Browsing Tag

alt rock

The devil is in the debauched detail of Too Late To Run’s seminal alt-rock hit, Diablo

Posted on 3 December 2024
Fake News by Too Late To Run

In their debut EP, Fake News, the outfit fated to become Sweden’s latest alt-rock powerhouse, Too Late To Run (TLTR), takes on the hypocrisy of world leaders and puppet news media with gritty distorted guitars and a subtle voice of sarcasm.

The standout single, Diablo, is a down-and-dirty cocktail of funk, scuzz, and playful punk panache that blasts past pastiche while harking back to acts like Eagles of Death Metal and Mike Patton, who avert cliché with their humorous and avant-garde spins on rock ‘n’ roll tropes. For a while, it has felt like rock has become a parody of itself—a trend perpetuated by artists with scarce awareness of how they’re weak effigies of their idols. But with Too Late To Run, you lock into the rolling rhythms and devil-may-care debauchery, instantly assured that every sonic sermon will leave you wanting to kneel at their eccentrically electric altar.

Born in the UK, songwriter, producer, lead vocalist, and band founder LEA says of the album, “Many people are feeling powerless right now, and these songs are the best way I know to get my own voice heard and try to make a difference.”

Diablo is now available to stream and download via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Toronto’s Premier Alt-Rock Outfit NAKEDBURN Entered the Post-Hardcore Pantheon with ‘Jaded’ ft Liam Cormier

Posted on 29 November 2024
NAKEDBURN

Electrifyingly frenetic emo-rock furore pierces and pulsates through the latest sonic juggernaut from Toronto’s premier post-hardcore outfit, NAKEDBURN.

‘Jaded’ featuring Liam Cormier is enough to put the generalisation that Canadians are placid to perpetual rest; the onslaught of intensity starts with an intro which wouldn’t be out of place on a Rocket From the Crypt LP before NAKEDBURN intravenously injects modernistic hypersonic power into the Post-Hardcore installation of angst that any fans of Dillinger Escape Plan will want to devour.

As a precursor to their debut EP, Drowning, which is set for release in early 2025, Jaded is a blistering statement of intent from a powerhouse that will show the alt-rock scene no mercy as they prepare to enter the post-hardcore pantheon.

Jaded will storm the airwaves on November 29th; stream the single on all major platforms, including Spotify.

For more ways to listen and connect with NAKEDBURN, visit the band’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Animal Objective’s ‘Irregular Handshake’ Shakes Up Rock’s Stagnant Foundations

Posted on 28 November 2024

The Animal Objective cast the first stone in the rock revolution that the airwaves have been crying out for with their debut EP, featuring the standout single ‘Irregular Handshake’. By pulling the amplified and overdriven roots of rock into frenetically electric obscurity, the prodigal sons of avant-garde riffs ensure their experimentalism is accessible enough for anyone determined not to see their ’70s and ’80s rock records gather dust. Innovative enough to demand novelty-seekers firmly affix this release to their playlists from the first groove.

If it’s been a while since your mind was sonically fucked and demanded a cigarette afterwards, hit play and prepare yourself for the psychedelic climax that allows you to imagine what Soul Asylum would have sounded like if they’d brought an arsenal of acid and some Mike Patton influence into the studio.

Conceived by British musician and graphic artist Tim Naish, The Animal Objective began as a solo venture before evolving into a four-piece ensemble after Tim relocated to France. Joined by fellow musical misfits Sylvie Pichard (bass), Tonyo Chauveau (drums), and Jojo Pannier (guitar) in 2019, the band became a labour of love that fully realised Tim’s eccentric vision.

Their debut EP, ‘Creature Law‘, released on 11th October 2024, showcases their eccentric mix of angular grooves, hypnotic melodies, and infectious energy that recounts surreal tales from this world and beyond. If you want to expand your mind, this EP will blow the hinges off the door to your psyche.

Irregular Handshake is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Transcendent Discord: Ficus Unveils Psychedelic Alchemy in ‘Resonation Room’

Posted on 27 November 2024

Warp your rhythmic pulses with Ficus’ double A-side release, Resonation Room. After dialling the mystic beguile up to 11 with angular Eastern guitars, the title single unravels as a progressive hybrid of psychedelia and sludgy stoner rock that electrifies the senses with intense reverberations of distortion which swallow the heavy riffs.

Setting themselves apart from your average raconteurs of kaleidoscopic rancour the Michigan-hailing powerhouse wraps an aura of transcendence around the discordance, building an arcane monument of aural alchemy that any psych rock fans will want to kneel at the altar of. With harmonies which carry as much mysticism as the grooves and pockets of ambience in their instrumental arrangement, the Ficus effect is visceral on every conceivable level.

After touring with the likes of Levitation Room, Chirp, Desmond Jones, Triptides, Consider the Source and North by North, Ficus have become renowned for their live performances which light the way to tonal nirvana. Equally as entrancing on record, it is only a matter of time before Ficus is internationally recognised as a premier psych rock ensemble.

Resonation Room is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Elegant Chasers is set to deliver a kaleidoscope of hope with their politically-charged Britpop-Grunge mash-up sophomore LP, To Live in Colour

Posted on 22 November 2024
The Elegant Chasers

The title track of To Live in Colour, the sophomore LP from The Elegant Chasers, is a vestige of sanctuary for those still searching for hope and resilience amid chaos.

As we sink ever deeper into a textbook definition of dystopia, the visceral fusion of grunge and Britpop, which rages with hook-rife rancour, is a livewire lifeline from an artist who has always sought solace in sound. With the hypersonically grungy hooks injecting adrenalised vindication into the mix, the one-man powerhouse beckons listeners into a tumult of nostalgia. Not to morosely reminisce on what is missed but to dare to fight against the backdrop of a disillusioned world after being reminded of the volition and connection we historically sourced from sonic redemption and calls to action.

Influenced by his own struggles, the track wrestles with darkness but refuses to succumb. The juxtaposition of anguish and upbeat, infectious melodies mirror the internal battle Maz faced growing up—bullying, trauma, and later, the hangover of rock ‘n’ roll’s recklessness.

With backing vocals from his daughters Penny and Phoebe and drums from the ever-present Lloyd “Keith Moon” Pritchard, the track taps into familial warmth and raw, gritty sound. Maz’s gift is to prove that while the world may be descending into madness, we can still choose to live in colour. The firestorm of sound that is To Live in Colour demands your attention and ensures you’ll never feel isolated in your apathy again.

The To Live in Colour LP will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Bandcamp, from December 6th. Connect with The Elegant Chasers on Instagram to stay up to date with news of the release.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Topdown – I Feel Everything: An Intense Alt-Rock Odyssey Through Empathetic Angst

Posted on 17 November 2024

Topdown’s eponymous debut LP is a hit-after-hit tour de rancorously evocative force, starting with the scathed opening salvo, I Feel Everything, which will make a bruisingly vindicating impact on anyone who knows how much of a curse empathy can be.

With frenetic frustration coursing through every hook-decorated progression of volition, I Feel Everything is a candid outpour of the desperation to chemically numb yourself to the weight of the world that bears down on the psyche as it conflates with introspective scars.

It’s impossible not to draw thematic comparisons to Dinosaur Jr’s ‘Feel the Pain’, but there is no refuting that Topdown are blazing their own trail through their eagerly anticipated LP which fuses the ferocity of post-hardcore, the emotive intensity of pop-punk and the aesthetics of 00s rock anthems.

I Feel Everything is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

faSade – Freedom to Carry (Is Not Free): A Dark Cabaret Plea For An End to The Right to Bear Arms

Posted on 6 November 2024

In the Avant Garde production of faSade’s dark cabaret rock single, Freedom to Carry (Is Not Free), the artist plunges deep into the heart of one of America’s most polarising debates. The jazz-imbued track, saturated with theatrical verve, doesn’t shy from voicing the harrowing price paid by innocence in the face of the nation’s gun culture.

With each lyric, faSade delivers visceral blows, but none as sharp as the one imparted through the strikingly sombre line, “Your freedom to carry is not free when I have to carry my child to the cemetery”.

The fierce outcry against the so-called freedom of gun ownership accounts for the loss of the cost of children’s lives while delivering an anthem mourning those lost to the bullets of mentally ill assailants and a rebuke of society’s complacency.

With America on the brink of electing a new leader, the timing of the track couldn’t be more poignant. faSade holds a mirror to the grim realities of a society that chooses the profits of the gun industry over the safety of its youth as the artist condemns the political powers that perpetuate this cycle of violence for electoral gains, and the societal indifference that allows domestic abusers and despondent individuals access to firearms.

Through Freedom to Carry (Is Not Free), faSade implores listeners to awaken from their idle states as mere legislative changes could preserve countless futures.

The official video for Freedom to Carry (Is Not Free) premiered on October 18th; stream the video on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Feeding the Frenzy: Buddy Pease Strikes with the melodic rock resonance in ‘Vampires at the Door’

Posted on 30 October 2024

Baltimore-based artist Buddy Pease dives evocatively deep with his latest single, ‘Vampires at the Door’, introducing a glimpse into a visceral intersection where classic rock riffs meet soul-stirring existential angst.

Opening with steady, euphonic guitar chords, the song ramps up with soaring Slash-reminiscent guitar work that electrifies the production, priming listeners for a soundscape laced with the gritty intensity fans of Soundgarden will instantly recognise.

Pease’s imploringly raw vocal lines add a striking edge to the track, reaching into the psyche as he exposes the shadowy figures of human existence—the ones that lurk like parasites on the fringes of everyday life.

Through each evocative twist in the melodies, ‘Vampires at the Door’ becomes more a revelation of Pease’s ability to capture the unease and silent struggles many of us contend with.

With his new album slated for release in the next few weeks, Pease signals he’s more than just a fledgling in the scene; he’s one to save space for on your radar as he sonically visualises the raw, universal undercurrents of human experience.

The official music video for Vampires at the Door premiered on October 16; stream the horror-esque video on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lia Juno exhibited the pain of raw rumination in her alt-indie tour de force, Sight

Posted on 30 October 2024
Lia Juno

Ethereal alt-indie pop vocals meet cavernous guitar lines in Lia Juno’s intimately melancholic single, ‘Sight’, which deconstructs familiar tonality, tearing it down to the aural rubble before rebuilding a sonic landscape where sanctuary for the disillusioned resides.

Since unveiling her debut single, Fevering, earlier this year, the LA-based independent artist has made all the right waves; with her latest single she puts herself in the same league as Wolf Alice and Big Thief with the cerebral thematic nature of the manifesto of mournful rumination.

Building up from Pixies-esque artfully dramatic motifs to a blisteringly grungy crescendo of distorted guitars clashing in oscillation with the rhythm section, Sight ensures that if you have any pent-up emotions when you hit play, they’ll be obliterated by the impact of the track’s climax which you’ll want to feel the force of time after time.

Sight will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify and SoundCloud, from October 30th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast