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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.

Oslo Electro Pioneer Y is Nature Wired Espionage into Electro-Intimacy in this Exclusive A&R Factory Interview

Posted on 3 May 2025
Evasion by Y is Nature

In conversation with A&R Factory, Y is Nature unpacks the mechanics behind Evasion!, a cinematic concept album rooted in spy fiction aesthetics and laced with ironic self-awareness. From John le Carré to D’Angelo, the inspirations are as eclectic as the execution is sharp. The Oslo-based producer discusses how spontaneity and collaboration shaped the album’s character, how Portishead’s influence informed his preference for female vocalists, and how themes of disinformation and emotional ambiguity creep through the tracks. This isn’t about pastiche or homage—it’s about refracting big emotions through playful motifs and sonic espionage.

Welcome to A&R Factory, Y is Nature – it’s a pleasure to have you with us to discuss your latest mission, Evasion!

Evasion! strikes a fascinating tonal balance between the melodramatic flair of classic espionage tales and subtle personal introspection—how did you shape the emotional undercurrent of the album without tipping into parody or pastiche?

Hehe, good question. I guess it is kind of tricky. But one thing is that I never set out to do a straight-up imitation of espionage film music. I’ve been approaching the theme, let’s say, through more of an alternative/indie rock/pop lens. The other thing is that we’re all fully aware this experiment dances on a fine line between cliché and stylized expression, and that it’s very much subject to scrutiny. That’s why we try to embrace the universe and concept with a sense of humor — like in our first music video Transition, where two adult spies play hide and seek in the forest with toy pistols. It is meant to be fun and at the same time heartfelt.

The project feels meticulously composed, yet there’s a sense of looseness in the arrangements that allows each track to breathe. What role does improvisation or spontaneity play in your creative process, especially within the context of a genre as stylised as spy pop?

Another very good question. And you’re right – It’s definitely composed, but at its core, it all starts with some kind of improvisation. I tend to begin from scratch, usually with a guitar, piano, or a beat, and then build from there. On Evasion, there’s one track in particular, Take Care of Me, where the starting point was the ascending five-note motif from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Op. 20, before it veers off in quite another direction. Beyond the composed chords and melodies, the background soundscapes — often made up of synth arpeggios, LFOs, and other ornamentation — are pretty improvised. That, along with field recordings and samples, adds an unpredictable texture to the whole thing.

I think the looseness you’re picking up on might come from the need to make quick decisions — especially when working with a group of musicians and vocalists, many of whom I didn’t know that well before heading into the studio. There’s also the practical reality that this project was tied to a hard deadline. We risked losing some funding from the Norwegian FLB, so we had to push through and finish. That urgency can create a kind of raw energy. So you could say that, on the other hand, it hasn’t been all that spontaneous, hehe. I really felt like I had to carve out something really personal and meaningful—fast.

Your studio on Christian Kroghs Gate in Oslo has become the command centre for this release—how does your environment influence your sonic decisions and the atmosphere of your recordings?

Well, I think my studio has been more of a technical command center — the place where all the ideas come together, if that makes sense? It’s where I shape the pieces and bring everything into form. But in terms of inspiration, I’d say it’s more about cultural impressions, personal taste, and life in a broader sense that really influence the ideas. The studio is where I refine them, not necessarily where they begin. With Evasion, I’ve been in many different spaces along the way. But again, good question! I have to think more about that one…

You’ve enlisted a range of musicians and cultural contributors to build out this sonic espionage world. What were you looking for in your collaborators, and how did their input shape the final cut of the album?

I wanted the project to become a platform for me as a producer to collaborate with many different creative people — partly because of my immense need for socialization, but also to experience, learn, and expand my network. Over time, music has become something I need to do in collaboration. I can come up with ideas on my own, sure, but I don’t want to walk that long and dusty road entirely alone.

I also have to say that I was specifically looking for female vocalists. It’s a bit hard to explain exactly why, but Portishead has been a source of inspiration for this project — so maybe that says it. More broadly though, I wasn’t searching for any one type of person. I just wanted to work with people who felt drawn to the idea and wanted to step into this universe. And Im so grateful and happy to have found both Martin, Tuva, Ronja, Sindre, Einar and many more talented creators and artists who all have been a major part of the shaping of Evasion.

Was it important for you to build a conceptual framework around the project first, or did the sonic identity of Evasion! emerge more organically as you wrote and produced the tracks?

The whole spy thing came from the start. I wanted the project to have something cinematic and conceptual. In my case, it made the whole affair of making new music and crafting an album a bit more intelligible — both from an internal and external perspective. It’s just easier to explain what you’re doing when you have something clear to hang it on. But it took a while for me to settle into an even more direct understanding of the concept. Namely, the concept of spy pop.

Themes of surveillance, deception, and emotional ambiguity run deep in the album—do you see Evasion! more as social commentary, a personal reflection, or a calculated mix of both?

I think it’s a little of both — and a kind of cinematic imitation. As far as social commentary goes, it’s maybe mostly about trust or distrust in information. Nowadays, with so much disinformation, misinformation, and general noise circulating online, you can easily get disoriented and lose your ability to distinguish truth from fiction. And I like to believe that there are certain truths out there. And that these truths are important and have real value.

On the personal side of things, there are definitely some aspects of the spy figure that I identify with. That’s also part of the story I’m telling — but I’ll leave that for another conversation.

With your background in indie and neo-psychedelia, what drew you towards the cinema of spy fiction and its soundtracks? Was there a particular moment or influence that pushed you in that direction?

Well, I had read some John le Carré and had “Really Love” by D’Angelo stuck in my head for more than a year. That intro — the chord, the Spanish guitar vibe, the swingy rhythm — was all something I was really into at the time. I thought it had a real “spy feel” to it, so that became the seed of the idea: Spanish guitar, swing beats, and a very sneaky vibe. The project turned out quite different, but I think you can still hear traces of that D’Angelo inspiration in there.

There’s a tongue-in-cheek charm to some of the motifs in Evasion!, despite the gravity of the themes. How do you maintain that delicate tonal friction without undermining the tension you’ve built into the narratives?

Well thank you! I am trying to strike a balance between seriousness, playfulness, and humor. I have a tendency to write soft, romantic tunes, so leaning into more humor and upbeat, rocky material is actually a bit of a challenge for me. I love irony though and maybe this album just says something about me as a person. The Y is Nature project can in that sense be a gateway or a symbolic venture into the mind of a true Danish-Norwegian musical agent — someone who tries not to get completely overwhelmed by big emotions, but still loves to dig just a little deeper.

–

Evasion! Is out NOW! Stream the LP on Bandcamp.

Interview by Amelia Vandergast

Andrea Sandruvi Scored a Lament into the Strings of Post-Grunge in ‘Fate’

Posted on 3 May 2025

With his third single, Fate, Andrea Sandruvi went beyond tuning into the tones of post-grunge —he dredged the stylings from a place where anguish clings to melody like silt to skin. Inspired by a tragic incident in Piemonte, where a young man succumbed to despair and drowned in the cold indifference of a river, Fate kindles the dark side of kismet into an ocean of post-grunge emotion; you’ll struggle to keep your head above the waves as visceral vulnerability crashes over you.

The ethereal backing harmonies lend euphony to the production, which could have been torn from a tape deck cradling an alt-90s demo if it weren’t for the polish that swathes the agony in the progressive instrumental transgressions. With nods to artists in the same vein as Incubus and bluesy guitar motifs to temper the raw tendrils of grunge, there’s no denying the independent artist’s authenticity. Nothing in the instrumental arrangement feels borrowed. Every melodic movement sways under the weight of lived experience and a mind glazed with melancholia.

From picking up a guitar after a bolt-of-lightning visit from cousin Alessandro to playing countless covers in dimly lit clubs, Sandruvi’s roots in alternative and grunge run deeper than stylistic mimicry. Now, after cutting his teeth rearranging rock and pop in acoustic formats, he’s filtering that raw emotionality into original compositions, each track springing from something felt rather than forced. Fate doesn’t ask to be understood—it makes sure you feel every ache of it.

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

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OneSelf Wires Time into the Rock n Roll Console – An Interview with Mario Deschenes

Posted on 2 May 2025
Versions 'N' Not 8 by OneSelf Featuring Mario deschenes
In his latest conversation with us, OneSelf – the moniker of Mario Deschenes – lifts the curtain on his eighth album Versions ‘N’ Not 8 and the unflinching commitment it took to bring every beat, lyric, and mix to life single-handedly. Far from the well-trodden path of collaboration, Deschenes carves out his sound in total solitude, channelling each layer of his music through an uncompromising lens of personal discipline and emotional intent. The interview offers a rare look at how independence has sharpened his creativity rather than isolating it, as he reflects on his discography, explains his recording rituals, and hints at where his muse might take him next. With reflections on grief, growth, and the endless pursuit of innovation, this interview is a meticulous unpacking of artistic willpower and a refusal to stagnate.

OneSelf, thank you once again for talking to us. Last time, you gave us a fascinating insight into the creation of Seven Eleven. This time, we’d like to know more about your process and your artistic independence.

It’s a pleasure to talk to you about my most recent album, Versions ‘N’Not 8.  The Seven Eleven album was quite a journey.
You want to know more about my creative process and artistic independence. Wow It’s an answer of a lifetime, and I’ll try to describe my musical world as best I can.

You are the sole musician and producer on your albums, which is a remarkable feat. What are the biggest rewards and challenges that come with taking full creative control over every aspect of your music

Thank you for saying it’s a remarkable feat, but I don’t think so, I have as my source of motivation, if I don’t do it, there’s no one to do it.  If I don’t do it, there’s nobody to do it for me.
My greatest satisfactions are when I write a good text, create the music that goes with the lyrics, record it with the sound I want, with the arrangements that support the song. When the song is finished and I feel I can’t improve on it, then comes a moment of pride, which is short-lived. Because I remember a phrase from one of my creative teachers who said you’re as good as your last creation. If your song is good, well done, what about the next one?
 
While one of the greatest challenges of creative mastery is to continue to be creative after 8 albums, because I don’t want to repeat what I’ve already done, I’m always looking for what can be different, what will be different.
I’ve already started putting together songs for the next album, and I think I’ve figured out what it’s going to be about.
This search, which I’m talking about, starts with the writing, not repeating a way of doing things, a way of saying things, even if I’m not going to repeat myself.

When you are working on a track, how do you approach balancing the different roles — from songwriting to arrangement, performing, recording, and mixing — without external collaboration?

How do I approach balancing different roles? Well, I take on each role, one after the other.
When I write, I am a writer. I decide the text is good, and then I head to the studio to find the right drum rhythm to accompany the lyrics, the guitar sound, the interpretation of the words, and the emotions I want to convey. At this point, I become a guitarist, singer, and programmer in addition to being a writer. This is when I modify the lyrics
I’m in service of the song, making it the best it can be. I start by recording the drums. Once that’s done, I record the voice and the guitar simultaneously. The voice will be re-recorded later in the creative process. Then comes all the other instruments and arrangements.
Once the song is complete with mastering, I redo the final mix as many times as necessary until the song feels perfect.
All this is done without any external collaboration. Over time, I had to adjust to this approach, perhaps because I don’t like waiting—waiting for someone else to be ready. Plus, the time spent waiting could be used for something else. So, I learned to work independently in order to achieve the best possible quality for my songs. I must play different roles  for my songs, but I love it.

As the only musician on your albums, you must develop a distinct connection with each song. How do you decide when a track is truly finished and ready for release?

 Yes, I do have a certain connection with my songs, since I write them. Not all the songs I write are recorded. When it comes time to select the songs, I reread the lyrics as if I were not the one who wrote them. If they move me, appeal to me, and the theme resonates with me, I choose them. They then join other texts for a second selection.

Then comes the day of recording the album. Which song speaks to me the most? It’s a matter of feeling. Often, it is the lyrics that resonate with me the most. After that, the creative and recording process begins, all the way to the final mixing.

Once finished, I listen to the song on the living room sound system. If it sounds good, it’s fine. If something feels off, I investigate what might be wrong. If it’s the mixing, I rework it. If it’s good, the voice is clear, the instruments are well-balanced in the mix, and the song still appeals to me, that’s a good sign.
The next step is to listen to the song in the car with all the ambient noise while driving. If the song still pleases me, then I can say it’s finished and ready to be part of the album.
All these steps take time. And it’s the best way to have the best possible songs.

In what ways do you think your albums carry a unique signature because of your solo approach compared to records produced with full bands or external producers?

 It’s a difficult question because, so far, all my albums bear my signature at every step, through the entire creative process. I don’t know what happens in other bands; I can only imagine based on what I’ve read on the subject.
What is certain is that I make all the decisions, and I take full responsibility for them. If the album turns out well, I’m the one responsible, and that’s great—I appreciate it. If the opposite happens, I also take full responsibility and tell myself I’ll do better next time. I listen to what others say and see if I can improve certain aspects for the next album or song. If, however, it’s an artistic choice and someone suggests an approach I hadn’t thought of, I’ll definitely try their idea on another song.

Since I am the sole orchestrator of my albums and feel that I improve with each one, and since I have more ideas to try out, my method can’t be all that bad. I don’t know any other way to make an album besides the way I do, but what saves me is that I don’t want to repeat the same formula. I’m always looking for another way to make music, to write it, record it, and mix it.

I know there are still other aspects to explore.

Over the years, how has your independence shaped the evolution of your sound and recording techniques? Are there any moments in your discography that particularly stand out to you as milestones in your growth as a solo artist?

 When I look back on my past years, it’s clear that they have shaped my evolution, whether in writing or in the recording process. I was—and still consider myself—to be learning. I’m still learning and know that this journey won’t end with the next album.
I must say I started recording with a 4-track cassette recorder, then an 8-track cassette recorder, and later moved to digital, and so on. I have never stopped learning.
It took me years to trust myself and to embrace the fact that I am a songwriter, composer, performer, guitarist, singer, sound engineer, arranger, director, and producer.
Looking back, I understand that each song leads to another song, and each album leads to something different on the next. In the early albums, the songs marked my creative path and my journey of growth. For me, there was a turning point starting with the third album, Traces. There are very good songs on that album, but the fourth, Portraits of a Confidence Door 4, marked the biggest shift. It was an album I made after the death of one of my brothers, as a tribute to him.
The fifth album, Unicitude, was an album of freedom where I explored new aspects of creation. The sixth, Atypical So (A) Typical, felt like the most polished and refined album—at least that’s what I thought at the time.
Then came Seven Eleven, where I poured everything I had learned up until then into what I believe are very good songs.
Finally, my most recent, Versions ‘N’ Not 8. I thought the sixth would remain the most complete, but I was wrong. This album truly lives up to its name. The songs are multiple versions, at every stage of creation, resulting in the best final versions of each song.
From the fourth album to the eighth, these are records that reflect a departure from my earlier approach to albums.
I wouldn’t have been able to create Versions ‘N’ Not 8, my most recent, without making the ones before it. When I look at the songs now, I see the growing confidence that has taken shape and continues to develop.
I know what I’m capable of creating and where I’m headed. I’m already excited for what’s to come.

Since your music is entirely self-created, what does your songwriting environment look like? Do you have specific rituals or habits that help you stay creatively focused when you’re building an album from the ground up?

 My writing environment, at least at home, always includes a stack of paper and a pen, just in case… I don’t have any specific ritual to speak of. Inspiration can strike while reading a book, watching a show, having a conversation, or during a family dinner—or not.
Life in general provides me with plenty of inspiration;
however, it’s up to me to find the angle from which I want to approach what has caught my attention.
It’s up to me to write it—or not…

What new themes, sounds, or challenges are you aiming to explore in the future?

 I know that for my next album, I want to explore the theme of Time—the evolution of time and how it changes our lives. I’ll see where this idea takes me.
It’s possible that I might completely change direction, but one thing I do know is that I want to keep having fun with sounds and offer the best songs and videos I can create.
I want to stay connected to the music world in general, keeping up with new trends.
I aim to continue evolving musically, to provide you with the best lyrics and music you deserve.
–
Stream and purchase the latest LP from OneSelf via Bandcamp.
Interview by Amelia Vandergast

FGA Pulls the Splinters from Alt-90s Anguish in the Melodic Riptide ‘What’s Wrong’

Posted on 2 May 2025

With hauntingly angular, melodically emotive indie rock guitar hooks working in complete synergy with the vocals as they croon, soar, and get to the crux of the raw core of the emotional underpinnings, What’s Wrong by FGA is a riptide of affecting intensity, packaged within a melodiously cathartic serenade for the wearied.

If you could imagine what it would sound like if the Manic Street Preachers and Interpol converged their guitar styles around vocals that sporadically tease elements of The Strokes, you’ll get an idea of the kind of alt-90s-adjacent sanctuary you’ll find within the blistered yet blissful tonality of What’s Wrong.

Behind FGA is a Texan artist with a gift for channelling emotional devastation into nuanced sonic nostalgia. There’s no sleek posturing, no gimmick-laden distractions—just the unfiltered distillation of angst, framed through reverb-heavy guitars that flicker like failing fluorescents in a memory-soaked rehearsal room.

What’s Wrong doesn’t scream for attention; it coils its intensity around you and waits for you to meet it halfway. The push-pull between the evocative vocal restraint and the guitar lines that rise and writhe like phantom limbs of ‘90s angst leaves a mark without ever begging for one to be made.

What’s Wrong is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.  If you don’t mind amassing a new nostalgically rich alt-90s obsession, hit play.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lil Ellz Sets Fire to the Void in Alt-Trap Single ‘Come With Me’

Posted on 2 May 2025

Lil Ellz’s alt-trap track, ‘Come With Me’, is destined to gain traction with its spacey, melodic, bass-bruised flow, carried by emotive vocals infused with trap DNA. Yet Ellz is a hybridic powerhouse of innovation, injecting a baroque atmosphere into the cosmic track, which is galaxies away from familiar dark trap with spectral shadows haunting the cabaret-esque orchestral production, proving Ellz knows no fear in standing vulnerable with a complex, uniquely untested sound. With lyrics inviting listeners into an emotional abyss, Lil Ellz reveals his thematic ambition—to guide those who wander alone, balancing melancholy and positivity.

Based in the UK, Lil Ellz navigates effortlessly from shadows to melody, crafting sounds ranging from darkened trap to optimistic melodic rap, inspired notably by artists such as Juice WRLD and Polo G. His mission is clear: deliver solace through shared experience.

‘Come With Me’ is Lil Ellz at his bravest, emotionally candid and sonically intricate. For anyone who has stared into darkness and craved connection, Ellz offers his hand—inviting you deeper into his introspective world.

‘Come With Me’ is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spite Never Tasted So Sweet in the Snarling Alt-Indie-Punk Static of ‘Licorice’ by 92Steps

Posted on 1 May 2025
Skunk Radio Demos by 92Steps

With no interest in immaculate solos or the polished edges demanded by purists, 92Steps‘ lo-fi snarler Licorice tears through the pop-punk façade with a ragged confidence that sardonically smiles in the face of perfection. Produced in a Minneapolis flat, a family cabin, and a borrowed office space, Licorice is a product of unapologetic constraint—and it thrives in every rough-edged second.

A single-person operation run by Riley Schindler, 92Steps makes it clear from the get-go that this is punk for the disillusioned, the spiritually wrecked, and the quietly gluttonous. Drawing from the same well of misanthropy that fuelled the ‘90s, Licorice strips the polish away from pop-punk, delivering a snarled, lo-fi anthem of pure infectious volition—but there’s plenty more to hold onto than scorn.

Machiavellianly switching up vocal energy with deliberate abandon, the single doles out hooks with the sting of Fidlar and the songwriting stripes of The Offspring, forming a corrosively catchy callout aimed at a slick protagonist that’s easy to hate—probably because they’re hiding in everyone’s orbit.

It’s not clean. It’s not clever. It’s not trying to be. What Licorice is, however, is a shot of caustic humour on the vein of alt-indie-punk’s increasingly self-serious skin. There’s real venom in the charm, and sincerity stitched between the sneers.

Licorice is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

CR Srikanth Lit a Celestial Fuse Beneath the Dancefloor in the Hyper Pop Anthem ‘Dancing in the Dark’

Posted on 1 May 2025

CR Srikanth, one of the most fearless sonic explorers, goes beyond traversing uncharted ground; he builds new intersections between symphonic harmony and synth pop to invite his ever-growing army of fans into mind, body, and soul-melting vehicles of escapism.

As one of the rare affecting architects of hyper-sonic pop, none of the emotion is diminished through auto-tune in his latest single, Dancing in the Dark. Visceralism weighs heavily in the euphoria of the dance-worthy anthem, which lifts you to one of the highest plateaus you could ever hope to reach through sensory experience alone. The track is so much more than a tour de force of genre fusionism—it’s constraintless expression delivered through the desire to rush body beats with serotonin.

With Dancing in the Dark, CR Srikanth expands his VS Pop™ vision—his self-defined cinematic crossover genre where orchestral scores collide with ambient and electronic pop aesthetics. Since launching the project in late 2024, he has earned global traction with FM and digital radio spins across seven countries, over 100,000 venue placements through playlisting networks, and a growing Spotify audience. His background as a composer and producer, backed by a catalogue of over 30 orchestral works and a growing presence on YouTube, makes each release more than a standalone single—it’s a signal that the future of genre boundaries is already dissolving.

Dancing in the Dark is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Gillies Shattered Stirred Scarred Souls with Americana Folk Reverence in ‘It Hit Me Like a Bullet’

Posted on 29 April 2025
It Hit Me Like A Bullet by The Gillies

There’s no escaping the arcane aura of It Hit Me Like a Bullet, the latest release from the award-winning contemporary Americana folk duo, The Gillies. Through shimmering organ tones that swell around the arrangement and seraphically panoramic vocals, the single welcomes Americana Folk home on London’s streets. The Gillies – Susan Turner and Mark Evans – have long been revered for weaving steel-strung and tenor guitars into haunting odes to love, loss, and tangled relationships. True to their reputation for creating ‘music for your graveside’, they set raw emotions free without straying into needless theatrics.

It Hit Me Like a Bullet is salvation in sound, an invitation to tend psychological wounds no matter how raw. The imagery the cinematically intimate arrangement conjures transcends the more than a thousand words phenomenon, unchaining the soul, giving it permission to feel as free as the breezy melodies within the track.

If you know how it feels to find your feet after life broadsides you with perpetually unravelling perplexity, find your peace in the authentic euphony of It Hit Me Like a Bullet. The Gillies, whose previous works like ‘6am’ earned accolades such as Best Single in the GSMC Music Awards 2023 and selections for Fatea Magazine’s showcase sessions, continue to affirm why their understated melodies and timeless themes resonate on both local and international stages.

It Hit Me Like a Bullet is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Bandcamp. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

HeadFirst Tore Through the Fabric of Modern Disillusionment with ‘Retrograde’

Posted on 29 April 2025

Retrograde, taken from HeadFirst’s LP, Modern Role Models, serves as definitive proof to anyone over 30 that emo was never a phase while welcoming a new generation of grungy pop punk to the sanctity of raw augmented sincerity. With rapid-fire Bloodhound Gang-adjacent vocals snarling through the distortion and melodic hooks that are sharp enough to carve through any former earworms and lacerate a place for this infectious anthem, there’s no denying that Retrograde makes a monumental impact.

If you can imagine how affecting the middle ground between Fidlar, Foo Fighters and Dinosaur Jr would be, you’d get an idea of how the pulse of this track is given the reins to your rhythmic pulses as the lyrics latch onto the tension tearing through your world and give you an outlet.

Formed by Siraj Husainy, Coby Conrad, and Bima Wirayudha, HeadFirst fuse raw post-grunge fervour with the melodic pull of pop punk. Hailing from Boston, the trio pours electric, visceral energy into every performance, whether lighting up dive bars or packed-out venues. Their music rides the tightrope between nostalgia and cutting modernity, crafted with relentless rhythms, emotionally charged lyrics, and hooks designed to leave a lasting scar.

With Retrograde, HeadFirst have solidified their status as a powerhouse for anyone who craves loud, honest expression in a disillusioned world.

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

Review by Amelia Vandergast