Independent Music Discoveries, Issue #16

The belated installment of our continuing series is here-look out for another one in its regular Friday appearance, and keep the independent music suggestions coming in the comments!:

The Octopus Project - Experimental / Pop - Texas, USA
The Octopus Project, a quirky, experimental-electronic quartet, was first introduced to me by fellow AFIN contributor Christian some months ago, and was happy to find a press release in my inbox recently about their new EP, Golden Beds, which is out now on Peek-a-Boo Records! Golden Beds adds a new vocal element to their work, and seems to further explore some psychedelic terrain hinted at earlier in their catalog. "Wet Gold", described as "an aural carpet ride through dancing canyons and Technicolor clouds", is a fine intro to the Octopus Project and excellent summer jam in its own right.

Psychedelic Disco Angels - Psychedelic / Rock / Electronica - New Jersey, USA
Well, there's a name that ought to grab your attention! "Evil House", right up your alley if you like Sabres of Paradise and/or Glass Candy (!), is this duo's new single, preceding their album Digital Power, set for release sometime this fall. Based on this and the dark, unsettled trippiness of their currently available tracks, Digital Power is bound to be worth a spin or several on the dancefloor!

Ranger3 - Folk / Electronica / Experimental - England, UK
Ranger3, "named after the highly successful technology laden US Rocket whose mission was to land on the moon, but which actually missed the moon by 36,000 km and spiraled off into space, losing contact with the earth", are a pair of musicians, one English (Jim Perkins), one Irish (Ronan Burke) who happen to be responsible for one of the most unique, certainly enjoyable music submissions to come my way thus far. The songs seem as if they'd be suited to short films (about plant-life and space, no doubt), with a cinematic, story-telling quality, along with unexpected electronic undercurrents. Have a listen to "The Photograph" and "Old Simplicity" and you'll hear what I mean!

How German is it - Indie / Rock - New York, USA
Brooklyn band How German is it are a revolving cast of musicians and a new album out soon, The Seasonal (which "Giving Up the Ghost" is a selection from), a celebration of sorts of indie rock staples ranging from Pavement to Jonathan Richman, though as their bio states, they're "indebted as much to the sunny 60s pop of The Tremeloes and the Mamas and the Papas as they are to more contemporary low fidelity trailblazers like Guided by Voices and Sebadoh". The band are playing several upcoming dates in Brooklyn to promote the album, at Pete's Candy Store on August 8th, the Trash Bar on August 27th, and Piano's on September 15th.

Share-a-tories - Experimental / Psychedelic / Dub - California, USA
Los Angeles band Share-a-tories have just released their new album, Reticent in It's Murky Fathoms (available at Bandcamp). With noise, ambient, and sunshine-pop influences, they craft a chipper, yet strange, sound that is altogether their own. "Sun Suspends Water" is a prime example of the sort of Super Furry Animals/Flaming Lips-esque feel their music so frequently conjures, with aquatic touches and more obscure experimental elements.