The Return Of Diiv + The Rise Of Hotline TNT

It's not every day that a new song by the popular indie-rock band The Beatles drops. But that's what happened right as Steven and Ian were scheduled to record this week's episode. So they started late, and listened to "Now And Then," and then decided... that it sounds like a '90s power pop band attempting to sound like The Beatles. Not necessarily a bad thing? But is it really necessary to take an old John Lennon demo, have Macca and Ringo lay on a new rhythm track, and label it the "last" Beatles tune?

After that discussion, the guys discuss "Soul Net," a new single by the great shoegaze outfit Diiv (15:21). Back in the 2010s, it seemed like these guys were either accused of being overhyped or totally ignored. But their music from that era really holds up, and Steven and Ian are excited about the potential for a new album. They are also really into a new shoegaze band, Hotline TNT, who dropped a great new album called Cartwheel today (24:41).

Since the guys are so positive in this ep, it seemed OK to talk about a band they both hate, but also feel like isn't popular enough to publicly hate. What are the ethics of "punching down" for critics talking about artistically suspect acts that haven't reached the masses? Steven and Ian try to talk it out (34:05). Then, in the mailbag, they give the "yay or nay" treatment to They Might Be Giants (46:14).

In Recommendation Corner (51:07), Ian talks up the latest effort from Empty Country while Steven recommends Philadelphia band Golden Apples.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 162 and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

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