Browsing Tag

Alt Grunge

Ramener exhibited the agony of empathy in their debut music video for their seminal single, In Her Hands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6EbjJ0eEyw

With the unveiling of Ramener’s debut album drawing closer, the grungy alt-rock evocators unleashed their first music video to complement their ensnaring lead single, In Her Hands, and draw fans a little closer into their tumultuously provocative world, which is redefining the contemporary nu-metal arena.

With a similar atmosphere and aesthetic to Nirvana’s iconic Smells Like Teen Spirit music video, Ramener succeeded in amplifying the visceralism within their seminal single. The rhythmics of the track mimic a fraught with anxious torment heartbeat in the intro until the single breaks into its first cascade of instrumental candour to complement the complete rejection of inhibition from the vocals, which harmonically tease you into the cacophonous outpour.

If you are yet to see Ramener live, the music video will give you an accurate view of what you can expect from the instrumentally tight outfit which becomes the sum of all parts when they’re using their agony, volition and razor-sharp songwriting chops to seduce you into soundscapes which transcend sound to become immersive expositions into the dark side of empathy. Keep Ramener on your radar. What follows will undoubtedly be just as groundbreaking.

Stream the debut music video from Ramener for their In Her Hands hit single via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

ATR delivered sheer punk rock defiance in his no-wave stormer, A New Life, Featuring Kellii Scott

ATR served up another gnarled no-wave punk single with the release of the blisteringly sweet lo-fi anthem, A New Life, featuring Kellii Scott (Failure).

ATR was formed in 2014 after the founder, Jess, returned from his tour in Iraq as a combat medic with PTSD, a traumatic brain injury and other sustained injuries. With that context, the defiance within A New Life takes on a whole new meaning. If you have ever known how it feels for your mind to wage war on you, the lyrics in A New Life hit like mantras you’ll want to follow and turn to for resilience.

Before his time in the army, Jess was the lead singer and guitarist for an MCA Records-signed punk rock band in the 90s. Even though they were an underground outfit, they shared stages with the likes of The UK Subs, Anti-Flag, The Ataris, and At the Drive In; he never lost his discordant biting touch, but he did attune his sonic signature to the lo-fi alt-grunge style that will electrify you in A New Life.

A New Life will officially release on March 26th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Where is the love: The Secs keep it real on exceptional single ‘Body Girl’

https://thesecs.bandcamp.com/album/kissing-with-wolves

Taken off their latest ten-track album called ‘Kissing with Wolves’, The Secs tell it how it is without being overly nasty, despite the distasteful circumstances on ‘Body Girl‘.

North Devon (UK) multi-genre indie post-punk/garage/grunge rock band The Secs, is fronted by the incredibly real singer, rapper, poet, artist and soul healer Rachel Madeline. She phenomenally fuses that really raw, cheekily raunchy and heart-striking music, that makes you dance around like the good times are back and have that much-needed fun again.

This is the wild story of a girl that hooks up with that guy you like, just because she know that you like him. The ultimate display of undesirable pettiness is sadly all-too-common in modern reality TV-hooked society and the annoyance from this moment is perfectly explained in detail by a sensationally multi-talented singer, who tells it how it is, without stooping to the dingy levels of her unwise nemesis. You are all about the love and they are sadly only thinking with the cheap wine and fake energy strewn into their plastic veins.

The catchy riffs run rampantly into your healing heart with galvanizing gusto as your curious body is thrust to groove along to this enlightening look into the mind of a unimpressed woman, who has been scorned and isn’t too happy about.

The melodies here are such a great listen and you smile a bit to yourself-knowing exactly what she means about the fake-tanned dolls that need a dose of their own medicine sometimes.

Body Girl‘ from North Devon’s The Secs, is a gloriously gritty track that shows how supremely creative Rachel is, with more variety inside than a tasty happy meal. She performs with that extra edge and authenticity, never closing herself off to fit any particular fad or genre box, that can easily wrap the creativity right over you and never let go. This is that underground gem that you wish you had known about earlier and is a terrific showing from an underrated band that must be so pulsating and electric live.

Knowing who you are in life is so important and not falling into the trap of walking with the sheep, is absolutely vital is this quick-swipe and copycat world. Being an original wolf and walking your own path, is ultimately a much realer experience for your hungry soul, who seeks that real love to fully reach your vast desires.

Stream this brilliantly moody track on Bandcamp and see FB for more on this electrifying band.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

¥ANG delivers laconically laidback Alt Rock with ‘Satin Blue’  

Born in London and now resident in Los Angeles, singer-songwriter ¥ang is now onto his sixth single in just twelve months. ‘Satin Blue’ starts off with a Patti Smith-esque acoustic guitar part before instantly becoming something much, much more as ¥ang’s laconic, laid-back vocal delivery kicks in.

Mixing equal parts Beck, REM, and the quieter parts of Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’ album, hitting every ‘right’ bit of Cobain and Stipe on the way, ‘Satin Blue’ is a catchy, upbeat number with a surprisingly hooky, mainstream college-radio middle eight breakdown before kicking back into its final ‘this is your lesson’ chorus refrain, which – like the best of Seattle and Athens, Georgia – will stay very, very firmly lodged in your head for hours after the final, ringing chord has decayed to nothingness.

Hear ‘Satin Blue’ on Spotify, and check out ¥ang on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes