Artsick - "Look Again"

If you haven't fully joined us on the Artsick bandwagon, the band's latest single is going to make you want to jump aboard. "Look Again" feels like so much of the music I listened to in the mid 90's. It would have been from the post grunge time period when there were tons of power pop bands but everyone refused to use any description that included the word pop. The song would be made to sound a little quirky or punk to rebel against that pop sound, but it was there, even if it took us over twenty years to admit it. That's the kind of song "Look Again" is. It's reminding me of vintage Juliana Hatfield Three or The Muffs, and that is never a bad thing. This is a great mixture of classic mid 90's indie rock crossed with modern indie pop.

You can watch the video for "Look Again" below. Fingers Crossed is due out on January 21 on Slumberland Records, and can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here. For more on Artsick, check out the band on Twitter and Instagram.

Artsick - "Ghost of Myself"

Artsick hail from the Bay Area and are considered indie pop, but their latest single is well worth a listen even if that label doesn't appeal to you. "Ghost of Myself" is pop, sure, but it's hardly top 40 pop. Instead "Ghost of Myself" is closer to the pop of an artist like Bis. It's hyper fast paced and sugary as it could possibly be with impossibly jangly guitars, but it also has more of a punk edge than you would expect from something labelled pop. It's a great sound that plays in the worlds of pop, punk, and indie rock without committing fully to any of those.

You can watch the video for "Ghost of Myself" below. Fingers Crossed is due out January 21 on Slumberland Records. You can pre-order/pre-save a copy here. For more on Artsick, check out the band's Twitter and Instagram.

Artsick - "Despise"

Artsick is a relatively new band featuring members of Burnt Palms, Kinds On A Crime Spree, and Lunchbox that has this wonderfully upbeat DIY sound. Their latest single, "Despise," has an oddly nostalgic sound for the 90's. I doubt many people are going to agree with this comparison, but to me it sounds like Beat Happening decided to go grunge but got confused and went mid-90's power pop instead. What everyone is going to agree to is that "Despise" is a really fun song. It's bouncy as hell, with a guitar that whines nearly the entire way through and some perfectly placed handclaps. Plus, there are some harmonies between Christina Riley and Donna McKean are far too charming for how punk this is. Yeah, we're almost certain you're going to love this one.

You can watch the video for "Despise" below. Fingers Crossed is due January 21 on Slumberland Records. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here. For more on Artsick, check out the artist's Twitter.