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Alternative

The Music Architect unchained their originality in their alt-pop tour de force, MINE

Posted on 3 December 2024

The lead title track from The Music Architect’s double A-side release, MINE, pulsates with organic originality through a myriad of transgressions in aural aesthetics, making the earworm impossible to pigeonhole.

Attempting to scribe the artist’s sonic signature in words is no simple task; it’s all about the vibe; the vibe that allows you to sink into a seductively cinematic panorama of unfeigned emotion, painted with alt-electro pop motifs, rare lashings of funk flirtations, drips of disco, and the neon-lit synaesthesia of synthwave.

In a music landscape often saturated with formulaic compositions, The Music Architect blazes their own trail by favouring expression over commercial appeal yet manages to hit a home run in both ballparks. The palpable urgency in the vocal performance, which is as chameleonic as the instrumental arrangement, sweeps you up with the force of a riptide in its visceral embodiment of desire.

The 19-year-old New Zealand-based producer and artist has been crafting and releasing music since the age of 14. Their debut album, Depressed But Well Dressed, dropped on Spotify in 2022. Since then, they’ve explored a spectrum of genres—from the indie rock tones of Garden of Mind to the dance and RnB vibes of the 2023 album Metanoia. Now ephemerally nestled in the alt-pop arena with MINE, the Avant-Gardist is becoming increasingly harder to ignore.

Stream MINE on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The devil is in the debauched detail of Too Late To Run’s seminal alt-rock hit, Diablo

Posted on 3 December 2024
Fake News by Too Late To Run

In their debut EP, Fake News, the outfit fated to become Sweden’s latest alt-rock powerhouse, Too Late To Run (TLTR), takes on the hypocrisy of world leaders and puppet news media with gritty distorted guitars and a subtle voice of sarcasm.

The standout single, Diablo, is a down-and-dirty cocktail of funk, scuzz, and playful punk panache that blasts past pastiche while harking back to acts like Eagles of Death Metal and Mike Patton, who avert cliché with their humorous and avant-garde spins on rock ‘n’ roll tropes. For a while, it has felt like rock has become a parody of itself—a trend perpetuated by artists with scarce awareness of how they’re weak effigies of their idols. But with Too Late To Run, you lock into the rolling rhythms and devil-may-care debauchery, instantly assured that every sonic sermon will leave you wanting to kneel at their eccentrically electric altar.

Born in the UK, songwriter, producer, lead vocalist, and band founder LEA says of the album, “Many people are feeling powerless right now, and these songs are the best way I know to get my own voice heard and try to make a difference.”

Diablo is now available to stream and download via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Todd Michael Chapman is the lyrical cheerleader everyone will want in their corner with ‘Celebrate It’

Posted on 2 December 2024

New York-born-and-raised singer-songwriter Todd Michael Chapman reached his uplifting zenith with his latest melodic Americana rock single, Celebrate It.

Covering the all-too-relatable phenomenon of chasing dreams and overcoming adversity for the promise of an emotional payoff and never finding any serotonin at the end of the endeavour, Chapman uses the single as an opportunity to remind his fans to reflect on their wins as much as their losses.

Joined by a female vocalist who effortlessly complements his stridently euphoria-painted harmonies, Celebrate It is enough to strip the weight of ennui right off your soul and rose tint the way you perceive your impact on the world.

The country-twanged classic rock melodies paired with Chapman acting as the lyrical cheerleader everyone will want in their corner transform Celebrate It into the ultimate anthem to slam through your speakers every time you need an intravenous shot of optimism.

Stream Celebrate It on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

figaro heralded the new wave of darkwave indie with their ‘Good Bones’ EP

Posted on 1 December 2024

If your playlists are littered with tracks from White Lies and Editors, the latest EP, Good Bones, from the Brooklyn-based alt-indie trailblazer figaro is a homecoming for malaised souls seeking salvation in moody synth-driven indie guitar-licked pulsative euphony.

Haunting the borderlands between post-punk-tinged industrial indie sleaze and darkwave synth-pop, the 6-track release is an anthology of strobing ennui. The opening single, Maybe Cherry, has infiltrated swathes of influential indie playlists with its aching atmospherics, angular guitars and abstract crooned lyrics, which paint poetry throughout the hypnotic oscillations.

In Foreva, the indie artist wears their 80s influence on their guitar strings, harking back to the tonal mesmerism of Echo and the Bunnymen while delivering hymnally intimate installations of introspection. All I Know is yet another standout on the EP; with sweeping guitars which echo Interpol, polyphonic synths, a syncopated beat, and the delicious sonic dejection of PEACE and Jaws, figaro scorched their way through the oversaturated synth-pop scene, reigning supreme over the indie landfill pawns as one of the most organically original artists who has graced the darkwaves in recent years.

Stream figaro’s sophomore EP, Good Bones, which dropped on November 22nd, on all major platforms, including Spotify.

For more ways to listen and connect with figaro use this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Commüne pierced the punk-rock veil with their vignette of ennui-soaked suffering ‘Alive, ok’

Posted on 30 November 2024

Slick with ennui-soaked suffering, the latest single, ‘Alive, ok’, from the Athens, Georgia powerhouse, Commüne, leads you into a vortex of existentially scuzzy philosophical enquiry.

If you think the lyric, “And we’re alive, and I know that it’s fine and I’ll tell you that’s great but what about the pain?”, hits hard, brace yourself for the impact of the hypersonic punk rock hooks which, when paired with the Kathleen Hanna-esque bratty vocal delivery, is hard enough to bruise.

Commüne pulled all of the punches with this kaleidoscope of dissonance, which efficaciously depicts the intensity of emotion when you attempt to find tangible reasons to endeavour through relentless chapters of comfortless anhedonia.

With guitar strings, which may as well be live electrical wires burning white hot buzzsaw riffs into the track over the frenetic pulse of the percussion against the ferociously honeyed harmonies, ‘Alive, ok’ is so much more than a testament to the fire-branded power of Commüne; it’s a monolithic monument standing in the punk rock pantheon.

Stream the official music video for ‘Alive, ok’ on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Toronto’s Premier Alt-Rock Outfit NAKEDBURN Entered the Post-Hardcore Pantheon with ‘Jaded’ ft Liam Cormier

Posted on 29 November 2024
NAKEDBURN

Electrifyingly frenetic emo-rock furore pierces and pulsates through the latest sonic juggernaut from Toronto’s premier post-hardcore outfit, NAKEDBURN.

‘Jaded’ featuring Liam Cormier is enough to put the generalisation that Canadians are placid to perpetual rest; the onslaught of intensity starts with an intro which wouldn’t be out of place on a Rocket From the Crypt LP before NAKEDBURN intravenously injects modernistic hypersonic power into the Post-Hardcore installation of angst that any fans of Dillinger Escape Plan will want to devour.

As a precursor to their debut EP, Drowning, which is set for release in early 2025, Jaded is a blistering statement of intent from a powerhouse that will show the alt-rock scene no mercy as they prepare to enter the post-hardcore pantheon.

Jaded will storm the airwaves on November 29th; stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify.

For more ways to listen and connect with NAKEDBURN, visit the band’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Animal Objective’s ‘Irregular Handshake’ Shakes Up Rock’s Stagnant Foundations

Posted on 28 November 2024

The Animal Objective cast the first stone in the rock revolution that the airwaves have been crying out for with their debut EP, featuring the standout single ‘Irregular Handshake’. By pulling the amplified and overdriven roots of rock into frenetically electric obscurity, the prodigal sons of avant-garde riffs ensure their experimentalism is accessible enough for anyone determined not to see their ’70s and ’80s rock records gather dust. Innovative enough to demand novelty-seekers firmly affix this release to their playlists from the first groove.

If it’s been a while since your mind was sonically fucked and demanded a cigarette afterwards, hit play and prepare yourself for the psychedelic climax that allows you to imagine what Soul Asylum would have sounded like if they’d brought an arsenal of acid and some Mike Patton influence into the studio.

Conceived by British musician and graphic artist Tim Naish, The Animal Objective began as a solo venture before evolving into a four-piece ensemble after Tim relocated to France. Joined by fellow musical misfits Sylvie Pichard (bass), Tonyo Chauveau (drums), and Jojo Pannier (guitar) in 2019, the band became a labour of love that fully realised Tim’s eccentric vision.

Their debut EP, ‘Creature Law‘, released on 11th October 2024, showcases their eccentric mix of angular grooves, hypnotic melodies, and infectious energy that recounts surreal tales from this world and beyond. If you want to expand your mind, this EP will blow the hinges off the door to your psyche.

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

Review by Amelia Vandergast

kidd noir – gravitational; a séance of semi-lucid seraphic reverie

Posted on 28 November 2024

kidd noir’s single ‘gravitational’, taken from her hotly anticipated debut EP ‘Year 19’, is a séance of semi-lucid seraphic reverie with a palpable sense of emotional turbulence woven within its ambient aesthetics. In contrast with the transgressions in the indie dream pop production, kidd noir’s honeyed-in-harmony vocal lines never falter from their soft, almost reticent register.

As intimate as a nocturnal diary entry, ‘gravitational’ pulls you through the corridors of kidd noir’s psyche as the instrumentals caress you with their candid touch and the stream-of-consciousness vocal delivery reaches the epitome of unfeigned expression. Her ability to console coming-of-age pain within her debut EP abstracts the alienation commonly associated with trying to figure out the world and where you fit within it. Yet, the appeal of kidd noir’s sound extends beyond a younger audience; the meditations within gravitational speak a universal language.

The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist picked up her first guitar at age nine and never looked back; by 18, she earned her stripes as a producer, ensuring that no one else’s touch graces her sound, which synthesises alt-RnB, pop and indie influences with personal experience. With Year 19 as the crowning point of her career so far, there’s never been a better time to sink into her discography.

Stream kidd noir’s EP, Year 19, on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cormac is a conduit of pure poetic longing in his Broadway-esque cover of ‘Days Like These’

Posted on 27 November 2024

Cormac’s cover of ‘Days Like These’ sounds as though it has been simultaneously torn from a Broadway musical and a heart-wrenching 80s blockbuster. Adding to the dynamic appeal of the poetically meditative release are the tinges of alt-country, which wind their way into the scintillating production through guitars that wrap around Cormac’s arcanely pure harmonies.

As a conduit of poetic longing, there are few artists who can arrest your psyche with as much intimacy as Cormac. There’s also no escaping the festive nuances, made tangible through the twinkling glimmers in the single; it is as though the progressions are guided by a north star.

As the youngest singer ever to sign with the global label Decca four years ago, Cormac Thompson has continued to be one to watch. Having forged his path as an independent artist, he won ‘Artist of the Year’ (Young Adult) at Nashville’s Josie Music Awards in 2023, and he’s nominated again for 2024. Cormac has continued to enthral audiences, releasing two albums, amassing over 2.2 million Spotify streams, and racking up over 8 million views on YouTube.

Days Like These is now available to stream on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify

Review by Amelia Vandergast