The children yearn for six-strings. How else do you explain the fast-growing SoundCloud indie scene, populated by bedroom guitarists and guitar-less producers alike?
At a glance, these young musicians can seem underdeveloped or derivative, especially for older listeners But listen a little closer and the digital artifacts of contemporary recording setups come to the fore: punched-in vocals, scattershot adlibs, the way songs are augmented with drum machines and electronic elements. These are not “fusion” or “cross-genre” tracks, but their alternative rock stylings take as much from beatmaking tutorials and techniques as they do from Paramore and Alex G.
The FADER rounded up six standout projects from the scene, from our recent Opener star aeter to the overly viral Ebril. We kept it to full-length albums released over the past year, which means there are a few clear omissions, including ankle (his self-titled 2024 EP has grown on me) and crayon (last year’s b-sides and demos was more of a compilation tape). And while genre boundaries are pretty fake, we’ve also left out some excellent albums that incorporate more heavy electronic influence: #wings by producer ayowitty! and UNTITLED.MP3 by beige, both of which feel distinct from the SoundCloud indie scene at large.
Here’s a crash course on SoundCloud indie in six albums, featuring Ebril’s gauzy In Copula, bunii’s mathrock breakout bastard, aeter’s auteurist SKIN TURNS RED, yiru’s fuckboy magnum opus physis, kiheir’s dreamy aries, and overtonight’s chaotically pitch-shifted it’s over tonight.
yiru — physis
19-year-old yiru merges alt-rock and R&B on his 2025 album physis, which reminds me more than a little of Brent Faiyaz. Part of that might be because the literal first words the Broward County artist sings on the album are, “I wish that I could tell you how it feels to be faithful,” but yiru’s commitment to sonic worldbuilding goesdeep. The acoustic guitars and fat basslines on this album feel sumptuous, and yiru’s careful vocals are equally tender, even when he’s on his worst behavior. It’s all in service of his razor-sharp pen, which alternately traces out complex vignettes and unexpected metaphors whether he’s covering SZA or talking to God.
Ebril — In Copula
Iraqi-Canadian bedroom musician Ebril released her sophomore album In Copula last January. By the summertime, she’d gone viral as hell, eventually racking up a billion views on TikTok and more than 10 million streams for album intro “Stranger In You.” That song is driven by an undulating acoustic guitar and Ebril’s light-touch singing, but much of In Copula is either more ambient or more twee than her breakout, laced with choral stacks and lofi field recordings. The exceptions are album centerpieces “Anticipate Heartbreak” and “Summer Night Joori,” which are decidedly more upbeat. It’s easy to imagine Ebril jamming out on stage to the former’s punky riffs, and her twinkling vocals on “Joori” feel like a funhouse mirror reflection of surfrock and synthpop.
kiheir — aries
The starry-eyed ambience on kiheir’s December album aries feels like a cloud of Delta-8 vapesmoke left behind by Mk.gee. These songs are brawny and insistent, whether cloaked in grungy chords (“lumiere”) or galloping astride a skipping electronic instrumental (“flag”). A song like “boyfriend” is almost painfully straightforward, but juxtaposed against easy breezy jam “misguided,” its earnest pleading feels vulnerable rather than simpleminded. And album outro “despite” offers a pop rock take on digicore synths with a topline so sweet you could imagine a young Justin Bieber covering it on YouTube.
aeter — SKIN TURNS RED
North Carolina artist aeter used to be more of a straightforward SoundCloud indie artist, even if his 2024 and 2025 albums death of a jester and clown still had unpredictable injections of hip-hop, from the occasional ear-splitting dark plugg beat to retooled boom-bap instrumentals. His guitar playing initially felt more heartfelt than inventive, but he’s steadily improved with each release, and on his latest album SKIN TURNS RED, it feels like his musical talent has finally caught up with his creative vision. A few weeks ago, I said aeter was “contemplative and cutting beyond his years,” and I still feel that way when I listen to “JOLENE,” “IF ONLY THE BRIDE USED HER EYES,” and “MAKALYNN” (named for the young artist’s girlfriend). Check out our full feature on aeter here.
overtonight — it's over tonight
overtonight’s pinched vocals initially put me off, but it’s over tonight won me over with its pitch-shifting antics and propulsive chord progressions. The Massachusetts musician describes his alt-rock as “some headphone shit,” and sometimes his songs can feel a little like holding your finger down to play a TikTok at doublespeed. But his bluntly direct lyrics are undeniably charming, which helps stick the melodramatic landing on tracks like “crying in my room” and “drinking thinking of you.” Even when he’s trotting out well-worn toxic romance tropes (“haunt my home”), he brings a refreshing clarity and self-effacement.I’ve come to see his squeaky vocal processing in a lineage with chiptune bands like Anamanaguchi and The Femcels as much as 645AR, and once your ears are sufficiently trained, you’ll be free to enjoy the satirically stupid “dropout” and the unabashed camaraderie of pick-your-head-up anthem “comfort song 4 u.”
bunii — bastard
bunii became the Lebron of my groupchat with his January 2025 EP 8:30 is too early, but it was his July album bastard that convinced me the teenage musician could take his math rock to way wider audiences. Unlike plenty of smaller artists in the SoundCloud indie scene, bunii is a guitarist first and foremost, pulling ideas from jazz, J-rock, and pluggnb while noodling away on his six-string at home. His occasionally angsty songs just jam, from hard-hitting outro “deaf” to ankle collab “eat my dust.” I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you to check out the album’s biggest hit “so good,” but I’m personally partial to jangly “selah,” iconically suicidal “gown,” and the sparser arrangement on “watermolen.” Bunii recently dropped a new single “crash” from his upcoming album Virgilio, out next Friday; read our full review of that song here.
