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Texas

Money and Image blazed across the Texas hip-hop scene with their infectious track, No Smoke

Posted on 5 November 2023

Escape into the urban aesthetic of the latest single and music video, No Smoke, by the two Texan rap legends in their own right, Money and Image, and lose yourself within the infectiously feel-good lyricality of the track that definitively proves conviction doesn’t always need to be a by-product of the aggression.

While the instrumentals find the sonic middle ground between jazzy old-school hip-hop grooves and wavy RnB pop trap, the vocals constantly shift in tone and pace to create a fully rounded hit that is all too easy to melodically roll with as you drink in the charismatically prophetic message which advocates pacifism.

The official music video for No Smoke premiered on October 21; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nullor has arrived with his compelling prog rock Tour De Force,  Here

Posted on 26 October 2023

The Fort Worth, Texas-hailing solo artist, Dan Crawford, operating under the moniker Nullor has made his long-awaited debut; it came in the form of his dynamic LP, Finalform. The dusky, doomy and artfully captivating lead single, Here, envelops you in an atmosphere you will never want to come up for air from.

The progressive 6-minute Tour De Force won’t fail to evoke contemplation; the grungy vocal lines which run in the veins of Alice in Chains allow the melodic ambience in the orchestrally cut instrumental arrangement to resonate as a sonically sweet sedative before the monolithic build and burst into intricately electric groove metal.

In the following single, Overdrive, Nullor gives you a taste of classic thrash metal, proving that there are few alternative genres outside of his repertoire. Rather than being a jack of all genres, the versatility of his talent is just as impressive as the degree of it.

Here was officially released with the Finalform LP on September 29; stream it on Spotify and follow the artist on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Kayla Friend quelled the melancholy in her breakup track, Over, with enchanting ethearealism

Posted on 22 September 2023

Before putting down roots in Texas, the California-born, NY-raised singer-songwriter Kayla Friend forged a successful career in theatre before branching out as an independent artist following the pandemic; her experience as a music theatre composer lent itself effortlessly well to her sound. Her enchanting melodies and vivacious vocal harmonies create an otherworldly cinematic atmosphere you can easily lose yourself in before you find yourself in the all too resonant lyricism.

Her latest single, Over, follows the plaintively painful experience of separation; with the blossoming orchestral swells in the indie-pop score, the single is underpinned by a sense of rebirth to quell the melancholy in the perfectly emotionally rounded single. With the guitars that seem to pirouette around her celestial soprano vocal lines, Kayla Friend created one of the most stunning singles we’ve heard in 2023. It’s only a matter of time before she’s snapped up by a major label.

Over will be released on September 22nd; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Blake Robert served Southern-twanged high-octane soul in his country pop-rock single, On My Mind

Posted on 10 August 2023

The Austin sound resounds in the eponymous debut country pop-rock album from the up-and-coming singer-songwriter Blake Robert.

The heart-on-sleeve standout single, On My Mind, spills Southern-twanged high-octane soul by the smorgasbord as the radio-ready production lends itself effortlessly well to drunk-in-love euphoria. With over two decades of experience crafting Eagles-esque earwormy guitar hooks, the rhythmically sharp ones implanted in On My Mind effortlessly reel you into the romanticism, which is just as magnetically sticky-sweet as the affectionate escapism found in Taylor Swift’s upbeat hits.

If you’re a fellow TX native and you can’t get enough of the debut album, catch Blake on his 2024 live tour through Austin, and keep him on your radar for more addictively energetic releases.

Blake Robert’s self-titled LP is available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sweet Limb shattered the illusion that police brutality is a 21st-century novelty in his single, Relate

Posted on 1 August 2023

Sweet Limb took his latest hip-hop EP, NICE, right back to the old school and around the Bronx block to deliver an urban atom bomb of nostalgia.

With his standout single, Relate, the Austin-based flow king reigned supreme as he rode the steady rhythmic waves of the funky basslines and 808s, which become the centres of gravity in the minimalist polished track that shatters the illusion that police brutality is a new issue and the only one that marginal communities feel the forces of oppression from.

While many rappers rushed to contribute to the voices in the BLM movement, Sweet Limb bided his time to speak for everyone who can’t relate to the portrayal of the onslaught of police violence in the media, not because it wasn’t a barbaric travesty, because it was a tale as old as time and pretending otherwise is just another brand of injustice.

The NICE EP will hit the airwaves on August 1st; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Megan Lynette paved the path to resilient redemption in her debut single, Broken

Posted on 22 July 2023

With her debut single, Broken, the Houston-born-and-raised contemporary Christian & gospel singer, songwriter and soulstress Megan Lynette helped her audience to find their missing pieces on the route to resilience and redemption.

Rather than shying away from the most painful facets of the human condition, the recording artist acts as the guiding light away from them by allowing her lyrics to traverse the themes of joy, struggle, healing, hope, and perseverance.

With vocal lines that drench the synthpop soundscape with stylish gospel-esque soul, Broken is an all-consumingly compassionate release that is ardently enlightening enough to resonate with anyone caught in the crosshairs of visceral pain, tragedy and confusion.

With her sophomore single, Only Hope, set for release in 2023, it is well worth following Megan Lynette’s career as it becomes illustrious in the coming months.

Broken is available to stream on Spotify.

I Need Something You Can’t Give: Cld doesn’t want to fight on Missing

Posted on 19 July 2023

After starting DJing in 6th grade from his previous life as a competitive dancer, Cld feels a piece of himself Missing and wonders deeply why two hearts can’t be together no matter how much it seems to make sense.

Cld aka Luke Potter is an 18-year-old indie hip-hop artist, DJ, drummer for Paracosm, Auburn University student and engineer who is from Allen, Texas.

Best known for his hyper pop/experimental rap tracks and taken from his upcoming 6-track EP called #HoldMyHeart, Cld has forged a thoughtfully mind-stimulating insight into dating in 2023. Worrying about the fights before they happen, we find out more about a romance that is flickering slowly with a dangerously close flame which might burn out forever.

Missing from Allen, Texas-based indie hip-hop artist Cld is a catchy single with so much to be intertwined with inside. This is a complicated story which sums up the modern day, with so many distractions confusing each decision. It’s rather real. Too real. It’s kinda scary too. It’s performed with heart and desire, laying the facts on the table like a set of cards. For us to take our own thoughts away and decide what’s best.

To go where and be with who? That is the question you see. Only we can answer it, if two souls can find a way to unite.

Hear this fine single on Spotify.

Find out more via IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

MASSIVESAD became the cinematically sad poster boy of melodic ennui with his latest art pop release, Balance

Posted on 7 July 2023

The cinematically sad poster boy of melodic ennui, MASSIVESAD, will mainline himself into your melancholic veins with his alt bedroom pop deep-cut, Balance. If you know all too well how it feels for your world to be knocked out of kilter as the scales perpetually turn against you, the catharsis you will find and the compassion you will feel will be visceral.

Emanating disorientating dissonance from his e-piano before the flourishing crescendo of a finish was the perfect way to ensure the instrumentals matched the bitter-sweet vocal lines and lyricality, which paints MASSIVESAD as an existentially amorous diehard romantic at heart. From LANY energy in the main body and the arcane touches of Bjork towards the outro, Balance will undoubtedly remain one of the most artful singles that have slipped into my ear canal in recent years.

Stream Balance from July 7th on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

A Little Bit of Give: Houston alt-rocker Max Diaz pushes way beyond the boundaries on Dead Dog

Posted on 3 July 2023

After previously mesmerising us on the rather superb Nivana-laced-for-action release from August 2022 called lirium, Max Diaz looks deeper within for that extra self-control with his powerfully constructed new single to jump up and down with while healing from past pain, Dead Dog,

Max Diaz is a Houston, Texas-based indie alt-rock artist who is one of the most imaginative souls around who seems to evolve after each single and shall stomp all bad moods away.

“All in all we’re just working for the figment.” ~ Max Diaz

Trying to let go and find himself again after so much disillusionment lately, Max Diaz shall flip all bad moods around with a stomp your-feet message to anyone who needs to get back to a happier sanctuary.

This is blockbuster stuff from a seriously talented and authentic artist who evolves after each track, appearing to push himself to greater heights like a rock climber who knows he can conquer any mountain which could however cause danger to his own life.

Dead Dog from Houston, Texas-based indie alt-rock artist Max Diaz is a rollicking wake-up call and might knock some speakers off the walls. It’s ear piercing in a good way and sizzles into our ears, as a way of inspiring us to open the door into self-enlightenment and away from those negative juices which can sour tastebuds.

If you love it reflective and loud, this day will only get better after a few listens.

You what to do. Click on the Spotify link to get the day started right.

Suss out the social movements on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

DOM – SDA ft Erica Banks: Female Empowerment Has Never Been Fiercer.

Posted on 8 June 2023

Collaborating with her fellow Texas flow queen, Erica Banks, the Houston hip-hop heavyweight, DOM, rolled with all the party-rocking punches in her latest single, SDA.

The Missy Elliot-esque energy as the collaborating artists rap their unfuckwithable-with-attitude and empowering bars ensured that the vox are just as big as the beats in this exemplification of the heights hip-hop acts should strive for in 2023.

Aggression may be the overarching emotion in SDA, but written within the infectious energy is an affirmation that no one will hand you the power and bodily autonomy; you’ve got to take it for yourselves and own it as well as DOM and Erica Banks did in SDA.

As a singer, producer, rapper, and co-owner of VgnBae Music Group and Studios, DOM has exactly what it takes to hold dominion over the Houston hip-hop scene.

Watch the official music video for SDA via YouTube or stream it on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast