I love the current renaissance of indie music we're living through. There's a constant barrage of music made by people in their basements hoping to share how they feel with the world and maybe, just maybe, make a living out of it. One thing I've learned from music over the past decade or so is that it doesn't have to be "good" to be good. It's art. It's about making people feel things. That doesn't require the best gear or the fanciest studios. You just have to make something that speaks to someone, no matter how niche the audience.

"Teeth" - Elvis Depressedly

The current reigning king of LoFi sad boys Elvis. The songs from this album were actually songs that he thought were too fucked up to release originally. And yet they are some of his most popular songs now.

"It's Okay" - Land of Talk

This song feels numb like I do at my most depressed. Kind of like you can't really sense the world around you. Sometimes a loved one can bring you out of it, but there's no guarantee it will work. Land of Talk have been totally under the radar since 2010, but they're coming back with a vengeance. They having a new album coming out next week and a US/Canada tour coming up next month.

"Sarah" - (Sandy) Alex G

I'm not quite capable of putting my finger on this artist or song, so I'm going to lean back on others. "Everyone who comes into contact with Alex G seems to fall in love with him." Is the opening line to Emma Garland's Noisey interview with Alex G and I don't think it could apply anymore to this song and this artist than it does. Sarah loves Alex and Alex wants her company in his misery, but doesn't feel the same way. It's a rather sadomasochistic relationship. Despite the ugliness of the whole situation, Alex manages to spin it in such a beautiful way.

"manhattan" - small dad

I actually don't know a whole lot about small dad as a band, other than they're coming out Philly which as far as I'm concerned is the best city in the world for music right now. This song is particularly important to me at this moment in my life, both personally and professionally. While it may, specifically, be about a relationship between two lovers, I think the conversation can kind of extrapolate to any kind of transition in relationships, between people and periods in one's own life.

"Better than That" - Cyberbully Mom Club

Have you ever dated someone, then looked back on the relationship and realized how shitty the person was from the very beginning? Shari Heck sure as shit did. Something about CBMC's minimalist sound and Shari's almost child-like nasally quality (which is apparently a result of horrendous allergies)

"Everything is Scary" - German Error Message

Nashville's not exactly known for heartfelt indie music. German Error Message is attempting to change that. His work is mostly folk inspired and deals with his innermost struggles. In this song, it seems to deal mostly with fear of change and adjusting to new things like a new neighborhood.

"Gemini (Birthday Song)" - WHY?

This video is kind of weird, but the song is good. It's kind of dancy and poppy and fun, but still a little sad. It has some of ridiculous anecdotes (the woman at the drive-thru at a White Castle) which WHY? immediately puts in juxtaposition with images of crying on someone's night shirt encapsulating the duality of WHY?

"Renovations" - Harmony Woods

Harmony Woods describes herself as "Lofi by circumstance". Even so, she just released her first album last Friday. Nothing Special is a concept album examining the ebbs and flows of relationships. How someone can make you feel better than you thought was possible. How you can come to find a home in someone else's arms and all too frequently how those relationships will fade and distort into something ugly and broken. And those are some wise insights from this 18-year-old. This song in particular examines how relying on someone else can actually push them away when you neglect to properly build the basis of your relationship: "I tried to build a home in you/but the foundation was overlooked". I know it's happened to me, personally, and I'm sure many of you share a similar experience.

"Worth" - Clique

Why did we do that? That was such a dumb idea. That wasn't worth our time. All things one could expect to say after a frustrating breakup/relationship. All totally evident as being the influence for this song. It just wasn't worth his time.

"Problem" - Hovvdy

Hailing from Austin, TX, Hovvdy is proof that even Texans have a soft sensitive side. The mellow tunes these two put out are hopefully just some of many more to come from the Austin scene.