Underlined Passages – Landfill Indie


Underlined Passages
Landfill Indie
(Mint 400 Records)

If Landfill Indie feels like a late-night confession written in the margins of an old mixtape, that’s exactly the point. With their fifth full-length album, Underlined Passages has crafted a quietly rebellious ode to authenticity in an era of endless categorization. The Baltimore-based indie veterans, led by Michael W. Nestor, lean into the irony of modern nostalgia, challenging the gatekeeping culture of “landfill indie” while celebrating the emotive, messy beauty of the genre’s heyday.

From the moment opener “brythe” sweeps in with shimmering guitars and understated vocals, you’re transported to an era when indie rock was less a brand and more a lifeline. Tracks like “brkn” and “mnglx” shimmer with wistful melodies, while “erydy” and “lkbkwds” offer a poignant look at middle-aged malaise and the ever-shifting nature of relationships. The album’s shoegaze-inflected soundscapes, courtesy of longtime producer Frank Marchand (Bob Mould, The Thermals), evoke the hazy intimacy of bands like Slowdive and The Promise Ring while remaining firmly grounded in Nestor’s sharp lyrical perspective.

Thematically, Landfill Indie wrestles with the tension between progress and nostalgia. On the standout “mnglx,” Nestor’s lyrics weave between looking back and moving forward:

“It’s meaningless,” you will say-
“Words on the page fade away.”
Absolution, all these years-
Your absolution.
Nothing for us left to say, memories like us, fade away.


The irony of using AI to co-write some lyrics only deepens the album’s exploration of authenticity in a hyper-curated world. Yet for all its introspection, the record is far from dour. Tracks like “sndnia” balance their melancholy with lush, soaring instrumentation that feels like a sonic hug from an old friend.

Underlined Passages hasn’t just revisited their shoegaze roots; they’ve also challenged themselves to explore fresh sonic territory. The decision to release Landfill Indie in unique formats with varied track sequences highlights their commitment to the physicality of music as art, a gentle pushback against the all-you-can-stream buffet of modern listening. And in a musical climate dominated by trends and algorithms, their earnest approach feels almost radical.

Perhaps what’s most striking about Landfill Indie is its ability to feel deeply personal while speaking to universal truths. This isn’t just a record for indie rock lifers; it’s a record for anyone who’s ever felt like they were standing on the outside looking in. And as the album’s closing notes fade, you’re left with a rare kind of comfort: the knowledge that sometimes, being an outsider is its own kind of belonging.

Underlined Passages has given us a protest album for the dreamers, a mixtape for the digital age that dares to ask: What’s real, and what’s worth holding on to? With Landfill Indie, they don’t just answer that question—they sing it, loud and clear.

https://www.instagram.com/underlinedpassages/
https://www.underlineslove.com/

920x180

You may also like