indiepop – Queen City Sounds and Art

The Notwist’s new album News From Planet Zombie is out March 13, 2026 via Morr Music on LP, CD and digitally. But now you can hear a bit of what’s on offer with the group’s delicate but confident cover of “How the Story Ends” by Lovers from its 2008 album I Am The West. The latter was an indie pop band that made a splash in the underground before going on hiatus in 2014. Rather than synths, The Notwist employs a kind of repeated jangle guitar riff but keeps in place the vocals that sound a little raw and fragile in conveying words about a deep heartbreak and lingering heartache of the kind that comes back to you when you remember an intense relationship that ended a little messily and without the kind of closure you might want from a connection that can still unsettle your heart to think back on it because not all stories end neatly in the way of myths or fiction with a satisfying denouement. Listen to “How the Story Ends” on YouTube and follow The Notwist at the links below.

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The Notwist on Bandcamp

The Notwist on Apple Music

In its typical fashion, Springworks has paired some vintage footage with its music. But rather than industrial video and the like, the scenes for the music video for “Hollow” looks like some stuff that has fall into public domain status depicting a man who has fallen down due to psychological pressures and institutionalized but the color sections show a woman flying off to a fantastical place including a futuristic kitchen as well as attendees at a play. The music itself features some of the band’s finest production to date with guitar that is reminiscent of a later period Beat Happening song with some more unconventional percussion elements as well as minimal drums. The vocal harmonies are reminiscent of the kind of jangle pop one heard out of Flying Nun bands of the 80s and the lyrics seem to be an observant portrait of the way many people feel the need to put on a happy and confident facade so to not appear weak or lacking but can’t hide it so well. Not when someone is paying attention. Much less how maintaining that fiction when you’re not feeling can indeed hollow you out because actually feeling things gives one more emotional fortitude than glazing over one’s real feelings all the time. It’s a feature of too much of modern life and Springworks sings about it in a way that encourages being authentic without having to get stuck in the darkness. Watch the video for “Hollow” on YouTube and follow Springworks at the links provided.