The Music and Planet Project

Hightop Hangover’s single “Garbage” is music you can dance the night away to, but it’s also characterized by dark and ominous lyrical themes and melodies. Sound like an unorthodox clash? Welcome to the songwriting cosmos of Zeppelin Schindorff, aka Hightop Hangover, an artist melding melancholy, gravity, and upbeat indie pop all in one.

In “Garbage”, Schindorff fills us with the sense that things may be falling apart, but that there still may be some fun and dancing amidst the gloom. If that sounds familiar, it is in fact a feeling that, based on conversations I’ve had, rings true for many, many people in 2024 – in a world filled with despair and unfulfilled dreams, we may as well try to have some enjoyment. The feeling is reminiscent of Circa Waves’ 2020 track “Sad Happy,” a song that, in both music and words, precisely captures clashing feelings of joy and sorrow. This juxtaposition, present here in Hightop Hangover’s “Garbage”, is a defining feature of a subset of today’s indie music landscape that perhaps deserves its own genre label – maybe the sad happy genre?

Musically, Shindorff makes a number of interesting moves in “Garbage”. Using a thick mid-range bass guitar that serves as the bedrock of the danceable tune but also occasionally breaks out into riffs, he evokes other artists of the genre who use the instrument for both rhythmic and melodic functions (think Beck in the Modern Guilt era and Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know the Better”). While the mixing of acoustic and electronic is notable in some of Schindorff’s other tunes, he sticks to primarily electric guitars and synths for ear candy in this one and nestles them perfectly among the brooding vocals. In typical Hightop Hangover fashion, the chorus is a complete earworm with relatively straightforward lyrics, compelling textures, and a highly catchy melody. 

Overall, if you like indie electronic or pop, you’re sure to delight in the compositions of Hightop Hangover. Cultivating a winning combination of top-tier production, smart riff-writing, and emotional depth, the artist fills the listener with all the right ingredients for musical contentment. And if you’re someone who dabbles in the intersections of darkness and light, you’ll find yourself right at home here. 

Stream Hightop Hangover’s latest single “Garbage” here.