A side effect of our focus on new artists is a blind spot for bigger trends in indie and alternative music. I’m not talking about the superstars – you can hardly escape them – but about internationally successful indie acts who would play venues like the Rooftop at Pier 17, around the corner from where we live.

For example, the Brooklyn band Geese, with 2M monthly listeners on Spotify and currently touring Australia, mostly evaded us until Italian friends pointed us to them. So we turned to ALT CTRL, Apple Music‘s Alternative playlist, to get an overview of what is hip right now.

„Alternative“ is, of course, a broad term. So we were only half surprised to find the new song „Aperture“ by Harry Styles, who surely counts as a Top 40 superstar. After all, he will play a 30-show residency at Madison Square Garden, NYC‘s biggest venue, which holds a 20,000-person audience.

Hybris? Not really. Reportedly, there are many more requests than available tickets. Harry Styles is not traveling to see his fans. Instead of an expensive and exhausting tour, he’s inviting them to New York. Good for him.

Good for New York, too, which certainly welcomes Harry‘s fans who may want to catch a Broadway show or visit some of the many other attractions while they are here. It is also uplifting to see that apparently millions of people are still willing to travel far to see live music.

We also welcome a new five-stage music festival, Sounds That Move, in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It seems to lean more toward corporate professionalism than the DIY charm of the New Colossus Festival. However, they will announce the lineup and ticket prices only on February 17, which is a little late for an event starting on May 15. It takes place near Elsewhere, which is curiously not participating. The area has a special vibe, though, as we experienced last October on our way to the Ela Minus show.

Cover Song of the Week

California’s little luna teamed up with Party Pupils to put their own spin on Fleetwood Mac’s timeless hit “Little Lies.” In their hands, the Christine McVie-written classic turns into a dancefloor-ready, bouncy little ditty — light on its feet, effortlessly catchy, and one I don’t get tired of listening to.

Five Songs

Listen to glamglare five songs on Spotify, Apple Music, or below on YouTube.

This week’s five songs are by artists who fly above our radar. Each of them would be a great fit for a Song Pick of a Day feature if those acts didn’t already have sufficient exposure. Enjoy music by Royel Otis, Wet Leg, sombr, Mitski, and Tame Impala.

This Week’s Song Picks

Listen to all seven songs on YouTube, or follow our daily updated Song Pick playlists on YouTube, Apple Music2, or Spotify3.

• Immaterialize – “Everything But Myself”
• Bee Bran – “To Feel Is To Be”
• Detalji – “Another Failed Romance”
• Deerest – “WANT”
• Overcoats – “heckler”
• Paradise Circus – “Nevermind”
• Marta – “A Little Blue”

We publish one Song Pick of the Day every day. You can subscribe to receive them by email.

Nine Photos: Before We Move On

This final set from Barbados lingers on the quieter moments. Early mornings at the beach, light shifting from turquoise to deep blue, a green heron pausing in a tree, a place that briefly felt like home. There are sunsets, more than one, because some days ask to be watched until the very end. And there’s us, too, sharing the frame, not to mark anything special, but simply because this is what it looked like to be there together.