International Indie Music: my favorite April 2022 releases

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 Enjoy my favorite picks from Indie Music world released in April 2022, in chronological order! 

"APRIL" - Beth Keeping - London, UK (released on April 1st)

Beth Keeping is a UK based singer/songwriter with a captivating voice and eloquent flair for storytelling. With colourful pop melodies and empowering themes, her honest and wistful songwriting has connected with people around the world, with self-worth and sincerity being at the forefront of her music. Inspired by artists such as Lauv, Julia Michaels and John Mayer and with a Taylor Swift-esque style, Keeping has gained global attention, travelling to Singapore, Ireland and the USA to lend her writing skills to other artists. After receiving an allied response from fans and critics for some of her previous releases, and gaining close to a million views on TikTok over the pandemic, Keeping felt inspired to start focusing on her own music as an artist.

Instagram: @bethkeeping

"TRIPPIN'" - Private Island - California, Usa (released on April 1st)

Southern California alt/rock outfit Private Island is self described as "an approachable band from Southern California". With a whimsical flair to songwriting, their lyrics are inspired by ‘in-jokes’ and tales of good and bad times with friends. The new single "Trippin'" is the lead single off their forthcoming EP and gives a sense of that playful spirit; reverberating with boisterous percussion, energetic guitar riffs and hazy vocals. Talking about the song, the band reveal, "Trippin'", is about Christian’s sewage water leaking into his roommates room, which is directly underneath his own. Walking downstairs to see how he was doing, Christian finds him carefree, sitting at his desk with his shirt off, wearing a moisturizing clay face mask, as if nothing was wrong.

Instagram: @pvtilnd

"SORRY FOR MYSELF" - Allison Leah - NYC, Usa (released on April 8th)

Allison says: "This song is everything I’ve wanted to say for so long, it is the edgiest pop song i’ve ever written and i can honestly say it’s the most excited i’ve ever been for a release. it’s about being pushed to the absolute limit in a relationship and finally saying enough is enough. Sorry For Myself is about standing up for yourself, it’s about being made to feel small, it’s about being used, it’s tongue-in-cheek, it’s bold, it’s loud, it’s me".

"SECOND TIME" - Francesca Louise - Liverpool, UK (released on April 8th)

"Second Time" is a song about not giving up, not losing faith and realising that an end doesn’t always mean the definition of the word, it can just mean not now. The songwriter shares, "The characters in this particular story are fictional, but the concept and the events that I’m talking about happen to us all. Of course I metaphorically describe this in love, but it could be portrayed as many other aspects of life, career, family, friends, personal life goals".
Written during a period of angst in both the songwriter’s career and personal life, the stunning lyricism proves how her songwriting is her way of healing and creating rational reason for things happening in her life at the time. Doused with sincerity and painting with no outline, her music allows for further imagination and potential, as her thought-provoking words dance atop organic instrumentation, delivering an overall raw and unfiltered atmosphere. The musician confides, "It lends itself to the security and privacy of your own safe space and encourages you to find comfort in the lyrics".

"SIMPLE MISTAKE" - Beharie - Oslo, Norway (released on April 15th)

Oslo based singer/songwriter Beharie (Christian Beharie) is a young, old soul with a distinctive expression that balances neatly between searching for an identity and independence.The new single "Simple Mistake" narrates the naivety of continuing with a relationship that you know has an expiry date, despite seeing all the signs. Feeling captivated by a person you know is wrong for you, but for one reason or another, continuously being drawn back into the romance. His vulnerable vocals are immersed in delicate harmonies located deep within the indie-soul landscape, with a lull of calming percussion and soothing guitars drifting in the background.

Instagram: @_beharie_

"MALIBU" - Cromwell and Sparrow - Baltimore, Usa (released on April 22th)

Cromwell and Sparrow is a newborn country duo composed by Kaly Clauss and Ralph Bernabe. They say: "Malibu is the first song we wrote as our country duo Cromwell & Sparrow. It’s a song about watching someone choose something over your love. It’s about wanting to reach out to them and ask them to come back but being too stubborn, it’s about love lost but in the saddest sense- because the love most definitely could’ve been saved".

"ANXIETY" - Meghan Pulles - NYC, Usa (released on April 29th)

Anxiety is the first song out of Meghan's upcoming EP (Sighs Of Her - to be released soon). She says: "If you don’t know sometimes inspiration starts with song seeds and I really have been wanting to share this entire album process with you all and let you in to my heart a little closer than with prior releases. Similar to my debut album, Sighs Of Her discusses important repercussions of abuse and trauma, losing your self-worth in a bad situation and how we come out of that and eventually find the light within. Music is such a safe space for me to heal my own trauma and abuse and I am hoping it can be that for you as well".

Instagram: @megpullesmusic

I hope you enjoyed all these beautiful releases as much as I did, I'm very curious to discover my favorites of May!!

Follow me: @laurameetsmusicians

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