Five indie and alternative bands you should be listening to right now!

With the first announcements of line-ups for Hit the North, Live at Leeds and Neighbourhood Weekender all being announced this week, we took a look at five indie and alternative artists which should be making your playlist right now.

 

1) The Snuts

The West Lothian four piece have grown in popularity over the last few years, selling out Sunderland’s very own Independent back in September and they were recently announced on the support bill to Gerry Cinnamon’s sold out Hampden Park homecoming next summer.

They’re yet to release a full album, but with heavy guitar-based anthems such as their debut single ‘Glasgow’, ‘All My Friends’ and new song ‘Juan Belmonte’ racking up the steams on Spotify, they’re a band seemingly destined for big things in the future.

Listen to them if you like: Oasis, The Amazons, The Hunna

One song you should listen to: Seasons

 

2) APRE

The Kent-based duo of Charlie Brown and Jules Konieczny bizarrely met at a chess club and are, judging by Instagram at least, always on the road performing their selection of funk crossed indie tunes somewhere around the country.

After their first single ‘All Yours’ was released early last year, the pair have constantly been on the up, playing support slots for bands including Friendly Fires and Inhaler – who I’ll come to later.

FIFA fans may recognise ‘Come Down’ on their discography with the song being on the soundtrack for this year’s game and earlier this month the duo released their third EP entitled Everyone’s Commute.

Listen to them if you like: Friendly Fires, Jungle

One song you should listen to: Everybody Loves You

3) The K’s

Well, where do we start with this new band? They’re from the North West of England, have been signed up by Alan McGee (the man who effectively discovered Oasis), and have just released their third single, ‘Aurora’.

The quartet have grown quickly in terms of popularity since their opening single ‘Sarajevo’ came out in 2017 and have sold out venues such as Newcastle’s Cluny in recent months.

Their mix of songs include headbangers ‘Got a Feeling’ and the aforementioned ‘Sarajevo’ but they’ve proven they’re not all about heavy indie guitar music with the much slower ‘Hoping Maybe’ which is surely due a Spotify release soon.

Listen to them if you like: Courteeners, Blossoms, The Sherlocks

One song you should listen to: Hoping Maybe (YouTube it!)

 

4) SPINN

Similar in a sense to APRE with their happy, funky sounding music, the band from Liverpool released their self-titled debut album earlier this year after a string of EPs.

The quartet are another group seemingly always doing something, whether that be touring, performing on a festival bill or releasing some new music.

They make you feel good when you listen to them and something, I’d recommend giving a go if you’re having a tough day studying and need to relax a little.

Listen to them if you like: Marscians, Viola Beach

One song you should listen to: Notice Me

 

5) Inhaler

We’ve only recently discovered these guys, fronted by the son of U2’s Bono, and we can’t get enough of them.

Another on this list to recently play a sell-out gig at The Cluny, the Dublin band have supported Blossoms and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ show at Heaton Park this year and released latest single ‘Ice Cream Sundae’ in September.

Another tour of the UK is scheduled for early next year and they also have plans for a debut album soon after, so these guys are another on this list to keep a close eye on.

Listen to them if you like: Stereophonics, U2 (Shock!), Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

One song you should listen to: My Honest Face

 

Have you got any other recommended new artists that should be added to a playlist? Add them in the comments below or tweet us @North_LightsNE.