Blog era is back, baby!
Ok. Not really. But it could be! While the blogosphere has certainly shrunk over the years, there are still plenty of voices out there looking to share the art that they’re passionate about. To that end, we’re starting a blogroll. Right here. This is the page.
So as to not overwhelm, we’ll be updating this incrementally over time. We hope this will be a helpful resource for both readers looking to discover new music, as well as artists hoping to find publications to pitch to.
The Blogs
After garnering a sizeable following for its poetic, one-line reviews on social media, Small Albums went on hiatus in May of 2019. But this year, they’ve returned in new, better form: maintaining the quirky charm and bite-sized coverage that helped them stand out while complementing it with more long-form content on their blog. Small Albums is now a best-of-both-worlds outlet featuring full reviews of tracks and albums alongside their signature style, playlists, premieres, and list features. You can submit to them for potential coverage here.
Started in early 2020 as a podcast by Andrea Quinn and Kitzy, Left of the Dial has since expanded into a live sessions series and a blog. Jenn Coulter handles editorial, which features news, reviews, thoughtfully curated lists such as 10 Queer Hip-Hop Artists You Should Be Listening To, and the Home Studio Stories interview series. They seem to have no strict rules about coverage regarding genre beyond “we like what we like,” and they’re also good about LGBTQ+ representation. You can find contact info here. Left of the Dial also has a Patreon you can support.
Named for a track by the stellar Scott Miller’s The Loud Family, Rosy Overdrive immediately earns its cred among those inclined towards power pop, jangle pop, and sounds that fall under the broader umbrella of indie and alternative rock. This blog’s most regular feature is a column called Pressing Concerns: where they round up a small selection of albums and EPs, breaking down each in one to three grafs on average. They also do playlists, “best of” lists, and the odd dedicated album review. You can submit by emailing thewaistandtheknees@gmail.com (a reference to yet another brilliant Scott Miller tune, Game Theory’s “The Waist and the Knees”) or by contacting them on socials. More details here.
Formerly known as Wake the Deaf, brothers Jon and Liam Doyle rebranded their blog as Various Small Flames in May of 2017. Since then, they’ve continued to be a steady pair of voices in the independent blog world. They tend to gravitate towards indie rock, singer-songwriter, and folk music but are good about keeping open minds. Their coverage includes album and EP reviews, interviews, round-up features, and–while updated less frequently–a section for book reviews. They’re on SubmitHub, but you can still submit normally via email. More details here.
Mutant Zones just celebrated its one-year anniversary, but the blog–solely run by the mysteriously named zin–already boasts over 400 posts: a sign of passion and consistency. Fans of electronic and experimental music–as well as the artists who make it–should check this one out. Posts are short–understandably so, given the volume of music one person is sharing–but also dedicated. zin always has something to say and isn’t going to carelessly bury you in a list. You can submit music to Mutant Zones via email (mutantzones@gmail.com) or–as zin lists in the site’s Twitter bio–“DM me bandcamp yum codes for reviews.”
