20 Hot Indie Summer Releases You Can’t Miss!

It’s no secret that summer is a favourite time of year for many people…. sunshine, warm weather, time off from work/school, and spending time in the outdoors are some of the key things that make summer great. What can you not have a fun summer without? Great music! Whether you are in the mood to be on your feet and dancing or prefer to spend your time resting and relaxing, here are 20 hot summer releases from indie artists to keep your summer sizzling.

1. Bursting with energy and euphonious enthusiasm, Private Island’s new EP showcases the very best of their musical experimentation.

Their newest Valleyheart EP gives a sense of that playful spirit, reverberating with boisterous percussion, energetic guitar riffs and hazy vocals that listeners have come to adore. Showcasing the band’s true vision and identity, the release covers a wide spectrum of emotions and experimentation, with the end sound evolving into something unexpected.

2. Our Violet Room Details the Heartbreaking End of a Relationship on “Loss (and I)”

The fifth single off Our Violet Room’s upcoming album, “Loss (and I),” delivers a heart-wrenching look into a relationship at the beginning of its end. Birch skillfully tugs at the listener’s heartstrings by expressing the simple sentiment that although there’s still love, it isn’t right to continue to be together. Keep an eye out for this artist as he is slated to release his first full-length album, Not Where I Thought I’d Be, this fall.

3. Maddie Carpenter’s “You” is a Keen Reflection on Love Lost

This track is a devastating bedroom-pop song which seeks to unravel the complicated emotions which rise to the surface when a longstanding romantic relationship comes to an end.

4. “How Do I Cry?” is an alt-pop summer banger that reconnects you with the feelings you’ve been too afraid to feel…and a remix just came along.

With Glitch Gum on the remix of Fake Dad‘s single “How Do I Cry?,” the struggle at the core of the song is simple and relatable to anyone who has found themselves numbed by the shell shock of the 20s: I’m so burnt out by my feelings that I can’t even feel them anymore.

5. Rubygld Smoke Empowers Listeners to Live with “No Filter” on their Confidence-Boosting New Album

Chock-full of groove and catchy beats, the pop-soul duo invites listeners to be the best version of themselves on No Filter. This whole album is a summer vibe as singers Dani Jo and T.L. Williams find inventive ways to infuse earworm-worthy hooks and infectious melodies wherever they can.

6. Anou Debuts “Strange Goodbyes”

Lebanese-American artist Anou releases his debut track “Strange Goodbyes” and ruminates on the realities of oppressed nations. With “Strange Goodbyes,” Bizri inaugurates his musical alter-ego Anou and provides the first taste of his forthcoming debut album, Radius, the culmination of years of musical reflection and discovery…. another upcoming album you’re going to want to mark on your calendars!

7. Dream-pop artist Jenny Kern’s Heartbreak Anthem “I Should Lose You”

Heavily inspired by the likes of The 1975, Chelsea Cutler, and Maggie Rogers, her latest single, “I Should Lose You,” narrates falling out of love with someone and eventually realizing that you need to let them go. In Kern’s words, “The relationship was failing and it became so one-sided. It’s easy to realize that you no longer have feelings for someone, but it’s the intrinsic difficulty of hurting them that makes it so hard.”

8. Modern Temple is an “Unstoppable” Force on their Motivational Cross-Genre Single

Modern Temple’s “Unstoppable” is an uplifting, mood-boosting, genre-bending track on the beauty of dreaming big. The husband and wife duo takes listeners on a journey of sonic styles and inspiration and has several other releases in store for the remainder of the year to keep your playlists popping.

9. Allison Jordan Conjures Up the Feel of a Warm Summer Night on “Circles”

With mellow production elements that feel like a summer vibe and relatable vocals, Jordan draws listeners in with her soothing vocals and open-ended lyrics, inviting listeners to paint their own pictures and attribute their own memories to “Circles.”

10. Casii Stephan’s “Trust Fall” is a downtempo moody pop rock single

“When you know how badly it can hurt to have your heart broken, and you still open yourself up to love and trust someone, it can be one of the bravest things you can do. That’s what this song is all about— learning to love again when it’s easier to keep your walls up.” – Casii Stephan.

11. Ashton York Expresses Poignant Regret on “Awful Time”

Towards the end of a long bout of alcohol and drug addiction brought on by the sudden death of his father, Ashton York has written his most vulnerable record yet – a distinctly wistful track, “Awful Time,” that expresses deep sorrow both lyrically and sonically as he documents the consequences of a selfish lifestyle filled with self-harm, co-dependent relationships, and tremendous grief and sadness.

12. “Around the Sun” is GALASO’s Perfect Summer Anthem

GALASO’s (moniker of Jacob Galasso) newest release, “Around the Sun”, effortlessly captures the essence of that carefree energy so emblematic of summer. Encapsulating the exhilarating feeling of new possibilities, GALASO explains that the track was “inspired by the feelings of young love, summer fun and not wanting to grow old.” He also has an album releasing later this month!

13. Ganz’s latest release showcases his time spent playing with a multitude of genres and ambient soundscapes, creating something that is truly unique.

In collaboration with Canadian duo Beach Season, comprised of Sam Avant and Simon Blitzer, GANZ unveils “Damage.” The main root of the song centers around catharsis – a release that Sam and Simon felt even as they composed the lyrics. We have all experienced the need to be self-destructive in order to move past trauma or feel emotion.”

14. Three At Home Asserts The Value Of Self-Worth In Empowering Anthem “Athena”

“Athena” is an energetic folk-rock track encouraging listeners to be resilient and true to themselves through epic verses relating to some of the most prominent female figures and goddesses throughout history and mythology.

15. Analisa Carter Evokes Fiery Passion on “Loved By You”

In a song as captivating and powerful as the artist herself, country singer Analisa Carter details the moment in certain relationships when love turns to hate and channels all her emotions into the empowering new track.

16. Patchwork Guilt Captures Quirky Confidence in “Dance Class”

Patchwork Guilt’s danceable alt-pop track serves to liberate the singer from the struggles of social anxiety in a positive, bubbly and relatable way.

17. DARK Delivers Muted Brilliance on dark_2

The anonymous artist DARK’s newest contemplative album is an innovative exposition of the “perfect dark.” “reflections_” adopts a mysterious essence as it “envisions one being lost and alone within hidden hallways, rooms and chambers.” There is “no desire to escape,” but rather a desire to “get lost deeper into its infinite space.” In this way, there’s no pressure on the wanderings of the mind; DARK is just allowing space for listeners to cultivate meaning in the dark abstraction.

18. With a curious upright bass and an exalting violin, “Mireya” can shake off anyone’s heartbreak.

Bay Area-based independent artist, Ande Estrella, embarks on an exploration of romantic storytelling in her upcoming single titled “Mireya” out now.

19. Cherry Lena’s music is rich and timeless, resulting in a sound which effortlessly displays the musician’s undeniable talent and passionate delivery.

Her latest single, “Sad Boy,” narrates being purely infatuated with a certain person but eventually realizing that you probably spent too much time fantasizing about them rather than getting to know them in the real world. Lena confides, “It’s about a Sad boy I met last fall. He fascinated me. I think in great part because I simply didn’t understand him. At the time, I didn’t realize how greatly I had romanticized the idea of him.”

20. Omri Ash shares personal stories of travel, war, success, and healing

With his new EP, Testifying Desire, Omri Ash tells deep stories of his life with a genre-melding sound that spans from ’80s rhythms and synths to modern trap drums and anthem rock. Arguably the most emotional song on the EP is “Wall Guard” – a real story of war at sea from his time in the Israeli Navy.

BONUS LISTEN: Marco DeLiso’s musical experimentation leads his album Ambassador of Good Intentions to span genre and topic matters with brilliant ease.

Marco DeLiso first caught our attention with his 2019 release, “And We Fall,”… and his newest album expands on even more of his eclectic style. Including everything from saxophone (“BBGAW”), violin (“Up To Here”), rapping (“Fly”), a cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (“Snow”) to a sample of his friends on a bachelor trip (“Love My Bros”), anything is fair game for DeLiso.