Once primarily the domain of the pale and sweater-clad, indie-rock has set its sights on the beach over the last year, with hordes of bands singing in (often literal) images of sun, sand and summer. These motifs carried throughout albums by Surfer Blood, Best Coast, Wavves and Beach Fossils, and also color the four songs below by burgeoning acts that haven't yet received the same attention. Even if you can't wait for indie rock's long summer of 2010 to come to an end, there are some great singles in this batch:
Blue Hawaii - "Blue Gown"
This promising Montreal group views the beach through the Dirty Projectors' kaleidoscope. Their debut cassette, Blooming Summer, is available for purchase here, or free download here. It's definitely worth the download.
No Joy - "No Summer"
Meanwhile, the debut single by another Montreal outfit, No Joy, seems to hit home a sentiment more fitting of their chilly city: "No Summer." There's a whole lot of Jesus & Mary Chain going on with this one.
Super Wild Horses - "Golden Town"
Australia's Super Wild Horses are less explicit in their use of summer imagery than some of their North American counterparts, but the video for the garage-pop band's guitar-heavy debut single "Golden Town" still conveys that same feeling of long, liberating days marked by great weather and no responsibility:
The Sirens of Venice - "Do You Believe?"
And the Australian dream-pop ensemble Sirens of Venice similarly sing longingly of enchanted evenings by the sea on their debut album, but the disc is more indebted to Galaxie 500's dream-pop than nostalgic garage-pop.
