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Anirban Jee Soaked the Soul of Disco in Retro Pop Gold with ‘Are We Gonna’

Posted on 28 April 2025

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=CXuEg-fVvUo&si=hVCae7KRJQXqhecp

Are We Gonna by the internationally notorious chart topper, Anirban Jee licks retro pop with swathes of funk, giving the glow of a disco ball lighting above a gyrating dancefloor. The serotonin flows as easily as the Nile Rodgers-esque staccato guitar rhythms in the melodious rapture of the track that lifts as much as it hits the sweet spot tucked away in your soul. With a voice that reaches the pinnacle of euphony through infectious charisma, Are We Gonna is an earworm you’ll want to nurture forever.

Known for rewriting the rules of pop, urban, and R&B composition, Airban Jee’s discography is a testament to his endless creative evolution. From his early start at twelve with an electronic keyboard to multiple chart-topping singles and collaborations with heavyweight producers like Simon Cohen and Steve Peach, his career has been a masterclass in soulful, lyrical expression. With accolades including Songwriter of the Year awards, multiple #1s on the World Independent Music Charts, and extensive commercial radio airplay, he’s become a driving force on the global stage.

Following successes with tracks like Will Above My Wish and You On My Side, Are We Gonna continues the momentum, proving that when it comes to creating timeless anthems, Anirban Jee knows exactly how to hit the visceral marks.

Are We Gonna is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nikolas Lee Fires Americana Bullets of Redemption in ‘Life That I Lead’

Posted on 19 April 2025

Nikolas Lee’s standout single, Life That I Lead, taken from his debut EP Friend Frequency, hits like a shot to the heart fired from the barrel of an Americana roots rock gun. Guitars twist into contorting forms, winding fluidly around understated drums and conjuring nostalgically secular, salving melodies. It’s paradoxical how Lee crafts such grandeur yet remains anchored to intimate truths in the single that asks for no permission before making emotion and empathy swell in your chest.

Lyrically, Life That I Lead confronts life’s hardest realities head-on, touching raw nerves through unfiltered introspection. Lee narrates an affecting vignette of a life shaped by trials and softened by resilience; it’s gospel for those who recognise consolation in music, resonating with compassion for every betraying road, vice, and proclivity.

Now based in Melbourne after his formative years in Brighton and a creative hiatus, Lee channels renewed purpose into his work. His musical signature integrates nostalgia with world-weary optimism, reflective yet robustly hopeful. Influenced by classic and contemporary songwriters, Lee brings authenticity with warm textures and psychedelic flourishes, represented symbolically by Freddy, the Pink Creature embodying his ADHD alter ego.

Produced by Ben Provest, Friend Frequency speaks intimately to listeners navigating self-discovery. Life That I Lead epitomises this emotional catharsis, delivering not merely introspection, but an open invitation towards understanding personal truths.

Life That I Lead is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Darcy Thomas’ ‘It’s You’: Aussie Pop’s Anthemic Heartbreak in Full Bloom

Posted on 5 April 2025

Darcy Thomas’ latest single, ‘It’s You’, carries 00s pop nostalgia in acoustic guitar chops that lend immediate intimacy before the track swells into an anthemic radio-ready proclamation. Raw rock riffs spike through the chorus, fuelling a heart-in-throat crescendo as the lyrical protagonist lays it all unapologetically on the line.

The emotional intensity strikes hard enough to bruise, providing a bittersweet reminder that fairytale love stories rarely survive off the page, screen, or airwaves. Thomas deliberately avoids neat resolutions, leaving listeners tangled in ambiguity as they root for a protagonist faced with losing the one person who makes them feel whole.

At just eighteen, Darcy Thomas has transitioned from writing his first song at six to crafting his vocal identity under the watchful eye of renowned vocal coach ‘Mama Jan’ Smith, whose clientele famously includes Justin Bieber and Usher. Alongside producer Greg Stace, whose guidance at Ignite Studio in Alexandria has been pivotal, Thomas has shaped a visceral sound ready to capture global attention through its expansive cross-over appeal.

‘It’s You’ is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

John Drake’s ‘Ocean’ Washes Poetic Desolation in Waves of Soul-Stained Rock

Posted on 4 April 2025

With his debut solo single Ocean, the truly prodigal rock n roll conduit John Drake has torn away from The Dust Coda to expose a more vulnerable but no less arresting facet of his talent. The first single from his solo debut Separation Songs is a slow-burning catharsis, steeped in self-doubt and the inertia of ambition, as he captures the conflict between longing and paralysis with a voice that gnaws away at the walls of the soul.

While Drake was never short of emotional artillery during his thirteen-year stint with The Dust Coda, Ocean is where he gives full licence to his inner poet. Resulting in a production steeped in haunting nostalgia, built on Bowie-style acoustic murmurs and thick, lumbering beats that drag you into a Radiohead-reminiscent realm where nothing is safe from introspection. There’s a quiet sense of disquiet that swells under the surface—never theatrically melancholic, always grounded in raw human ache.

Drake’s vocal delivery alone makes the release a force to reckon with—teetering between the cavernous grit of Eddie Vedder and the fragile celestial range of Buckley. It’s not a sound engineered to pander, but one engineered to bruise with truth.

Written in the aftermath of an identity-shedding leap of faith, recorded between Brisbane and London with ARIA-winner Cody McWaters and long-time collaborator Chass Guthrie, Ocean transcends the trappings of its influences. Nick Cave’s brooding presence lingers, Springsteen’s resilience flickers at the edges, but what Drake builds is unmistakably his: a cinematic alt-rock elegy for anyone who’s ever feared they might be swallowed whole by the scale of their own dreams.

Ocean is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hayden Royal explores the pain of knowing no decision is a remedy in his Indietronic RnB release, ‘Side by Side’

Posted on 30 March 2025

Hit play on Hayden Royal’s latest single, ‘Side by Side’, and brace yourself as emotion makes a full-on collision. Like every accomplished songwriter, Royal understands that affecting expression requires moving beyond thinking in black and white; here, he skilfully navigates the grey areas of duality. The lyrical protagonist faces a familiar yet brutal paradox—the pain of leaving someone can often match the agony of staying. Decisions become unbearable when love persists despite toxic dynamics, creating a tension that Royal vividly portrays.

Instrumentally, ‘Side by Side’ is an authentic amalgamation of indietronica, pop, and RnB—delivering something you genuinely haven’t encountered elsewhere. It’s a raw yet harmoniously layered exploration of indecision and grief, anchored by moody melodies, introspective lyricism, and soul-infused harmonies. Royal boldly traverses the chaotic push and pull between vulnerability and bravado, embodying a voice which will resonate with anyone caught between resilience and emotional collapse.

With darkly atmospheric production underscoring introspective verses and haunting hooks, Royal channels both tenderness and emotional exhaustion. There’s no bitterness here—just an honest reflection from a narrator clinging desperately to fleeting moments of warmth, knowing they’re scarcely enough to hold onto. With fearless candour, ‘Side by Side’ captures the universal struggle of letting go when holding on feels equally destructive.

‘Side by Side’ is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alpine Jubilee Inch Closer to the Indie Folk Pop Throne with ‘Fiver on the Favourite’

Posted on 19 March 2025

Alpine Jubilee won us over with their debut, but with Fiver on the Favourite, they well and truly conquered. Folk-tinged indie pop has rarely sounded this expansive, with flourishes tinged with psychedelia and melodies that seem to ascend endlessly. The single instrumentally invites you to a state of transcendence, while the abstract lyricism filters in, almost serving as another instrument, adding texture to the euphonic tonal masterpiece that progressively enthrals with each new nuanced transition.

Born from the creative partnership of brothers Trevor O’Neil and Glenn O’Neil, Alpine Jubilee stretches across continents, with Trevor based in Toowoomba, Queensland, and Glenn in Geneva, Switzerland. Their sound pulls together an eclectic mix of instrumentation, featuring acoustic guitar, violin, trumpet, harmonies, ukulele, mandolin, mando-cello, tin whistle, harmonica, bass, percussion, synthesisers, and even a zither. Their influences range from 80s new wave and darkwave to twee-jangle pop, contemporary nu-folk, and alt-country, and it shows in the depth of their arrangements. Joining them on the track are Flavia O’Neil on trumpet and backing vocals, Nelson O’Neil on drum programming, and Oliver Liang on violin.

If you’re sick of folk artists who bring the same old pale imitations to the table, Fiver on the Favourite is a surefire antidote to monotony.

Fiver on the Favourite is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. For the full experience, watch the official video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

James Pots Cradles the Right Words for Devotion in the Lo-Fi Folk Reverie of ‘Close My Eyes’

Posted on 10 March 2025

James Pots doesn’t waste a second of Close My Eyes trying to impress with grand gestures. Instead, he lets his whispered reverence do all the talking. The short and sweet burst of idyllic folk reverie is a love letter penned with unflinching adoration, performed with an impassioned quiescence that draws you into the centre of the intimately minimalist performance. With little more than the rugged pulls of his guitar strings and the warm reverberations of his honeyed harmonies, he strips romance back to its rawest form—delivered with the quiet conviction of someone who knows exactly what devotion sounds like.

Featured on his debut LP, Everybody’s Gonna Know Your Name, Close My Eyes is just a glimpse into the album’s broader meditation on love and commitment. Where so many artists overcomplicate what those three little words mean, Pots keeps it unpretentious and unguarded.

At just 18, Pots has already proven himself to be a master of understatement. With a growing catalogue spanning acoustic folk, pop, and even dance EDM, he’s building a reputation as an emerging Australian artist unafraid to explore his creative instincts. If Close My Eyes is any indication, he’ll be one to watch as his sound continues to take shape.

Close My Eyes is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Eleftherios’ Hide CS01 (Ambient Rework) is a Portal into Weightless Reverie

Posted on 7 March 2025

As an alchemist of catharsis and sonic spectral beguile, Eleftherios knows exactly how to render sanctuary into rhythmic pulses with his melodic dioramas. Throughout his discography, lines blur between hitting play on an electronica composition and stepping into a portal of etherealism. With GLO’s diaphanous vocal echoes amidst the reverb-softened reverberations that envelop the neo-classical-leaning keys, Hide CS01 (Ambient Rework) leaves nothing to be desired as it ambiently illustrates why Eleftherios is achieving so much success as an architect of reflective soundscapes.

Sydney-based Eleftherios has spent over a decade conjuring immersive textures and nostalgic melodies that strike deep. In 2024, he became a viral phenomenon on TikTok, racking up over 90K video uses and pushing his Spotify monthly listeners past 270K. With over 9 million streams and a growing presence across Amazon Music and other major platforms, his impact on the ambient scene is impossible to ignore.

The artful, zen-like qualities of his sonic signature are beyond compare. Whether you’re seeking introspection or a momentary departure from reality, this is the kind of ambient composition that effortlessly bends time.

Hide CS01 (Ambient Rework) is available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Timothy and the Apocalypse Bottles Utopia in Nothing Sweeter Than

Posted on 1 March 2025

Timothy and the Apocalypse poured the nectar of utopia into Nothing Sweeter Than, his latest indietronic evolution that visualises the bliss of irreplicable connection. A collaboration with Netherlands producer Erik Buschmann, the track forces reflection on the beauty of finding solace in another soul—finding fulfilment in a world intent on leaving you empty.

Known for cinematic electronica and hypnotic downtempo beats, the Australian producer fused his signature sound into something even more immersive. Indie-esque basslines pulse against frenetic breakbeats, while angular shoegaze guitars pirouette around seraphic vocal lines that reprise the title like a hypnotic mantra, resulting in an atmosphere thick with transcendence, striking the balance between ambient trip-hop’s dreamy introspection and indie electronica’s euphoria.

A striking visual identity runs through the release, not just in the official artwork—designed in response to a passionate fan’s vision—but in the way Nothing Sweeter Than captures the feeling of interpersonal nirvana. Whether soundtracking late-night solitude or peak festival moments, the track pushes boundaries while staying true to the expansive emotional charge Timothy and the Apocalypse has mastered.

Nothing Sweeter Than officially dropped on Valentine’s Day and is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

‘My Morbid Tone’ by Alpine Jubilee – When Affection and Discord Collide in Twee Indie Folk Pop Harmony

Posted on 12 February 2025

Few debut releases arrive with such a firm grip on authenticity, but Alpine Jubilee ensured theirs did. My Morbid Tone makes no effort to dilute its raw humanistic essence—it presses it to the forefront with piercingly poignant intimacy.

The alternative duo entwine the hallmarks of traditional folk singer-songwriters with jangly indie pop guitars to resonate with fans of Julian Cope. As meta as music gets, My Morbid Tone employs multifaceted devices to lay bare the dissonance of emotional and ideological distance. The morose vocals steep the track in melancholy, yet the luminous longing in the guitar tones offers a contrast potent enough to mirror the ache of being tethered to someone whose nature exists in opposition to your own.

Clashing perspectives, musical tastes, and the unspoken chasms between people manifest through every note, turning this into a deeply personal exploration of isolation that is rarely approached with such lyrical and melodic precision.

Formed by brothers Trevor and Glenn O’Neil, Alpine Jubilee’s folk-tinged indie pop is the result of a transcontinental collaboration between Toowoomba and Geneva who extrapolate influence from 80s new wave, twee-jangle pop, electro, and contemporary nu-folk to orchestrate accessible Avant-Garde installations of often unspoken introspection.

My Morbid Tone is now available to stream on all major platforms, including YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

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