The children yearn for six-strings. How else do you explain the fast-growing SoundCloud indie scene, populated by bedroom guitarists and guitar-less producers alike?
At a glance, these young musicians can seem underdeveloped or derivative, especially for older listeners But listen a little closer and the digital artifacts of contemporary recording setups come to the fore: punched-in vocals, scattershot adlibs, the way songs are augmented with drum machines and electronic elements. These are not “fusion” or “cross-genre” tracks, but their alternative rock stylings take as much from beatmaking tutorials and techniques as they do from Paramore and Alex G.
The FADER rounded up six standout projects from the scene, from our recent Opener star forever to the overly viral Ebril. We kept it to full-length albums released over the past year, which means there are a few clear omissions, including ankle (his self-titled 2024 EP has grown on me) and crayon (last year’s b-sides and demos was more of a compilation tape). And while genre boundaries are pretty fake, we’ve also left out some excellent albums that incorporate more heavy electronic influence: #wings by producer ayowitty! and UNTITLED.MP3 by beige, both of which feel distinct from the SoundCloud indie scene at large.
Here’s a crash course on SoundCloud indie in six albums, featuring Ebril’s gauzy In Copulabunii’s mathrock breakout bastardaeter’s author SKIN TURNS REDyiru’s fuckboy magnum opus physiskiheir’s dreamy ariesand overtonight’s chaotically pitch-shifted it’s over tonight.