Kendra Brea Cooper

Music and what it says about the world around us. Writer and Thrift Stylist. 

Indie is not a genre •

Evil Island’s Johnny Whitney on Working with Ross Robinson and Constructing Chaos on Terraform the Afterlife - Indie is not a genre

If any band could bring Guy Picciotto, a co-founding member of Fugazi, out for his first recorded vocal performance in 25 years, it is Evil Island. Being called a “supergroup”, Evil Island is made up of post-hardcore legacies from The Blood Brothers, OFF! And Glassjaw.


​Composed of Johnny Whitney (vocals), Cody Votolato (vocals, guitar), Mark Gajadhar (drums), Autry René Fulbright II (bass) and Todd Weinstock (guitar), the group brought in producer Ross Robinson (Korn, Slipknot) to construct...
Melting Ice •

Melting Ice: Strange Fruit (the most powerful protest song of the last century and this one too)

During a cool March evening in 1939, New York’s first integrated Jazz club, Café Society, dimmed the lights, halted the wait staff, and shone a direct spotlight on Billie Holiday while the room fell silent in anticipation. She stood with her eyes closed. As an audience member, you were not meant to hear this; you were meant to feel it in your body. You were now a witness. This was an act of bravery on Holiday’s part. It changed the dynamic of the Black person as entertainer and the white person...
Indie is not a genre •

Ceremony's Tell Me Your Dream: An Urgent Call For Solidarity - Indie is not a genre

In chaos, the world turns to the steady arms of punk rock. Luckily for us, California-based punk band Ceremony is back with their seventh studio record, Tell Me Your Dream, out August 7th via Relapse Records.


Ceremony has collected all the experience and empathy that comes with watching the world through a punk lens for twenty-one years. And with the help of John Reis (Rocket from Crypt), they have crafted an album that calls for urgent solidarity and collective action on the right side of th...
Indie is not a genre •

Screenwriter Turned Musician Harry Williams Discusses Nostalgia, Collaboration, and Debut LP ‘Invisible Things’ - Indie is not a genre

Neon Pilgrim (Harry Williams) has dropped Invisible Things with perfect seasonal timing, in the summer, with months forever linked to childhood, nostalgia, and memories that feel like watching the colours of a soap slick through bubbles before they burst. This matched with the all-embracing sound similar to The National and Interpol, outstretched like time, leaving listeners at the foot of their own imagination and holding on to each note like tokens of the past.


​Harry Williams is known for...
Indie is not a genre •

Krooked Kings Reflect on the "What Ifs" of Existence: An Interview on In Another Life - Indie is not a genre

Utah-based indie rockers Krooked Kings released their latest album, “In Another Life,” last month via SoundOn. As the album has unfolded first into the ears, then into the hearts of listeners, they’ve found that one thing is true: there is an empathetic quality to this album. The group of five, Oli Martin (vocals, guitar), Paul Colgan (guitar), Dave Macey (keys), Matt Monosson (bass), and Quinn Casper (drums), has dug deep for these lyrical stories as a way of bringing the hidden inside to the o...
Indie is not a genre •

Anjimile's You're Free to Go: Finding Liberation in Tenderness - Indie is not a genre

North Carolina singer/songwriter Anjimile is dropping his new album “You’re Free to Go” on March 13th via 4AD. Produced by Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Mavis Staples), “You’re Free to Go” sees Anjimile expanding worlds of existence, tapping into the Black trans experience and pushing the societal boundaries of love and life in the search for true freedom.​Love, like life, should always be in movement. This includes the love for your partners and the love for yourself. On the track “Waits for Me,” Anj...
Melting Ice •

Melting Ice: Punk and Patterns

Punk rock is a tool for historical pattern recognition. Often criticized for its stripped-down simplicity, some fail to recognize its purpose; the chords are only the bones to its body of social commentary. Sure, we’ve heard these riffs before, but that is the point. It is the words that tie in the past, present, and future of resistance. When we think of protest music, we think of at least one punk song.​In an article for The New Yorker, writer Mitch Therieau makes a thoughtful point that “for...
Kendra Cooper •

Melting Ice: Music Against Fascism

It isn’t news that the U.S. is using I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to slide into fascism. Almost every single day, we are witnesses to the rotten descent through our eyes, ears, news, and social media. I.C.E. kidnaps and disappears people of color, murders protesters in the street, and unlawfully imprisons people, all with total impunity backed by the U.S. Government. But we don’t just sit around and watch, we organize. We call senators, rally in the street, and create the kind of...
Indie is not a genre •

New Constellations Trace a Decade of Growth on Debut Album "It Comes in Waves" - Indie is not a genre

New Constellations, the ethereal dream-pop creation of Harlee Case and Josh Smith, light up the dark in a way that only the stars can, with soft glimmers of hope and stories shaped by space and time. The duo sat down with IINAG ahead of their debut album, It Comes in Waves, dropping May 15th, 2026, via Nettwerk.


Kendra: You’ve known each other for around 15 years, and once, when asked about your group’s title, you referenced the timelessness of stars. How has time shaped your sound and songwr...
Indie is not a genre •

Meels Blends Nature and Mental Health on Debut EP "Across the Raccoon Strait" - Indie is not a genre

Critter Country/Folk artist Meels is dropping her debut EP, Across the Raccoon Strait, on January 30th via Lost Highway Records. Sitting in the storytelling home of country idols like Brandi Carlile and Willie Nelson, Meels has earned her spot by keeping a nostalgic sound while bringing a lyrically refreshing theme to her tracklist. Meels sheds a melodic light on the brilliance of nature through writing reminiscent of poet Mary Oliver, while evoking the sound of country queen Dolly Parton.​The n...
Indie is not a genre •

Ren Genevieve Embraces Radical Honesty on New Single ‘Everything I Never Said’ - Indie is not a genre

Pop singer/songwriter Ren Genevieve finds romantic closure on her new single Everything I Never Said off her sophomore EP, released January 16th. Through light pop and Coachella-ready beats, Ren exposed the subconscious of a failed relationship. The song hits with the hard truth that the whole of our love affairs is always split in two between what we say and what we don’t say.


Produced by Joshua Monroy (Justin Bieber, Outkast), the song draws inspiration from other narrative-driven songwrite...
Indie is not a genre •

Putting the A in Authenticity: Alissa Arnason’s New Album 'Waltzes' - Indie is not a genre

The last decade has seen a surge in genre-bending country, from the chart-topping defiance of Lil Nas X and Beyoncé to the masked crooning of Orville Peck. But this shift isn’t just about style; in an era dominated by AI and digital noise, listeners are hungry for the “un-artificial.” Authenticity in country music isn’t a gatekept secret; it lives in the artist’s history.


Meet Alissa Arnason, an independent artist whose sound is a map of family, memory, and the Saskatchewan landscape. Ahead o...
Indie is not a genre •

BENEE on Grief, Growth & Letting Go: Inside Her Most Vulnerable Album Yet - Indie is not a genre

Multi-platinum alt-pop artist BENEE found success by growing from the digital grassroots. It started with the help of Soundcloud’s technical ground and TikTok’s 2020-fueled algorithmic sunshine. Now, with over 5 million monthly listens on Spotify, BENEE is in full bloom and thriving. She has just dropped her sophomore album Ur An Angel I’m Just Particles, through Republic Records. Track by track, BENEE takes the listener through an audible rapture beginning with Demon and rising in the end with...
Indie is not a genre •

Diana Silvers Lets Everything Go by Being Vulnerable and Brutally Honest on her Debut Album From Another Room - Indie is not a genre

Diana Silvers has perfected the art of turning the ephemeral into a compelling story. A creative firestorm, she is used to telling other tales through films like Booksmart and on runways for Celene, but this is her chance to share her inner narrative. From Another Room is her own story through sound.


Just dropped on November 7th, Silvers’ new album is the latest in Capitol Records’ folk-singer lineup. The EP follows her two singles, June and Airplane. The singer produced and wrote both single...
Indie is not a genre •

Peter Morén on his New Album, Spiritual Addiction to Songwriting, and Finding Beauty in Quiet Moments. - Indie is not a genre

Swedish singer-songwriter Peter Morén of Peter, Bjorn, and John just dropped his new album, SunYears, on August 21st. The album is a brilliant collaborative effort with a list of singers, co-writers, and instrumentalists curated from friendship and a genuine love of music. Since the success of 2006’s Young Folks, Peter has proven that he has grown alongside his audience, providing songs for every quiet moment and big milestone in their lives. He chatted with IINAG about SunYears: 


Can you tel...
Indie is not a genre •

Lyrical Precision and Guitar Mastery: An Interview with Maya Delilah - Indie is not a genre

UK singer-songwriter Maya Delilah has released her debut album, “The Long Way Around,” on March 28th through Blue Note/Capitol Records. Maya’s talent goes beyond her skillful guitar playing; she has mastered the art of trimming excess to create lyrically polished songs. She conveys her messages clearly and effectively. IINAG had the opportunity to chat with her about the lessons she learned while creating her debut album.


Kendra Brea Cooper: Thank you so much for answering a couple of questio...
Indie is not a genre •

Annie Dressner Shares New Single, 'For The Thrill Of It.' - Indie is not a genre

NYC turned UK singer-songwriter Annie Dressner just dropped her latest single For the Thrill of It ft Kathryn Williams under some culturally perfect timing. On the surface, For the Thrill of It is a catchy, sing-along pop song accompanied by an Eagles-esque melody made for a North American road trip. But underneath, it is a scathing critique of misogyny, particularly within the music industry. 


Dressner uses this microcosm of wider society to highlight the feelings and the questions one would...
Indie is not a genre •

Jana Diab reveals debut EP, Season One - Indie is not a genre

23-year-old Jana Diab carries an aura of deep vulnerability and enough bravery to embrace it. The London-based singer/songwriter knows how to use it to bend the reality of music with experimentation that stirs up genre. She just released her debut EP, Season One, through Interscope Records, and it is a must listen. Like anyone in their youth, they take something from wherever they plant their feet. Jana will breathe in a city’s air, and breathe out art. 


Spending time in the city of Cairo, Eg...
Indie is not a genre •

Elena Erin talks her new single, Only Kink I Haven't Tried - Indie is not a genre

Elena Erin is a musical gift from the chilly Canadian north. Some of the best music comes out of small towns, and Elena’s art is no different. Her 2022 debut album was featured on popular Spotify playlists, and her song Build a Ship climbed to #2 on the CBC’s Top 20 list. With her next album, Roaring 20s, to be released in the spring, Elena answered questions for IINAG about her new single, Only Kink I Haven’t Tried.


Tell us about the new song you just released this week.


“Only Kink I Have...
Indie is not a genre •

Alt-Pop Enchantress Dora Jar on Touring, Science, and the Magic Behind Her New Album - Indie is not a genre

Dora Jar is in the driver seat of her tour van while her band-mates hold the phone up to her face so she can answer questions asked by a group of excited journalists. She is clearly having fun, sunglasses on and focused on the open road while telling us about her new album, No Way to Relax When You’re on Fire via Island Records.


Jar is like a magical creature, pixie-like in her presence and undoubtedly the main character in the world of up-and-coming alt-pop music. After releasing only a few...
Indie is not a genre •

UK singer-songwriter Jazmin Bean talk their new album, Traumatic Livelihood - Indie is not a genre

The ethereal UK singer-songwriter Jazmin Bean recently chatted with Indie is Not a Genre about their new album Traumatic Livelihood. Bean writes with intention, pulling in their audience and holding them close with lyrics that remind them they’re not alone. Influenced by everything from 90s pop-ska to epic film scores, Traumatic Livelihood will have you adding tracks to your daily montage. 


Kendra Cooper: Your music videos and songs contain a lot of really beautiful imagery and symbolism, do...
Indie is not a genre •

Signature Gold - Antibodies track review - Indie is not a genre

UK alt-rock band Signature Gold recently dropped their new track, Antibodies, along with a fast, anxiety-inducing music video on VEVO. Born out of Brighton, Signature Gold is relatively new, established in 2021. While they may be fresh, they certainly carry a sound reminiscent of early 2000s emo, complete with a My Chemical Romance vibe sparsely lined with a couple of In Flames-like screamo moments.


Antibodies highlights this emo lean-in by opening with riffs arranged like an elevated heartbe...
Indie is not a genre •

Introducing: Annie Dressner - Indie is not a genre

Straight out of New York City and into your headphones, Annie Dressner is back with a new single Dance We Do via Dharma Records. After picking up a guitar in her teens, Dressner cut her teeth in the open mic nights and bar stages of the big apple. Now she’s been releasing work since 2011, living in the UK, and she’s giving Indie is Not a Genre a look into her singer songwriter life.


Hello! Thank you for doing this interview for Indie Is Not A Genre. How has this year been for you?


Thank yo...
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