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XIANNE-XI Laced the Airwaves with a Fever-Drenched Electronica Fix With ‘In the Mix’

Posted on 8 May 2025

XIANNE-XI proved that electronica doesn’t need to pander to passivity with In the Mix—a darkly hypnotic, sci-fi-adjacent alt-electronica fever dream that cranks up the temperature with a bassline that prowls through the shimmering textures until the spiritually transcendent non-lexical vocal lines enter the mix and pull you away from the mechanised void. With drips of funk for good measure and eerie stabbing synth lines adding a touch of avant-garde, which electronica is rarely caressed by, few producers on the airwaves can deliver what XIANNE-XI is capable of.

The grooves they alchemise are kryptonite to the rhythmic pulses. If John Carpenter was more interested in crafting mixes for late-night DJ sets instead of horror scores and took a few cues from Django Django, his work would resound in the same decadently delicious vein as XIANNE-XI’s In the Mix.

Rooted in Maryland and rising from a place of war-born trauma, faith, and poetic purpose, XIANNE-XI doesn’t just produce tracks—she builds altars. Her work fuses conscious healing with rhythmic release, positioning her sound somewhere between the sacred and the cinematic. As a mixed indigenous producer, songwriter, poet, and mother, she pushes sonic boundaries with a beat-maker’s intuition and a visionary’s clarity. Every bar, vocal layer, and synth stab in In the Mix channels her unwavering commitment to creating space for those caught in the crossfire of mental health and generational anguish.

In the Mix is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Soundcloud.


Review by Amelia Vandergast

TWO TONNE MACHETE Shattered the Illusion of Guaranteed Sanctuary in the Alt-Punk Anthem ‘HOME’

Posted on 8 May 2025

TWO TONNE MACHETE have palpably perfected the art of tempering scuzz with melody when alchemising kinetic alt-punk earworms that slither past the ear canal and right into the synapses and demand serotonin to fire. Lashed with distortion, charged with volition, and weaponised with vindication for the pain of people who can never contemplate the concept of ‘home’ without feeling an agonising sting, HOME tears through the comfort illusion in a way only TTM could.

The North West-based feminist punk band have built a reputation on putting unapologetic vulnerability into anthemic form, and HOME is no exception. Channelling grief—personal and political—through quiet/loud dynamics, grungy bass hooks and juxtaposing screaming guitar solos, this single hits the solar plexus while the message bites deeper. Inspired by the violence of displacement, with the brutality inflicted on those stripped of homes, lives, and identity, especially in Palestine, the emotional charge is never performative; it’s carved into the structure and spat out through Emily’s searing vocal performance.

It’s easy to see why TWO TONNE MACHETE are thriving in the UK alt punk scene; through honed songwriting and rancorous abandon in all the right places, they don’t just hit the spot, they tear through it and leave a sonic scar. With this single marking their first release since signing, and the momentum building through a series of 2025 shows, the stage is set for a summer where no injustice will go unheard.

HOME is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Francesca Pichierri Spills Kinetic Light Through Lynchian Shadows in ‘Nel Dolore Cerca La’

Posted on 8 May 2025

Francesca Pichierri crafted Nel Dolore Cerca La as a requiem for what could have been lost and a hymn to what remains. With 80s-esque reverberant synths that resound with Lynchian style hitting the same evocative sting as the imploringly soulful vocals, Francesca Pichierri allows the single to become a manifestation of the pain and pursuit for beauty that inspired the release.

The single is a meditation, not of transcendence, but one that compels you to sit with the heaviness that echoes through the instrumentals; allow them to wash over you and resonate with the pain you carry within. If any pop hit perfectly encapsulates what it means to be human, it’s this installation of pure artful evocation. The way the instrumentals evolve into an avant-garde darkwave flood of kinetic rhythms visualises the way that trauma allows emotion to take control and leave us on autopilot as it takes us to unexpected destinations.

The timing of the release—May 8th, World Ovarian Cancer Day—reinforces the weight of this final single from Cellule Stronze, a concept album rooted in the ongoing battle of Pichierri’s mother with ovarian cancer. Nel Dolore Cerca La isn’t abstract emotion—it’s a declaration, a vow, a sound-stamped moment of fear, love, and fragile hope. From the Apulian folk inflections to the crescendo of anguished screams to the real-life conversations Pichierri recorded while her mother recovered, the intimacy is the spine of the production.

Francesca Pichierri’s control over every compositional detail creates something that holds the weight of what words alone cannot express.

Nel Dolore Cerca La is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LA’s Skittish Cracked the Whip of Existential Backlash with the Sardonic Alt-Indie Hit ‘Kicking In’

Posted on 7 May 2025

Skittish nestled into a niche between indie rock urgency and alt-pop accessibility with the release of Kicking In, a track that flirts and orders drinks at the bar for garage punk and nostalgic neo-pop to entice them into the stylings of this scorned yet superlative anthem that writhes through collective frustration.

They may be outliers on the airwaves through their refusal to fall into lines of monotony, but anyone searching for visceral authenticity and the opportunity to connect with an artist unafraid to wear their authenticity on their guitar strings will find their own form of reverie within Kicking In. The ennui resounds at a palpable level in spite of the high-octane energy of the earworm, which is battle-ready with euphoric choruses, razor-sharp angular indie guitar licks, and crooning vocal lines pinched with sardonic wit.

Jeff Noller’s DIY defiance has always been the pulse of Skittish, but with this new Los Angeles-based incarnation, he’s enlisted sonic arsonists including guitarist Chris Lahn, who carved searing licks into the heart of Kicking In, and drummer Ian Prince, who kept the rhythmic volatility simmering beneath the pop polish. It’s just one example of the genre-fluid chaos that defines the new EP Ugly Makes Pretty—a record that dances through its existential crises and punches back with hooks.

Kicking In is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lylo Gold Spun Silk from Emotional Scars in the Ambient Reverie of ‘Knights in Vegas’

Posted on 6 May 2025

Knights in Vegas by Lylo Gold is a melodically melancholic cruise through the intersections of ambiently saturated downtempo indietronica and soul-drenched dream pop. If you caught the fever with Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood, you’ll feel your temperature rise with the euphonic etherealism that flows through this single with cathartic grace.

With vocals which drift with the same effortless elegance as the instrumentals while dripping with stylised soul, Knights in Vegas isn’t just the result of ticking songwriting and production boxes—it’s emotion expressed in its pure freeform; it’s enough to make your rhythmic pulses feel as though they’ve been reborn.

The East London-hailing artist is far from a passive presence in her creative output. Lylo Gold has poured herself into every aspect of her project, from production through to the final expression, informed by her musical upbringing and the influence of her reggae artist father. While her sonic roots may trace back to R&B, her scope spans far beyond the expected. In Knights in Vegas, she navigates emotional desolation and ego-drained affection with the poetic poignance of an artist unafraid to surrender vulnerability to atmosphere.

With her upcoming work set to push further into authentic introspection, Knights in Vegas proves she’s not interested in soft-selling heartbreak or masking the turbulence. She’s building sanctuaries from the fallout and cloaking them in audio opulence.

Knights in Vegas is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.


Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Sam Sample Scratched Scars into the Walls of Alt-Rock with ‘Rock Song’

Posted on 5 May 2025

Sam Sample tore through the rose-tinted sheen of sentimentality with the venom-spitting, bassline-rolling embodiment of volition that is Rock Song—a track carved for those who know how it feels to be gutted by their own good intentions. With instrumentals that deliver the same cathartic force as You’ve Got Time by Regina Spektor and the soul of rock ‘n’ roll siren-esque scorn, Rock Song amplifies far more than its guitars; it augments the heartbreak of knowing that love and loyalty can feel like the enemy when they’ve been placed in the palms of the wrong people.

The lo-fi-esque vintage garagey distortion doesn’t just nod to nostalgia—it grips your ribcage and drags you into a past before the warning signs were visible in your rear-view.  There’s a coarse, bristling sincerity in the production while Sam Sample rips apart the emotional wreckage of friendship fallouts and relational disillusionment with lyrical poise and melodic purpose.

The production values might come with a scrappy aesthetic, but there’s nothing unfinished about the way Rock Song lands. It refuses to romanticise suffering while refusing to let it pass without creative consequence. With each vocal howl and distorted groove, Sam Sample proves that rage and reflection can still share the same mic when you know where to aim the feedback.

Rock Song is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Ann Aarat Exorcised Liminal Longing in the Downtempo Nocturne ‘stay awake’

Posted on 5 May 2025

With her divine talent in sound design, Ann Aarat cast spectral shadows over the luminescence of downtempo trip-hopped sensuality in ‘stay awake’. Rather than jarring, the syncopated beats let you sink into the sporadicism of their rhythm as Aarat pours ethereal harmonies over the intricately poised textures and tones that will make any leftfield electronica fan feel right at home. There’s no urgency in the soundscape, only a hypnotic surrender to liminality as her vocals drift through the arrangement like half-remembered dreams. ‘

The second official single from the Delhi-born, New York-based artist was synthesised while she was studying at Berklee College of Music. Now making a name for herself as a DJ, singer-songwriter, producer, and experimental sound designer in NYC, Aarat takes her time with her releases – and it shows. The precise stutter effects, lush reversed vocal swells, and fluid atmosphere speak to her desire to make music that lives and breathes in its own sonic dimension.

Aarat’s background in Mumbai and her ongoing devotion to sculpting otherworldly tones through field recordings and Ableton have culminated in a track that scratches the itch for intimacy without spilling into confessional territory. If this is the sonic skin she intends to inhabit while working towards film scoring, she’s already found a place where nuance reigns supreme.

‘stay awake’ is now available to stream on all major platforms; for the full experience, stream the official video on YouTube. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Jonathan Stephen Braught Raised a Kaleidoscopic Middle Finger to Convention in ‘Drug Shed’

Posted on 5 May 2025

Drug Shed from one of the most visionary troubadours of psychedelic country in the 21st century, Jonathan Stephen Braught, is a short, sharp sunstroke of sonic disobedience. Surfy, swanky, angularly kaleidoscopic guitars carry plenty of the instrumental weight in the single which ebbs and flows like the waves under the California sun as Jonathan Stephen Braught injects a little garage rock panache into the tropic psychedelic country pop earworm with his playful reprise of ‘I wish I had a drug shed’ which embeds itself into the playful vignette of mind alteration that conjures feelings of complete renegade freedom. Jonathan Stephen Braught is one of the rare kinds of artists you hear once and feel yourself become instantly endeared to. He’s a vibe in himself.

Operating somewhere between the sonic smog of lo-fi country, basement Americana and psych rock, Braught’s songwriting becomes the perfect circle in the unfiltered, weirdly witty, raw, and deeply human Venn diagram. His refusal to sand down the edges only amplifies the magnetic pull of his offbeat charm. From the opening hook to the last warped reverberation, Drug Shed rattles with the ragged joy of a brain just unspooling.

Written, recorded, and mastered in a creative flash fire as part of his latest project, Unorganized Crimes, Drug Shed is a bleary, unapologetically imperfect dispatch from a mind determined to make noise that tells the truth—even if it’s duct-taped together with half-broken guitars and fried drum loops.

Drug Shed is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Clay Goodman Let His Lyrical Vulnerability Echo in the Lo-Fi Reverie of ‘Hello’

Posted on 4 May 2025
Clay Goodman

Clay Goodman made a soft yet indelible entrance with his debut single, Hello; a fitting title for the lo-fi acoustic release that quietly beckons listeners into his alt-indie introspection. The short, sweet, and saturated-in-delay track resounds in the raw vein of Elliott Smith, using gentle yet emotively aching guitar lines to create the atmosphere that the seraphically ethereal vocals drift into. It may be a very brief introduction to Clay Goodman, but it is one that makes an affecting impression and one that proves that once he’s ready to take the leap with a less abstract single, he’s going to take the alt-indie scene by storm.

After a decade of writing in rural Virginia, Goodman’s decision to launch with a track that holds itself back from grandeur is a statement in itself. Every part of the track, from the minimalist production to the distant vocal presence, was shaped entirely by Goodman himself, revealing not only his artistic intent but his restraint.

Rather than using polish to mask the fragility, the production lets it breathe. There’s no demand for resolution—only a request to listen closely. As the reverb trails behind each phrase, the weight of creative solitude lingers, making this lo-fi lullaby feel like a secret you weren’t meant to hear, but needed to.

Discover more about Clay Goodman via their website. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Joey Collins Poured Bleeding Consciousness into Post-Hardcore Panache in ‘Is This What We’re Living For?’

Posted on 4 May 2025

If it’s been a minute since your last existential crisis, dig into Joey Collins’ latest single, Is This What We’re Living For?, which takes echoes of post-hardcore production and feeds them through quiescent melodicism as the lyrics thread a myriad of questions through the ethereal atmosphere. Even though the release carries few implicit answers, there’s plenty of resolution to be found within the emotional disillusionment, which serves as a timely tribute to the point of human evolution we’ve had the misfortune to reach. Thematically, Is This What We’re Living For? succeeds in portraying the true weight of self-awareness while carrying some of the burden for you.

With a deft hand for fusing volatile alt-rock with cinematic electronica, the Nottingham-based artist Joey Collins constructs sonic tension with the same precision he uses to tear at the seams of composure. Refusing to box himself into a single genre, Collins focuses on forging affective resonance through brooding synths, instrumental crescendos, and vocals that register as both pleas and declarations. His production style builds an architecture where intensity pulses through the walls of contemplation.

From his earliest days embedded in the local scene to earning praise from BBC Introducing, Notion, and Earmilk, Collins has matured into a purveyor of disquiet and catharsis. With a second album in the pipeline and a headline date at The Bodega on the books for August, 2025 is already bearing the marks of artistic evolution.

Is This What We’re Living For? is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast.