Kendra Brea Cooper

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

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...
Indie is not a genre •

Angie McMahon - Light, Dark, Light Again Review - Indie is not a genre

Angie McMahon just dropped her second studio album Light, Dark, Light Again October 27th. McMahon collaborated with Grammy nominated producer Brad Cook to capture the chaos of life in each song, guided by a self-driven tenderness. Timing vs time is the theme, and she reminds us that time is a construct that shifts and transforms. This idea holds particularly true in an era where there is pressure on us to create art rapidly and post it on social media before the day ends. It took four years for...
Indie is not a genre •

Introducing: Cub Sport

Cub Sport’s fifth studio album Jesus at the Gay Bar is a sonically thrilling and epic love story, filled with queer joy and queer resilience. Cub Sport’s Tim Nelson sat down with Indie is Not a Genre to discuss their new album and their upcoming tour.

Kendra Cooper: There are some deep themes of love, loss, and discovery on this album. Tell me about them, and why they were important to this album.

Tim Nelson: I feel like on this album, I’ve kind of told parts of my story from over a decade of
Indie is not a genre •

Space Queen at Massif Music Festival, Canada

September 23rd was the first time in two years that the Massif Music Festival in Nelson B.C. Canada opened the Eagles Hall for two nights of enough punk and metal to help everyone scream and sweat out any residual pandemic frustrations. With two flights of stairs to get to the stage, concertgoers had to up their heart rates before they entered the room. We like to call those “pre-pit preparations.” I got to the top and grazed the merch table; catching my breath, I saw a pin that said: “moms to t
Albumlogy •

Lessons in Emergence: The Story of Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Evil Empire’ —

In the spring of 1996, Rage Against the Machine released their sophomore album, Evil Empire, a record detailed in history, left-deep in politics, and driven by urgency. Named after a hypocritical statement from Ronald Regan describing the U.S.S.R, the album followed the radical theme of their debut released four years before—a very long time by music history standards. It didn’t come easy, like anything worth its weight in leftist ideals. Personal and professional differences stalled recording,

RGF_01 | Us

Kendra Brea Cooper - Editor and Curator.

Your RGF_1 Energy Team is here to help you make informed decisions for both your home and business energy use.

If you have questions about:

The RGF_1 Energy Team is a volunteer group of settlement residents (Pat Woomer, Chairman; Hermione Beckitt, Patience Alifo, Aarman Roy, Phoebe Gittelson, Nana Kofi, and Lane Cabral) appointed by the Settlement Council to assist town government, residents, and businesses by offering information on available energy-saving innovations and programs.

Since the
Albumlogy •

The Troubled Story of Hole’s ‘Live Through This’ — Albumlogy

The songwriting on Live Through This moved through space and place. Frontwoman Courtney Love wrote the stirring hit “Doll Parts” in a friend's bathroom. On the one hand, it's a room with four walls, and on the other, it is a deeply private space for what feels like a remarkably private song. The track subverts femininity, literally pulling it apart and then putting it back together again, something one might feel they need to do behind a locked door. Drummer Patty Schemel and Love wrote “She Wal
Indie is not a genre •

Introducing: Bec Sandridge Interview

Following their latest single , Australia’s Bec Sandridge gave Indie is Not a Genre an interview about their creative process and upcoming EP .

Kendra Cooper: Hello! Thank you so much for doing this interview for Indie Is Not a Genre. How has life been since releasing your latest single ‘Cost of Love’?

Bec Sandridge: Hello, hello! All is well here in Australia. Just gearing into rehearsal mode with my new band – which is exciting! Can’t wait to hit the road with some new songs and the gals!

K
Indie is not a genre •

Bec Sandridge drops new single 'Cost of Love'

Bec Sandridge has just dropped her latest single, , ahead of her new EP out on October 7th. Despite its light-hearted rapid beat, Sandridge is singing of a love that leaves us with more questions than answers.

The song opens like a New York pop-rock track from the early 2000s that drops into a synth-pop bop worthy of anyone fixed on ending a relationship by dancing their way out the door.

Sandridge explains the inspiration behind Cost of Love:

It felt like I had lost myself in a relationship
Indie is not a genre •

Foals - Life Is Yours Review

UK rock darlings Foals are dropping their 7th studio album, , via ADA/Warner UK Ltd on Friday, June 17th. This album sounds like an escape from the confines of genre and the world as we’ve known it over the past two years. Some might say they went “pop,” but that is far too simple. There’s disco, rich, and ready to initiate any inner release you need. There’s funk, never mellow, and always aiming for your pulse. And, of course, rock, but the stirring kind that kicks you out of the house for the
Indie is not a genre •

Wallis Bird - Hands Review

The cover of Wallis Bird’s seventh studio album HANDS features her hand with half of her pinky missing from a lawnmower accident when she was young. The shape is unusual, but Bird is learning to love the uncommon. She elaborates, “this led me to relearn how to hold things, and, when the time came, to play the guitar differently. As a toddler, I remember seeing those cave pictures and being fascinated. What happened? How painful was that? This shaped me: I wanted to draw my heart like that, to ce
Indie is not a genre •

Introducing: Kelaska

Connecticut based singer/songwriter Kelaska chatted with Indie is Not a Genre about her new song and the video she just dropped for it.

Hi! So you’ve been musical since you were very young and a collector of classic rock as modern rock and pop. Your sound is an alluring brew of both. Can you tell me about your very first musical influence?

Thank you! Let me think about that, that is a very good question! I guess I would say my first one might have been Christina Aguilera. When I was around eig
Indie is not a genre •

Kelaska shares new single 'Tightrope'

Connecticut-based singer-songwriter Kelaska (Kelli Wright) has dropped her new track on April 29th. After amassing tens of thousands of subscribers on YouTube, Wright is ready to show the rest of the world her expressive and compelling voice.

Tightrope draws from the anxiety our image-obsessed society raises and sustains. She explains:

It tells the struggles of trying to navigate life under the constant demands of other people. At its core, it deals with emotions of angst, frustration, sadness
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