Perhaps a spiritual sequel of sorts to the Inimitable Indie Introductories mix. I know most of you probably don’t come here for this sort of music, but for better or worse this is the stuff that’s getting me through the dark, frigid doldrums. Naïve lyrics, earworm anthem-choruses, brickwalled overproduction (almost all of these tracks have noticeable artifacting—part of the charm, if you ask me), and just, well, righteous. No idea if anyone other than me will get anything out of it, but when have I ever cared about that?

The Sheila Divine, the self-described “Buffalo Bills of music”

00:00. The Sheila Divine – “Kardashian Plastic” from The Things That Once Were (Zippah, 2012)

02:09. Wintersleep – “Jaws of Life” from Untitled (Dine Alone, 2005)

05:12. Foreignfox – “Exit Frame” from The Long Jump (self-released, 2021)

09:14. Vigo Thieves – “Forever” from Heartbeats (Hijacked, 2016)

13:31. Laivue – “Saattoväkeä” from Laivue (Ektro, 2010)

18:52. Then Thickens – “My Amsterdam” from Colic (Hatch, 2015)

24:48. Restorations – “The Red Door” from LP5000 (Tiny Engines, 2018)

28:23. Outsider – “Míol Mór Mara” from Karma of Youth (OK! Good, 2020)

32:08. Kodaline – “Ready” from Coming Up for Air (B-Unique, 2015)

36:00. Kings of Leon – “Waste a Moment” from Walls (RCA, 2016)

39:02. Casa Murilo – “Head for the Door” from The Rise and Fall (Sony, 2012)

42:51. Sleeperstar – “Everything Must Find Its Place” from Just Another Ghost (Duckpin, 2010)