New Music From Souled American
Founded in Chicago in late 1986, Souled American played alternative country before that term existed, slowcore before that term existed, and ambient Americana (a term that never existed). Between 1988 and 1995, the band released six records. Their style evolved from alt-country precursor to an ambient Americana that one critic termed “trance roots.” Though they received little attention at the […]
New Releases Now Reviews Louder Than You Think
New Releases Now notes that the soundtrack of Louder Than You Think: A Lo-Fi History of Gary Young And Pavement “pulls together unreleased recordings, live oddities, and deep-cut scene archaeology that traces the crooked path from hardcore basements to indie-rock canon. The set, according to the site, “doesn’t clean Gary Young up or smooth out the edges. It […]
Music Connection Connects With Woo
According to Music Connection, “Woo were early pioneers of electronic-infused music, but never received the credit afforded to the likes of Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Kraftwerk. The good folk at Independent Project Records are doing a fine job of introducing the world to the joy of Woo through some quite stunning rereleases.” Go here to read the site’s review of Whichever Way […]
Trouser Press Hails Red Temple Spirits’ Sound
Trouser Press has an entry on Red Temple Spirits, who are at radio now with albums reissued via Independent Project Records. According to the zine, “Los Angeles quartet Red Temple Spirits skillfully mixes tribal post-punk influences — mid-period Cure, Savage Republic, early (Death) Cult — with a loving dose of lysergic psychedelia (Syd Barrett and Roky Erickson are […]
Joyzine Gets Louder Than You Think
Joyzine says the new Louder Than You Think soundtrack, at radio from independent Project Records, is “sad and sweet, filled with songs worth hearing.” The album features pieces of producer and original Pavement drummer Gary Young’s “long and loud career,” which included helping Pavement craft its early lo-fi soundscapes. According to Joyzine, the set “shows Young for what he was: caring, destructive, […]
Woo Is Like Clouds Passing, Writes The Midlands Rocks
The Midlands Rocks recommends that listeners experience Woo‘s new Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong reissue “like an old school long player; namely in one sitting to fully appreciate its ebb and flow and the journey it takes you on. And it is a journey, Woo’s musical exploration results in wide sonic vistas and evocative soundscapes […]
The Calgary Herald Interviews Fruit Bats
Fruit Bats’ Eric D. Johnson just wrapped up a solo tour behind Baby Man, his new album out now via Merge. He recently told the Calgary Herald, “I’ve learned that you can’t just go and pretend you have a band behind you [when playing solo]. You have to arrange for a solo. Every night it’s kind of different, but in a […]
New Release From Red Temple Spirits
Independent Project Records has reissued the two phenomenal albums released by Red Temple Spirits, the enigmatic Los Angeles band from the late 1980s: Dancing To Restore An Eclipsed Moon and If Tomorrow Were Leaving For Lhasa, I Wouldn’t Stay a Minute More… Originally released in 1988 and 1989, these two albums sound like nothing else from the period, deftly blending gothic […]
Stereobar Pushes Charm School’s “Blistering Post-Punk Assault”
Stereobar has coverage of Charm School‘s upcoming Schadenfreude Ploy EP, writing that “the title track arrives as a blistering post-punk assault that channels decades of underground DNA into something that feels both historically rooted and unnervingly current… [It’s] a paranoid pulse of repetition and pressure—loud, caustic, and intentionally uncomfortable. It doesn’t offer escape so much as confrontation. The lyrics paint […]
The Midlands Rocks Says Gary Young Is Great
According to The Midlands Rocks, “The word ‘maverick’ is thrown around with reckless abandon these days, so much so that it has lost much of it’s currency, yet when it comes to musician Gary Young, no other word will suffice. Breaking all conventions, his unique life was brought prominence via the award-winning documentary Louder Than You Think, the […]
Ink19 Celebrates IPR’s The Well
Ink19 writes, “Independent Project Records founder and co-owner Bruce Licher has artfully assembled an engrossing two-disc, 41-song compilation of rarities and unreleased tracks — plus newer material predicting the path forward for IPR — from an eclectic and visionary array of underground artists who strayed far from convention and never wanted to go back. The label’s given these misfits […]
Clive Ives Tells Woo’s Story To Outside Left
Outside Left recently spoke with Clive Ives, one half of the pioneering experimental act Woo, who are at radio now with a new Independent Project Records reissue of their debut Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong. About the origins of the group, Ives says it started when his older brother Mark got his first guitar. “I was very impressed as […]
KCRW Highlights Patrick Watson’s Collaboration With Martha Wainwright
Patrick Watson had “Today’s Top Tune” on Santa Monica’s KCRW last Wednesday, January 28, with “House On Fire, “a stunning new collaboration with Martha Wainwright from his album Uh Oh. Written during a period when Watson temporarily lost his ability to sing (and completed alongside Wainwright) the track unfolds as a deeply moving duet. Carried by a sweeping string arrangement, their […]
Retrofuturista Explores Woo History With Clive Ives
In an interview with Retrofuturista, Woo‘s Clive Ives says, “I don’t think we ever aspired to be live performers. We were always more interested in recording sound and in the creative process.” The band is at radio now with a reissue of their extremely creative cult classic DIY debut, Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong, out via Independent Project […]
EverOut Recommends Fruit Bats In Portland
Portland’s EverOut explains, “From making demo cassettes at home in the late 1990s to touring in a full band with Modest Mouse and becoming a member of the Shins, Eric D. Johnson—and Fruit Bats’ music—has changed a lot over the years; the singer isn’t afraid to explore different genres from lo-fi folk to soul-tinged indie rock… “Fruit […]
New Music: Louder Than You Think Soundtrack Featuring Pavement, Gary Young, Edward W. Dahl, Noah Georgeson, and more
Independent Project Records is releasing the original motion picture soundtrack from the 2023 documentary film Louder Than You Think: A Lo-Fi History of Gary Young & Pavement. Proudly resistant to genres and conventions, the Louder Than You Think soundtrack tells the story of Gary Young, a true original who – when he was approaching the ripe old age of 40 – joined […]
Patrick Watson Gets A Juno Nomination
Patrick Watson‘s Uh Oh, which is at radio now via Secret City Records, has earned a nomination for “Adult alternative album of the year” at the 2026 Juno Awards. See the full list of nominees here. Watson has a grip of North American tour dates on the way. Check him out live: 2/5 – Guadalajara, JA – C4 Concert House […]
Post-Punk Monk Praises Woo
Post-Punk Monk praises Woo‘s Whichever Way You Are Going, You Are Going Wrong for being “created without any commercial concerns at all! This was a rare music of unaffected innocence that becomes a balm for the person lucky enough to be listening to it… Once I put this album on it beckons me to let it play all night long. […]
Fruit Bats’ Eric D. Johnson Chats With The St. Albert Gazette
The St. Albert Gazette has a feature on Eric D. Johnson in advance of his Fruit Bats performance in St. Albert, Alberta next week. According to the feature, Johnson describes his songwriting process as “a collage of fragments that slowly form complete songs. Songs often start with a single line, image, or melody, then grow organically as he develops them. […]
New Music From Charm School
Charm School is the latest project from Louisville, KY-born and LA-based multi-hyphenate artist Andrew Sellers and his longtime collaborators Matt Filip, Drew English & Brian Vega. Sellers grew up immersed in Louisville’s underground music scene, soaking up local legends like Slint, Crain, & Rodan, as well as the catalogs of Chicago’s famed indie labels Touch […]
