Memphis, TN · alternative

Blvck Hippie

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Memphis indie rock built on jangling, unsettled guitars and openly anxious writing — the sound of a band that never quite fit the scenes around it.

Blvck Hippie is the project of Memphis songwriter Josh Shaw, working in a guitar-driven indie rock idiom that draws on post-punk, 1990s alternative rock and emo. Shaw's writing deals directly with loneliness, mental health and being a Black musician in largely white indie rock spaces, delivered in raw, unpolished vocals over bright but jittery guitar figures.

The songs favour abrupt shifts in dynamics, quiet verses giving way to sudden, sticky guitar riffs, and lean on a hazy, VHS-inspired feel that fits the plain-spoken anxiety of the lyrics. Shaw has built the project on a DIY basis, handling much of the work himself rather than going through larger label or industry channels.

The band's 2021 album If You Feel Alone at Parties drew attention beyond Memphis and established the mix of self-deprecating humour and plain-spoken anxiety that runs through the material, turning what could read as isolation into songs meant for anyone who has felt like they don't quite fit the room they're standing in.

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