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The term ‘indie’ in the music industry has become so ambiguous it has practically become as subjective as the meaning of life. Whichever way it is defined, it is still a massive part of the music industry in the UK and across the globe.

Originally, indie referred to how an artist distributed their music. Over the decades, it became a catch-all term for artists sharing the same sonic off-kilter edge; and, of course, the same moody yet inexplicably cool aesthetic. Indie, as a genre, only came around as the result of experimental artists in the 70s wanting to bring a new sound to the airwaves; instead of solely hoping for commercial success after appeasing one of the major record labels.

Indie artists adopted punk ethos they started to push the boundaries of pop. Instead of commercialising their sound, they pushed it into post-punk, shoegaze, synthpop, Britpop, avant-garde, noise rock and dream pop arenas. For all that separates bands such as Sonic Youth, the Cure, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Joy Division, Elliott Smith and Radiohead, there is still so much that ties them together, namely their attitudes and the loud discordant style.

Along with the bands, iconic venues such as the 100 Club in London, the Hacienda in Manchester, and King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow had a pivotal part to play in the traction of independent artists and music. New Indie labels, such as Rough Trade and Factory Records, were amongst the first record labels to truly embrace and encourage experimentalism and authenticity in the artists they scouted and signed – taking New Order and Joy Division as a prime example.

It may have been a while since there was an indie breakthrough act as successful as the Arctic Monkeys, but indie music has far from lost its resonance. Besides, Monkeys won over 42 awards and sold over 20 million records, so that’s going to take some beating, and they’re certainly not the only indie artists currently thriving.

The Welsh indie rock icons, the Manic Street Preachers, celebrated their first number 1 album in 23 years with the release of Ultra Vivid Lament in 2021. The Tarantino-Esque Liverpool outfit, Red Rum Club, released their debut album in 2019, and got to number 14 in the official album sales chart with their album, How to Steal the World, in 2021. Perhaps most impressively, the world’s first CryptoPunk rapper, Spottie Wifi, made just under $200k in album NFT sales in 90 seconds this year.

Urban Cafe Crew unleashed their classically contemporary tinsel-wrapped perennial pop earworm, ‘Baby It’s Christmas’

Posted on 22 November 2023

Urban Cafe Crew wrapped a perennial pop earworm in tinsel to deliver the catchiest Christmas single since Mariah Carey dominated the festive sonic landscape with All I Want for Christmas is You.

Hit play on Baby It’s Christmas by the eclectic Australian music collective and instantly succumb to the modern spin on the classic Christmas motifs. From the first beat following the swells of classic strings, you’ll register that Baby It’s Christmas sets itself apart from the usual holiday fare.

From the bells to the butter-wouldn’t-melt croons to the keys working in complete synergy with the percussion to raise the energy, Baby It’s Christmas ticks all the sentimental boxes while oozing cross-generational appeal. It has been a while since a Christmas single melodiously moved with the times while keeping sonic traditions alive; Urban Cafe Crew achieved the feat effortlessly.

Even if you usually recoil to the tune of White Christmas on the radio when November rolls around, you won’t be able to resist turning a smile as you hum the exhilaratingly vibrant melody.

Baby It’s Christmas was officially released on November 10th. Unwrap it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lou Reed meets Tom Waits in the tender warmth of Lance La Breche’s latest seminal piano score, One Last Dance

Posted on 21 November 2023
Killing The Pistanthrophobe by Lance LaBreche

With vocal lines as arresting as the plaintive harmonies drenching Tom Wait’s Closing Time LP with soulfully spirited melancholy, the standout single, One Last Dance, from Lance La Breche’s upcoming album, Killing the Pisanthrophobe, is a piano-led score you’ll want to surrender to time after time.

The Lou Reed-esque keys also play a heavy hand in allowing you to succumb to the impassioned gravity within the single orchestrated by the Raleigh, NC residing self-taught singer-songwriter, who photographs architecture in the daylight and renders resolving melodies by the shroud of night.

The bluesy sepia-tinged tones and the endlessly compelling yearning for perfect nights to last forever won’t fail to fill you with the same tender warmth which flows through the score which abandons inhibition for vulnerability, to superlatively stunning effect.

Stream and purchase One Last Dance on Bandcamp, and keep Lance La Breche on your radar for the release of his forthcoming LP, which is set to drop on December 15.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

archie razed the airwaves with his latest augmented with attitude and style alt-indie hit, Mayalyn

Posted on 20 November 2023

With a voice which resonates with over 155k monthly listeners on Spotify and the confidence to create under the mononym archie, knowing that the name will become synonymous with his anthemic new wave indie aesthetic, it is no surprise to see that the 19-year-old singer-songwriter has hit razed the airwaves with his latest augmented with attitude and style single, Mayalyn.

With a vice-like grip which hits all the provocative and evocative marks, the track that starts with a saturated in delay jangly indie pop instrumental arrangement beneath his raspy croons, reminiscent of the 1975, evolves into a fiery feat of overdriven and modernised rock. With a seemingly infinite sequence of twists and turns, every progression is a revelation with Mayalyn. A revelation which paints its orchestrator as one of the most essential artists in 2023.

The classically trained Scottish singer-songwriter may only be getting started but he’s already giving every other up-and-coming act tips on how to raise the bar with lyrical ingenuity, which goes hand in virtuosic hand with his ear for a melody that will consume you when brought to life with his impassioned intensity.

Mayalyn was officially released on September 22; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Negate your way through the chaos with Midamerican Elevator’s jangle pop compass, Turn Left

Posted on 18 November 2023

With jangle pop guitar melodies reaching the epitome of effervescence under the dreamy vocal honey which tastes just as sweet as the harmonies that ensured Debbie Harry’s name would never be lost to history, the latest single, Turn Left, from the Chicago Indie Rock outfit, Midamerican Elevator is a resonant revelation.

By lyrically tracking how hard it can be to keep pace with the tumultuousness of modernity and how easy it can be to go around in circles, Turn Left speaks volumes to anyone who knows how it feels to be consumed by the franticness of society that leaves so many of us without a compass.

Between the killer chord progressions which elucidate that Midamerican Elevator will never be pedestrian at best and their capacity to fuse soul with style, they’re ones to watch out for. We’re stoked they’re back on the airwaves following the successful launch of their 2022 debut LP, Moon Ruler.

Turn Left will give indie rock fans a sense of direction on November 17th; stream the single on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Drift away with the fiercely dreamy ardour within Mums Favourite’s latest single, Loveboat

Posted on 18 November 2023
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HRGRsjJ-PFGiLuYZlktjnxIQyKkcLNbm/view?usp=sharing

Carrying the atmosphere and attitude of Honeyblood, The Breeders and Throwing Muses, the indie rock nostalgists Mums Favourite gave vintage bluesy soul an injection of punk visceralism with their latest single, Loveboat.

After lulling you into a false sense of dreamy and lofty ambient security, rancour starts to rile in the riotously clever production, which lyricist and lead vocalist Sasha Theunissen always keeps command of with her dynamically captivating vocal range.

After taking their sound which stands at the vanguard of alt-indie ingenuity around the world since their 2017 inception, the Adelaide-hailing quintet has established itself as an outfit for anyone who harnesses a proclivity for aural curveballs. Executing an archetypal track to this superlative level would be an achievement, but with the experimentalism it contains, it is clear to see that the trailblazing outfit has a career which reaches the pinnacle of promising.

Loveboat was officially released on November 8th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jeff Jepson has released his haunting hymnal gem, The Good-Night Song

Posted on 18 November 2023

The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Jeff Jepson is set to garner a fresh wave of impassioned reverence with his Christmas-tinged EP, Sparkle. If this is your first acquaintance with the artist who rose to fame in Liverpool and has recently replanted his musical roots in the Isle of Man, the standout single, The Good-Night Song, is the perfect introduction to the master of poignant melody.

Whether it was the finiteness in the lyricism or the way the acoustic guitar’s euphonic rings intensified the affecting sting within the captivating vocal delivery in the arrangement which visualises the sparseness of winter branches, I couldn’t help but shed a tear as Jepson’s evocatively honeyed timbres quivered in the frost of the hymnal gem which will haunt you long past the outro.

The Sparkle EP illuminated the airwaves on November 10th; kindle your affinity with the 4-track release via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cenzontle’s fusionist sound is sweeter than ‘Nectar’ in their latest seminal Latin folk release.

Posted on 18 November 2023

After enchanting audiences under the GlowStone Leaf Orchestra banner and producing 13 albums that weave a tapestry of profound narratives and complex harmonies, the delectably talented Berlin-based artist, Jorge Hernandez, who has been honing his rhythmic and raconteurial crafts for over a decade stepped into a new ensemble when he assembled the three-piece Cenzontle with Lucie Nana and Kim Kong in 2019.

Monikers don’t come much more apt than Cenzontle, which translates to “400 voices”; it is a nod to the Mexican heritage of Hernandez and the multi-layered essence of his work, which breaks the monocultural mould while proving music is a universal language.

The eponymous LP, which hit the airwaves earlier this year is an opportunity for immersion in a captivating fusion of traditional Latin American Folk and electrifying Rock, delivered with a digital twist. Whether you delve into the vibrant recording or witness the emotional and innovative depth via the live performance of the standout single, ‘Nectar’, you’re sure to be stirred by the spiritually transcendent experience which solidifies Cenzontle’s position at the forefront of genre-bending music exploration.

Stream the Cenzontle LP on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Hanley showed us the future of the pop ballad with ‘So Much for Being Real’

Posted on 16 November 2023

After the success of the 2022 EP, ALIVE, the up-and-coming artist Hanley has shown us the future of pop ballads with the celestial timbres within their latest piano pop score, So Much for Being Real. Through the sequence of crescendos which punctuate the plaintive piano keys beneath the pure yearning within the vocals, you’ll feel your soul stir as much as the instrumental arrangement which emanates the kind of radiant enlightenment which only comes via acceptance and emotional intelligence.

Promises becoming little more than empty platitudes is one of the greatest betrayals we will ever experience in life, there’s little solace to be found in the bitterness of naivety after being swept up in an idea of perpetuity, but Hanley’s latest composition which was delivered with superlatively spacey compassion hits the mark of solace with perfect precision.

So Much for Being Real was officially released on October 27; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Drift into a higher dimension with the latest interstellar single from Rae Larz, ORACLE

Posted on 15 November 2023

Back in February, Rae Larz invited us to a tea party with a cosmic difference via her single, Tea in the Stratosphere, going by her latest release, ORACLE, she’s still reigning interstellar supreme.

After a sequence of moody stabbing synth lines, the Brooklyn-based artist’s demurely magnetic vocal lines start drawing you into the gravity of the release by transitioning between the high vocal harmonies and sermonic spoken word utterances which command with sublime conviction.

ORACLE may be more niche than your average synth pop release, but the singer, songwriter, and producer never compromises with her deep emotional expression and visualises soundscapes that are infinitely more enriching for the heart, body, soul and rhythmic pulses. Freedom emanates through every progression within ORACLE; unshackle yourselves, especially if you’re a fan of Black Honey, She Draws the Gun and Warpaint.

If you can’t get enough of Rae Larz after hearing ORACLE, you won’t have long to wait before her vibration-raising EP hits the airwaves.

ORACLE dropped on November 3rd; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ariana Rodriguez & Guap-O Unstoppable brought luxe grooves to the airwaves with ‘Forever Invited’

Posted on 15 November 2023

With the eclecticism in her discography, there’s no telling what Ariana Rodriguez will pull out of her bag of sonic dynamism next; her collaboration with Guap-O Unstoppable on ‘Forever Invited’ didn’t disappoint. It’s a showstopper of a downtempo vibe-spiller that takes the Jersey club sound to the next level.

After a smooth, steady and syncopated prelude that drenches the listener in atmospheric reverb, the track seamlessly picks up the pace ensuring not a drop of the stylised soul was lost along the way. The way Ariana’s effect-laden vocal lines sink into the glitchy ethereal soundscape is a guaranteed ticket to transcendence; as for the authenticity, you’d be hard-pressed to find another artist as committed to keeping in their distinctive lane, but if you’re a fan of Kate Davies, Ada Lea, and Squirrel Flower, you won’t go far wrong hitting play.

Forever Invited was officially released on November 3rd; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast