When LnZ Kade of A Melodic Daydream sent me their latest project, A Little Weird, I wasn’t quite sure how to describe what I was hearing.
Oh, I can’t help it. The pun is just sitting there waiting to be used. It was a little weird. 
Not that the music itself is weird, or the record, or even LnZ Kade and Chris Newton, the duo-couple who call themselves A Melodic Daydream. It was weird because I’m used to indie music being a different sort of vibe–esoteric, postmodern, experimental, coffeehouse, that kind of thing. Instead, while this record probably fits into the adult-alternative genre, it also has this almost ’70s pop/rock sensibility that reminds me vaguely of classic Fleetwood Mac-meets-Olivia Newton John. Not the dated kind of 70’s rock; the timeless kind. (People still listen to Fleetwood Mac, in case you didn’t know.)
And yet, A Melodic Daydream is decidedly indie by all accounts. Kade and Newton are self-published, releasing their own material with their own publishing company and label, along with several other creative efforts. Definitely indie spirits–but their vibe and sound are their own, and based on their own influences. They are being who they are–and that’s what being indie is all about. And the music itself? Quality. Hook-laden songs, solid arrangements, and Kade’s memorable girl-rock voice over the top of it all.
So after finally having time to give their record a decent spin, the phrase that came to me is “indie for grownups”–a style, a vibe that will appeal to more than just the younger coffeehouse crowd.