Listen Up

Alternative R&B, slow-burning soul, piano-led indie-pop and a late-night banger from this week

Mara TK: Te Kete Aronui From his debut solo album Bad Meditation, Mara TK’s “Te Kete Aronui” is a divinely slow-burning and soulful work. The Māori-Scottish singer (once the frontman for New Zealand outfit Electric Wire Hustle) wrote and produced the entire album and says, “Writing this album has been a form of therapy over the last few years trying to figure out what kind …

Thee More Shallows: Boogie Woogie

After 14 years, three-piece indie-rock band Thee More Shallows returns with a new album, Dad Jams, out 28 May. From it, the fourth single “Boogie Woogie” lays out some sonic expectations with its harmonic and pop-forward exuberance. It’s the album’s themes (aptly represented in the title) that lend gravity to the catchy tracks, as they address the intervening years and the role fatherhood plays in …

Middle Child: Burn Out

LA-based indie-pop duo Middle Child (aka celebrated songwriter and vocalist Mikey Wax and producer Jacob Lee) debuts with “Burn Out,” a slow-burning lead single from their forthcoming EP, which will be released on Casual Jam Records. From its pretty, piano-led pop sensibilities to its anthemic conclusion (with the empowered refrain “and we dance away”), the heartfelt track is an ode to those in our life …