If you ask me, there's only one way to find new music these days: posting up on the couch with a bottle of rum watching music videos on YouTube. I scour new music playlists and up-and-coming stations, and yet about ninety percent of new music I find comes from YouTube. That's the way I found “TV Screen” by Mewtone.
Mewtone is a fresh face in the California indie scene, having just dropped their first single, “See You Tonight,” at the end of May. They have a classic alt sound: weeping guitars, mellow lyrics, and plenty of effects. It’s early 2000s indie rock with a shoegaze twist. Though they may be new, they are mighty and have proven that they can write on par with the likes of Death Cab for Cutie.
“TV Screen” sounds like something a high school band—not my high school band, mind you; we sucked—would write. It’s the kind of thing a group of friends makes together out of passion instead of the drive to get famous. The sound is simplistic yet invigorating; it’s easy to listen to, but when the chorus hits, it knocks you flat on your back.
It’s mellow, good for hanging around a bonfire with several of your buddies talking about nothing. At the same time, it holds your attention. You won’t find yourself wondering what’s up next in your queue or eyeing that skip button.
I can also appreciate that they don’t feel the need to overwrite their lyrics. The indie scene is one that is rife with bands that try way too hard to sound deep and poetic. The genre is the musical equivalent of an A24 movie, the company that put the mid in Midsommar—unnecessarily complicated for the spectacle of it. That’s great if you’re into that kind of showboaty, performative music, but it fails to land for me.
If you’re the kind of person who enjoys a chill track that doesn’t threaten to put you to sleep, then “TV Screen” is for you. You won’t find the excessive bells and whistles that decorate, and in many cases drag down, similar songs, but you will get a red-hot track that will be stuck in your head for weeks. If you’re in the San Diego area, you can support this fledgling indie band at Humble Heart in September. If you find yourself elsewhere, then you can stream “TV Screen” on SoundCloud now.
