Browsing Tag

90’s Grunge

The Yellow Wallpaper – Tell Me to Beg: A Post-Grunge Antithetic Love Song

Posted on 18 June 2023

With a similar grungy kick to Kyuss, the atmospherically angst-charged debut single, Tell Me to Beg, from the up-and-coming luminary five-piece, The Yellow Wallpaper, is the ultimate anthem to your ennui.

Starting with clean vocals that ring as sweetly as Hozier’s harmonies, the hit quickly descends into sludgy virtuosity, with each instrumental breakdown and crescendo amplifying the ferocious scorn. Clearly, hell hath no fury like someone pre-empting the inevitable end of a turbulent relationship and the uncertainty and loneliness that will follow.

In reality, there is little sex appeal in heartbreak; in Tell Me to Beg, the masochism of the messaging through the frontman and songwriter Troy Rapscallion Benson’s hopeless clutching of faded love subversively switched the narrative. In the process, Tell Me to Beg became the antithetic love song that will undoubtedly pave the way towards a bright future for The Yellow Wallpaper.

Tell Me to Beg was officially released on June 9th. Stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BONNE took rock to new emotional depths with their LP, execute

Posted on 16 June 2023
BONNE

With the vocal lines resonating as a tour de force through the stylish rock reinvention, the standout single, Problems, from BONNE’s hotly anticipated LP, execute, the track is a hair-raising adrenaline shot to the heart. With as much reverence to rock as Joan Jett with beguiling Janis Joplin and Alanis Morrissette’s soul-driven vox, the monolithic melting pot is a soulfully pioneering juggenautical triumph.

Discovering a new sound is always an exhilarant experience, but when there is so much substance injected into the sonics, the experience becomes all the more gratifying. And there is no denying that the duo possesses an emotional depth that delves deeper than what the rock mould typically permits; by smashing through it with their authentic vulnerability, BONNE stepped away from the fray and veered towards unapologetic authenticity. With notes of Pixies, Muse, and Slowdive, within the virtuosic instrumentals, each new progression is a galvanising revelation.

By pouring the raw energy of 90s grunge and the catchy hooks of 80s rock into a future-proof production, the Iowa-hailing duo orchestrated an all-consuming aural experience that will grip you with its fiercely innovative gravitas.

Check out BONNE via their official website and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Boston Meets Britpop in djamesk13’s Alt-90s International Convergence, You Said.

Posted on 23 February 2023
https://soundcloud.com/djkemp13/you-said

London’s David Kemp has slid back under his djamesk13 moniker once again to release yet another feat of evocative lo-fi alternative alchemy by the grace of his 8-track recorder. You Said carries the raw lyricality of Disco 2000 while the instrumentals look far beyond 90s Britpop for their grit and sludge.

With no-wave-y motifs and crunchy guitars that bite in the same vein as Pixies, You Said is a riotous smorgasbord of Alt-90s nostalgia. Judging by the streaming stats on this release shortly after it grunged up the airwaves, clearly, plenty have an appetite for djamesk13’s seemingly effortless ingenuity.

You Said is now available to Stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Robots! Attack! break free through a bitter-sweet epiphany in their melodic rock hit, Tangled

Posted on 18 January 2023
Robots! Attack! by Robots! Attack!

Taken from their debut eponymous LP, the standout single, Tangled, from the Memphis-based fourpiece, Robots! Attack! is a reverently evocative rhythmic trip back to the alt-90s.

The breeze of the midwestern melodies is brought down to earth by southern grit in the grungy amalgam of punk, rock and harder-to-pin-down alternative inclinations that allow the outfit to carry fleeting reminiscences to Incubus and Deftones in their magnetically imploring vocal harmonies and the softly angular guitar lines that are never all too far away from an off-kilter breakdown.

While the lyrics allude to our tendency to fictionalise the characters in our own stories and give them far greater roles than they were destined for, the accordance-soaked instrumentals abstract any bitterness from the bitter-sweet epiphany of realising that time with some protagonists is always finite.

Tangled is available to stream and purchase via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bleach Bath – Branches: The Only Sludge Pop Debut You Need To Year This Year

Posted on 20 December 2022

With the rhythm section dripping as much sex appeal as the most aphrodisiacal tracks on the Deftones’ White Pony album, the alt-90s oozing from the droning walls of shoegaze guitars that have been distorted out-of-kilter and the killer sludgy pop hooks, the debut single, Branches, from the Tennessee-based artist, Bleach Bath, is beyond promising.

The tinges of emo to the lyricism, which runs through the insecurities that every girl will have battled with at some age, ensured Bleach Bath came out with all vulnerable guns blazing. It is impossible not to get on a level with the singer-songwriter and band frontwoman who has been tearing up stages across Tennessee, priming herself to make an unforgettable debut.

Any fans of Honeyblood, Wolf Alice, Ex Hex, Hole and My Bloody Valentine won’t want to skip this grungy kaleidoscopic dream of uninhibited angst and relatable uncertainty.

Branches was officially released on December 2nd. Check it out on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The alt-rock originator, djamesk13, struck again with his grungy proto-punk single, And That’s Where It Ends, And So It All Begun

Posted on 26 November 2022
https://soundcloud.com/djkemp13/and-thats-where-it-ends-and-so-it-all-begun

“And That’s Where It Ends, And So It All Begun” is the latest tonally sublime single released by the London-based alt-rock originator djamesk13 (David Kemp).

If Dinosaur Jr veered away from grunge and towards proto-punk and made a pit stop at 90s Britpop to pick up a bit of extra guitar swagger, the sonic result would be in a similar vein to this nostalgically produced hit.

The distortedly and poetically orchestrated single provides a definitive discourse on the nature of our lives which runs through like pre-determined chapters of destiny. Lament it or live it to the max, but that’s the nature of being, captured in the lyrical hooks in this epitomisingly sludgy earworm.

And That’s Where It Ends, And So It All Begun was officially released on November 19th. Catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Outside Kids call for salvation in their grungy pop-punk visceral earworm, Hey God

Posted on 15 November 2022

With their Sub Pop record deal-worthy dynamic edge, The Outside Kids made us suckers for their cutting-edge nostalgic kicks through the lead single, Hey God, from their debut LP, Dirty Faces.

By implanting Green Day-style pop-punk hooks and a little RHCP melodicism in the 90s Seattle sound, the alt-rock duo found the perfect formula for earwormy infectious appeal in the contemporary rock scene. Sparked by a shared influence of Against Me! and Frank Turner, the duo’s symbiotically tight propensities entwine with their socially conscious edge to make their sound that little bit more soulfully gripping. The original icons of pop-punk got plenty right, but with evasive morality, the records will always resonate as bitterly juvenile; The Outside Kids brought the maturity the scene has always been deprived of.

The loud reprise of “can you hear me now” paired with the title of Hey God is a powerful allusion to the frustration we all feel when we forget that the world isn’t happening to us, we just happen to be here for the ride. Embrace the chaos with this perfect hit.

Hey God is now available to stream on Spotify with the rest of The Outside Kids’ album, Dirty Faces.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ruby Sue resisted the silence of alienation in her coming-of-age alt-rock debut album, The Need

Posted on 31 August 2022

The Riot Grrrl attitude is living vicariously through Ruby Sue’s debut album, The Need, but make no mistake, she is an icon of her own making. The true definition of punk is a little hazy these days, but if it doesn’t encompass an artist bringing classical strings into a visceral protest of alienation, what is even the point?

Usually, there is little resonance to be found in coming-of-age albums for anyone that isn’t… coming of age, but The Need extends a sense of compassion for the unheard that can stretch across the generations. Even at 32 years old, the singles, especially the title single, struck a raw note within me.

The sweet melodious temperament of Taylor Swift, the nostalgic comfort of Brandi Carlile and the protestive grungy furore of Courtney Love all fuse together to make The Need an LP that is as cathartic as it is anarchically emboldening. The Minneapolis singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist clearly has a natural talent when it comes to consoling expression with her lyricism that lays it all bare in true rock star fashion.

With some of the singles, such as the mostly instrumental Let Me Out, the violin and viola strings bring an extra edge of cutting emotion, ensuring that there’s no getting to the end of this LP until you’ve felt an unholy amount of empathy for anyone enduring the process of growing into adulthood in these times that can send you off-kilter in a single heartbeat.

In her own words, here is what Ruby Sue had to say about her debut album:

“During my gap year between high school and college last year, I was feeling lost and trying to find myself; I found music. I’ve always been a musician, but music was the only thing that felt right when everything else felt off. The lyrics and melodies rushed out of me like a burst dam.

The Need tells a true story of needing to be seen, heard and experience life. Growing up isn’t easy; it can feel daunting and lonely; the ultimate message is that if you feel the need to be seen, you are not alone.”

The Need is now available to stream on Spotify.

Follow Ruby Sue on Instagram and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK solo artist, Unwanted Guest, shed light on our shackles in his retro-modernist metal single, Constructive Ambiguity

Posted on 17 August 2022

After the 2020 pandemic put the brakes on the UK metal band Seventh Son, the guitarist Dave Fox animated his retro-modernist metal brainchild, Unwanted Guest.

His latest single, Constructive Ambiguity, is one that every disenchanted metal or grunge fanatic should hear. With a cheeky nod to John Carpenter’s, They Live in the visuals with some stunning scenes of UK brutalist architecture to compliment the lyrics that don’t evade the reality of every working-class millennial, it’s a vindicating timely single which invites you to vent into the blend of the 90s Seattle sound with the signatures of UK metal. When the lyrical context is as sublime as the talent, you know you’re on to a winner – stay tuned with this one.

Watch the official music video for Constructive Ambiguity, which premiered on July 26th here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dirty Modal Souls went in search of adequate vernacular in their Brit-Grunge anthem, What’s the Word?

Posted on 15 August 2022

In their first release of 2022, the Brit-Grunge trio, Dirty Modal Souls, catapulted us right back to the alt-90s. Lyrically, What’s the Word? is a snarlingly electric hook-constructed continuation of Cameo’s Word Up. Instrumentally, it’s a transatlantic riot of rugged basslines, cataclysmic breaks and guitars which express as much chagrin as the rancorous guitars.

If Faith No More hailed from this side of the pond, their earlier work would carry ample reminiscence to What’s the Word, which doesn’t lose the quintessentially British style of lament. That riled energy rubs up against the Seattle sound to create universal appeal.

What’s the Word is now available to stream on Spotify and purchase on Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast