katie MAC just dropped her brand new single ‘Hot! Sad! Girls!’ today, 7/17/2026. This is a strong release with a lifelike party pop-idol sound, but it captures a bit of an emotional depth that comes with the party life. To honor this release, the Popfad team has collected some amazing indie tracks with a range of sounds to explore!
katie MAC – Hot! Sad! Girls!
Anyone who follows Popfad should already know to have katie MAC on their radar, and her newest track, ‘Hot! Sad! Girls!’ is no outlier. Heavy bass, a rush of energy, and amazing sonics carry along this party-vibes pop track with a twang of lyrical emotion. This new release won’t fail to have anyone bouncing or dancing along in the crowd; that being said, the vocals carry it all, even with an EDM basis. There’s no holding back in this track, and though the bass is strong, the vocals even carry the rhythm as well. Additionally, their filtering really brings them to life and fits the electronic vibe. All in all, this is amazingly crafted. In terms of songwriting, this is a party anthem, but it’s also about partying as a form of escapism. As the lyrics to end the chorus go, “everybody wants to party with hot, sad girls.”
Sophie Tex – Boyfriend
‘Boyfriend’ captures another aspect of the pop-prowess idol sound. This track is more stripped back and soft. It’s backed primarily by guitars, bass, and percussion, but every aspect carries the track along smoothly. There are also some synths that come and go to fill out the sound even more. Like the last inclusion, the vocals carry the track along. They rest in the forefront of the mix, and there are softer points that still stick out beautifully. This track is gorgeous, and its flow gives a lot of focus on the songwriting. When it comes to the lyrics, ‘Boyfriend’ is about someone who’s close to another. Though that person wants to be partners, the narrator isn’t “looking for a boyfriend.” That being said, the main voice still wants this other person in their life as a friend.
Andrew Batcheler – Let You Go
‘Let You Go’ is a gorgeously produced folk-pop song that captures the feeling of moving and leaving other things behind. A plucky guitar and a shaker carry the initial beat, but it fills out later with bass, some more drums, and different guitar layers. This track does well at adding and stripping back elements for a dynamic movement from start to finish. The fingerpicking in it is super clean, and there’s a mesh of acoustic and electric elements that truly fill things out. It gets really full at around 1:10 before ushering in an instrumental bridge that provides great focus to different layers of fingerpicked guitar. Also, the ending feels abrupt, which gives the feeling that things aren’t quite over. This sits in contrast to the lyrics about letting go of a past town and life. This all builds into an idea that, though the narrator moves forward, it’s not all left behind completely.
Havilah Rand – Come Back To The Living
‘Come Back To The Living’ is a string-focused folk pop track that uses both acoustic and electronic elements to build into a full sound. Like in ‘Let You Go,’ this track finds a dynamic pace by building and stripping back sounds throughout the track. The vocals take control of a mix that has strummed guitars, a slide-guitar sound, and some piano. As things move on, the bass becomes a bit more prominent, and alongside the pianos coming and going, some synths also enter and exit. Though there is some backing percussion at times, every part of the instrumentation has a percussive rhythmic flow. This gives some great energy for the more drawn-out vocal tones. Though the vocals are drawn out, they’re also loaded with emotion. Lyrically, this track follows the lines of its title, ‘Come Back To The Living.’ However, it’s a message to a friend, wanting them to pull away from a dark place and find the light of life.
Ghost Rebel Club – Lucy
‘Ghost Rebel Club’ is a dreamy synth track with vocals that are reminiscent of songs of the 80s. The instrumentation is a bit washed out, but it’s used to benefit the dream-like trance the music creates. The vocals are a bit theatrical, and it plays well into the narrative it tells. The synths are paired with backing vocal harmonies, which add a bit of an operatic beauty despite the electronic nature. Basically, it has a feeling that’s raw and human, despite the electronic instrumental backing. On top of the instrumentation and vocal delivery, ‘Lucy’ feels like both a story and a poem. The narrator is there for one whom they love, Lucy, who they consider “the sonnet of the river”. They’re in a line with the “queen and duke on the dancefloor,” waiting to get in and meet this future lover.
Dr. GO – Wherever You Are
Dr. Go once again takes his futuristic electronic sound and switches it up with his new track, ‘Wherever You Are’. Though it starts with buzzy synths, there are vocals in the forefront that have a bit of an electronic edit but a human sound. Then, an acoustic guitar layer enters. The synths remain in the background to add some atmosphere, but the guitar and vocal forefront switch things up. At 57 seconds, the vocals pull back so the synths take a lead. They have a trumpet-like sound, and the way they’re delivered gives the sense of an adventure, an odyssey. By doing this, it ties it to the current Dr. GO discography, even though it does it differently. After this, it strips back for a bit to give even more focus on the vocals and guitar, but then there are points where the synths are stronger, and everything comes together. The lyrics rest in a sole repetition: “Fly with me, wherever you are.”
James Tonic – Who’s Going Down
James Tonic has crafted an ethereal soundscape with his new single ‘Who’s Going Down’. Between guitars, some soft bass and percussion, and soft vocals, this track guides listeners smoothly along its atmosphere. The whole track is reverb-laden, a sense of deep thought crafted through sound alone. The synths bend and float along as the track moves, the mix finding different spacings for different sounds over time, and it’s nothing short of lifelike. Everything about this track is soft, and though a lot of the instrumentation feels like it’s in the background, it feels meticulously crafted. Lyrically, ‘Who’s Going Down’ seems to come from the voice of someone who needs to move forward from a toxic and one-sided relationship. Though they wanted to make things work, it felt like wasted time caught in another’s crafted world, this person not ready for what it takes to make things work.
Written by Sage Plapp
