Browsing Tag

Acoustic Pop

Madeleine Bradford has released her celestially striking single, Resting Bones.

Posted on 31 May 2021

Resting Bones is the celestially transfixing latest single from US singer-songwriter Madeleine Bradford. At the age of 17-years-old, her music already boasts narratively-meta lyrics, arresting vocal harmonies and a spiritual edge that compels you to lean even deeper into the single to abstract the emotion and introspection. Even the silence that follows the outro is resounding.

If anyone has what it takes to become the next Phoebe Bridgers while establishing themselves with a distinctive style, it is Madeleine Bradford. The mellifluous guitars in Resting Bones possess the same level of alchemy that you will find in Elliot Smith’s most intricate releases as faint orchestral swells add striking crescendos to the deeply provoking single.

Resting Bones is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Farrah Hanna explores evolution in her indie-folk single, ‘Everything is Different Now’.

Posted on 10 May 2021
https://soundcloud.com/farrahhanna/everything-is-different-now/s-uyAJwV2zYJt

With an introduction that is the aural equivalent to Nikita Gill’s collection of poetry, Fierce Fairytales, the prelude to Farrah Hanna’s latest single, ‘Everything is Different Now’, instantly puts you in a suggestable and contemplative state. With the following verses flowing through in Farrah Hanna’s conversationally narrative style, you will find yourself amongst the lyrics as the changes in your life coalesce with Hanna’s.

Any fans of Angel Olsen, Big Thief and Phoebe Bridgers will appreciate Farrah Hanna’s quaintly lo-fi acoustic folk style. The meditatively short and sweet single uses haunting, almost neo-classic, keys sporadically behind the gentle acoustic rhythms to amplify the already potent sense of emotion in this succinct indie-folk instant classic. Everything is Different now allows the inevitability of change to feel far less daunting.

Everything is Different Now officially released on May 6th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ethan Yates will be here for the ‘Rest Of Our Lives’

Posted on 7 May 2021

Ethan Yates is a Christian singer/songwriter from East Texas, USA; don’t let that tempt you into making assumptions about his music, though – this is no confessional, congregational piece, rather a beautiful, gentle acoustic-focussed track with a definite Americana-meets-indie, college-radio vibe.

There’s a real Paul Westerberg/Replacements feel to Yates’ vocal, some delicate slide guitar, and an almost Kings Of Leon feel to the rockier parts. Little bits of alt-rock like Paramore and mellower Bring Me The Horizon, Taking Back Sunday, or Dashboard Confessional meld with choice Americana like Counting Crows and the Jayhawks, with some beautiful harmonies and a perfect understanding of melody and composition, ‘Rest Of Our Lives’ really is as good as it comes.

You can check out ‘Rest Of Our Lives’ on Spotify; Follow Ethan Yates on Instagram and Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

 

The Dark Days have ‘Georgia’ on their minds.

Posted on 2 May 2021

Take four siblings raised in Colorado, a bunch of traditional acoustic instruments, some serious musicianship and songwriting, and a whole lot of heart and soul, and with a little bit of gentle shaking you might just come out with The Dark Days. Classic, perfect, gorgeous gentle Americana written ‘for our Ma when we were going through the struggle’, ‘Georgia’ rolls and swells along on waves of acoustic guitar, cahon, strings, and singer Xela Dark’s stunning voice; smoky, soothing, sultry, caressing, uplifting, and just plain beautiful, Xela’s vocal is the icing on an already extremely well-baked cake. Think of Counting Crows or the Jayhawks, with Sheryl Crow or maybe Lene Marlin taking over on vocals for Adam Duritz for a while, and you can imagine the sort of territory we’re in here.

It’s a perfect, sweet summer song; something to lie back in a corn field and just listen along to, and let everything else go for a few minutes. That’s pretty rare.

You can check out ‘Georgia’ on Spotify, and follow The Dark Days on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

The Old Days: Trent Beaver and The Damage bring us back to those distant memories on ‘Ramblin Kinda Man’

Posted on 17 April 2021

With his heart on the sleeve and the stories of his family still fresh in his mind, Trent Beaver and The Damage bring us the road-trip gem called ‘Ramblin Kinda Man‘.

Trent Beaver is an acclaimed acoustic pop/southern rock Pacific Northwest-based singer-songwriter from the famous music town of Muscle Shoals in Alabama, who sings with that gritty edge that makes him a true artist who sings from deep inside, where the memories are stored forever.

This is the story about remembering his old man’s life, the sadness is strewn all over his tremendous vocals as he shares how things where back in the day, when life was way more simple and the good times were plentiful.

The superb southern style is lathered all over this top quality single, as you get lost in the journey and start to drift away into the past, your mind racing as you remember when you were younger and you wish things could go back to these innocent days.

‘Ramblin Kinda Man‘ from the humble family man and BMX-lovin’ Pacific Northwest indie singer-songwriter Trent Beaver, is an ode to those days where the whole family was there as one, the tears now ring down for his Mamma who lost her man too soon.

Stream this new single on Spotify and check out IG for more news.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Damian – gentle melancholy with ‘Can’t Have You’

Posted on 4 April 2021

Continuing this week’s theme of hot Australian artists come singer-songwriter, actor, and model Damian. Performing since the age of 8 in one form or another, Damian is perhaps best known for the TV series ‘Deep Water’ and indie film festival shorts ‘The Paper Rose’, ‘Pepper’, and ‘Absolutes’, and for his debut single ‘Perfect To Me’.

Damian now returns with follow-up ‘Can’t Have You’, a delicately picked acoustic guitar-and-vocal paean to unrequited love in the balladic style of early Ed Sheeran, James Bay, Lukas Graham, or Hozier. It’s gentle, soulful, and melancholic in that ‘wistful hopefulness’ sort of way that adds a dash of sad world-weariness without ever slipping into melodrama or schmalz. Damian’s voice lifts and falls but carries that sense of longing and desire atop the graceful picked guitar chords and backing; it’s a beautiful pairing.

Hear ‘Can’t Have You’ on Spotify, and follow Damian on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Philp Guele has released their intimate indie-pop earworm ‘She is My Summer’.

Posted on 2 April 2021

You’d assume that a retired airline employee would have plenty of stories to tell; based on Philp Guele’s single, ‘She is My Summer’, we can confirm that is the case.

The prolific traveller got some crimps in their travel plans during the 2020 lockdown; instead of jet-setting to new locations, he revisited old memories and pulled the poetry out of them. The poetry soon ended up as lyrics to their amorous indie-pop earworms such as She’s My Summer.

The slightly lo-fi vibe amplifies the intimacy of the proclamation and shows just how torrid and intense our lives can become when a whirlwind romance starts to kick up dust. It’s a timelessly relatable release that falls nicely into the contemporary demand for folky acoustic pop.

She is My Summer is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cailyn Currie opened up the conversation around mental health with her sonorous lullaby ‘Dying Star’

Posted on 14 March 2021

Nashville singer-songwriter, Cailyn Currie extended the conversation around mental health with her latest single, ‘Dying Star’, it’s a sonorous lullaby for anyone contending with feelings of futility and a delicate reminder that while you’re still breathing, life isn’t over.

Cailyn Currie’s vocals carry sincerity as she shares her hard-fought for introspection while the sparse folk-pop instrumentals create the perfect atmosphere to fall into as powerfully meta wisdom wraps around you.

Dying star was recorded in Nashville and mastered in London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios, so it comes as no surprise that the quiescently resounding single cuts deep while simultaneously tending to open wounds. If tracks such as Dying Star started hitting the airwaves decades ago, we’d undoubtedly be better prepared for the global mental health crisis we’re facing today.

Dying Star is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jimmy Theo – Insane featuring A Pocket Full of Wonder

Posted on 14 March 2021

London-based Pop singer-songwriter, Jimmy Theo has released the most relatable lockdown single to date with ‘Insane’, featuring A Pocket Full of Wonder.

You’ll feel every single discernible emotion listening to Insane unfold, but mostly, the artist’s drive to sweeten the collective unstable mood with their playful indie-rock style left us unequivocally endeared.

Jimmy Theo’s sound falls nicely between Frank Turner’s and Lewis Capaldi’s, the slight off the cuff nature of the track draws you right into the theme of the single, but the simple acoustic guitar chords keep the track full of mainstream potential.

The official lyric video is now available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chrissie Romano Band has released her empowering Americana pop single ‘Resilient Me’

Posted on 27 February 2021

Fans of K T Tunstall, Amy McDonald, or Sandi Thom would be well advised to check out New York threepiece the Chrissie Romano Band and ‘Resilient Me’, taken from the new album ‘Somewhere Along The Way’. Acoustic-guitar led, with Romano’s easy, enticing vocal and a rhythm section that’s tighter than…well, something pretty tight…’Resilient Me’ is a story of struggle and survival and of emerging on the far side a stronger, better person.

It’s a strong, catchy track, with perhaps a smidgeon of Sheryl Crow about it in its singalong-strummed chorus and self-aware, storytelling lyrics, and energetic performance. As an album, ‘Somewhere Along The Way’ is a killer, strong from start to finish without a ‘skippable’ track; ‘Resilient Me’ is a perfect taster.

Check out ‘Resilient Me’, and the rest of the album, on Spotify or via the band’s website.

Review by Alex Holmes