The best Indie Rock newsletters

A music and data newsletter where the writer and a friend share weekly album rankings, interviews with music writers, and data-driven pieces on popular music history. Readers get quirky listening takes, insight into how pop music has changed, and interactive datasets built from chart history.

Will Hermes, a longtime music critic, shares new songs of the day, playlists, record reviews and personal essays on music history, with a focus on new releases and rediscovered older music. Readers get curated listening picks with informed context and anecdotes about Afropop, Irish punk-folk and New York scenes.

Concrete Avalanche is a music newsletter by Jake Newby covering independent and experimental music from China, with reviews of new releases, artist features and playlists. Each issue pairs a few deep-dive write-ups on specific albums and artists with brief notes on other releases and compilations.

A music writer's newsletter covering mid-tier, underrated albums and bands, especially emo, indie and shoegaze, with reporting-flavored features and playlists. Readers get track picks, context on lesser-known records, and glimpses of a book project on 90s emo.

A personal music newsletter from a writer based in London, mixing track recommendations, gig and album notes, and asides about travel and daily life. Its recurring Monday Mixtape feature has guest musicians answer prompts with songs they love.

Andrew Sacher's Substack covers punk, emo, hardcore and indie through album reviews, new-song roundups and artist interviews. Readers get informed, opinionated takes on new releases and scene news from a writer with clear taste and a book on emo.

A.C. Newman, bandleader of The New Pornographers, writes personal updates on tour life, arrangement choices, band lineup changes and visa troubles, alongside merch and fan announcements. Readers get an inside look at the creative process and day-to-day realities of a working indie band.

Demos III is the Hippo Campus band newsletter offering unreleased music, playlists, and livestreams. Recent issues share frontman Jake Lee's brain tumor diagnosis, planned craniotomy surgery, and an upcoming Turf Club show.

START-TRACK is a music blog and cassette label run by Filip Zemčík, publishing album and EP reviews of mostly indie, rock and dream-pop releases. Readers get track-by-track critical write-ups with lyric quotes, comparisons to influences and a sense of each band's sound.

A personal music blog offering weekly picks of new albums and songs, written with a casual, self-deprecating voice aimed at listeners who lack time to keep up with releases. It also mixes in diary-style posts about the writer's unemployment and substitute teaching.

A newsletter from James Mercer of The Shins sharing music commentary, podcast appearances, tour updates, and merch news. Readers get behind-the-scenes updates from a veteran indie rock musician, with some bonus audio for paid subscribers.

A personal newsletter from a writer in Philadelphia mixing essays on emo genre debates and albums like The Replacements' Let It Be, with anecdotes about friends and daily life. It is more about the author's voice and mood than music criticism, and the author has moved the newsletter to a Ghost site.

A weekly recap from OnesToWatch that highlights emerging musicians through artist Q&As, single and album reviews, and exclusive premieres. Readers get a curated list of new releases and interviews to discover up-and-coming artists.