Browsing Tag

90s indie rock

‘Mr. Struggle’ – A Sardonic Sucker Punch from Watch Your Tone

Posted on 20 February 2025

With a name as sharp as their sonic sensibilities, Watch Your Tone proves tonality is no afterthought in Mr. Struggle. The Los Angeles-based post-whatever trio—Andy Hoopes (guitar, vocals), Sam Thorne (bass, vocals), and Jenna Terranova (drums)—tear through rock’s lineage with a fuzz-soaked, sludgy surf punk charge that lands in the future of the genre. Sardonically subversive lyrics amplify the hook-rife hit’s immersive pull, with installations of power pop panache ensuring there’s just as much sugar as there is garagey grit.

Falling for the hype is effortless when a band can hammer out infectious earworms with this level of precision. Fans of Teenage Fanclub and The Wildhearts will find plenty to sink their teeth into, though Watch Your Tone’s ability to weaponise chaos into anthemic choruses is entirely their own.

If they hit this hard on record, the live experience must be nothing short of an intravenous shot of euphoria and adrenaline. Watch Your Tone were never made to be contained by the underground—Mr. Struggle is proof of that.

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

Review by Amelia Vandergast

‘Fragile’ by Just Girls – An Indie Rock Anthem Teetering on the Line Between Sweetness and Ruin

Posted on 29 January 2025

With their debut single, ‘Fragile,’ Just Girls unleashes a visceral indie rock triumph that doesn’t just echo the sounds of the 90s but drags them kicking and screaming into the present. Combining the melodic magnetism of Blondie with the searing rawness of Hole and the dissonance of Sonic Youth, ‘Fragile’ lands like a sucker punch wrapped in velvet. It’s gritty, it’s gorgeous, and it’s impossible to shake.

Amie Falkner’s vocals walk a tightrope between unguarded innocence and raw defiance, spilling every ounce of emotional intensity into lyrics that explore the fragility of the psyche and body. The sweeping new wave guitar chords only add to the earworm appeal of the track, creating a storm of distortion and melody that refuses to let up. It’s an anthem that cuts as deep as it soars, teetering on the line between sweetness and ruin.

Just Girls embodies everything indie rock should be: bold, unpolished, and endlessly inventive. After forming when HaslamBrock spotted bassist Kelsey Melvin and drummer Kamilah Palmer jamming at an open mic, the quartet has leaned into their DIY ethos with fierce dedication. Writing on handmade guitars, hosting gigs in RV parks, and producing every note themselves, they’ve cultivated a sound as raw as their roots.

‘Fragile’ leaves you craving not just another track, but the chaos and catharsis only Just Girls can deliver. The indie charts better brace themselves for the band’s sophomore.

Stream Fragile on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Make Groovy Shirt Club’s ‘Ultra Violet’ the soft rock soundtrack to your emotional liberation

Posted on 1 August 2024

Groovy Shirt Club’s latest single, Ultra Violet, proves there’s more to their artistic identity than their audacious fashion choices. With echoes of Pixies drifting between the guitars and basslines in the mellowly iridescent progressions, which are heightened by inventive synth touches, the Deep Blue Something-reminiscent vocals have the perfect platform to soar from.

It’s almost impossible to allude to what this emotionally liberated single does to the soul when the emotion-driven earworm is bedding in and making itself home. The sublime melodies are enough to make even the most steadfast sway, attesting to the capacity of sound to transform your entire sensibility.

If you can’t remember the last time you didn’t feel weighed down, make today the day and immerse yourself in Ultra Violet, which pushes a panoramic vision of sun rays hitting ebbing waves. For any discerning rock fan, the first proverbial spin won’t be the last.

The self-professed ‘Champions of the Yacht Rock Revolution’, are quickly making a name for themselves with their ethos to embed real people, real instruments, real music and real lyrics about life into their infectiously cultivated soft rock staples. Ultra Violet captures this quintessence perfectly, blending their signature style with a fresh, emotionally resonant sound.

Ultra Violet is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The West Midlands era fusionists, Three Mile Island, triumphed once again in ‘Sidearm’s House of Games’

Posted on 19 February 2024

What do you get if you mix 70s rock with Americana and add a dash of brashy and swaggering 90s Britpop? Hit play on the latest single, Sidearm’s House of Games, from Three Mile Island and find out for yourselves.

The uniqueness of the sonic imprint is far from the only achievement in this minefield of indie rock hooks, which proves how tight the West Midlands-hailing prodigal sons are despite their influential differences – each element gets room to breathe and transcend into something completely new in the release that proves that time isn’t always linear; multiple eras can exist cohesively under the sonic duress of those talented enough to amalgamate them.

Having garnered attention on BBC Sounds and Planet Rock Radio, ‘Sidearm’s House of Games’ is a testament to the band’s skill in crafting songs that are not only enjoyable but also resonate with a deep understanding of rock’s evolving landscape. It’s a compelling addition to the indie rock genre, highlighting the band’s potential to leave a lasting impact.

Sidearm’s House of Games is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

E.L. Davis gave us a ‘Window to the World’ that we want to look through with their latest alt indie rock single

Posted on 29 March 2022

Ahead of the release of their 6-track EP, Stars We’ve Never Seen, E.L. Davis has given a taste of their elevated existential angst with the standout single, Window to the World.

With the nuanced 90s indie rock vibes mixed in with the post-rock atmosphere of the single that proves how far we’ve come since Bono reigned supreme, Window to the World is simultaneously a nostalgia hit and a way to find contemporary resonance in a time of scarcity of it.

From the very first lyric, the all too relatable disillusionment and cynicism take hold before Window to the World turns into a stormer of an alt-indie rock hit that could easily fill a stadium and command the audience.

Window to the World will officially release on April 29th. Check out E.L. Davis here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The 90s indie rock icons Airbus return with their third studio album, ‘You’.

Posted on 13 July 2021

If you paid attention to the UK rock scene in the 90s, you might already be acquainted with Airbus who are set to release their psychedelically sweet third studio album, You, via Spira Records.

The album unleashes singles penned and recorded back in the 1990s; the band lifted the audio from master tapes using a 24-track 2-inch tape machine to keep the warm analogue glow of the original recordings. Short of hopping in a TARDIS and pushing your way to the front of the crowd when Mazzy Star performed at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better way to transport yourself back to the 90s.

If you can imagine what an aural cocktail of The Zombies, Elliott Smith and the Beatles would sound like, you’ll get an idea of the dreamy, colourful accordance that is weaved in the standout single ‘I’. Reminiscences aside, the band’s masterfully melodic presence on the airwaves once more is a breath of fresh kaleidoscopic air. The lead track carries that dreamy feel of wholesome wild abandon that most have forgotten how to offer in the 21st century.

Airbus’ upcoming album is due for release in September 2021. You can check out the band on Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

I Had A Dream: Andy Mison wants to feel the vibration on ‘Sell It To Me Slowly’

Posted on 25 May 2021

Taken off his debut eleven-track collection of 2020-made songs called ‘Fergus Circuits‘, Andy Mison shows us what the game is all about on ‘Sell It To Me Slowly‘.

Andy Mison is a likable and well-respected Canberra, Australia, indie singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music producer. He is a confident man who loves to makes those happy funky retro-electro tunes, to help take our minds off the seriousness of this quickly crumbling world.

With a succulent mixture of 80s new wave, 90s indie rock, EDM sounds and pure pop beats to stack your plate full of tasty treats to nibble on heartily, Andy Mison kindly cooks us up this is a meal music box for the ages, that will have you stuffed like a chicken wing as you sing along full as a cucumber.

The unique vibe has you feeling so alive and has you thinking deeply, of this consumer-based world that has you buying everything in sight if you are not careful. His outlook is on point and the flourishing sounds has your pulse racing and your head nodding, all the way through.

‘Sell It To Me Slowly‘ from Australian retro-electronic maestro/producer/multi-skilled master Andy Mison, shows us his incredible thirty years experience with a thoughtfully funny but truthful single. He kindly tells us that we need to slow down before making big purchases. Life is too short to regret those big moves after all.

Stream this new single on Spotify and see more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen