by Tim McMahan,Lazy-i.com

We’re already halfway through a fairly good year for indie album releases, though there hasn’t been a single overpowering album that’s made an impact on the national psyche like, say, records released in 2024 by Charli XCX, Cindy Lee, Fontaines or The Cure (and the list of 2025 local indie releases through May is all but non-existent – what’s happened to our local indie scene?). 

I thought maybe the new Perfume Genius album (Glory) or Sharon Van Etten album (Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory) would crack through the indie glass ceiling and make waves in “greater pop culture,” but while both are, indeed, very good, they still remain firmly buried in the indie ghetto micro-niche. 

Anyway, for your gatekeeping pleasure, below are some albums from the first half of the year that deserve your attention, just as they’ve caught mine. 

Florist, Jellywish (Double Double Whammy) – The album by the Brooklyn-based quartet fronted by singer/songwriter Emily Sprague is a quiet meditation on her life and world view. While the mostly acoustic music couldn’t be any prettier or more comforting, there’s a thread of deep anxiety that winds through the entire album that no doubt reflects a generation’s angst as it wonders how it’ll survive in a post-global-warmed-over world divided by polarized political discourse. As their song goes:  “It’s been a good time in the right places / It’s been a bad time for a lot of humans.” 

Sextile, yes, please (Sacred Bones) – LA-based trio has emerged over the past few years as EDM giants, thanks to their knack for creating irresistible beats and synth sounds reflected in sonic chrome. But while their previous album, 2023’s Push, leapt atop their most infectious single, “Contortion,” yes, please is more focused on creating dance-enabled slogan-themed anthems like “Women Respond to Bass,” which, while true, is hardly a revelation. And while it feels like we’ve heard most of these synth sequences before on their previous outings, yes, please rewards repeated listenings thanks to clever nuances that sneak out of the cracks. When the band stretches out of its confort zone, on tracks like trance-inducing “Soggy Newports” and pop candy “Kiss,” we get a glimpse of where they could be headed.  

Perfume Genius, Glory (Matador) – Early singles “It’s a Mirror” and “No Front Teeth” gave the impression this album was destined to make frontman Mike Hadreas the rock star he deserves to be. But after those opening tracks, things return to the familiar, moody, lilting territory he shares with acts like Sufjan Stevens. Hadreas has a way for making gorgeous, anxiety-driven song-poems (“Mr. Peterson” from his first album is still my favorite), but I know there’s a complete, muscular indie rock album still waiting to turn him into an arena act.

Palmyra, Restless (Oh Boy) –  The Richmond trio’s sound is indie-folk or indie-country or, maybe even emo-folk. With upright bass, electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin and banjo — along with the layered three-part harmonies — it’s easy to lump them in with dusty crooners Avett Brothers, but Palmyra’s songs are way more poppy and hook-filled than anything by those old sad sacks. 

They wisely add a solid drummer to these recordings, pushing the album away from traditional folk and toward more approachable indie singer/songwiter stuff by the likes of, say, The Frames’ Glen Hansard, alt-country legends The Silos, or London alt-folkies Flyte, thanks to their uncanny knack for finding ear-worm melodies for songs about surviving breakups and overcoming loneliness and identity struggles. Pained confessional “Shape I’m In” feels emo until you realize singer Sasha Landon is describing his life-long battle with manic depression. Standout “Palm Readers” sounds like a Mountain Goats chestnut until they belt out the chorus that turns it into an anthemic confessional. 

Rounded out by Mānoa Bell and Teddy Chipouras — all three contribute songs — there’s not a bad tune in bunch. Maybe there’s something to this whole emo-folk thing….

More to come…

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Tonight at Reverb Lounge, which has become (or maybe always was) the home for touring indie acts, Oklahoma singer/songwriter Samantha Crain headlines.

Crain, a prominent Choctaw Nation songwriter and three-time NAMMY (Native America Music Award) winner, is a tour veteran and first-string collaborator, having toured with everyone from Avett Brothers to Racheal Yamagata. Her vocals can be heard on albums by First Aid Kit, Wild Pink and Murder By Death, among others.  No doubt her music was influenced by all those collaborators, along with a healthy dose of Kate Bush. 

Her latest LP, Gumshoe, dropped this past May on Real Kind Records and continues in an upbeat, indie-pop direction. Opening for Crain is Alaskan singer/songwriter Quinn Christopherson, whose latest LP, Write Your Name in Pink, was released in 2022 by PIAS. 8 p.m., $22.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Lots of crickets from ol’ Lazy-i lately. Very little to no news regarding the 45 or so bands listed in the 2024 Year in Review. What we know:

• – Simon Joyner is currently on tour in Europe. 
• – Matt Whipkey has a gig Friday night at B.Bar. He’s also working on a new album with The Movies.
• – Dereck Higgins has two new album projects in the works.
• – Carver Jones released a new single, “Maybe Tomorrow.” You can watch the video here. He’s playing a residency of sorts at Bar 39 in the Blackstone.

It’s my intention to keep up with these bands as much as I can, plus whatever new local indie acts emerge. Few are active on social media (especially on Facebook).

Sound engineer/producer Ian Aeillo just wrapped up mixing a 2014 recording by Lincoln band Masses – a grinding all-instrumental throb-rock band from back in the day. Members included Eric Nyffeler, Mike Vandenberg, Shane Brandt and Jon Augustine. This dust-off project, called Asses, is tooth rattling: 

Matador Records has always been a favorite label, reaching all the way back to the ‘90s. They’re off to a strong start in 2025. 

New York-via-Chicago band Horsegirl released the second single from their upcoming Matador release, Phonetics On and On, out Feb. 14. It’s a follow-up to the strangely hypnotic first single (“2468″), called “Switch Over.” Horsegirl is playing a handful of U.S. dates before heading to Europe. The closest pass to Omaha is The Metro in Chicago Feb. 22.

This morning Perfume Genius announced via Matador his new album, Glory, comes out March 28. For this one, Mike Hadreas has re-teamed with long-time producer Blake Mills and the product, as reflected in the first single, “It’s a Mirror,” feels a bit like a throwback, in a good way.  Perfume Genius’ closest pass to Omaha on his next tour is The Truman in Kansas City, June 19. He’s also playing up in Minneapolis. 

Darkside has been around since 2011, and though this is their third album for Matador, it’s the first recorded as a trio, with Nicolás Jaar, Dave Harrington, and new member Tlacael Esparza. Nothing comes out Feb. 28; the first single, “S.N.C.,” dropped last week. They’ll be on tour this spring, their closest pass to Omaha is Chicago on March 13.

That’s not all from Matador. The label also released a new single by Julien Baker (of boygenius) and Torres called “Sugar in the Tank.  I’m unsure if it’s part of a new album by the duo but wouldn’t be surprised. They’re doing a small tour, whose closest pass to Omaha is Iowa City on April 3.

So what do we have headed to Omaha from a touring indie band perspective? Not much so far. Here’s what’s on my radar through spring:

• – Bad Bad Hats, Jan. 24 at Reverb
• – Pile, June 28 at The Slowdown
• – Guster, Feb. 5 at The Admiral
• – Real Estate, Feb. 6 at The Waiting Room
• – The Get Up Kids, Feb. 21 at The Waiting Room
• – Molchat Doma / Sextile, Feb. 24 at Steelhouse
• – Jack White, April 5 at Steelhouse
• – Lady Lamb, April 7 at Reverb
• – Bob Mould Band, April 14 at The Waiting Room
• – MSSV, April 21 at Reverb
• – Ty Segall acoustic, April 26 at Scottish Rite Hall
• – Nada Surf, April 30 at The Waiting Room
• – Spellling, May 15 at The Waiting Room
• – Friko, May 20 at Reverb

This list will (hopefully) fill out as we get closer to spring…

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.