Baltimore’s Underlined Passages unveil powerful new album ‘Landfill Indie’

Baltimore-based indie rock outfit Underlined Passages delivers emotionally charged, guitar-driven music via a pop-focused rock sound. The band is led by Michael W. Nestor, an accomplished songwriter whose career has spanned influential bands like The Seldon Plan, Pupa’s Window and lowell (Maladroit). Formed in 2014, Underlined Passages began as a solo effort before evolving into a duo with drummer Jamaal Turner between 2015 to 2023 and now features Roger Stewart on drums and Joe Markus on bass.

With a sound that stands at the crossroads between indie rock nostalgia and tonal experimentation, Underlined Passages has consistently delivered music that connects with both longtime fans and new listeners alike. Now, Underlined Passages brings us their latest release with the new full-length record titled Landfill Indie, an album that Nestor describes as “a sleeper protest record.”

The album sets out to critique the modern indie rock landscape, which Nestor sees as fragmented by critics and corporate-driven subgenres. With Landfill Indie, Underlined Passages revisits the sound of late-90s and early-2000s emo mixtapes, a deliberate nod to the era’s energy and authenticity. The irony, as Nestor highlights, is that indie rock’s nostalgia for that era coincides with a digital fractionation of the genre into countless micro-clades.

Produced by longtime collaborator Frank Marchand, known for his work with Bob Mould and The War on Drugs, Landfill Indie combines wistful melodies and expansive arrangements across nine engaging tracks, grappling with themes of self-discovery, digital disconnection and cultural reflection. The songs are instilled with skepticism and hope, offering a nuanced perspective on modern life as Nestor targets avatar-centric digital culture while also revisiting his roots in Baltimore’s early 2000s DIY scene.

Kicked off by “brythe,” the bright twang of guitar notes and steady patter of drums sets up sentimental blast of early 2000s indie rock capped by Nestor’s compelling voices which stretches out smooth melodies above. At once moving and invigorating, it’s an epic jam that filters the band’s influences through a sepia-toned lens to deliver a stunning interpretation of the style for a modern audience.

Lead single “brkn” slows things down with clean guitar tones and the laid back shuffle of drums as hushed vocals glide above. With poignant lyricism carried via emotive delivery, Underlined Passages serves up a subtly anthemic slice of delicate indie rock. Other highlights on the record include songs like “mtavrs” with its crisp snapping beat, hazy guitar chords and pulsing bass lines setting up the drifting vocal lines to cast an intricate, downtempo indie jam. Closing the record with “lkbkwds,” the band lays down another gripping outing driven by bouncy rhythms and lightly crunching guitars as Nestor’s trademark vocal style spins airy melodic leads above to craft a sound that’s blissful and memorable in equal measure to offer the perfect finale to their sensational new album.

Listen to Landfill Indie below