoes the loneliness of being trans in a country growing more hostile toward us.” It might be just as accurate to say this song explores themes of community, inclusive and exclusive alike, and individual reactions to groups both welcoming and not so. 

Greetings from Echo Park is set to release on June 6th. Ryan Cassata has a handful of other singles from the record out now. Be sure to check them all out!

We’re entranced by “Temperate Danger,” the debut single from L.A.-based indie-pop duo paer. 

The song is characterized by vibey rhythms, atmospheric synth tones, and dreamy vocal layers that cascade over the instrumental arrangement. paer is a project that has apparently arrived after years in the making, and it’s noticeable. There’s a maturity to their sound that you only hear in music made by the most intuitive musicians. 

This song develops from beginning to end. It has a handful of catchy core melodies but uses the full space of the song and isn’t afraid to pull back from the safe to explore the unknown. 

We hear sort of a mix between Billie Eilish and Børns in it. The outfit paer is set to release a series of other tracks in 2025 and we can’t wait to see what’s next from them!

Samantha Margret’s debut album is set to release soon and the lead single “hot enough” is here to let us know. This song is a statement. Listening to it feels like walking on a treadmill that increases in speed every ten seconds until it gets so fast you fall over. 

It starts off slow and steady with a snap/acapella arrangement that has a rhythm reminiscent of childhood games like Miss Mary Mack. This is fitting, given that the setting mentioned in the first line is a school. From here, the song only builds. Lyrically, it becomes a complex investigation of systemic misogyny. Sonically, a tempo-changing experiment in pop dissonance. 

Song lyrics can sometimes be mislabeled as “poetic,” but, in this case, the descriptor is appropriate. Margret has employed actual poetics in her construction of this song (e.g. the meter and constant recontextualizing of the titular phrase “hot enough”) and the result is a piece that is rather driven by its uses of language. 

Margret is an artist pushing the envelope in terms of both subject matter and craft. We can’t wait to hear the rest of her upcoming album!

Listen to these songs and more on our playlist!