Browsing Category

Grunge

Sabres sold sludged-up punk sanctuary in their latest single, Moronic

Posted on 29 May 2023

Now the 2006 sci-fi comedy film, Idiocracy, has become a contemporary documentary, the intelligent amongst us are left picking up the pieces of dissonance; Sabres’ latest sludged-up punk track, Moronic, is the ultimate antidote to the frustration and futility that comes as a consequence of living in the 21st century.

After noting how fans at live shows got into the groove of the dystopia-reflecting release, the Portsmouth-hailing duo shared the primal fury of their latest single that bares teeth at the right-wing press with the airwaves to extend further catharsis to the disenfranchised by association with their common sense. The incorporation of a heavily distorted reading from Nineteen Eighty-Four was a vindicating touch to the flawlessly tension-contorted release.

You will have plenty of chances to catch Moronic live as Sabres have filled their 2023 gig calendar with slots supporting Mondo Generator in addition to festival billings and dates with the support act, Hot Juice.

Moronic was released via Mayfield Records on May 19; get it in your ears by heading to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lewis Shepperd sharpened the teeth of his alt-rock hooks for his latest single, Bite

Posted on 27 May 2023

Forget the latest single from Royal Blood; Southampton’s Lewis Shepperd is more highly suspect than, well… Highly Suspect in his bass riff-driven, grunged up, and modernistically garagey track, Bite.

Entwining melodicism in the same vein as Nirvana’s Heart-Shaped Box around the higher-octane elements of this spectrally sublime feat of more Emo than Placebo alt-rock resulted in a multi-faceted incarnation of accursed seduction.

The guttural vocal breakdown towards the outro is a stark contrast to the placid harbingering harmonies that led to the fierce middle-eight that could give Frank Carter a run for his money.

After recording and mixing Bite at home, it was none other than Pete Maher (Pixies, Linkin Park & The Rolling Stones), who mastered the monolithically sharp release that will impale you on the hooks.

Bite was officially released on May 25; stream it on Spotify, or check out the official video featuring model & actress Ola Johnson on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Evie Lulu has launched her superlative sludge pop single, Adored

Posted on 15 May 2023

After earning her stripes as a music producer, the singer-songwriter, Evie Lulu, made her latest single, Adored, definitively her own. Beyond the similarities to Daughter and Warpaint, the lyrically-driven artist is exemplary in her determination to allow spilled ink to manifest as melodic triumphs that catch in your throat before they take up residence as a sludgy indie pop earworm you will always want to appease by giving her candidly kaleidoscopic soundscapes repeat attention.

Pop, rock, and grunge may be common ingredients in many modern-day amalgams, but the songstress who takes inspiration from Bon Iver, Kate Bush, The Sundays and Silverchair when orchestrating her reflectively uninhibited releases is in a league of her own. From the delicious distortion on the guitars to the vulnerability within the vibrato in the vocal lines, Adored is a bitter-sweet sonic dream, which is all too efficacious in its ability to hammer home the emotions expressed.

Adored hit the airwaves on March 1; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Insomniacs unite around Layla Bina’s grunged-up feat of indie rock, Hypomania (I’m Awake)

Posted on 5 May 2023

For her latest single, Hypomania (I’m Awake), the up-and-coming one-woman powerhouse, Layla Bina grunged up indie rock to send a few postcards to the 90s Seattle sound and Riot Grrrl era while raucously bringing in the future of aural insomniac angst.

The SoCal-born and raised Iranian-American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist doesn’t let her classical vocal training get in the way of delivering rip-roaring vindicating vocal lines that would make her a better match for Kurt Cobain than Courtney. There are plenty of Nirvana nuances to chew on in the catchy chord progressions that will leave you rolling with the punches of her insightful lyricism.

Just as Kathleen Hanna brought feminist theory out of the academic sphere and into the public domain as she created the third wave of feminism, Layla uses her UCLA psychology education to spill insight onto the airwaves and spark conversations around mental health that get pushed under the rug in mainstream discourses. If any alt-rock act deserves to be iconic, it is Layla Bina, who is currently tucked away in the studio recording her debut album with the Grammy Award-winning producer, Josh Monroy.

Stream Hypomania (I’m Awake) from May 5th on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

snailosaur unveiled grungy indie-rock poetry via their single, Fake Cobblestone Alleys

Posted on 24 April 2023
snailosaur by snailosaur

The Brooklyn, NY brother duo snailosaur showed us exactly how they came about their moniker with the scuzzy Dinosaur Jr. tones and verbiage in their latest indie-rock evocative ride, Fake Cobblestone Alleys.

Reminiscences aside, the spoken word sermonics of the single bleed poetry into exhilarant guitars punctuated by the driving drum fills. Every aspect of the track was superlatively stitched together to become the sum of all its melodically fuzzy parts.

It is worth being part of the disenfranchised down-and-out masses just to tear the honey from this apathetically sweet projection of everyman blues. Snailosaur’s mark has been definitively left on the landscape of grunge via Fake Cobblestone Alleys; it’s a nihilist’s dream come to sonic fruition.

Stream & purchase Fake Cobblestone Alleys on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK alt-rock act Sustinere bit back in their fuzzed-up hit, Rabies Part 2

Posted on 13 April 2023

Brimming up from the North Wales Borderlands, the grungy alt-rock duo, Sustinere, implanted more idiosyncratically electric energy onto the airwaves with their latest single, Rabies Part 2.

After coming together through a love of Royal Blood and Nirvana, making pulverising stripped-back rock became a cornerstone of their manifesto, and Sustinere effortlessly succeeded with this hook-rife hit that will melodically tattoo itself to your temporal lobe from your first rendezvous with it. The zany croons across the monolithically scuzzy guitars proved to be an addictive recipe that only these artisans of angst can concoct.

It is more than refreshing to find an act who only takes their sound seriously and leaves all pretension at the door of the recording studio. Their tongue in cheeky cheek energy and aesthetics is the antithesis of what you would expect from your run-of-the-mill artist; Sustinere practically detonated the factory with their single that revolves around the morbidly endearing reprise of “I had to put my baby down”.

Watch the hilariously self-ironic music video for Rabies Part 2 by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

The gloves are off in Tough on Fridays’ swaggeringly infectious indie alt-rock hit, The Awakening

Posted on 8 April 2023

Taken from their trailblazing alt-rock, indie, and grunge amalgam of an LP, The Encore You Didn’t Ask For, Tough on Fridays’ standout single, The Awakening, is a sure-fire hit of vindication for anyone who knows how bitter-sweet goodbyes can be when betrayal was the final parting shot.

With the same energy as Shitlist by L7, the grungy and Riot Grrrl to the core powerhouse lived up to the hype that has been brewing around them as they’ve taken the Texas music circuit by storm in the last six years.

The compellingly raw vocal lines add a demure touch to the swaggering power rock instrumental aesthetics of the track, which prove how much Tough on Fridays has honed their sound. Their infectious scream-the-chorus-from-the-top-of-your-lungs appeal is only getting more visceral with each new release.

It’s rare to find an outfit offering as much substance as style, but Tough on Fridays is anything but your run-of-the-mill paint-by-numbers outfit. Their soul, scorn and scuzzy riffs are just a few of the reasons you should reserve a place for them on your radar.

The Awakening is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The 60s and 70s have swung back with riotous force in At the Arcade’s scuzzed-up slice of garagey alt-rock, With You

Posted on 3 April 2023

At the Arcade served up a sleazily scuzzed slice of garagey alt-rock for their latest single, With You, which puts the emotion into as much overdrive as the riffs. Somewhere between the 60s and the 80s, the riotously eclectic outfit finds its distinctive-by-design prodigal edge that will leave you ricocheting between past eras while affirming that THIS is the sound of the future.

Ensuring that the bouncy and brashy chorus guitars are just as infectious as the salaciously sweet vocals, With You is a track you definitely won’t mind tattooed across your temporal lobe. The Rotherham indie rock aficionados have been revered for their superlatively high-energy shows since 2017. It is about time the airwaves got a taste of their harmony-heavy fervour.

With You was officially released on March 24th. Check it out on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Boston Meets Britpop in djamesk13’s Alt-90s International Convergence, You Said.

Posted on 23 February 2023

London’s David Kemp has slid back under his djamesk13 moniker once again to release yet another feat of evocative lo-fi alternative alchemy by the grace of his 8-track recorder. You Said carries the raw lyricality of Disco 2000 while the instrumentals look far beyond 90s Britpop for their grit and sludge.

With no-wave-y motifs and crunchy guitars that bite in the same vein as Pixies, You Said is a riotous smorgasbord of Alt-90s nostalgia. Judging by the streaming stats on this release shortly after it grunged up the airwaves, clearly, plenty have an appetite for djamesk13’s seemingly effortless ingenuity.

You Said is now available to Stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

She Burns Red delivered a solicitous paradox of euphoric ennui with their latest single, Out of Darkness

Posted on 21 February 2023
She Burns Red

When the lyrics hit harder than the hard-rock riffs and cacophonic percussive immensity, you know you have just discovered a band that cuts above the one-dimensional fray. West Lothian’s high-octane remedy to assimilated monotony, She Burns Red, stormed through the shallow puddles left behind by other acts on the scene with their latest single, Out of Darkness.

The juggernautical grungy melodicism which leaves you with bated breath until you get the sweet relief from the paradoxical choruses where euphoric ennui awaits is one thing. The intensity of the vindicating candour amplified by the solicitous reprise of “don’t you wait for me” in the lyrics that capture the hindrance of darkness and the compulsion to push others from the sidelines of despair is another entirely.

“We’ve got nothing left to say but so much goes untold, white walls filled with silent sorrow” captures the alienation of disconnected despondency to such a degree that the resonance burns red hot through this breakneck ride of riff-driven rancour.

Out of Darkness will officially release on February 24th; pre-save it here.

Follow She Burns Red on Facebook & Instagram. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast