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California

Third Coyote poured an indie country elixir for the soul with ‘Heartland’

Posted on 3 December 2023

Third Coyote’s latest defiance of the aural ordinary, Heartland, is a testament to the timelessly alluring talents of singer-songwriter Laura Williams and her band. The experimental release refuses to pledge allegiance to any singular genre; instead, it presents a fusion of soulful melodies, bluesy depth, and rock vigour.

It’s a musical elixir that invites listeners to take a shot of pure aural escapism, promising an intoxicating journey through sound; the production allows every undertone to shine without overpowering any of the other elements in the nostalgic smorgasbord of sonic style.

The soulful underpinnings are reminiscent of an intimate blues club, while the rock components add a robust, heart-pumping energy, creating a fresh and familiar echo of the 70s and 90s. The Bay Area-rooted band’s ability to transcend genre and era is evident in every scintillating note. With Heartland, they beckon to those who seek to discover the uncharted territories of sound and emotion; pack light and prepare to take the indie country rock trip of a lifetime.

Heartland hit the airwaves on November 18; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Susan Ritchie lit a beacon of tranquillity and wisdom in ‘It’s High Time’

Posted on 22 November 2023

Susan Ritchie, whose name has become synonymous with authentic artistry on the Central CA Coast, lit a beacon of tranquillity and wisdom in the standout single, It’s High Time, taken from her debut album, Life is for the Living. So much more than solely a musical score, it’s a journey into the heart of what it means to find peace and meaning amidst the chaos of modernity.

Ritchie gave the adage ‘live and let live’ brand-new potency within It’s High Time by speaking chapter and verse on how it takes nothing to accept trans men and women who are just looking to align their minds with their appearance. Her ability to weave everyday experiences into her songwriting, while giving a nod to the universal experiences we all share, is on full display here. The song is a reminder to pause, reflect, and embrace the moment, a message that resonates now more than ever when it is too easy to be consumed by the insanity which breeds on every corner of the internet.

The influence of her early inspirations, from James Taylor’s finger-picking to the sweet yet sassy blues of Bonnie Raitt, is evident in the song’s composition. Yet, It’s High Time is unmistakably a Susan Ritchie creation. It’s a song that showcases her evolution as an artist, blending soul, blues, rock, and folk into a seamless and captivating experience.

Regardless of how many people find comfort in Susan Ritchie’s soulfully sonorous sound, she speaks directly to you through the intimacy of her lyrics and the magnetically powerful delivery of her gilded-in-introspective-gold lines.

Stream It’s High Time on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lana Oniel reached the pinnacle of cerebral electro-pop with her darkly ensnaring sophomore single, hypothalamus

Posted on 14 November 2023

After finding her fire in the City of Angels, Lana Oniel put the devil on her shoulder to release her darkly ensnaring sophomore single, hypothalamus, which reaches the pinnacle of cerebral electro-pop.

The moodily spectral release seductively defies the pop mould with a vocal delivery which finds a way to stylise histrionic eccentricity and a beat that consistently switches, never allowing you to feel complacent in the aesthetic. hypothalamus wasn’t orchestrated to entice you into comfort; Oniel efficaciously used her early years in musical theatre to confront her rapidly growing audience with an earworm which makes no bones about using its claws to sink into your synapses.

If you can imagine meeting Lady Gaga in a dark and nefarious dream soundtracked by Melleefresh and Chelsea Wolfe, you’ll get an idea of what awaits when you delve into this perfect follow-up to Oniel’s debut, Hard Just to Be.

Hypothalamus was officially released on November 2nd. Stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

It’s all bells and no whistles in Roman Gastelum’s ingenuitive hip-hop track, Pavlov’s Dogs

Posted on 14 November 2023

After a bell ring in the intro to pay a conceptual nod to the iconic conditioning experiment, Roman Gastelum moves straight in with an amalgam of funk grooves, jazzy timbres, and hip-hop beats in his standout single, Pavlov’s Dogs taken from his debut LP, EQlibrium.

With the single and LP title, we probably don’t need to tell you that the LA-based bassist, vocalist, lyricist, and composer is an intellectual cut above the rest. In fact, if there were any more genius touches to this release, Roman Gastelum’s door would be blown off its hinges after an army of sapiophiles came knocking. But it is far from just pretentious art over substance.

The sublime sonic atmosphere conjured around the bruisingly clever bars by the artist who received his Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from the Musicians Institute in LA ensured that even on the 100th listen, you’ll take something new from Pavlov’s Dogs. As the cherry on the urban alchemist cake, the spacey sci-fi surrealism towards the outro is a lesson in experimental scintillation.

Pavlov’s Dogs is now available to stream on Spotify with the rest of the EQlibrium LP which dropped on September 29.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Skinny G Radio’s latest hit ‘Whatcha Gonna Do?’ is a euphoric indie earworm worth tuning in for.

Posted on 10 November 2023

Skinny G Radio rode their authentic indie pop signature across the cosmos in the latest exuberantly sweet hit, Whatcha Gonna Do? The sugared-with-uninhibited passion vocal lines run in parallel to the experimental instrumentals which dabble in 80s new wave nostalgia while carrying the histrionic flair of a polyphonic pop opera. It is impossible not to get swept up by the soul in this loved-up hit that is potent enough to give even the most melancholic nihilists lust for life.

By taking influence from Billy Joel, Mark Ronson, and John Mayer and always staying true to his own rapturously distinctive style, the Connecticut-born & raised LA-based songwriter, producer, and performer is an unforgettable indie pop icon who is set to make major waves with the release of his sophomore LP, The Heightening, which is due for release in 2024. Whatcha Gonna Do is just a taste of what the rest of the presumably infectiously hook-y album will deliver.

Whatcha Gonna Do is due for release on November 10th; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

K.I.R.B. took the crown off Nas with the rap flair in his latest installation of infectiously impish alt-hip-hop, ‘No Time’

Posted on 6 November 2023

With a slamming beat bolstering the experimental saturated in delay instrumentals, intricately unorthodox rhyme patterns in the rap bars and enough impishly clever charisma to win you over from the first verse, after the release of his single, No Time, the Cali rap prodigy, K.I.R.B., will never be kicked to the curb by the music industry.

The up-and-coming artist has enough ingenuity in his bars to rival Nas, Rakim and Method Man, as for the sonic aesthetic, that’s beyond compare through K.I.R.B.’s authenticity and determination to keep his sound pumping with a diverse array of influence.

Since making his debut, K.I.R.B. has worked with everyone from NICK BLANCO to Nick Mira, but clearly, he’s not riding on anyone’s coattails. He’s got exactly what it takes to win over an army of alt-rap fans.

Check out No Time on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mike and Mandy – Caught the Bug: PJ Who?

Posted on 1 November 2023

He was a (ska) punk (singer), she didn’t do ballet but came damn close with her time spent singing with an Opera Children’s Chorus and featuring in musicals before the duo, Mike and Mandy, met professionally in LA while working in Shakespeare play and married three years later.

Notably, the duo didn’t let their time spent in the theatrical trenches go to waste, going by their latest poetically magnetic leftfield trip-hop track, Caught the Bug, which takes the iconic styles of PJ Harvey and Massive Attack and the edge of She Drew the Gun and Black Honey and entwines the two sonically delicious facets to deliver a cinematically immersive hit that will entice you with the force of a tornado.

With both sides of the power couple bringing swathes of influence to the table, their genre-bending tracks don’t discriminate where they pull motifs from. Between them, Mike and Mandy have an affinity in everything from acid-jazz to funk to alt-country to rock n roll to art rock; listen closely when you tune into Caught the Bug and you’ll hear signatures in all that and more around the hypnotically demure vocals which will give you a lesson in demure vindication.

Catch the fever by streaming Caught the Bug via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Space out with the rock-licked soul in Church Burglars’ kaleidoscope of psychedelic shoegaze, Fairy Tale Ending

Posted on 1 November 2023

If you take your rock classically cut with a twist of spacey psychedelia, explore the riff-carved cosmos in the standout single, Fairy Tale Ending, from Church Burglars’ debut album, Subconsciously Conscious.

With soaring riffs as strident as the licks orchestrated by Slash’s fair hands fused with the soul-lavished euphonic sensibilities of the Flaming Lips and Pink Floyd, Fairy Tale Ending is a prog-rock meditation on the highs and lows of diehard romanticism. The endlessly caressing vocal lines which have more in common with the Shoegaze pioneers than your average rock outfit draw you right into the gravity of the bitter-sweet release, which stands as a testament to the LA-based outfit’s determination to make real music for real people.

After the founding members met at Berklee College of Music in Boston shortly before the COVID pandemic, frontman Mike Foltz used the international live music breather to travel to LA to record the debut LP independently with the exception of a few lead guitar parts laid down by Alec Grugel. With the full line-up finalised, Church Burglars are making waves in the live circuit; grab any opportunity to see them in an intimate setting before you have to join legions of fans filing into arenas to witness the virtuosity of Foltz.

Fairy Tale Ending is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Zarah established herself as the powerhouse innovator the modern rock scene has been crying out for in her latest single, Blind Woman

Posted on 27 October 2023

Following the critically acclaimed reception of her debut single, What Have We Become? the LA-residing soul rock evocateur, Zarah, has proven she’s far from a one melodic masterpiece wonder with her sophomore single, Blind Woman.

The classic rock cuts may have been stripped back in Blind Woman, but the yearning atmosphere that drifts between the enticing tension in the instrumentation and her dynamic vocal range, which can deliver everything from the raw timbre of Lydia Lunch to a rock-licked iteration of Kate Bush’s high register, is a lesson in sonic alchemy. She’s a siren of pure power and soul.

In addition to Zarah Maillard’s singer-songwriter achievements, the powerhouse of charisma, creativity and talent is a novelist, television personality, producer, and performer, who has performed with Goo Goo Dolls.

If you can’t get enough of Blind Woman, your appetite for Zarah’s synthesis of classic and modern rock will be sated upon the release of her debut LP of the same title. We can’t wait to get lost in the escapism of it.

Blind Woman will officially release on October 27; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get into the euphoric electro-pop groove with Zach Schuh’s synthy and celestial single, Blurry Pictures

Posted on 26 October 2023

Capturing the sweetness of a perfect moment you never want to leave behind, the latest single, Blurry Pictures, from the ever-ascending independent artist Zach Schuh is, somewhat ironically, the perfect polaroid of euphoric gratitude.

The bedroom pop artist who never leaves any clues within his soundscapes to his DIY approach has discernibly mastered the art of song crafting, arranging, producing, mixing, mastering, and visualising emotional experiences to make them universal.

The Cali native’s vibrant style has all the trappings of an infectious electro-pop earworm; the 80s synths lend themselves effortlessly well to the funk-carved grooves that are cut as deep as the most body-rocking hits from Daft Punk, as for his vocal lines, they couldn’t be dreamier. You might want to pinch yourself to make sure you’re awake while you’re being consumed by the ethereal soul of them.

Blurry Pictures was officially released on September 1st; you can get into the kaleidoscopic groove with it by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast