John's New Music Blog

Last December I featured the unsigned band Big Wave Riders, an indie surf rock band from the sundrenched beaches of Helsinki, Finland and their tracks "It's Funny Things Aren't Gonna Change" and "Big Sound." Yesterday, Teppo and the band released their new single "Skate or Die," an excellent followup to their first two tracks. The song starts a little slow with an homage to surf guitar legend Dick Dale, but it builds to a tempo change about midway through that kicks it into high gear. It's definitely one to download.

I'm starting a new featured called "Fresh New Music" for bands so new they are still in bubble wrap. Today's band is an indie garage/punk band from Finland named Big Wave Riders.There's a lot of good music coming from Finland these days like a previous featured band, French Films and this band is no exception. Big Wave Riders found their way onto my site by simply sending an email with a link to their Soundcloud and You Tube pages and asking me to check them out. I did and they made the cut and in the process created a new feature.

The first track is a live version of "It's Funny Things Aren't Going to Change," an excellent indie pop track that sounds great live. This performance is from December 11 in Helsinki at Semifinal.


The second track is "Big Sound," a great track that is alternative radio ready.

Big Wave Riders - Big Sound by Big Wave Riders

I'm expecting an EP to follow sometime next year and I'm looking forward to seeing them live in the US soon.

Today's featured band is Helsinki, Finland's French Films, a five piece indie rock band that is just now appearing on radar screens in the United States. Their first single, "Golden Sea," from their 4 track EP of the same name, is fun, sunny and nothing you'd expect from a band that hails from Finland, a country known more for salted herring and Formula One World Champions than indie rock bands. Take a listen and tell me what you think.