With three new artists to discover and a well-known artist among our readers, this 8th edition of "Quick Sound Bites" is a real pleasure that we're eager to dive into! From California and North Carolina to Germany, passing through the United Kingdom, our express trip across the planet of Indie Music promises beautiful emotions. Fasten your seat belts, immediate takeoff!

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Anna Hudson - The Way It Ends

I reckon North Carolina is the place to be for discovering musical wizards. First, we got Stephen LaVine, Leah Lawson, The Collection, and now, brace yourself for Anna Hudson – the maestro mixin' up genres in her latest single, "The Way It Ends". It's like she's playing a game of mix-and-match with indie-folk, folk-pop, and just a dash of indie-rock.

Amidst the sirens and city noises, Anna strays a bit from North Carolina's scenic nature to sketch her own musical landscape, complete with a vocal identity that's bolder than a neon sign. What might hook you from the get-go, much like it did for us, is the mind-blowing falsetto in her voice, giving off major Dido vibes.

Now, the song takes an unexpected turn in its second half (no spoilers, but trust us, it's worth the detour), allowing you to shatter all those preconceived notions you might have about music. You think you're wading into one vibe, but before you know it, you're cannonballing into another.

Anna Hudson had the listener in mind during her writing phase, as she puts it: "I wanted to create a song that pulls the listener into a movie - the emotional kind that really sticks and keeps you up at night." Mission accomplished, because you immediately feel part of the action, relating to this almost-love story she's spinning: "It’s an ode to all relationships that are too good to be true and too hard to lose," as Anna spills.

The production is exactly what we love – simple yet effective. And get this, the young artist, currently juggling books and beats at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, didn't wait for a graduation cap to showcase her talents. As she spilled the beans, "I wrote this song really quickly just sitting on my bed last summer." Yep, sometimes, greatness doesn't need a fancy degree and years of study – it can just spring from sitting on your bed. Who knew, right?

Reach out to Anna Hudson

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Jack Cullen - Colours

Colours" is a song that delivers on the promise its title makes. It's like a box of crayons exploded in a musical blender – full of hues, influences, and different vibes. It hovers somewhere between folk-pop and indie-folk, but who cares? Jack Cullen possesses the superhero ability to erase musical boundaries and construct his own vibrant universe. We love that audacity!

With warm vocals that could give Noah Kahan or Ben Howard a run for their money, this UK artist breaks the mold and keeps us on our toes in less than 3 minutes. He throws in rhythm curveballs that are as confusing as they are addictive.

His mission? To sprinkle light where there's a shortage, as he eloquently puts it: "I hope that this song will be a reminder in the darkest of times, just how colorful we all are". It is – this song is like a shot of adrenaline you'll happily pull out in all your dark times. It's the musical equivalent of a neon sign saying, "Don't worry, be colorful"!

Reach out to Jack Cullen

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Same Side - Part of It

Same Side is the brainchild of Kevin Geyer, California, who's been rockin' out for years with bands like The Story So Far, Elder Brother, and Pile Of Love. Same Side is his latest project born out of the pandemic – a fresh canvas for his artistic escapades, now drenched in acoustic vibes. Kevin's letting his emotions run wild and free, no holds barred, as he puts it: "It feels good to have a space where I can do what I want".

With his album "Oh No" dropping last Friday, Kevin serves up a mix of unabashed rock tunes like "Now", "Cruise", "On & On & On", and "POV" alongside more intimate acoustic numbers like "What You're Missing" and "Part of It", which we're diving into today.

Same Side proves that you can be a rockstar with the big boys while nailing it solo with a splash of color and diversity. "Part of It" is like a warm hug from a melancholic teddy bear, diving deep into struggles with almost no solutions in sight.

With vocals smoother than a fresh jar of peanut butter, delicately controlled, where intensity is dialed to perfection, "Part of It" is that raw, unfiltered rock ballad that keeps emotions authentic. Play it on repeat and let it wrap you up like a cozy blanket on a rainy day.

Reach out to Same Side

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Luna Keller - Swallow The Sea

What's better than Luna Keller to wrap up this Quick Sound Bites, with a flourish? The singer-songwriter based in Germany keeps revealing her album "Ocean Inside Of Me" track by track, and "Swallow The Sea" is the 4th episode of this adventure. Each of the ten "chapters" is accompanied by a music video, and "Swallow The Sea" is no exception.

Luna, always knowing how to surround herself, this new gem is produced by Dominic Romano (a household name by now) and mastered by Sam Moses. Even her father Roger Keller and Kristaps (aka Pacific K, another well-known artist among IMC readers) make appearances in the music video. This time, after water, fire takes the spotlight.

Musically, "Swallow The Sea" is one of the album's most folk songs, narrating Luna's personal battle against her depression a few years ago, and it's probably the strongest song emotionally. In fact, the very first and the very last lines (which are exactly the same) describe this feeling of suffocation in her struggles perfectly: "Oh what a mess to be broken".

In the emotionally charged chorus, with beautiful vocal flights and harmonies that only Luna can pull off, today's Luna implores yesterday's Luna to move forward at all costs: "Stop the bleeding / Just keep breathing / Stay with me / Hold your heart tight / Say it’s alright / Swallow the sea".

A very successful fourth chapter for the IMC Family artist, marking her 18th feature on IMC (yes, yes, 18!), and reminding us of excellent news: there are still 6 chapters to discover, including one with the excellent singer-songwriter from Birmingham, Dom Malin, who's about to drop the best single of his career... Tomorrow! Small world! And what luck we have to know all these geniuses!

Reach out to Luna Keller

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That's all for today! Stay tuned for new song discoveries in the next episode!