Browsing Category

YouTube

Imelda Gabs sophisticated the pop genre to the nth degree with her mournfully minimalistic neo-classic pop single, RECKLESS

Posted on 20 December 2022

‘RECKLESS’ is the latest intensely compelling single from the pop innovator Imelda Gabs. From a mournfully minimalistic neo-classic prelude of minor piano keys, the contemporary ballad that comes to terms with a disposition of recklessness seamlessly builds; utilising the dynamic vocal range of Imelda Gabs to orchestrate one of the most strident crescendos to ever grace the pop genre.

The pain exhibited borders on primal as the independent singer and producer gave an intimate view of her own shortcomings to universalise the phenomenon of letting our inner saboteur lead us to a position of self-doubt, regret, and inner hostility.

The 24-year-old Belgian and Congolese artist grew up in Switzerland, where she studied piano, violin and signing before evolving as a composer and songwriter. Since 14, she has been gracing prestigious stages amongst world-renowned artists before she started to focus on her recorded music, and my God, the airwaves were crying out for her elevated balletic grace.

Watch the cinematic official music video for RECKLESS on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Spotlight Feature: Glimpse Behind the Scenes of Gated Estates’ Agitated Art-Rock Debut Single, A Letter, with the Live Studio Music Video

Posted on 11 December 2022

Breaking out of the Brecon Beacons, Gated Estates released our favourite debut single of the year with their agitated art-rock release, A Letter. Now, there is a glimpse of how the single was orchestrated; no magic was lost in the live studio version.

The video filmed in their home studio within rural wales provides a voyeuristic view of the gently tensile keys artfully pushing against the angular notes spilling from a Fender Jazz Master while the synths and loops in the background complexify the soundscape to create an alchemic exemplification of music that is greater than the sum of all parts. Christmas came early for the Neil Halstead fan in me as each guitar note transfused choral reverb into the single while the lyrics and vocals resounded with amplified ephemeral grace.

Just when I thought I couldn’t love Gated Estates more, they gave a bird’s eye view as they pulled the rabbit out of the proverbial hat in the compassion-encompassing single that navigates the bitter-sweet relationship between our present selves and our inner child.

Usually, music can only resonate with a subset of people that have experienced certain dynamics. As we have all grown from innocent vessels with naïve views of the world and optimism for the paths we will walk, A Letter speaks to everyone.

We can’t wait for the intellectualism bound to ensue from their sophomore release.

Watch the live studio video for A Letter, which premiered on December 9th on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Empty Page affront the new normal with their 90s nostalgia-implanting electro-punk anthem, Dry Ice

Posted on 20 November 2022

Rather than releasing a sonic sign of the stagnant times, The Empty Page protested our drab and dog-eared-with-anxiety modernity by letting pulsating synths guide the way towards 90s nostalgia in their electro-punk hit, Dry Ice.

Lyrically, you’re reminded of how it felt to be stripped of inhibition, sharing the euphoria with strangers long before they could request you on Facebook and never speak to you again and even longer before the pandemic left its mark on our social appetites while the dizzying guitars drop off-kilter momentum around the gravelly pulls of the post-punk bass strings.

It’s a major shift from the Manchester-based outfit’s previous sound that has been lauded by just about everyone that matters. The duo has ventured into their The Julie Ruin era, and we couldn’t be here for it more. After all, synths were the true gateway to punk and DIY (FIGHT ME), and this new anxiously frenetic earworm that will pull Polaroids of strobe-lit hedonism towards your temporal lobe is the ultimate affront to the new normal.

Dry Ice will officially release on November 18th. Watch the official video on YouTube, add it to your Spotify playlists, or support the band by purchasing the single on Bandcamp. 

Follow the Empty Page on Facebook, Instagram & TikTok. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sweden’s Ember Street created the ultimate anthem for the disillusioned age with ‘Searching’

Posted on 18 November 2022

Taken from their debut album, Arrival, Ember Street’s cutting-edge hard rock lead single, Searching, is an affirming anthem for our disillusioned age. With touches of Billy Talent and Highly Suspect to the vocals that spill across the crunchy guitars, anthemic drums and basslines that tightly fit into the frenetically hooky furore of Searching, Ember Street evidently have what it takes to become one of Sweden’s premier hard rock bands.

After getting their rock stripes in various projects, the four-piece utilised their money-can’t-buy synergy in the creation of their debut album, Arrival, which has been in the works for over a decade. Clearly not ones for instant gratification or half-baked hits, Ember Street is one that many rock fans will want to walk down to get their heart-in-throat hard-rock fills.

The official lyric video premiered on November 4th; watch it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

O Odious Ones put the riff-driven teeth back into American rock n roll with ‘Blues Waffle’

Posted on 12 November 2022

With their customised brand of regressive rock/trailer punk, O Odious Ones are putting the riff-driven teeth back into the bite of rock n roll. Their scuzzy single, Blues Waffle, interlays melodic grungy vocals with the raw-throated outcries of contempt directed at life’s protagonists who always make us regret misplacing trust, while the gnarled guitars put you in the headspace to sink a few warm beers with likeminded degenerates before going off into the night to fight a raccoon.

Just mind how you go searching for Blues Waffle; it could take you to some dark places. Don’t go alone; watch the live recording by Fallopium Films at the Flats Pub on YouTube, which is sure to fill you with envy for whoever got to taste Blues Waffle live. At least you can live the punch-drunk mayhem vicariously via their first official music video.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Peppler lulled us into optimistic gratitude with his dream folk serenade, Blessed

Posted on 9 November 2022

Creating ample anticipation for his upcoming dream folk album releasing in early 2023, the acoustic folk artist Peppler exposed his old soul in his lead single, Blessed.

Entwining the warm vintage tones of 60s and 70s folk with a modern signature dream pop sound that only Peppler can call his own, Blessed is effortlessly efficacious in beckoning you into the beguiling grace of the release. Which needed no more than accordant acoustic guitars, a harmonica and Peppler’s consolingly dulcet tones to lull you into gratified catharsis.

Lyrically, Blessed optimistically reinforces the message that we are blessed within ourselves and that trust that it will all work out is never misplaced. It’s a simple message, but one worth reiterating, given our tendency to curse every downfall and diminish everything positive. Notably, artistically thriving within pure, simplistic minimalism is Peppler’s gift, one that he’s worked tirelessly to perfect after eight years of performing live and crafting albums with various projects.

Watch Blessed live from the G7 Recording Studio on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Lewis & Ford advocate the artistic life in their addictive reggae-dubbed psych-pop single, Radio

Posted on 1 November 2022

After refusing to bow to social pressures and shack up in a life of drab uniform domesticity, the LA duo Lewis & Ford released the sweet feat of reggae-dubbed ear candy, Radio. For every artist that has remained committed to their creative life to the disdain of loved ones, the stridently euphoric track is a sure-fire hit of vindication.

In Lewis & Ford’s taking-no-prisoners high-vibe lyrical style, they versed “I won’t ever be like them and never leave this town, cause I can’t hear them hatin’ while my band is playing a stadium, you’re gonna hear me on the radio” as the ultimate middle finger with a smile affirmation that autonomy is as beautiful as the lush psych surf harmonies and dreamy melodies. While the rhythms pop, Americana roots contort around the kaleidoscopic colour in the galvanising tonal palette.

Stream Radio on YouTube, and follow Lewis & Ford on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NY rapper and producer, Jon Harris is rich in lyrical gold after his latest hip hop release, Great

Posted on 1 November 2022

NY rapper, songwriter and producer Jon Harris tore up the rulebook in his latest old-school-meets-nu-skool single, Great. After a cinematic intro that will speak to the senses of any Tarantino fan, the single moves into more familiar hip hop territory through Harris’ down-to-earth versing style, inspired by the visionaries, Eminem, Kanye and Jay Z, while the instrumentals work melodic magic in the background.

With bells chiming in place of the usual 808s and plenty more ingenuity written into the rhythmic works, Great is an arresting feat of urban innovation. And that’s before we get to the cutting wit that puts all of the wannabe rappers in their place with solid lines that get stronger with every repeat hit of Great. Which is everything it says on the tin.

Every lyric is quote-worthy, but “I’m the bad guy for trying to speak up, constantly telling me to shut up and stick to music, well, guess what bitch, now you gotta listen to it”, may just cut slightly above the rest.

The lyric video for Great premiered on October 22nd. Catch it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

 

Paper White and the Lake synthesised Avant Garde electronica in their latest release, Need Everything

Posted on 30 October 2022

For their latest release, ‘Need Everything’, the leftfield electronica producer, Paper White and the Lake collaborated with Chris Peters to create a jazzy feat of synthesised electronica that utilises textures of 80s synthpop in the spacey soundscape that brims with uninhibited authenticity.

The tamed melodic discord that comes complete with stabbing horns may be a little too Avant-Garde for the mainstream, but for any fans of experimental art with the capacity to disturb the comfortable, Need Everything is everything you need on your playlists.

Take the psychedelic trip with Need Everything for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Paul M Cox soothes through sepia tones in his acoustic single, Silver and Gold

Posted on 30 October 2022

Silver and Gold is the first single from the UK singer-songwriter Paul M Cox’s hotly-anticipated 2022 album, Sunset Over Stillwater. It acoustically pulls together Bowie-Esque production, Waits-y lyricism and the vocal gravitas of Cohen. To melodiously entrancing effect.

The sepia-tinged acoustic serenade which bleeds nuances of blues and jazz in the instrumentals is a masterfully produced work that needed little more than Paul M Cox’s stellar songwriting capacities to draw you into the detailed narrative tapestry that is rich with poetic imagery.

The official lyric video premiered on October 7th. Check it out on YouTube and find out more on Paul M Cox’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast